Santa Barbara City Council
November 12, 2024

(10) Implement voucher / rent relief program. This may include incentives for housing seniors and safety net rent bridging programs for tenants facing short-term financial hardships. The City partners with several local organizations to administer a Tenant Based Rental Assistance (TBRA) grant program that can be used for security deposit payments and/or monthly rental housing assistance for up to 24 months but it is specifically for low-income households including people who formerly experienced homelessness as well as those at risk of becoming homeless. Goal 3 of the City’s Housing Element is to provide financial resources and supportive services for members of the community who need housing assistance.
(11) Leverage public-private partnerships. This encompasses social impact investing, community-owned land trusts, employee-sponsored housing, and co-op/shared housing.

Goal 7 of the City’s Housing Element is to coordinate with regional partners including surrounding community and regional agency partners such as the Santa Barbara South Coast Chamber of Commerce to address regional housing issues, homelessness, and the jobs/housing balance. Establishing and sustaining these partnerships to advance strategic or targeted initiatives would require additional staffing capacity. (12) Form “tiny home” ownership program that would be developed and stewarded on City property. The City intends to evaluate City-owned sites for future housing development opportunities as part of a City Land Registry.7 The City will evaluate Cityowned land (not including lands dedicated to parks and recreation purposes) including parking lots, to determine future needs and if the publicly-owned site could be donated, leased, or sold at a reduced price to develop affordable housing. A public-private partnership could also be explored to facilitate purchasing or financing of smaller homes that are more affordable for first-time home buyers.
(13) Facilitate more housing opportunities for single parents that may include childcare and youth services. The 2015 – 2019 American Community Survey (ACS) estimated that 31 percent of all households in the City are female headed households. Of those, 13 percent are with children and 87 percent are without. Of all families under the poverty level, 48 percent are female-headed. The City’s Housing Element highlighted that single parent households, in particular, female-headed households, generally have lowerincomes and experience higher living expenses. This makes it difficult to find safe, decent, and affordable housing. These households can also face challenges in attaining affordable childcare, health care, and other supportive services. (14) Streamline the permitting and building processes with dedicated timeframes and assigned staff to shepherd housing projects through. As part of Goal 1 in the City’s Housing Element,8 the commitment is to reduce and, where feasible and practical, remove unnecessary City-imposed constraints that impede housing development. The Community Development Department has created an Ombudsman position for 7 2023 – 2031 City of Santa Barbara Housing Element Program HE-14: City Land Registry, page 135. 8 2023 – 2031 City of Santa Barbara Housing Element Program HE-5: Process Improvements, page 127.

Council Agenda Report
Presentation on the Findings and Recommendations from the Housing Crisis Ad Hoc Committee
November 12, 2024

commercial and multi-family housing applications to assist them through the design review and permitting processes.
(15) Prioritize and fast track nonprofit housing development projects in the permitting and building processes. The Community Development Department’s Planning Division implemented this recommendation earlier this year. All 100% affordable housing projects are moved to the top of the queue for plan check. (16) Expand and diversify deed-restricted housing loan programs. In Goal 2 of the City’s Housing Element, it specifically refers to the use of deed restrictions and others measures to prioritize housing that is affordable to the workforce over other types of development.
(17) Create incentives for property owners to build accessory dwelling units (ADUs). Per the City’s Housing Element,9 the City is working to implement procedural changes and will consider further ordinance amendments to assist ADU applicants and increase ADU applications. This includes use of pre-approved ADU plans consistent with design criteria. In May 2024, the City accepted submissions for designer-owned preapproved plans for detached ADUs. These plans will be considered for pre-approval by the City, with the goals of speeding up the review and approval process, guiding homeowners who may not know where to start, and ensuring that those homeowners work with qualified experienced professionals. Incentives could be facilitated through a public-private partnership in support of this preapproved ADU program to assist homeowners with permitting and construction costs.
(18) Expand down-payment assistance programs and education for first-time homebuyers. The County of Santa Barbara has several programs to help with down payments for homeownership including Assist-to-Own, the Workforce Homebuyer Program, and Housing Trust Fund Down Payment Assistant Loan. Organizations and initiatives such as the Coastal Housing Partnership and the Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara Housing Day facilitate outreach for these programs but greater expansion would make it available to more first-time homebuyers in a competitive housing market.
(19) Create more easily accessible City resources to help build greater understanding of tenant rights and housing provider rights and responsibilities.

