At present there are more than 1,400 short-term vacation rentals in Santa Barbara available on one Internet site alone, Tripping.com. Other sites, such as Airbnb.com, list even more. Most of these one-night or longer vacation rentals are in neighborhoods zoned "R" for "residential." They are illegal under the Santa Barbara Zoning Code, Chapter 28!
In order to take in more taxes and to further turn Santa Barbara into an ever-growing, giant tourist trap, the Santa Barbara City Council has continued to ignore our Zoning Ordinance, Chapter 28, which makes vacation rentals in R-zoned neighborhoods illegal. This City Council has aided and abetted in the stealing of your city for the benefit of a relative few but at a terrible social and economic cost to our local population, especially to our working people, our elderly, and those on fixed incomes.
Below, I quote from a letter that I just received from Rob Pearson, executive director of the city Housing Authority. Also, this link will take you to the agenda and the vacation housing impact report that he and his staff presented to the Housing Authority Commission on May 6, 2015.