The Buellton City Council were ready to discuss policy on renting out two meeting rooms in the city’s library at 202 Dairyland, and eventually passed the item give direction on limits on renting out the rooms for meetings, but not before some contentious dialogue entered into it.

In the business item during the Thursday, Dec. 11, meeting staff brought up a subject that was touched upon during a June City Council meeting.

With the completion of the new library at 202 Dairyland, two meeting rooms were constructed with the anticipation of use for public and community meetings. Council discussed the potential for community meeting room rentals and types of use in the June meeting. In that discussion, council determined that the meeting room use should start with just meeting uses and not for public parties and events. Staff prepared  a revised draft rental application package for discussion at this meeting. The rental application provides rules, regulations and requirements, along with requested information for the rental use details. The application package is based on the templates from CJPIA, the City’s insurance and risk management agency, as well as applications from other similar publicly owned rental facilities in the area. The areas available for potential rental are the two meeting rooms and the south lawn.

Councilmember John Sanchez brought up the first objection when he saw that one of the regulations was “no music” in the meeting rooms.

“No music at all? That seems extreme,” said Sanchez, who pointed out that he saw a violin recital there earlier this year.

Buellton City Manager Scott Wolfe answered that the rule was in there to prevent people in the lobby from being bothered, but also pointed out that it would be very easy to circumvent that with a special event permit if the music was acceptable.

It wouldn’t be the last time Sanchez raised an objection.

A few minutes later, Councilmember Carla Mead stated she wanted to have a policy about who to let rent the rooms, fearing that they could potentially be controversial.

“I would like to see this policy more defined about who is using the space and the purpose of using the space,” she said. “For example, in my mind, this space will be used for education, youth development, civic engagement, social services, stuff like that. Things we might want to exclude are partisan politics.”

Mead said she was concern that renting out the space a politically active group could lead to more extreme “hate groups” wanting to use the space.

Her words got some pushback from Vice Mayor Elysia Lewis who asked if that would open up the city to “legal liability, just picking and choosing who can use it.” And City Attorney Greg Murphy said “I’ll have to look into that to see where the guardrails are on that.”

Sanchez was more adamant in his opposition.

“We shouldn’t have restrictions on people we don’t like,” he said. “If the NRA wants to have a meeting they should come, if the Democratic Women of Santa Barbara want to come, we should let them. You can’t tell people you can’t do it because you don’t like their politics.”

Later, Wolfe suggested they could for an ad hoc committee to hammer out a policy, which Sanchez objected to saying any talk on policy should be discussed with the council at large instead of two people, although Silva and Hornick pointed out to him that it would be discussed.

Mayor David Silva later suggested limiting the rental of the rooms, once they are available, to 501(c)3 nonprofits and government entities, and the city could monitor the policy to see how it works.

Hornick moved to accept Silva’s proposal with rentals not being taken until the new parking lot behind the library is done. The motion passed 4-1 with Sanchez dissenting.

In other business, being that this was the last meeting of 2025, the council did its staff reorganization, assigning committee representative assignments, and appointing a new vice mayor. As Wolfe stated, the appointment was solely the choice of Silva, and he first asked Hornick if he wanted the position. Hornick refused, and then when Lewis turned down a chance to stay on as vice mayor, Silva asked Mead, who accepted the appointment, with the council approving on a 5-0 vote.

The council also OK’d the $500,000 pledge toward the Santa Ynez Valley Aquatic Center, ending a back-and-forth with the City of Solvang, where both agreed to pledge that amount for the project.

The City Council will meet next on Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, at 6 p.m.

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A local developer’s appeal of approved changes to his project of hotel cottages and a meeting space on the corner of Mission Drive and Alisal Road drew substantial comment from City Councilmembers and the public at the Monday, Oct. 13, regular meeting before council voted to deny the appeal and confirm the changes.

The Item 7.A, Public hearing to consider an appeal of Planning Commission decision approving amendments to facades and building colors for 1704 Mission Drive, concerns the project on the corner at that site, on the corner of Mission and Alisal Road, just west of Mission Santa Ines and across the street from Svensgaard’s Danish Lodge. The applicant, local developer Ed St. George, had been building the project consisting of nine separate cottages ranging in size from 250 to 390 square feet that would serve as one-bedroom hotel rooms and an on-site ancillary building.

Briefly it seemed that there would be no discussion, as St. George requested a continuance to the next meeting on Oct. 27 so he could extend an offer to members of the City Council, Planning Commission, and Design Review Committee to tour the project under construction before making a decision on it.

St. George said his original offer was accepted only by Mayor David Brown, who had mentioned at the onset of the hearing that he had, in fact, toured the building with St. George. City Councilmember Elizabeth Orona said she had toured the site with another person without the presence of St. George.

