SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) — The Santa Barbara City Council unanimously approved new regulations for short-term rentals Tuesday, setting new limits on where vacation rentals can operate and how they are managed. The decision follows years of debate over the impact of short-term rentals on housing, neighborhoods, tourism and coastal access. Under the new rules,
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SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — More homes are hitting the market in Santa Barbara, giving buyers more options and potentially more room to negotiate — but rising mortgage rates are adding pressure to an already expensive housing market. Dan Johnson, a Berkshire Hathaway realtor, says inventory has increased noticeably on Santa Barbara’s Mesa in recent weeks.
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SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – The Santa Barbara Independent hosted a Santa Barbara Mayoral Discussion at the Alhecama Theatre off Canon Perdidio St. on Wednesday evening. Mayor Randy Rowse chose not to run for re-election, so Santa Barbara voters will be choosing a new mayor. There are three candidates in the race including longtime councilmember
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SANTA BARBARA, Calif.(KEYT) – The Santa Barbara City Council voted 4-to-3 to approve its first rent stabilization and rental registry programs. Mayor Pro Tem Kristen Sneddon said it has been talked about for nine years. “I want people to know that this has been a very long process, it has been through public process, city process, and what we
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SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — The housing crisis and the future of rent stabilization are taking center stage in the race for Santa Barbara City Council District 5. At a recent candidate forum, all three candidates — Cevin Cathell, James Zurlinden and Ian Baucke — pointed to the city’s policies and decisions as part of the
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Habitat for Humanity is helping to replace an aging and damaged mobile home in Carpinteria. The project is expected to be done by the end of the year.
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SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) Santa Barbara City Councilmembers voted 4-to-3 to remove some Rent Stabilization Ordinance language requested by Mayor Pro Tempore Kirsten Snedden. The RSO is intended to cap annual rent increases at 3 percent or 60 percent of the Consumer Price Index. The CPI is a measure based on the change in prices of goods and services. And
Continue ReadingInitial construction has started on the long-planned housing development that will be located at the site of the former Santa Maria drive-in theater.
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SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – Housing authorities for the city and county of Santa Barbara are asking renters and property owners to share what they currently pay or charge for housing. The survey is designed to give officials a clearer picture of rental prices across Santa Barbara County. Federal housing assistance is based in part
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A new homeless shelter has opened in San Luis Obispo that is specifically intended to help address homelessness in the Bob Jones Trail area.
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SANTA MARIA, Calif. (KEYT) – An empty lot next to Tommie Kunst Junior High in Santa Maria is at the center of a growing controversy. The developer refined his ‘Courtyard At Hidden Pines’ project, but neighbors are voicing concerns about it. The empty lot at the corner of Railroad and Hidden Pines, originally owned by a church organization,
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SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – Habitat for Humanity’s Cota Street affordable housing project is entering its final stretch in Santa Barbara. Volunteers are painting and completing some of the last work needed before the homes are finished. Habitat is opening one final opportunity for community members to volunteer and help bring the affordable homes across the
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SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — A new statewide limit on rent increases is now in effect, limiting how much landlords can raise rent for certain California tenants. For rental properties covered by the law, landlords generally cannot increase rent by more than 5% plus inflation, or 10%, whichever is lower. In Santa Barbara, that limit is
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The City of Grover Beach has recently received a letter from the California Housing and Community Development Department (HCD) a ballot measure on the upcoming November election may be voided if passed.
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SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) The Santa Barbara City Council returned from a summer break with Rent Stabilization on its agenda. The Santa Barbara City Council received a summary of a 30 days of public comments that included 655 comments received by the city. “We are asking for some additional analysis to make sure that the
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ISLA VISTA, Calif. (KEYT) – A longtime senior community is preparing for a new chapter after finding the site for its future home. Friendship Manor plans to relocate from its longtime Isla Vista campus to the former Capital Hardware and Building Supply property in Santa Barbara after spending decades searching for a place to build
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Santa Maria is considering adopting a new ordinance that would provide protections for mobile home parks that are designed as age-restricted communities.
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A new homeless community that has been constructed with 3D-printed technology is set to open in San Luis Obispo.
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GOLETA, Calif. (KEYT) – New housing will soon available for Santa Barbara Unified School District employees as the Board of Education moves forward with the development of 106 affordable apartments in the Eastern Goleta Valley. The housing development, known as the Tatum Project, was recently approved by the district to use a 3.65-acre portion of
Continue Reading A citizen initiative to limit building heights in Grover Beach will appear on the ballot during the upcoming General Election on Nov. 3, 2026.
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