I’m writing to give a much deserved shout-out to Mayor Pro Tempore/City Council member Kristen Sneddon, one of the co-authors of the Rent Stabilization Ordinance (RSO) that the City Council approved on a 4-3 vote last Tuesday.
We all know that Santa Barbara has an acute housing crisis. According to the city’s own figures, a two-bedroom apartment in the city currently goes for around $4,000 a month, an increase of more than a third over the past five years. To be affordable, a household needs an annual income of $160,000 – an hourly wage of $77. Our local workforce cannot afford to live here.
In the face of well-funded pushback from the real estate industry, Kristen has remained unwavering in her support of moderate rent stabilization. Under California law, anything built after 1995 cannot be regulated, so new construction is not affected; only older units are subject to an inflation-linked cap. This protects tenants and provides predictability for landlords. When a tenant moves out, the landlord can raise the rent as much as he or she wishes.
The sky will not fall when the RSO takes effect on January 1. It is a bandage to slow the bleeding, while the City prioritizes affordable housing construction – where Kristen has also played a leading role. Two years ago, after the City’s public outreach showed affordable housing to be the top reason that voters would support a sales tax measure, voters approved a half cent sales tax increase that raised about $15 million for the City. Kristen made it her mission to assure that for at least two years, the City would allocate $5 million a year to create affordable housing, through the City’s Local Housing Trust Fund.
When elected mayor, Kristen will continue this mission. Addressing Santa Barbara’s housing crisis is at the top of her agenda.