“This is, I feel, the most important project In last 25 years. I want to give you two more weeks to make one of those appointments [to tour the site],” St. George said. “I feel Solvang is not being represented by the city, since they didn’t show.”

Brown made a motion to continue the item to the next meeting. Councilmember Mark Infanti eventually seconded, but not before saying that he didn’t accept the offer to tour the site because he didn’t think it was necessary, because the item was a policy matter involving the Planning Commission. Infanti then seconded, but then the motion failed when Councilmembers Elizabeth Orona, Claudia Orona, and Louise Smith all voted no to defeat the motion 3-2.

In introducing the item, Community Development Director Rafael Castillo pointed out that St. George appealed the following requirements: Removing some of the half-timbers on Units 2,4,5, and 9 that create additional patterns (in contrast to just straight or diagonal shapes) or that “does not emulate authentic appearance and pattern of historic buildings in Europe,” and remove the colored red and white banding on the roof of one structure.

Before the item went to public comment, Infanti explained his refusal to tour the site, while emphasizing he was in favor of the project.

“I like it, but that’s not important,” he said. “If we approve any of this, aren’t we setting precedent to limit the DRC and Planning Commision in the future. Someone will come along later and say ‘If he can change things, why can’t I?’”

Meanwhile, Brown expressed that he didn’t agree with the amendments and the reasons for them.

“I have seen buildings with half-timbers with curves,” the mayor said, referring to the apparent problem the Planning Commission had with the half-timbers. Roof colors like pin striping on a car, a signature.”

The council gave St. George a chance to speak on his project before Public Comment.

“The reason I did this is I wanted something that was kind of whimsical,” he said. “My inspiration is photos of other buildings in Solvang. I probably could have built a four-story building, or affordable housing, but I wanted to do this, it’s a project from someone with a lot of passion.

“It was important to me that this corner be something Solvang could be proud of, emulate what it was trying to be, more cottage-style, close to mission, and a genesis of community,” he said. “And now some of the features are asked to be removed, and they are on other buildings in Solvang.”

In Public Comment, there were 18 speakers on the subject with approximately half in favor of, or at least complimentary of the project.

Speakers like Jean Simon and Michael Mendoza praised St. George’s artistic vision with the project and thought it would be an excellent site for someone coming into town.

“My imagination takes hold when I see the medieval village,” Simon said. “The Spirit of Hans Christian Anderson takes hold, and he would approve and want St. George to express himself artistically in these buildings.”

Among those opposed to the project, Janice Ziegler cited cultural appropriation as her reason for being against it.

“I strongly oppose those who practice cultural appropriation — it’s exploitive, disrespectful or devoid of context,” she said. “St. George’s project is 3-for-3 in that regard.”

Thorn Kinersley, a resident “on and off” of Solvang, said St. George’s situation is like when Kinersley tried to get a Tivoli wheel in Solvang, which was denied; however, he also said that many Danes’ who have been to Solvang view it as “a caricature, and this project adds to that.”

After getting it back to council, most of the members said the process of the project going through the DRC and Planning Commission must be respected, and they felt those groups did their due diligence.

“We must follow the rules; it’s important any development follow these rules,” Smith said. “Bend rules, would that make city vulnerable to other developers. It would be a slap in the face if we let this go through.”

Brown, however, was the lone holdout, saying he approved of the project and didn’t see it as a “slap in the face,” but just a different design and opinion. However, when he made a motion to uphold the appeal, he did not get a second.

With that, Infanti made a motion to deny the appeal, with Claudia Orona seconding. That motion passed 4-1 with Brown voting against.

The City Council will meet next on Monday, Oct. 27, at 6:30 p.m.

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The City of Solvang, as it approaches its 40th year of incorporation, held its State of the City address on Monday, Oct. 6, at Craft House at Corque, with Mayor David Brown reminding the crowd that while the city relies quite a bit on tourism, it needs to also take care of the people who live and work there year-round.

The afternoon event, which was emceed by Solvang Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Tracy Beard, also featured Dr. Mark Schniepp, the Director of the California Economic Forecast in Santa Barbara, as keynote speaker; and Bent Olsen, longtime baker and the event honoree, who led the crowd in a spirited rendition of a Danish folk song.

Before Brown began his address, he played a video he participated in with TikTok creator Wes Leslie, where Leslie would film in front of a few Solvang staples (bakeries, windmills, etc.) with Brown replying the city had many of those, and then when Leslie remarked that there must be many Danish-style towns in California, Brown replied “No there’s just one.”

The mayor began his speech by noting that Solvang was about to turn 40 years old as an incorporated city, an it saw progress on some of its main goals: Securing water independence, supporting tourism, and maintaining financial stability.

“Not only did we accomplish that, but kept our Danish heritage and brand at the center of our story,” Brown said.

