City Council - Regular Meeting

Good afternoon. Viva la fiesta. It is the August 4th regular meeting of the Santa Barbara City Council. Would you please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance?

Madam Clerk, would you call the roll, please?

All right, very good. Thank you. And you have some ceremonial items to read.

Thank you. Old Spanish Days Week, August 5 through 9, 2026. Whereas 2026 marks the 103rd annual Old Spanish Days Fiesta in Santa Barbara, a five-day celebration of Santa Barbara's historical origins, it honors the Spanish, Mexican, and Chumash cultures that are integral to the very fabric of our community. And whereas thousands of visitors flock to Santa Barbara each year to experience this unique celebration of culture, arts, food, history, and community, and whereas Old Spanish Days benefits many area nonprofits, businesses, youth programs, and community groups as it boosts the local economy

Mayor, at this point, I'd like to ask your permission to welcome and ask the Flores de los Ninos, Ninos de los Flores.

This is the one time we allow this. There's some space where they can see. Oh, you guys are going to keep going. We can take a picture, all right.

There we are. Actually, let's just get them over towards the middle.

Thank you to Los Linos de El Flores and Viva La Fiesta. We're gonna be seeing you around town, I'm sure. Maybe even tomorrow night. And thanks to all the dedicated moms and dads that have something to do with this little celebration, by the way. Appreciate that. And Madam Clerk, I believe you have another item to read.

To recognize Chris Short, senior plan check engineer for 25 years of service. Chris Short joined the City of Santa Barbara Community Development Department's Building and Safety Division in 2001 as a plans examiner. His credentials at that time included an architectural degree from Cal Poly and an architect license. In 2002, he advanced to senior plans examiner. In 2003, he began assisting with the flood review and in 2005, became the city's floodplain coordinator. In July 2009, he was promoted to Senior Plan Check Engineer. He retired in January 2023, but returned as a Senior Plan Check Engin

All right, very good, Ms. McAdoo. Are there changes to the agenda?

Okay, very good. We will go a little bit out of order, and I want to recognize the students here from Toba, Japan, and I would like to call Linda to the mic and Takako to present these students from the exchange students from Toba.

All right, thank you very much, and thank you to all the students that came here from Toba and all the families that are sponsoring them. That's a great program. Thanks so much. With that, we'll go to our Madam Administrator for changes to the agenda.

And with that, we'll go to the consent calendar. Madam Clerk, you have some items to read.

All right, very good. Are there any items that need to be polled for further discussion or separate vote by council members? Ms. Sneddon.

15, okay. 16. 16, thank you. And Ms. Santa Maria.

Thank you, Mayor Rouse. Item 13 for questions and comment.

All right, very good. And are there any speakers on the line for specific consent items, Madam Clerk?

All right, very good. Then I will entertain a motion for the balance of the consent calendar absent items 13 and 16. So moved. Moved by Friedman. Second. Second by Sneddon. No, it was Harmon. One of you. We understand the motion is second. Very good.

Thank you very much. Madam Clerk, then, would you go ahead and read item 13 into the record?

All right. Very good. And that was polled by Ms. Santa Maria. Would you like to go ahead, Ms. Santa Maria?

Yes. I believe there's also public comment. Do you want to do public comment first or questions and comments first? No, you go ahead and I'll do it. Okay. Thank you, Mayor Rouse. Ms. McAdoo, just wanted to ask you a few questions about item 13, if that's okay. Sure thing. So I just want to make sure that it's clear to the public what this amendment would do. And so my understanding is this is currently the use of this property is restricted to high-end retail, correct?

Thank you so much. And removing the, or amending the reciprocal easement agreement, what will that do in terms of the type of usage for that property?

Okay, and so the amendment to this REA, would that allow for other types of retail? Would it allow for housing? Or I know that the owner has a proposed hotel. So what's the scope of what is allowable there?

Thank you so much. That answers my question. I'll just, is that the end of your presentation?

Thank you both, I really appreciate the thorough explanation. So I'll just make very brief comments, but I think in In a place like our downtown that has the least restrictions on what we could have that property be used for, what I'm hearing from the public is a hotel is kind of the last thing we need. And the property owner has every right to do what they want to do, it's their property. But I would hope that they are open to conversations about what else we could, do with that site that would help revitalize the downtown but also explore if we could build a few units of housing I mean in th

All right, very good. We'll go to the public speaker on this item, Madam Clerk.

All right, very good. Are there further public speakers online? Madam Clerk, can you sign?

Okay, very good. With that, if there's any further deliberation or comments, if not, we'll go ahead and entertain a motion on item 13.

Second by Harmon. Okay. Okay, moved by Jordan, second by Harmon. And would you like to put the vote up, please, unless there's further comment?

Pass unanimously. Thank you very much. Would you read item 16 into the record, please?

Very good. Ann, I believe Ms. Sneddon, this was your item.

Thank you, Mayor Ross. I just had a couple of questions. One, what budget the 21,600 comes from? Is it already budgeted and approved?

Thank you. And then is this for work that was already completed or any of this that's still to be done?

Okay, thank you. And then I'll just make a request. I'll vote on this with everybody else, but Just make a request that we maybe compile just one document that has the community benefit analysis. I think you have to go to some documents or things we were briefed on. And I think to really close this out, it would be nice, especially for the public, to have one document. So recognizing this work has been completed, I think that would really be necessary.

Thank you. It would be very much appreciated. Thank you.

Okay. If there are no further discussions, we'll go ahead and put that up for a vote for Item 16. May I have a motion, please, to approve it?

Okay, move by Harmon. Second. Second by Santa Maria. Boy, I feel like a dentist up here.

Thank you very much. That just passes unanimously. That concludes the consent calendar. We will now move to general public comment, which is three minutes at the dais for anything that's not on today's agenda but is within the purview of this body. We have three minutes at the dais. We'll start with Mark Redman.

There you go. Thank you. Stacy Roberts in Espana.

Thank you. Are there speakers online, Madam Clerk?

Okay, very good. Any other further commenters online?

Okay. Thank you very much. With that, we'll close public comment, and we'll go to committee assignment reports. Anyone? Okay. That's all right. Anybody? Ms. Sned is looking for hers. Anybody else?

Thank you, Mayor Rouse. You and I and Council Member Gutierrez all attended the Day Reporting Center graduation, very inspiring, and handed out diplomas. Attended the Fiesta Kickoff, Coast Village Road, the Los Ninos de las Flores Garden Party, and I'm sure others will say, but happy birthday, Megan Harmon.

Thank you, Mayor Ross. Yes, happy birthday, Megan, or Council Member Harmon. So yeah, so I also attended the Fiesta Kickoff on Coast Village Road and unfortunately had to miss Los Niños de las Flores Garden Party because it was at the same time as the seventh annual Eastside Backpack Drive at Ortega Park, which was another success. And I just really want to thank all of the organizers who put this incredible school supply drive for our children together. in all of the organizations that came out.

All right. All right, very good. Well, obviously we're going to turn it off to Fiesta now. I will say one thing, that having seen our Spirit and Junior Spirit perform a couple of times now, they are especially good this year. They're really worthwhile making the time to go see them. And with that, we'll adjourn and see you next week.