The City’s Rental Housing Mediation Program webpage includes references to Municipal Code Title 25 Housing Regulations and offers opportunities to engage with City staff to help answer questions regarding landlord and tenant rights. However, this information is currently not offered in Spanish or in downloadable forms or checklists for easier reference and broader understanding. The City Attorney’s Office webpage provides, among others, a link to Santa Barbara Municipal Code Chapter 26.50 “Just Cause for 9 2023 – 2031 City of Santa Barbara Housing Element Program HE-6: Facilitate Production of Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), page 127.

Council Agenda Report
Presentation on the Findings and Recommendations from the Housing Crisis Ad Hoc Committee
November 12, 2024

Residential Eviction” including the Spanish translation of the Ordinance and attached FAQ.
(20) Ensure that information is available in multiple languages and multiple modalities. This is included as Goal 6 in the City’s Housing Element to educate and support the community about housing issues, affordable housing opportunities, and available resources and programs.

The question for the City Council is to identify which of the 20 programs and policy ideas outlined above are the highest priorities to Council in addressing the affordable housing crisis. This will help staff develop proposals to allocate additional resources for those already existing programs and/or to develop next steps, resource needs, and policy questions for new programs or policy ideas.

Next Steps
Any of the recommendations that are prioritized by City Council and not included in the 2023 – 2031 Housing Element will require additional research and identification of important considerations for potential implementation. Cost proposals will also need to be developed in support of any additional staffing capacity and financial resources that would be needed to successfully implement new policies, programs or initiatives. Depending on the direction from Council, some of these proposals may be timelier and more appropriate for the next two-year budgeting process while others may be incorporated as Council priorities in the upcoming citywide strategic planning process.

BUDGET/FINANCIAL INFORMATION:

The implementation of the City of Santa Barbara’s 2023 – 2031 Housing Element has significant commitments and costs including additional staffing capacity through the Community Development Department, including the Planning as well as Housing and Human Services Divisions, along with the City Attorney’s Office that was approved in the adopted Fiscal Year 2025 budget. Any additional recommendations that are prioritized by City Council for further research and implementation will incur costs above and beyond the adopted budget. Initial costs for dedicated staff time will be incurred, to the extent feasible with existing staff resources, by the appropriate City departments until more concrete proposals with associated costs are presented to City Council for consideration and implementation based on the priorities discussed at this meeting.

ATTACHMENT: Public Input from October 14, 2024 Housing Crisis Ad Hoc Committee Community Workshop

PREPARED AND
SUBMITTED BY: Barbara Andersen, Sr. Assistant to the City Administrator APPROVED BY: Kelly R. McAdoo, City Administrator

ATTACHMENT
Housing Crisis Ad Hoc Committee Community Workshop
Public Input
October 14, 2024
What recommendations should be prioritized for further research and implementation? Committee Recommendations Stakeholder Groups Total
Homeowners
Landlords /
Housing
Providers
Tenants
CommunityBased
Organizations
Nonprofit
Housing
Developers
Residents /
Advocates
Education and Access to Information 1 3 1 5
Create more easily accessible City
resources to help build greater
understanding of Tenants’ Rights and
Housing Provider Rights and
Responsibilities
1 1 1 1 4
Ensure that information is available in
multiple languages and multiple
modalities
1 1
Increasing Affordable Housing
Supply
4 2 6
Prioritize more workforce housing for
the “missing middle” (middle to upper
middle-income households)
4 4 6 1 1 16
Work to ensure that UCSB and SBCC
are providing sufficient housing for
their student populations
6 1 1 2 10
Dedicate permanent funding source
for the Local Housing Trust Fund
3 3 5 11
Page
2 of 10
Increasing Affordable Housing
Supply
923 14
Streamline the permitting and building
processes with dedicated timeframes
and assigned staff to shepherd
projects through
1211139
Prioritize and fast track nonprofit
housing development projects in the
permitting and building processes
112116
Incentive Programs819
Create incentive programs for housing
providers - Tax incentives for below market
rental units
- Programs/credits for
improvements and repairs
- Allowances for capital
improvements
7522 16
Implement voucher / rent relief
program - Incentives for housing seniors - Safety net rent bridging programs (for tenants facing
short-term financial hardships)
3329
Incentive Programs1113
Expand and diversify deed-restricted
housing loan programs
1124
Create incentives for property owners
to build accessory dwelling units
(ADUs)
112