He also pointed out how Solvang is a know entity outside of the area, winning the title of “Best Small Town in the West” in a USA Today online survey, and finishing No. 2 in Newsweek’s ranking of the “Best Christmas Towns in the U.S.” Brown said the town even got a shoutout from Oprah Winfrey, calling Solvang “one of the most magical Christmas towns in the world.”

“Not bad for a town that’s know for debating whether we have too many windmills,” Brown said.

Brown noted the good things for business over the past year, with the city issuing 71 new business licenses, and making an additional $2.5 million with the Measure M hotel-tax increase.

However, the mayor said that although Solvang’s name means “sunny fields,” there are “clouds on the horizon.”

Although the city makes two-thirds of it money from tourism, Brown reminded the crowd that “Solvang can’t just be a place to visit; its need to be a place where people can live and work.” He noted that when 750,000 people visit the town in a six-week span, as it happened this past summer, that has an effect on parking and traffic.

Other challenges the city faces, according to Brown, is the high cost of law enforcement, as Solvang contract with the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s office, and that won’t be getting smaller. Also, the city is still planning for the necessary upgrade on the town’s wastewater plant to comply with state standards. “If you’re not planning for water, you’re planning for trouble,” he reminded the crowd.

Brown noted the efforts being made to reach residents, like a recently launched newsletter and expanded surveys. He also mentioned the successful partnership Solvang has formed with entities such as VisitSYV, the Chamber of Commerce, Cottage Hospital and local school districts.

In summary, Brown expressed optimism on the path Solvang is taking, despite the aforementioned challenges.

“As we celebrate four decades of incorporation of city status, we can be proud,” he said. “Heritage is our brand, people are our strength in leadership. Let’s raise a toast to the next chapter — preferably with some aebleskiver.”

After Brown’s address, there was a Q-and-A, where questions touched on security, especially during yearly events, way to improve the weekly farmers market, and, of course, ways to improve traffic and parking in the city.

Before Brown, attendees heard the keynote speech from Schniepp, who touched upon the national and state economy and how it might affect Solvang and the Santa Ynez Valley.

Nationally, Schiepp said that growth was better than expected in 2025, and that the “hysteria” formed over the controversial tariffs issued by President Donald Trump this year has subsided. In fact, he said the fears over the tariffs are overstated, according to the forecast, though they could possibly affect future growth.

Statewise, Schniepp informed the crowd that the housing market and labor market have both struggled, and, of concern to the Central Coast, wine tourism has been in decline.

Schniepp said he expects more slow growth in 2026, with jobs growth been furthered threatened by the advance of AI.

Finally, Solvang presented a Legacy Award to Bent Olsen, longtime owner and proprietor of Olsen’s Danish Village Bakery. Olsen, who was born in Denmark and immigrated to the U.S. in 1965, came to Solvang in 1970, when he and his wife Susy purchased the bakery and settled into the city.

“I came here in 1965, and I saw this place that was just a little bit of town,” Olsen said after receiving his award and accolades from local representative. “I’ve been here since and 60 years later it’s still a little bit of town.”

Olsen hopes it can stay that “little bit of town.”

“It is different now, but it is still a very nice town. I hope we can keep Solvang as it is,” Olsen said. “As it is, Solvang is special, and it needs to be small, special and quiet.”

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The Buellton City Council held its regular meeting on Thursday, Sept. 25, but it was anything but regular, as Carla Mead was sworn in as the new council member representing the city’s District 4, making the council a full unit for the first time since the changeover from the November 2024 election.

Mead, a self-employed math tutor and wine ambassador for Rideau Winery who has served on multiple local boards and volunteer organizations, won a special mail-in election Aug. 26 over former City Councilperson and Mayor Dave King. The District 4 seat had gone vacant when David Silva moved into the mayor’s seat at the beginning of the year after defeating King in the November 2024 mayoral election.

Mead took her oath from City Clerk Linda Reid approximately 15 minutes into the meeting, before the council dealt with its business items on the agenda. She was joined in the audience by many friends and well-wishers, most of whom wore pink at her request. In fact, District 3 City Councilmember John Sanchez got into the spirit with a pink shirt of his own underneath his sportcoat.

In a reception before the City Council meeting started, Mead reflected on her time this year campaigning and getting to know the people who would become her constituents.

“Not for the weak-spirited, but campaigning and door-knocking, it’s been great meeting so many neighbors to get to hear about people’s concerns directly from them,” she said. “The biggest thing is making people aware that there is a kind of person in their district, making them aware of who I am and making them aware that I’m at their service.”

Mead already had a couple of topics she was ready to tackle as soon as she took her City Council seat.

“I’ll continue working on the SYV Pedestrian Trail. And commercial development — what are we doing to develop,” she said. “And, from listening to the people, how do we improve our transportation issues, whether it’s on 246 or at the high school.”

