Better luck next year.

That’s what the City of Santa Barbara is telling about 25 condominium homeowners who were ensnared in the recent approval of the Community Benefit Improvement District.

Marilynn Brewer has been trying to fight City Hall for the past few weeks over what she and her neighbors believe is an unfair inclusion in the assessment.

“We were just totally shocked,” Brewer said.

A majority of property owners in downtown Santa Barbara agreed to assess themselves by pooling their financial resources to pay for certain districtwide activities and improvements.

The money would go to address cleanliness, safety, beautification, maintenance, identity and placemaking, beyond what the city provides. The assessment, based on the amount of property owned, could generate nearly $2 million annually.

Brewer is a resident of the Chapala Lofts. About 12 people within that building, including three low-income buyers, will have to pay the annual assessment, which could be about $300 for next year, with a potential 5% increase in future years. They have no commercial interests downtown but still have to pay the assessment.

Brewer has talked to other condo owners in the area and determined that about 25 owners would be affected. The city during its hearing exempted downtown residential homeowners, but the condo owners got lost in the shuffle.

Santa Barbara City Attorney Sarah Knecht said the city agreed to exempt six specific owner-occupied, single-family homes in the district area.

However, Knecht said the engineer’s report and management plan determined there would be a benefit to apartments and residential condominiums in the CBID area, so they were not exempted.

A change at this point, Knecht said, could happen only with a change to the engineer’s report and the project engineer making a new assessment calculation.

“Staff has prepared the district map, which must be filed with the county assessor no later than Aug. 10, 2024, to place the assessment on the property tax rolls,” Knecht said. “Council may revisit the assessment after the first year.”

Brewer said she doesn’t understand why the single-family homeowners would be exempt but the condo owners are not, and how she would benefit from the assessment.

“We have been cleaning the area ourselves every day, every morning, every weekday morning, for years,” Brewer said.

She pointed to the condos across the street on the 400 block of Chapala Street and noted that they are exempt from the CBID.

“We are subject to this tax just because we happen to be on the east side of Chapala Street,” Brewer said. “It’s an arbitrary dividing line that puts us in the net.”

Santa Barbara City Councilman Oscar Gutierrez, who represents the area in his District 3, said he feels for the residents.

“I totally sympathize and understand their position,” Gutierrez said. “I’m trying hard to work something out with my council colleagues and the city attorney’s office, but the change may not be implemented until next year.

“Regardless, the CBID is going to greatly improve their area.”

Brewer is a retired UCSB instructor who said she has owned a condo at the site for five years. She spoke at the City Council meeting during public comment in July and recently shared a letter with Noozhawk that she fired off to the mayor and City Council.

“Right now, there are not very many of us who live in residential units in the district,” Brewer said, “but this could have implications for future residential development in the downtown area as well.”