Local business leaders recognize the need to work together, according to Santa Barbara South Coast Chamber of Commerce CEO Kristen Miller. 

“Economic development is not just a strategy; it’s a moral imperative,” she said Tuesday at the annual membership meeting and leadership forum.

Miller introduced the organization’s five-year strategic plan and goals to double membership, grow its staff and increase its impact in the region.

Growing local jobs and attainable housing requires intention and leadership, Miller said.

“We don’t need outsiders to come design our future,” she said. “We are the stewards of our future.”

The chamber aims to be a trusted hub for regional economic growth; promote the business community; advocate for governmental leadership and public policies that support business and community success; and be a financially sustainable and adaptable organization.

It has created the nonprofit Santa Barbara Economic Development Foundation that will help the organization “work more powerfully” with local governments and help more businesses, not just members, according to Miller. 

A strategic plan has been a goal since the chamber was formed six years ago, through a merger of three local chamber organizations, she said. 

Chamber representatives also presented the 2026 board of directors and passed the gavel to new chair Tom Patton.

Outlook for Regional Growth

Miller introduced Marek Gootman, from the Brookings Institution, to talk about the region’s economic assets and challenges. 

Gootman, who also shared insights at the REACH Summit last year, said the Santa Barbara County economy doesn’t offer enough opportunities for everyone who lives in the county. 

There are unique assets, such as UC Santa Barbara and Vandenberg Space Force Base, but more than 40% of working families cannot cover basic costs, he said. Last year, the county’s poverty rate climbed to the second-highest in California.

Nearly 60% of local jobs don’t offer health insurance or a wage that lets workers make ends meet or have savings, Gootman added. 

The challenge, he said, is not the assets here, but market costs and policy choices. He pointed to housing, land use, child care and energy. 

Businesses need to invest and stick to a plan, he said, to see significant change in this region. 

Communities can have growth without opportunity, but can’t have opportunity (including more high-value jobs) without growth, he said. 

“I think you’re on the right path,” he told the chamber membership meeting. 

Business Leaders Panel 

Tuesday’s meeting also included a panel of business leaders sharing challenges. 

There has been an increase in mail theft, fraud and business identity theft reported in recent years, said Laurel Sykes, chief risk officer for American Riviera Bank. 

“The fraud losses are crazy,” Sykes said. 

Everyone should check their cybersecurity and vendor payment policies, she suggested. 

Sykes also said local businesses need to improve the skills of their existing workforces since hiring is a challenge locally because of the high cost of living.

Attorney Amy Steinfeld, Santa Barbara office managing partner of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, talked about the impact of community opposition to housing and other projects. 

“Vocal opponents have stopped anything interesting happening here for a long time,” she said.

Local communities essentially stopped building dense housing 30 years ago, and state laws to override local zoning rules have resulted in more new projects getting approved, she said. 

Santa Barbara County is the hardest county in which to do development work, and it needs permit reform, Steinfeld said. 

Warren Nocon, executive president of the Hotel Californian and Foley Entertainment Group, said “business is good, but business is bad.” 

Its forecast shows it may not grow this year, or grow about 1%, Nocon said. 

The hotel opened about eight and a half years ago, and has about 25% of its original workforce — and that’s actually more than many other hotels in the industry, he said. 

It competes within the industry and with other industries for workers. 

“How do you compete when In-N-Out is paying 24, 25 dollars an hour?” Nocon said. 

He recalled that it took six years to open the Hotel Californian in Santa Barbara, while opening a hotel in San Diego took two years. Getting a Starbucks approved in the lower State Street hotel complex took more than two years.

“That’s crazy,” he said. 

Nocon also called out the need for better connectivity between the beach and waterfront to downtown Santa Barbara, which are separated by Highway 101. 

“You have to walk from here to the middle of State Street, and it’s not a great walk,” he said.

The Hotel California calls itself the front door to the Funk Zone, “but it really should be the front door to Santa Barbara,” he said. 

“We don’t just want a shuttle, we want a cute trolley — we want something cute!” Miller added. 

Kevin Davidson, the Cottage Health vice president of ambulatory services, talked about workforce housing and child care as the biggest challenges to hiring and retention. 

The health care system has plans for two new workforce housing projects, and currently offers down payment assistance to some employees.