Rent control has dominated the conversation at the Santa Barbara City Council lately, despite the myriad other important tasks on our docket.

As experience in other municipalities has shown, this type of ordinance can prove to be a real gamechanger in terms of rental property viability, availability and market value.

Whether housing production sees a sharp decline, small landlords exit the market, or banks hesitate to lend on rehabilitating older properties remains to be seen. Will private investors continue to develop in this atmosphere?

What we do know is that the proposed scope of this ordinance will be very expensive to administer. (Santa Monica spends $6 million per year on its program.)

The debate surrounding this subject has been divisive, to say the least. The imposed “rent freeze” as a starting point for bilateral negotiations is anything but a level playing field.

The very premise that rent control will somehow provide a windfall of affordable housing is simply incorrect. The “solution” will rest solely on the shoulders of the property owners in the affected housing category.

Rents have gotten beyond affordability in many cases, that much is true. The question should be: “Why have rents gone up at the rate they have?”

The given premise of “landlord greed” is simplistic and largely unfair. This effort will not produce cheaper rents, as some might believe to be the promise.

That “promise” includes political flag-planting but has little in the way of lasting benefits for those seeking affordable rental housing.

In the meantime, will our collective goal of producing more housing, along with a portion of deed-restricted units, be hindered by chilling the atmosphere for investment?

The only feasible and sustainable way of producing opportunity for renters is by increasing the rental pool for everyone. Rent control may prove to do just the opposite.

We need to give all Santa Barbara voters the right to vote on this important issue, and the only way to do that is to put it on the ballot.

District elections have taken this valuable tool right out of the hands of voters and put it in the hands of our politicians who represent small districts and not the entire city.

A split vote on council with a narrow 4-3 majority is no way to craft a policy of this magnitude.

This issue affects all of us so let your council member know that you want a voice in this issue.

Without your input this expensive bureaucratic program will reduce the supply of rentals and harm those who need housing the most.

Why not put it on the ballot? Let’s get this issue on the ballot and put it in the hands of all of us to decide.