🌱 Santa Barbara Eviction Code Amended + Decrease In Homelessness?

Hi all. It's me, Rose Mendez, your host of the Santa Barbara Patch newsletter — here to explain all the most important things happening in town.

But first, your local weather:

• Friday: Partly sunny and cool. High: 64 Low: 42.
• Saturday: Cool with plenty of sun. High: 64 Low: 41.

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Here are the top three stories today in Santa Barbara:

1. On Mar. 21, Santa Barbara City Council unanimously voted to amend the city's code on rental evictions due to the growing crisis of mass “renoviction,” which is evicting a tenant under the guise of remodeling to raise rent prices. According to Assistant City Attorney Dan Hentschke's report to the council, there is “an urgent need to protect tenants from evictions, particularly evictions by owners using apparent loopholes in existing regulations to exploit and displace tenants.” The amended ordinance requires the landlord give the tenant early notice, serve the tenant with a copy of the permits for the work that will be done, explain the “reason for the termination, the type and scope of work, why the work cannot be reasonably done with the tenant in place, and why the work requires the tenant to vacate for at least 30 days,” and for the landlord to act in "good faith." (Santa Barbara Independent)
2. The latest Point-in-Time Count, an annual count of the number of homeless people in the community that is required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, shows a slight decrease in overall homelessness. According to Kimberlee Albers, the Homeless Assistance Program Manager for Santa Barbara County, the 2023 count of people experiencing homelessness is 1,887 — a 3.7 percent decrease from 2022. This year's Santa Barbara County count took place on Jan. 25, with volunteers physically counting the number of people living in shelters, outdoors, or in vehicles in the county. (KCBX)
3. On Mar. 21, Mr. Monopoly stopped by Santa Barbara City Hall and met with Mayor Randy Rowse to announce the new version of the classic board game, "Monopoly: Santa Barbara Edition," with locally-themed squares and properties. The Santa Barbara community can suggest which locations and businesses to be featured in the game from now until Apr. 28 by emailing santabarbara@toptrumps.com. The first official Santa Barbara edition of Monopoly is expected to be released in late November 2023. (Santa Barbara Independent)

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Today and tomorrow in Santa Barbara:

Friday, March 24

• Comedy is a Drag At Wildcat (7:30 PM)
• Brasscals Street Band At Stik N Stuk Creative Studios (8:00 PM)

Saturday, March 25

• David Segall Music: David Segall Trio: Farmer and the Flea At El Presidio de Santa Bárbara State Historic Park (1:00 PM)

From my notebook:

• The Santa Barbara School District announced there will be major changes in teaching basic reading and writing skills, because only half of its 3rd- and 6th-grade students are able to read at grade level. The district is asking for the public's comments and suggestions on which of the two methods the district should choose. Both methods stress “phonemic awareness” or “science-based learning,” in which students are taught how to sound out words based on the sounds of the letters, instead of the current “Whole Language” or “Balanced Learning,” which focuses on context. The school board is scheduled to make a decision on May 9. (Santa Barbara Independent)
• Multiple Santa Barbara junior high schools won medals in the Regional Science Olympiad! Santa Barbara, La Cumbre, and Goleta Valley competed and won individual and/or team medals in the national STEM competition. (Santa Barbara Independent)
• The rain will finally stop over the weekend in Santa Barbara. There will also be "plenty of sunshine," but temperatures are expected to remain chilly and below the seasonal average. However, the recent flood warnings, wind alerts, and winter storm warnings have ended. (KeyT News 12)

Alrighty, you're all good for today! I'll catch up with you soon with your next update.

— Rose Mendez

About me: Rose Mendez is a freelance writer. She is studying English Literature at Hunter College. She loves reading, walking around the city, and coffee!