Calling for Consistency from Our Elected Leaders

By Staci Caplan
2020 President
Santa Barbara Association of REALTORS®

We count on our Santa Barbara City Council to serve us fairly and consistently, while being transparent and open with all deliberations.  They are our neighbors, after all.  People we know by name and converse with face to face on a regular basis.  We have, or should have, solid confidence that the decisions they make, whether we agree with them or not, are the result of an open and inclusively deliberative process.  However this was not the case a few weeks ago on December 8. 

The issue of tenant relocation payments had been debated at length, with multiple hearings, an ad hoc task force and finally, a deliberation that ended up with a specific result on November 10.  Both sides of that issue may not have gotten exactly what they wanted, but a public decision had been made.  Per law, that decision was then set for a reading on November 17, by title only, on the following week’s consent calendar.  Items are often pulled for discussion or clarification on consent, but the substantial content of the agreement is not re-debated on the spot, as the interested parties don’t normally attend consent calendar items.