Santa Barbara Voters to Decide on City Charter Update in Special Election
A new ballot measure will give Santa Barbara voters a chance to decide on an update to the city’s charter giving the city much more flexibility with contracts for city-owned property. The proposed measure will be on the ballot in the June 2 special election, and if approved, would allow the city to negotiate contracts longer than the current term limit of 50 years.
The City Council unanimously approved the plan to add the measure to the ballot for the June election, including the allocation of $195,000 from the city’s general fund reserve to cover associated costs of consolidating the measure with the statewide primary election.
City Administrator Kelly McAdoo outlined the details of the plan during Tuesday’s council hearing. McAdoo explained that the change would allow the city to streamline contract approval and prevent costly delays. The ballot measure, while not explicitly tied to negotiations regarding Paseo Nuevo, would also give the city the ability to negotiate longer contracts — a major sticking point in the plan to revive the downtown mall.
“Particularly as negotiations with Paseo Nuevo are ongoing, we believe it provides maximum flexibility with that, as well as other issues that may be coming up,” said City Administrator Kelly McAdoo. “I recognize the challenge of adding additional funding there, but we do believe that it is an important enough issue that we should move forward in June.”
https://www.independent.com/2026/02/04/santa-barbara-voters-to-decide-on-city-charter-update-in-special-election/