Rent control sounds like a compassionate idea: cap rents so people can afford to stay in their homes. But in practice, it doesn’t create affordability — it creates scarcity. Across the country, cities that have taken this route have seen rental housing decline, property conditions deteriorate, and overall rents rise for everyone else.
Santa Barbara’s proposed rent control ordinance risks doing the same, and it’s being pushed forward not by public vote, but by just six City Council members acting on their own agenda. That should concern everyone who values fair process and long-term housing solutions.
What History Has Taught Us
When cities like San Francisco, New York, and St. Paul introduced strict rent caps, they all observed the same trend: a decline in the number of rental homes over time. When owners can’t adjust rents to cover expenses — rising insurance, maintenance, utilities, and taxes — they stop investing or sell altogether.
A Stanford study found that after rent control expanded in San Francisco, the city lost a significant portion of its rental housing, and overall rents increased. That’s not speculation — it’s the pattern every economist warns about.
Santa Barbara Can’t Afford to Make That Mistake
As someone who works closely with housing in Santa Barbara — and who’s coached and mentored local youth through community programs — I’ve seen firsthand how hard it is for families to find stable, long-term housing. Our city already struggles with a limited housing supply, high construction costs, and some of the most restrictive zoning in the state. Implementing rent control makes it even harder for small landlords and local investors to continue providing homes.
And let’s be clear: this also affects renters. When housing supply shrinks, competition increases, and renters face fewer choices, longer waitlists, and deteriorating conditions. Rent control may protect a few tenants in the short term, but it leaves many others vulnerable in the long term.
Instead of Locking Down the Market, Let’s Open It Up
We should encourage new construction, ease zoning restrictions, and reimagined underutilized commercial spaces. Think about the possibilities:
- Paseo Nuevo: The city has already begun exploring plans to convert large sections of this underused shopping center into mixed-use housing. Done right, this could add hundreds of residential units while revitalizing State Street.
- La Cumbre Plaza: The redevelopment of the Macy’s building and surrounding property has been discussed as a future housing site — an ideal example of reimagining existing commercial land to meet local demand.
- Downtown and Upper State Street corridors: With changing retail habits, many older office and retail sites could transition into workforce and market-rate housing with smart planning and incentives.
These projects aren’t theoretical. They’re on the table. But they’ll only happen if the city focuses on enabling growth, rather than restricting it. Rent control sends the exact opposite message to investors, developers, and property owners who are willing to be part of the solution.
This Shouldn’t Be Decided Behind Closed Doors
Rent control is a massive policy shift that deserves open debate and public input. Yet the current proposal is being decided by a handful of City Council members without a community vote. Six people should not be allowed to reshape Santa Barbara’s housing future without the voices of residents, property owners, and renters being heard.
The impacts of this decision will last for decades, long after those councilmembers are out of office.
The Better Path Forward
If we genuinely want Santa Barbara to stay livable and inclusive, we need more homes — not more rules.
Here’s how we get there:
- Build Smarter: Focus on infill projects, accessory dwelling units, and redeveloping obsolete commercial sites.
- Re-Zone Creatively: Convert underused malls, parking lots, and office buildings into mixed-use housing.
- Support Small Landlords: Offer incentives and streamlined permitting for those who add or improve rental housing.
- Encourage Public-Private Partnerships: Collaborate with local builders to achieve affordability goals without overly burdensome regulation.
Santa Barbara can serve as a model for how coastal cities address housing shortages — but only if we prioritize growth and innovation over restriction and control.
A Call to Action
Rent control may sound like an act of compassion, but it’s a short-term patch that will leave lasting damage. It reduces supply, discourages investment, and pushes costs elsewhere — all while pretending to help tenants.
To achieve real affordability, we must expand our housing stock and make effective use of the land we already have. Santa Barbara has the creativity, leadership, and opportunity to do this right.
Contact your City Council members. Speak up. Oppose the rent control ordinance and demand solutions that actually build housing — not destroy it.
Our city deserves better than policies that shrink opportunity and deepen division. Let’s choose progress, not politics.
