Santa Barbara City Council adjourns to closed session to confer on existing litigation

The Santa Barbara City Council adjourned its Feb. 10, 2026 special meeting into closed session to consult with the city attorney about existing litigation under Government Code section 54956.9(d)(1), the clerk announced.

The action was announced when the clerk read agenda Item 1: "conference with city attorney existing litigation, government code section 5 4 9 5 6.9 D 1 as described on agenda item 1," and the presiding officer then moved to adjourn into closed session. The clerk confirmed there were no public comment speaker slips for the item.

At roll call the clerk recorded Council member Friedman, Council member Santa Maria, Mayor Pro Temston, Council member Harmon, and Mayor Rose as present; Council member Gutierrez and Council member Jordan were recorded as "not here yet." The presiding officer stated, "We will adjourn then do closed session. We do not anticipate report out. Reconvene at 2PM." (speaker not explicitly named in the transcript.)

The council did not take any public votes on the litigation issue on the record at this session; the body moved into an executive session to confer with legal counsel. The meeting was scheduled to reconvene at 2:00 p.m. and the clerk indicated the council did not expect to make a public report following the closed session.