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Andrea Bifano,
Rental Housing Mediation Supervisor
ABifano@SantaBarbaraCA.gov

Raymond Rengo, 
Rental Housing Mediation Specialist
RRengo@SantaBarbaraCA.gov

Phone
(805) 564-5420

Mailing Address
Community Development RHMP Staff
PO Box 1990,
Santa Barbara, CA 93102-1990.

Office Hours

Monday through Thursday and alternate Fridays
8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Title

Mediation Services

Cuerpo

As part of the City’s annual Holiday closure, the City of Santa Barbara Community Development Department offices and services will be closed from Friday, December 22, 2023 through Monday, January 1, 2024.  The Office will reopen on Tuesday, January 2, 2024.

For a complete list of closures, please visit the City’s Holiday Closures Page

Mediation is a process in which a neutral person or persons facilitate communication between parties to assist them in reaching a mutually acceptable agreement.

The mediator helps the parties to communicate, assists them in generating options, and helps them analyze any proposed settlement to make sure the proposed solution is an informed and realistic one that will provide a long-term solution.

  • Participation in the mediation process is voluntary.
  • The parties are not coerced to enter dispute resolution.
  • The role of the mediators and staff is neutral, with no conflict of interest in the dispute.

All participants are treated equally without any special benefit or consideration.

The parties, ultimately, make the final decision as to how they want to resolve their dispute.

Secciones

Why It Works

Client-Driven Solutions

Mediation works because the parties themselves have complete control of the process.

The mediator does not impose a settlement on them.

Parties are able to state their positions fully, without regard to whether their facts are legally "relevant", which allows them to feel that thy are being heard by the other party.

After discussion, the parties ultimately determine their resolution and how to implement it.

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