Expand down-payment assistance
programs and education for first-time
homebuyers
1 1
Support for Innovation 1 1
Leverage public-private partnerships
- Social impact investing
- Community-owned land trusts
- Employee-sponsored housing
- Co-op / shared housing
1 1 2 11 3 3 21
Form “tiny home” ownership program
- Developed and stewarded on
City property
3 3 2 1 1 10
Facilitate more housing opportunities
for single parents
- Housing that includes
childcare and youth services
1 1 2
Regulation & City Programs 7 4 11
Implement rent stabilization ordinance 6 5 2 13
Create a rental registry 1 6 2 9
Sustain short-term rental enforcement
program
1 1 1 3
Expand rental housing mediation
program / consider mandatory
mediation for certain rent increases
1 1 1 3
Sustain access to legal counsel
program
2 2
Additional note: A total of 34 participants that participated virtually through Zoom voted in a poll to rank the highest priority (1) to the lowest priority (5) of the five recommendation categories. The top three priorities included: increasing affordable housing supply (30 votes), incentive programs (22 votes), and support for innovation (15 votes).

What is missing in the Committee’s findings?
Stakeholder Group Feedback
Landlords /
Housing Providers
 Lack of available land for construction
- Government surplus for affordable (low)
- Public partnerships
 Pathway rent to own
- Downpayment assistance
- Lease to buy (first right of refusal)
 ADUs pathways to own separately?
 ADUs financing program with deed restriction
- Split underutilized homes
 Waivers of development costs for affordable housing
 Education and access to information is key
- May not need new regulations given existing protections - English and Spanish
 Need: supply  rent control is not solution  creates equity issue for those who have and don’t have  Focus needs to be “affordability”
- Above market being produced
- Update definition? 30%? Should be higher
 Employee-provided housing on a short-term basis if tied to employment  Rental subsidies paid by the City could be funded by a general tax and spread the cost to all, not just property owners
 ADUs are a helpful idea, but they must be limited in numbers and elevation to prevent destroying neighborhoods
 Incentivize employers to build / subsidize housing for their employees  Don’t make luxury housing for out-of-towners who want to move here a priority; don’t overbuild luxury housing
 Focus on building low/mid income housing paid for by City and subsidize rent by City  A place for landlords to get help with trouble tenants / expand mediation to be fair and equal  Coastal Commission to relax regulations to build more housing on UCSB and SBCC and State add pressure

 Nothing is included in the recommendations regarding “mom and pop” landlords; this group is always mentioned as an asset to the community as the best housing providers and offer the lowest rents - Need to consider how to keep out of town corps out and promote local ownership  Rent control should not be embraced as it would create less rental availability  Help UCSB create dorms for some of its students
- Incentivize or require students to live on campus
 Best solution is City subsidizing rent for workers
 Rent regulation will result in owners selling out and fewer units and all rental housing owned by larger landlords
 Excessive ADUs will destroy the neighborhoods if not controlled  Tourism is a strong revenue stream; short-term rentals provide retail, dining, activity and bed tax revenue and jobs
- We need a rule book so that STRs can be part of the solution. We want to be good members of the community. Let us know how.
 Missing is an understanding that regulation of rent will reduce incentives for private investment in housing; will result in less new housing and no incentive to maintain / upgrade properties  Educational institutions should be responsible – keep SBCC and UCSB students on campus and they should provide for their housing
 Workforce is what we need – employers should help to provide for housing their workers  Don’t encourage rental control
Tenants  Lack of City enforcement
 Power imbalances
 Mixed use development at least 20% requirements at low-income housing  Tax landlords that rent by-the-bed
- Overcrowding causes problems with services (general trash, sewer) but not those renters’ faults, subletting rooms renting bathrooms
 Give more power to the City to enforce City ordinances and tenant protections  Expand ADU program by area, max densities, inclusionary % to 20% and expand CBO rules to the whole program area
 Impacted housing: multi-families moved into too little space illegally

