Regarding the Sept. 29 article, “Rent-Stabilization Ordinance Clears Santa Barbara Council By One Vote,” City Councilwoman Kristen Sneddon is playing both sides when it comes to rent control.
She champions the proposed rent control ordinance to tenants, claiming it will protect them by regulating and lowering their housing costs. Yet, when speaking to landlords, she offers a completely different narrative.
As quoted in Noozhawk, she stated she has found that “most landlords would financially come out ahead by doing regular smaller increases over time than if they did larger increases every few years.”
If landlords financially “come out ahead” through these mandated regular annual increases, it means renters will ultimately pay more over time than they would under a free-market system in which landlords manage their own properties.
Under Sneddon’s logic, the ordinance protects landlord profits at the direct expense of local tenants. Is this double-talk the kind of leadership we want for the next mayor of Santa Barbara?
Mark Westerhoff
Santa Barbara
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Regarding the Sept. 29 article, “Santa Barbara’s Calle César Chávez to Be Renamed to Limuw Street,” as one of the 86 local businesses affected by the renaming, we believe the discussion needs to focus more closely on the full cost and impact of this decision.
The City of Santa Barbara has cited approximately $1,500 for replacement street signs. But what about the staff time already spent researching, preparing reports, holding meetings and hearings, conducting outreach and evaluating names?
And what will it cost to update city records, maps, GIS systems, databases, permitting systems, websites and other documents?
For the 86 businesses, the costs extend far beyond a new sign. Licenses, insurance, banking records, invoices, websites, online listings, vehicle lettering and countless other documents will need to be changed.
There will be a significant administrative burden and definite business disruption.
I fully support recognizing the history and valuable contributions of farmworkers and all laborers. But changing a street name does not change history, so it is fair to ask what this change actually accomplishes.
The public deserves transparency about the true cost of renaming a short, half-mile long street.
At a time when Santa Barbara residents and small businesses face so many pressing needs, is this where we want limited city staff time and taxpayer resources focused?
Before proceeding, the city should disclose the full cost to taxpayers and outline the potential costs to the 86 local businesses affected.
Niki Van Buren
Santa Barbara
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The Sept. 22 article, “5 Hours Into Carpinteria Inn Debate, Commission Pushes Vote Out,” states that the developer says the Surfliner Inn would generate $1.8 million in annual revenue for Carpinteria.
That is incorrect. The ongoing income to the City of Carpinteria would be $710,177 per year, not $1.8 million.
The actual developer numbers per the UC Santa Barbara report (page 16) and the LDDA (Ground Lease) with the city are:
Construction Period: One-time income
Taxes: $71,886
Land rent: $82,500 (50% of base rent)
Operating Period: Ongoing income over a six-year period
Taxes: $107,732 per year
Bed tax $437,445 per year
Land rent: $165,000
Total income: $710,177 per year
While the land appraisal has not been done, the developer did submit an opinion letter from an appraiser with a $3 million land value. Also, the base land rent is the greater of either 5.5% of appraised value or 4.5% of gross revenues, not both.
It’s always good to work with the real numbers when thinking about these things.
Nathan Pratt
Carpinteria
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Thank you, Cassandra Ensberg, for telling it like it is in her Sept. 26 commentary, “Santa Barbara’s Budget Needs Emergency Treatment Before City Takes On More.”
Please don’t stop providing the community with your common sense judgments on the fiscal state of our city. Ensberg’s voice is invaluable.
Susan Shields
Santa Barbara
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Regarding Wayne Mellinger’s Sept. 28 commentary, “Lynne Gibbs Keeps Showing Up to Fight for County’s Mental Health System,” Gibbs is every bit the community leader that Mellinger wrote about.
I am kicking myself for not thinking to nominate her for the wonderful dedicated woman hero she has been for so many years!
Susan Horne
Santa Barbara
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The Goleta community and I have a concern regarding a local guitarist/singer and an artist, Roger and Hendry. Both have been providing community outreach in front of the Goleta Trader Joe’s for more than 12 years now.
The Trader Joe’s team loves them, so does the Goleta community and shoppers.
They were not loitering or soliciting, but providing a sense of community by bringing music, art and kindness to our community.
Dagmar Brewer
Goleta
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Regarding the Oct. 2 article, “In Xavier Becerra and Steve Hilton’s Only Scheduled Debate, Donald Trump was the Main Character,” I see that the Democrat blames Trump for California’s taxes, homeless, affordable housing and anything else.
My question to all the Democrats who have voted in all the folks responsible for California issues is when was Trump governor of California?!
You get what you voted for and Becerra will keep the same going and the state will and really is broke.
John Sween
Santa Barbara
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I am a UCSB graduate and longtime resident of Santa Barbara. I worked for decades as a land use planner and facilitator for the City of Santa Barbara and as a consultant to local governments on the South Coast.
I have worked with a lot of City Council and Planning Commission members and have a sense of who truly cares about residents and who is more inclined to stick to their first impression or go with the flow and not make waves.
I support Kristen Sneddon for mayor. She would effectively lead the city as it deals with budget, housing, climate change, transportation and other pressing issues.
As mayor she’d be a consensus-builder to find the best solution to problems that face our council districts and the city as a whole. She believes in science and really cares about people.
We would be fortunate to have Kristen Sneddon as our mayor.
Pat Saley
Santa Barbara
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In 1966, Santa Barbara voters ratified Charter Section 521, capping city property leases at 50 years to ensure prime public land could never be given away without strict oversight.
In June, City Hall rushed Measure A onto the ballot at taxpayer expense to alter those nearly 60-year-old protections, promising to revitalize Paseo Nuevo while preserving public ownership.
Yet on State Street, the most consequential downtown decision in decades, the City Council refuses to give citizens a direct vote.
Worse, disclosed public records show Measure A was sold under false pretenses. Internal text messages show city leadership and developer lobbyists privately coordinating a $0 land transfer behind closed doors.
As City Administrator Kelly McAdoo admitted in a May 15 text: “We’ll see what happens when they (citizens) find out the land is being transferred. That is my only concern at this point.”
Disclosed texts show developer lobbyists scripting talking points for mayoral candidates Eric Friedman and Kristen Sneddon, potentially violating the Brown Act, while staff withheld roughly 60,000 communications and historic charter records. Let’s not forget this.
Vote for someone whose hands aren’t tied by backroom deals and lobbyist texts. Vote for clean government: Vote Wendy Sims-Moten for mayor.
Joann Olejnik
Santa Barbara
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I stand behind Ricardo Valencia 100% in his run for Santa Barbara County First District supervisor.
I will vote for Valencia because he is a leader and not a politician. He is honest, and not owned by the big wheelers and dealers in the Santa Maria Valley.
When elected, he will be responsible only to us. When he votes on important issues, he will reach out to us in the same way he has done as a candidate: No Big Signs. Just a Big Heart.
That’s why so many young people go door to door for his campaign. Santa Maria and Guadalupe deserve a compassionate voice on the Board of Supervisors. That’s why Ricardo Valencia deserves our vote.
Gale McNeeley
Santa Maria
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