Vacant Storefronts
Some storefronts sit empty for years while commercial rents stay high. Cities elsewhere tax long-term vacancies or offer incentives to fill them. Santa Barbara has studied the problem, and Council once directed staff to draft a program, but no ordinance has ever reached a public hearing.
- Commercial landlords: a vacancy measure would tax or press them to fill space; incentives would pay them to.
- Prospective shop owners: the debate is over what would actually get spaces filled.
- Neighboring businesses: an empty storefront changes the block around it.
- Shoppers and visitors: street life downtown is the backdrop for the whole question.
THE FULL FRAMING · THE AUDITED WORDING OF RECORD ↓COLLAPSE THE FULL FRAMING ↑
Santa Barbara's commercial districts carry persistently vacant storefronts alongside high commercial rents. Some cities have adopted vacancy taxes or fees to discourage long-term vacancies; others use incentives, streamlined permitting, or leave the market alone. The question is whether and how the city should act on long-vacant commercial space.
The last recorded action is Council's June 8, 2022 budget direction for staff to develop a commercial-vacancy program and draft a Central Business District ordinance. No ordinance ever reached the docket, so the question went quiet without being answered — dormant, not settled. Any new docket item or a threshold-crossing revive proposal brings it back to the gate.
WHAT THIS STATE MEANS ↓COLLAPSE ↑
Nothing is pending and the settled test does not pass, including an instrument too recent to have cleared the quiet period. Can reignite.
Mark where you stand. One choice, counted the moment you're signed in, and attested until ID verification opens.
No positions registered yet. The count starts at its honest number, zero. Signed-in residents’ marks count immediately; yours can be the first.
Residents' arguments, attached to the position each writer registered. No replies by design; endorsements arrive with verification.
How this gets decided
A vacancy tax would likely require a voter-approved ballot measure (California taxes generally require voter approval); registration programs or fees could be Council ordinances.
- Who decides: City Council for ordinances and for placing a measure on the ballot; voters for any tax.
DRAFT — any Council or committee activity on vacancy policy to be filled from extracted records before this issue goes live.
Next Council meeting: Tuesday, October 13, 2:00 PM at City Hall, 735 Anacapa St.
To speak, fill out a “Request to Speak” form before public comment begins. Speakers get 3 minutes; general public comment at the start of the 2:00 session runs 30 minutes.
Remote comment is taken via Zoom (raise hand when the item is called); the link and phone number are printed on each meeting's agenda.
Email written comments to Clerk@SantaBarbaraCA.gov before the meeting begins. They go to Council and enter the public record.
Watch live at SantaBarbaraCA.gov/CAP or City TV Channel 18 (English and Spanish); meetings are archived on YouTube.