- There are 20 people living in a three-bedroom house on my property. Multiple families and one bathroom. Trash and bathroom/sewage issues for the shared property are overflowing and backed up - Noise violations
- Illegal subletting
- Falls on tenants to live with livability issues and report  Education of landlords on existing regulations
 Maintenance not up to par
 Having more bi-lingual staff, something in between regulatory and code enforcement, community empowerment office
 Moratorium on hotels
 Increase affordability regulations for AUD
 Maybe increase lease period for more stability, especially for families  Emphasis on rental stabilization and a rent registry, the reason this Committee was created  Permanent source of funding for affordable housing financing and funding  Ordinances have to be drafted and enacted with all stakeholders to address and codify the regional housing needs allocation numbers and to garner the local legislation to come to compliance with new or on-going housing development
 Affordable housing is based on what formula? Affordable housing is broadly defined and there is a big need to address
 TOT percentage increase to 15% for permanent housing funding strictly for low-income housing  Homeowner / tenant collaboration (singles, seniors)
 How are other cities of comparable size / cost of living / demographics handling housing challenges / shortages?
- Is SB taking advantage of existing problem solving and solutions?  Small business owners! How are small businesses supposed to keep up with increases in residential and commercial spaces
- If wages, rent and operating costs increase for businesses AND our local customer base can no longer afford the services…
- Tech: the giant elephant in the room! How do local wages compete with salaries that do not provide any local benefits? We have industries among us whose takes and wealth doesn’t benefit the City - Single income single homes!

- Barrier of entry for anyone
Community-Based
Organizations
 Affordable rentals for public employees, especially essential workers, teachers, firefighters, nurses, etc.  Big “no” to rental registry – how is “workforce housing” defined?  Missing adaptive reuse
 Incentivize density Downtown
- Supply is artificially limited
- Supply is general (not just low/medium income) will stabilize prices downstream  Confusion about affordable, missing middle and workforce  Protecting current families / tenants from displacement  Housing for middle-class workforce
 Rent control that fits with increasing incomes and gives landlords a fair return on their investment; this is necessary for long-term renters
 Lack of repairs (or upgrades)
 Rents go up while units are not safe or habitable
 Preserving existing housing stock (it’s already cheaper than new housing)  Need a better means of mediation and enforcement of tenant protection ordinances; volunteers are not best option
- One option: a paid staff that knows the laws and ties to the City Attorney’s Office  Many landlords and even “YIMBYs” seem to see displacement from a particular area as a result of the market as acceptable, but people are stronger and stay healthy longer when they are able to stay with their family and community; these connections make life meaningful  Market-based housing costs out local workers, increases instability as a community  Lack of understanding (by tenants) about legal recourse if their landlord is not in compliance  Challenging for tenants working in low-to-middle income professions in “essential” positions (healthcare, City staff, helping professions)…leading to hiring shortages  More specifics on improving eviction protections – right to return with rent cap Nonprofit Housing
Developers
 Redefine missing middle ($80,000 – $120,000)
 Easier conversion laws for ADUs
 Defining community benefit as majority is deed-restricted rental units  Reducing obstacles to affordable housing development
 Increasing in-lieu fees for private developers and % of units

 Allowing ADUs to be for sale with deed restricted at 80 – 120%  Broader look at local preference (live and work on the South Coast of Santa Barbara)  Pilot program to incentives 100% deed restricted affordable housing on City owned property  Rent relief / voucher programs are not sustainable
 Increase landlord incentives to support voucher holders  Adopt pro-housing designation that will help with funding Residents / Advocates  Build more supply of all kinds of housing  15-minute neighborhoods
 Find infill locations for dense housing
 Build ADUs and get them deed restricted
- Find an incentive program
 Focus on mix and size of housing
 Support for local preference programs for leasing
 Find solutions that don’t add cost
 Not even ‘affordable’ for high earners
- Make connection to tech
 Focus on solving the root of the problem
- For example, increasing access to well-paying jobs
 Utilities cost are missing; for example, solar panels lower cost Virtual Participants  You say 8,000 housing units are needed. How was that number determined? How long will 8,000 units meet the needs? Is that a permanent cap on building housing? Are we trying to meet the needs of our existing population today or meet the needs of anyone who wants to move to Santa Barbara? Where’s the water going to come from? Where are these units going to be built?  How many programs listed can actually be implemented--how funded, the program titles don’t convey the details--will the committee be spelling out specifics for these? Priorities aren’t stated. It is most urgent to adopt rent stabilization and a rental registry.
 How will Prop 33 impact what you are trying to do, if it passes? (Doesn't state supersede county/city regulations?) Also, where are the services needed to support the low and very low-income families who are supposedly going to be provided "affordable housing"?
 On the tenant side, learning opportunities for overcoming criteria barriers to housing. Once housed, learning opportunities that will help them stay housed, skill learning like budgeting, knowing their lease,

