# 9.15.26: City Council

The City of Ventura City Council meeting, identifiable as September 15, 2026 from the title and meeting references, approved staff’s request—by a 7–0 vote—to submit an application for California’s Prohousing designation. The designation could improve the city’s access to housing and infrastructure funding, including exclusive Prohousing Incentive Program grants and priority scoring for programs such as the Infill Infrastructure Grant. Staff said the application builds on housing policies already in the city’s housing element and does not itself enact new policies. No contract awards or vendor selections were identified. Separately, staff reported that maintaining and cleaning dewatering wells for the membrane bioreactor project is expected to cost $500,000–$1 million over about two years, to be paid from the project’s previously approved $7.9 million contingency; this was an informational update, with no action requested.

Council considered amendments extending standard parklet license terms from one year to three years while retaining the city’s ability to revoke licenses and recover public right-of-way when needed, including for utility emergencies. The change was intended to give businesses more certainty for their investments; a motion to approve staff’s recommendation was put to a vote, but the result is not captured in the transcript. The council also discussed public concerns about a proposed fairgrounds data center, which the fair board had declined to advance, and clarified that a city data-center ban—not merely a moratorium—would return for discussion in early 2027. The council adopted an ordinance allowing recovery of attorney fees in city-initiated nuisance-abatement litigation; no specific spending amount was stated.

**Jurisdictions:** sled
**Industries:** Construction & Infrastructure
**Topics:** Grants & Funding, Physical Infrastructure
**Published:** October 13, 2026

### Sources
- [9.15.26: City Council](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8p_tlqpfKOs) - City of Ventura