She did it again.
Santa Barbara City Councilwoman Kristen Sneddon attempted to significantly alter the rent stabilization ordinance—but changed her mind after members of the public and some of her colleagues disagreed.
Sneddon at Tuesday’s council meeting suggested that the increase in rents should be capped at 3%—instead of the ordinance’s original proposal, which was 3% or 60% of CPI, for the first year. The proposal would have potentially favored property owners financially.
Sneddon made the surprise move seconds before it was set to be approved as part of the routine “consent calendar.” The council hashed out the details of the ordinance at last week’s meeting.
But Sneddon’s proposal set off a cascade of concerns and questions about whether doing so would delay implementation of the ordinance, and shined a light on why Sneddon was suggesting a change at last minute, only to change her mind again and withdraw her motion.
“The goal posts have moved repeatedly each time with the same majority voting to move those goal posts each time,” said councilman Mike Jordan. “It seems like people can’t make up their mind.”
He said he had to endure supporters of the ordinance “eat their own” for an hour last week, and now Sneddon was attempting to move the goal post again.
“It’s been a bad process and poor governance to get us here today,” Jordan said.
City Administrator Kelly McAdoo said that if Sneddon’s motion passed, the ordinance would have to be re-introduced and then voted on again on Oct. 22—assuming no one wanted to make changes again then.
Sneddon, however, withdrew her motion.
Councilman Mike Jordan said he supported Sneddon’s idea of capping at 3% because it would have been a better outcome for an ordinance he doesn’t support, but said he was “perplexed.”
Sneddon’s proposal comes amid a close race for Santa Barbara mayor, where she is facing councilman Eric Friedman and former Santa Barbara Unified School District board member Wendy Sims-Moten.
The ordinance has fueled the possibility of property owners launching a referendum campaign to reverse the ordinance once it goes into effect. The rent stabilization, much like the future of State Street, has become one of the defining flashpoints of the mayoral campaign.
Santa Barbara City Councilman Eric Friedman said Sneddon’s proposal was a “substantive change,” that was unfair to the public to spring on at the last minute.
“That change should have been discussed back in April, in July, or even last week,” Friedman said.
Santa Barbara City Councilwoman Meagan Harmon said she too was frustrated.
“We have long since passed the point where the public has trust in us and how we move through this process,” Harmon said.
Rowse said the council is in a “ricochet room” and Sneddon’s proposal was like “rubbing salt into self-inflicted wounds.”
“We have gone and tortured this so many times,” Rowse said.
He said the “the public is out there going ‘what are we doing?'”
After Sneddon backed down, the council approved the rent stabilization ordinance 4-3, with Sneddon, Harmon, Wendy Santamaria and Oscar Gutierrez in support, and Friedman, Jordan and Rowse in opposition.
Members of the public who spoke also agreed that the council should support the ordinance as proposed and not change or delay it.
The ordinance will go into effect on Jan. 1.
