Shelter and Navigation Centers
The city owns or leases two homelessness-services sites, each run by a nonprofit: a daytime navigation center on Chapala Street and a roughly 100-bed shelter on Cacique Street that the city bought in 2025. The open questions are operating money, who runs them, and how people get in the door.
- People experiencing homelessness: the two facilities are the city's main front door for services and beds.
- The facilities' neighbors: both sites sit near homes, and how each operates is felt on the street around it.
- Service nonprofits: the operating agreements decide who runs what, and with what funding.
- The city budget: the purchase used Measure C money and operations recur every year.
THE FULL FRAMING · THE AUDITED WORDING OF RECORD ↓COLLAPSE THE FULL FRAMING ↑
The city owns or leases two homelessness-services facilities, each operated by a nonprofit. The FARO Center (621 Chapala St., run by SB ACT under a city lease and funding agreements) is a daytime navigation and workforce center that served 1,319 people in its first year and shifted in September 2025 from drop-in to referral-only entry. Casa Cacique (816 Cacique St.) is a ~100-bed year-round referral-based shelter the city purchased for $3.75 million in Measure C funds as the prior nonprofit operator prepared to depart — the purchase was authorized December 16, 2025, and PATH concluded operations December 31 — with Mercy House operating it on an interim basis. The decisions are live: funding authorizations for both facilities ran through June 30, 2026, the fiscal year has turned, and the successor decisions — a new FARO funding agreement, a long-term Casa Cacique operator, and what happens when the FARO lease ends in early 2027 — had not been agendized when Council recessed. The question for residents: what operating model and what level of city commitment should these facilities carry.
Decisions recur before Council and the current ones are open: funding authorizations for both facilities ran through June 30, 2026, the fiscal year has turned, and the successor decisions had not been agendized when Council recessed. Mercy House operates 816 Cacique on an interim basis.
Watching: FY2027 funding agreements for both facilities, selection of a permanent operator at 816 Cacique, and the 621 Chapala lease ending in early 2027.
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How this gets decided
Unlike land-use matters, this issue is City Council all the way: leases, purchase ordinances, operator agreements, and appropriations are Council votes, most arriving through the consent calendar or administrator's reports. Six roll calls from the past nine months appear below in On the Record — including the December 9, 2025 motion that tabled the staff recommendation to select City Net for 621 Chapala (6–1). That selection never returned to the dais: a later staff report records that the city rejected all proposals and discontinued that procurement administratively (Council Agenda Report, March 17, 2026).
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What's live right now
- Funding authorizations for both facilities ran through June 30, 2026 — the fiscal year has turned, and successor items were not yet on any posted agenda when Council recessed.
- Casa Cacique long-term operator: proposals were due April 21, 2026; the city's release said a selection was "expected to be presented to the City Council for approval by June 2026" — not yet agendized (city press release).
- FARO after early 2027: the three-year lease ends then; the December 2025 staff report says the city "will seek to provide low-barrier, drop-in access to services at facilities that are more appropriately located" — no sites or dates yet (Council Agenda Report, December 9, 2025).
How to be heard
- Council returns Tuesday, July 28, 2026 (special meeting 10:30 a.m.; regular meeting 2:00 p.m., Council Chambers, 735 Anacapa St.) — the successor funding and operator items are expected on upcoming agendas, which post about a week out on the city portal. Speak in person (Request to Speak form, 3 minutes), join by Zoom, or email Clerk@SantaBarbaraCA.gov before the meeting.
What the record says (each claim links to its source)
- FARO Center (621 Chapala, opened June 2024): first-year staff-reported outcomes were 1,319 unduplicated persons served, 68 interim and 33 permanent housing placements (Council Agenda Report).
- The September 2025 shift to referral-only entry also added weekday security and overnight patrol, ended hot meals in favor of snack bags, and discontinued the needle-exchange service — changes staff tied to a code-of-conduct response to impacts outside the facility (Council Agenda Report).
- Casa Cacique (816 Cacique): ~24,400 sq ft, roughly 100 referral-based beds with winter expansion; purchased for $3.75M in Measure C funds (about $4.06M all-in with repairs); deed covenants restrict the site to shelter use through December 2059 (purchase report; program page).
- Interim operator Mercy House is authorized up to $2.35M total through June 30, 2026 across two agreements (Council Agenda Report, January 13, 2026).
- Context the city cites: the 2024 Point-in-Time count estimated 987 people experiencing homelessness in the city (city press release).
Drafted from the cited records and neutrality-audited on 2026-07-09; approved through the editorial gate the same day (batch authorization) — the full genesis record (extraction, audit findings, revision log) is public at /radar/packet-nav-centers. Corrections: every claim above must trace to its linked source; report anything that doesn't.
Next Council meeting: Tuesday, September 1, 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.