Montecito Planning Commission elects Americano chair, names Kubiak and Miller as vice chairs

The Montecito Planning Commission unanimously elected Chair Americano as its 2026 chair and appointed Commissioner Kubiak as first vice chair and Commissioner Miller as second vice chair during the commission’s Feb. 18 meeting.

The vote followed a short period of nominations and discussion about the commission’s tradition of rotating the chair annually. Commissioner Miller said the rotation “has historically rotated the chair on an annual basis” and had nominated Commissioner Kubiak to preserve that custom; Miller later withdrew his nomination and supported the election of Chair Americano. Commissioners discussed whether a formal rotation procedure should be added to the bylaws but noted the bylaws are silent on the matter.

The commission also agreed informally that the second vice chair would move to first vice chair and then to chair in succeeding years when practical, and asked staff to reflect that understanding in the minutes. All officer elections were decided by unanimous voice votes.