Also, new state fire severity map introduced, and amended camping ordinance gets first reading
A month after requests were heard for fiscal year 2025-26 grant funds, the Solvang City Council approved the grant fund awarding for various organizations in the city during its Tuesday, May 27, regular meeting.
The meeting was held on Tuesday because the usual fourth Monday was the Memorial Day holiday. Councilmember Mark Infanti participated in the meeting due to illness, an arrangement which the council approved unanimously before the meeting started.
In Agenda Item 8.a, Solvang Administrative Services Director Wendy Berry announced the recipients and amounts of the grants. Mayor Dave Brown recused himself from the proceedings, because his wife, Karen, was a representative of one of the applicants, and Mayor Pro Tem Claudia Orona conducted the proceedings.
At the April meeting, it was disclosed that only four of the 12 applicants for grant funding had completed their paperwork for the grant funding, so the council’s ad hoc committee for the grants, consisting of Councilmembers Elizabeth Orona and Louise Smith, gave an extension for them to do so. Berry announced at the May 27 meeting that all the applicants had completed their paperwork.
Berry said for the grants, the city prioritized funding for services and programs that directly benefit Solvang residents, with particular focus on the following populations: senior citizens, veterans, youth and minors with disabilities, and initiatives that serve the Solvang community specifically.
Funding was proposed for nine of the 12 applicants: Atterdag At Home ($20,000), Bethania Food Distribution ($10,000), Santa Ynez Valley Aquatics ($450,000), Santa Ynez Valley Fruit and Vegetable Rescue ($10,000), Santa Ynez Valley Historical Museum ($7,000), Santa Ynez Valley People Helping People ($15,000), Solvang Danish Days Foundation ($40,000), Solvang Rotary Foundation ($10,180), and Viking Charities ($3,000). Three organization did not have funding proposed despite applying: Solvang Arts and Music Foundation, Santa Ynez Valley Heritage Foundation, and Solvang Chamber of Commerce.
During council comment, Claudia Orona asked about the Santa Ynez Valley Aquatics outlay, which at $450,000 was by far the largest grant to be awarded.
“The SYV Aquatics definitely stands out,” she said. “Obviously, it’s big project that benefits everyone in the community, but it’s going to be very costly.”
However, Elizabeth Orona answered that the Aquatics grant was a little bit different from the usual grant funding in that the money will be available upon the future groundbreaking.
“Pledge for the Aquatic Center has the conditions that funding comes available at time of groundbreaking,” she said. “We’re looking for full valleywide commitment to the project, as well as other potential partners in the Chumash and Buellton, that will need to continue and we want to make sure the project is moving forward when the money is available. It’s a meaningful check box for them to continue fundraising.”
Elizabeth Orona, who served on the committee with Smith to help applicants understand the grant application process, praised the staff for their work on the grant funding.
“I compliment the staff on the approach to take our broad community through rigorous and disciplined process, workshops very effective onboarded communities as to how the grants were leveraged and oriented to community use,” she said.
In other business:
The council voted unanimously to introduce a new Fire Severity Zone Map (FSZM) recently submitted by the state. City Planning and Building Manager Rafael Castillo pointed out the map is based on “hazard,” based on the physical conditions of an area that can create the likelihood of a fire, rather than “risk,” which refers to the potential damage a fire can do under current conditions. Castillo compared the criteria of a FSZM to the flood maps obtained by the city.
Castillo also pointed out that it is a state requirement for the council to adopt the map by the next regular meeting on July 7.
When Brown asked about changes on the map, Castillo said while the previous map had no “Very High” hazard zones (in red), the new map contains red areas on the southern tip of Solvang boundaries and in the canyons south of the city. The map can be seen online at www.cityofsolvang.com/568/Proposed-Fire-Hazard-Severity-Map-Update.
Some members of council also asked about the effect the new map could have on homeowners’ insurance and whether some policies could be discontinued. However, Castillo said the state fire marshal has said that the maps will have no effect on insurance renewals.
Although she said the council may not agree with the map, Elizabeth Orona, noting the state requirement, moved to adopt the map, with Infanti seconding, and the motion passed 5-0.
In another item, council, on a 5-0 vote, accepted first reading on the city camping ordinance. The ordinance was amended in 2023 due to related court decisions in Idaho and Oregon, but those decisions have now been overturned. The council tabled the item on the May 12 meeting until they could properly review some “11th-hour feedback” from the county that day.
The ordinance will come up for a second reading at the next City Council meeting on Monday, June 9, meeting (6:30 p.m.) and if accepted will take effect 30 days from that datCouncil agreed to table the discussion item on the city camping ordinance. The ordinance was amended in 2023 due to related court decisions in Idaho and Oregon, but those decisions have now been overturned. Brown suggested council postpone the item until they could properly review some “11th-hour feedback” from the county.”