being a good neighbor/tenant, knowing where to go for help if they are falling behind (access to information).

On the Property Owner side, finding ways that they can look beyond the rental application and barriers through incentives and securities that would otherwise screen people out. The City demystifying myths and fear and changing the culture that has created fear and lack of understanding. In general, is there something tangible that can be done to increase the number of available units to include affordable rentals? A focus on programs and services for families with children.
 Financing and Funding - Land Value Capture Methods
 In order to accurately get a real count of individuals experiencing homelessness we need to include counting those in institutionalized settings that are homeless in our PIT count as we do the shelters.  Organized pro housing advocacy group missing from the housing ecosystem. Is SB positioned well enough to leverage state dollars. If not, what needs to change? Need to prioritize very low income as well as low and moderate. Opportunity to develop infill and commercial reuse that add housing to downtown. Prioritize housing on underutilized land.
 The fact that priority should be given to subsidize housing for crucial employees - teachers, city staff, firefighters, etc. Also, assistance to recently homeless due to loss of job, loss of apartment, etc. - giving people the funds for a deposit, first few months’rent to keep them in house presents a long-term homeless issue. The chronic homeless are impossible to deal with on a local level.  The City caused this problem over the past decades and now your proposals all fall on the property owners and developers to solve it. The economics for those two groups do not support or incentivize such solutions.

If you want to solve this problem, make the economics work for everyone. RENT CONTROL DOESN’T WORK AND NEVER HAS! STOP TALKING ABOUT IT AS A SOLUTION!
 The idea of fair market rents and tax issues
 Very good ideas. I am interested in how our housing situations affect our senior population. They have very limited resources. I would look into tiny homes and maybe helping seniors with incentives to share a home or property they already have but cannot keep up its maintenance.  I wasn't sure where the source of funding was coming from for building additional housing units. Who would be determining that 8-story apartment buildings are not placed in areas of single-family homes? Would adding a TOT increase to the next ballot specifically designated for housing be something that the city council would consider?

 Housing is more than just the physical structure - are you considering access to public or free transportation? childcare access and school transport? access to affordable support services - grocery/pharmacy stores/ churches/libraries
 Funding
 How to limit the number of houses can be owned and not live in them.  A very important FINDING not included is that this is a very common problem or condition throughout the world...population pressure in desirable locations has exceeded physical and political resources which allows market forces to ration supply with price to clear demand. BOTH sides of the equation have to be addressed, namely supply and demand for housing.
 Input of developers
 Missing is mention of Tenant's Responsibilities, only Landlord's Responsibilities were included. Tenants also need to be educated on their responsibilities. Ordinances currently place most of the responsibility of the rental process on landlords. Missing is consideration of landlords who have kept rents well below market.

These landlords will be punished if further rent caps are instituted. The only recourse for such landlords is to sell their property and get out of the market, further tightening the available housing.  The threat of rent control and increased threat of criminal prosecution and oppressive regulations is having a huge impact on the decision to sell rental properties by property owners  The issue of rapidly increasing property taxes, which also impact and effect rent increases. The effect of rapidly rising cost of property owner’s insurance
 Zoning changes: correct the bias in AUD zoning against smaller sized units. Note the recommendation in the General Plan for an average size of 600 sq ft. Also, explore having SBCC provide housing on its campus (just as UCSB does). I favor creation of a Rental Registry.
 How Air B & Bs are taking away what would otherwise be rentals.