City Council - September 29, 2026

At the September 29, 2026 Santa Barbara City Council meeting, the council unanimously approved the consent calendar items presented, including acceptance of $119,775 in California Office of Traffic Safety grant funding for the Police Department, and approved a coastal program amendment for 1 Hot Springs Road. Staff presented the Laguna Flood Resilience Study, a roughly two-year watershed modeling effort to identify flood-reduction and habitat improvements. The proposed budget amendment appropriates $291,797 from the Creeks Restoration and Water Quality Improvement Capital Fund; staff said the study would be funded primarily by a State Coastal Conservancy grant, with Measure B reserve funds covering the balance, and included $19,000 for modeling software. A consultant team had been selected, but its name and a final vote on the study appropriation were not clearly captured in the transcript.

The council also approved the residential rent-stabilization and rental-registry ordinance and a related $500,000 FY2027 allocation from the Measure I Flexible Housing and Homelessness Fund, both by 4–3 votes. The approved ordinance exempts deed-restricted affordable housing and Section 8 units from its rent provisions; council directed staff to explore additional ways to address habitability concerns. On the Cesar Chavez Street renaming, the council voted 6–1 to support the name “Lemu,” direct staff to prepare the related resolution, and explore a small-business grant program to help affected businesses with address-change costs; no grant amount was set.