A Santa Barbara County judge has ruled that the term “high rise” can stay on the ballot language in a measure that seeks to limit buildings’ height to 40 feet, according to report published in Noozhawk.
 

Santa Barbara architect Brian Hofner had challenged the ballot language in court as false because Santa Barbara’s building codes already limit buildings to 60 feet – well below the 72-feet definition of “high rise” in state building codes. Framing the ballot in terms of a ban on something that’s already illegal would mislead voters, Hofner had said.
But Santa Barbara County Superior Court Judge Thomas Anderle disagreed, saying it was acceptable to use the common definition of high-rise as a multistory building with elevators rather than the strict statutory definition.