Frequently Asked Questions
The Community Development Property Records Database gives visitors the ability to view public records that are available at the Records Public Counter in our 630 Garden Street facility in Santa Barbara. Please click on the following link to the Community Development Property Records Database.
All other police report copies may be requested by completing a Report Request Form. The city charges a report copy fee of $0.20 per page or $25 per CD. If the report is e-mailed to you, there is no fee. To e-mail your request, download the form, sign the form and e-mail it to [email protected]. A valid government issued identification must be attached to the e-mail. The photo, name, and signature need to be legible Print out the Report Request Form, fill it out, and return it to the Police Department either in person or by mail:
Santa Barbara Police Department
Attn: Records Bureau / Report Request
215 E. Figueroa Street
Santa Barbara, CA 93101
For more information, please click on the following link to City of Santa Barbara Police Department.
The City releases non-exempt, existing records in response to requests. The Public Records Act does not require that the City answer questions, perform research, or create new records or reports. See Govt Code 6252(e); Sander v. Superior Court (2018) 26 Cal.App.5th 651; Haynie v. Superior Court (2001) 26 Cal.4th 1061.
The volume of requests received by the City does not permit instant response to records requests. There is no public counter service for on-demand, same day public records inspections; nor does the law require such a public counter. Identification and collection of potentially responsive records are only some of the steps involved in responding to requests. The collected records must be reviewed to ensure that they are in fact responsive to the request and to assess whether they are subject to redaction to protect the privacy rights of others and consistent with applicable legal privileges & exemptions. Each of the steps in the process takes time. When records requests are available for release, we will contact you. If you prefer to inspect the records, we are happy to set up a mutually convenient time for such an inspection.
The City has 10 days to “determine whether the request…seeks copies of disclosable public records in the possession of the agency and shall promptly notify the person making the request of the determination and reasons therefore.” (Government Code 6253(c).) This means that agencies are supposed to notify the requester within 10 days if they have requested deliverable public records or exempt material or some combination of the two. The law, however, does not require production within 10 days. (Motorola v. Department of General Services (1997) 55 Cal. App. 4th 1340, 1349). The law requires that production be made in a “reasonable” amount of time, based upon the volume of the records requested and the necessary review process.
The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is a federal law that is not applicable to requests for records of local municipal agency. As a result, we construe requests made under FOIA as inquiries under the California Public Records Act, the law which is applicable to California state government agency records. The Public Records Act is contained in Government Code section 6250 et seq.
No. In California, architects retain the ownership of drawings and designs. Therefore, the City does not have the right to give/share their drawings without the Architect's consent in a written contract, written agreement, or written license explicitly authorizing the use. We suggest that you contact the builder and ask them to provide them with the name of the architecture firm that owns the construction drawings so they may request the drawings from the owner. See California Assembly Bill No. 630, Chapter 453 AB 630, Holden. Architect.
After you submit a request, you will receive an acknowledgement email that contains a link to your request.
If you submitted your request as a guest, the link provided in the email is the only way you can access your request details, including the status of your request. Please make sure to retain your acknowledgement email for easy access.
If you created an account in our Public Records Request system, you can login to view your requests, see the status, view records uploaded in response to your request, and send and receive messages to/from our records staff.