Santa Barbara City Council Caps Cruise Ship Visits at 20 per Year

There were a record number of 30 cruise ships that visited Santa Barbara in 2022, and though that number dropped to 22 visits in 2023, the city began to take a deeper look into ways to improve the 20-year-old cruise ship program by making it more environmentally friendly without losing out on a potential half a million dollars a year.

After two years of intense discussion between Waterfront staff, the Harbor Commission, and the Cruise Ship Workgroup, the city of Santa Barbara is preparing to change the rules governing cruise ships entering the channel — the biggest of which is a cap of 20 visits per year.

Waterfront Director and Harbormaster Mike Wiltshire presented the 20 recommendations that came as a result of the Harbor Commission and Cruise Ship Workgroup’s collaboration, which was guided by input from environmental groups and stakeholders in the boating industry. Fifteen of the recommendations, including speed reductions, increased fees and requiring ships be equipped with advanced wastewater treatments, were easily accepted by all parties. 

But the Waterfront staff pushed back against the cap of 20 calls per year. “We’re a public harbor … so we strive to provide access to the public and support ocean going activity,” Wiltshire said. Caps were typically only put in place when a city couldn’t handle the amount of ships, he explained and Santa Barbara could “easily handle the capacity” as it is. 

Also Wiltshire said prioritizing ships with environmentally sound practices might be a good policy in theory, but he questioned whether the city had authority to weigh in on things that were already regulated at the federal level.

“I just don’t want them,” said Councilmember Kristen Sneddon, who added that she would support an even lower limit of 18 ships a year. “I just don’t believe that these large cruise ships fit in Santa Barbara. This is something that has been clear to me for decades.”

Councilmember Eric Friedman wanted a way to honor the work of the Harbor Commission, workgroup, and stakeholders on both sides who came to the table to craft what he said was a historic opportunity for a compromise. He supported the cap of 20 ships, saying that, with the expectation of up to six cancellations per year, the city could expect an operating total of 14-15 ships per year.

This cap would allow the city to make potentially the same amount of money as it stands to make in 2024, with 14 calls, and 2025, with 16 scheduled calls.

Almost the entire council agreed with comments from cruise ship critics and environmental agencies, such as  the Channelkeeper, Environmental Defense Center, and Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary, who all supported a cap on the annual visits. 

The council voted 6-1, with Mayor Randy Rowse opposed, to move forward with the cap of 20 ships per year. Council also approved almost all of the recommendations made by the workgroup and commission, and gave direction for the harbor commission to establish a requirement for water treatment and reduction zones by spring 2025 and develop a package of “environmental best practices” for visiting ships.

A full list of the recommended changes to the cruise ship program is available here.