Measure A - City of Santa Barbara Charter Amendment
Shall the proposed measure to modernize City Charter Section 521 allowing flexibility related to terms and conditions of contracts and leases of City property be adopted?★★★ IMPORTANT ★★★EXPAND this compressed “About This Race” window (by clicking "Read More") for valuable information. Don't miss it!.MEASURE A ESSENTIALS ☆.Placed on the Ballot By: Santa Barbara City CouncilMeasure Type: Charter Amendment"Yes" Votes Needed to Pass: 50% + 1 of the total votes cast on the measure by eligible voters..☆ QUESTION ON THE BALLOT ☆.Shall the proposed measure to modernize City Charter Section 521 allowing flexibility related to terms and conditions of contracts and leases of City property be adopted?.☆ WHAT YOUR "YES" OR "NO" VOTE MEANS ☆.A “YES” vote is a vote to approve the proposed Charter amendment.A “NO” vote is a vote not to approve the proposed Charter amendment.……………………………………………………………….................................★ OFFICIAL INFORMATION ★The source of this information is documents on the City of Santa Barbara Elections Webpage.☆ BALLOT TITLE ☆.CITY OF SANTA BARBARA CHARTER AMENDMENT (MEASURE A)).☆ IMPARTIAL ANALYSIS ☆.Impartial Analysis, Measure A, City of Santa Barbara CAMeasure A is a City Council proposal to amend City Charter Section 521 to allow flexibility relating to certain contracts and to leases of City property. Measure _ will amend the City Charter to allow the City Council to lease or sell City property as a ^municipal affairipan^ planner available to other charter cities in California within the full scope of its "Home Rule" authority under the California Constitution.The City Charter currently limits leases of City property to a maximum term of 50 years. 1 The amendment would remove that limit. The City Charter also currently requires contracts that bind the City for longer than 5 years be approved by ordinance. The amendment would also authorize approval of such contracts by resolution of the City Council.Measure A will amend Charter Section 521 to read: No contractor lease by which the City is bound for a longer period than five years shall be valid unless the contract is approved by ordinance or resolution of the City Council. The City has the authority and flexibility to approve contracts for the sale, lease, or use of city property as allowed by the City Charter or the California Constitution. The City may lease property owned, held, or controlled by it with terms established by the City Council. This section shall not apply to any franchise granted pursuant to the provisions of this Charter or to any contract for the furnishing or acquisition of the products, commodities, or services of any public utilityA "yes" vote is a vote to approve the proposed Charter amendment.A "no" vote is a vote not to approve the proposed Charter amendment.John S. DoimasCity Attorney - City of Santa Barbara.☆ ARGUMENTS ☆NOTE: Ballot arguments are the opinions of the authors and have not been fact-checked by any official agency..Argument in Favor of Measure AThe current restrictions on lease lengths in the City Charter are preventing the City from building workforce housing and generating economic development on City-owned land. By eliminating the 50-year lease restriction, the City will have flexibility to negotiate public-private partnerships and allow for better financial returns without having to give up or "donate" city- owned land. The City has many opportunities to build workforce housing on underutilized City parking lots and City parcels but we need the option to negotiate longer term ground leases and preserve City assets. The change to the Charter would authorize the City Council to approve the length and terms of all lease agreements based on economic conditions existing at the time of approval, creating maximum flexibility for successful projects that preserve the City's ownership of our properties. Join a unanimous City Council and community leaders in supporting and voting yes on Measure A.s/ Randy Rowse, Mayors/ Kristen W. Sneddon, Mayor Pro-Tempores/ Eric Friedman, Councilmembers/ Lesley Wiscomb, Planning Commissioners/ Brian Cearnal.Argument Against Measure ANo arguments opposing Measure A are listed on the City of Santa Barbara Elections Webpage..☆ FULL TEXT OF THE MEASURE ☆.The full text of the measure may be found on the City of Santa Barbara Elections Webpage Open Attachment: Resolution No. 2026-007 Calling Election
