May 5, 2021
By KAREN VELIE
With the help of the California Coastal Commission, a property owner won a victory against the City of Santa Barbara and its vacation rental ban. In his lawsuit, Theo Kracke accuses Santa Barbara of enacting a 2015 illegal ban on short-term vacation rentals.
In 2019, a superior court judge ruled that Santa Barbara must allow short-term vacation rentals in the coastal zone as it did before banning them in 2015. The city then appealed the decision to the Second Appellate District Court in Ventura.
The California Coastal Commission filed an amicus brief in support of Kracke’s case noting the ban violated the California Coastal Act, which requires the public to have access to affordable accommodations in the coastal zone.