Santa Barbara Current

Santa Barbara Current

As I Was Saying...

Rent "Stabilization": Santa Barbara's Fast Track to Slum City

By Elizabeth Crawford

Jul 06, 2026
∙ Paid

Dear Mayor Rowse, Councilmembers Friedman, Jordan, Santamaria, Sneddon, Harmon and Gutierrez:

I write to you today to express my – as you might have guessed – extreme opposition to the Santa Barbara Rent Stabilization Ordinance. It will achieve nothing besides rent “stabilization,” and as written will have profound, transformative, and do lasting damage …

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