After Mead took her oath of office, which was followed by a short recess, the five-member council got down to business. One change in the agenda was the redesignation of Item 5 in the Consent Calendar, having to do with funding for the Buellton segment of the Santa Ynez River Trail to Business Item No. 13.

First off was the opportunity to fill the vacant spot on the Buellton Planning Commission now that Mead was on council.

The city had an open window for applications last month, and the only applicant ended up being Daniel Contreras, who served on the Planning Commission from 2024 until he had to vacate the spot with the City Council District 4 vacancy.

Contreras addressed the council citing his background and experience on the commission, and Mead has the opportunity to appoint him back to the commission, which she did, saying “We have similar goals. I would like to nominate Daniel Contreras.” The appointment passes with a 5-0 vote from council.

In Item 11, the Council OK’d by a 4-0 vote an $11,000 payment to En Fuego Events for costs in running the Buellton Fall Fest, which will be held Nov. 7-9 in the area of Avenue of Flags north of Highway 246. The event will be held at Avenue of Flags for the fourth year next month. Councilmember John Sanchez recused himself from the item because he is related to the event applicant.

In Item 12, Council unanimously passed Resolution No. 25-27, Amending the Monthly Wastewater Service Fees and Low-Income Program in the City of Buellton. The low-income program is a service provided by PG&E and SoCal Gas that offers a 20% discount monthly for rate-payers that have been heavily vetted by those agencies. Also a part of the resolution was a deep sewer-rate discount for Buellton mobile-home park residents.

Finally, Item 13, which was originally in the Consent Calendar, Consideration of MOU with SBCAG for the Santa Ynez Valley River Trail (Santa Ynez Valley Regional Community Connector) saw the City Council OK a $425,000 outlay in a city partnership SBCAG for the administration, and preliminary plans for the trail which is proposed to start at Buellton’s River View Park and end at the intersection of Highways 246 and 154.

Fred Luna of SBCAG, a Buellton resident, said he looks to hire a consultant to help with the project and said they already have preliminary plans underway for the project.

Before adjourning, Buellton Mayor David Silva announced the next scheduled City Council meeting for Thursday, Oct. 9, will be canceled due to councilmembers going to the League of California Cities conference that week. The council will meet next on Thursday, Oct. 23, at 6 p.m.

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In Discussion Item 8a, in an approximately 50-minute talk, councilmembers and Community Development Director Rafael Castillo went over the parameters of a new ordinance laying out policy for STRs, also known by some as Airbnbs, in residential area.

At its Aug. 11 meeting, the City Council directed staff to produce two draft ordinances for revisions to the short-term rental ordinance. One ordinance would allow short-term rentals (STR) only within the Village Mixed-Use (VMU) zoning district (formerly TRC zone), while grandfathering in certain existing permitted STR outside the VMU. A second draft ordinance would allow for STRs throughout the City in any zone that allows residential use, except for high-density residential zones. The current situation has most of the STRs in the downtown Solvang area, know as the Village Mixed-Use (VMU) are, with a few located in the R-3 area, a small region cut out in the eastern end of town.

Castillo reminded council that the main thing they were looking to decide was whether to have all the STRs limited to the VMUs or allow them in any part of the city. Council seemed to agree to keep them in the VMU

City Councilmember Mark Infanti said that he noticed that of the so-called STRs in the VMU, there were “22 or 23” (later re-estimated as 25 or 26) of the STRs that didn’t have permits. “We need to chase these people down and get them to obtain permits,” he said.

Fellow Councilmember Elizabeth Orona agreed: “We don’t have any kind of fine, no repercussions. Should we bring back fines for some consequences?”

Castillo answered, “We withheld going after them, because we want to be sure what their intentions are; maybe we can get them to turn in paperwork to make it legal.” It should be noted that STRs are subject to the Transit Occupancy tax, so if the city succeeds in getting the property owners to get permitted, that would mean tax dollars for Solvang.

City Manager Randy Murphy also noted that City Council Chelea O’Sullvian and the staff were working on a new code enforcement policy.

During Public Comment for the item, Solvang Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Tracy Beard spoke out against the STRs and the policy allowing them.

“As a representative of the business community; this is a poor decision [to allow the STRs],” she said.
“We need to have more clarity; it’s not compatible with the business community.

“With STRs, you’re taking away from hotels,” Beard continued. “STRs do not comply with ADA standards ([or the disabled. This is a bigger deal than what we think it is.”

Going back to council, Councilmember Claudia Orona said that while he understood the concerns for hotels, the STRs have been established in the VMU, and many of those property owners have been compliant with the city for those properties and shouldn’t be penalized.

“There would be a lot of angry people in the VMU if we told them they can’t do that anymore,” she said. “Rationale people have been compliant for years; it’s tough to suddenly tell them no.”

Council member Louise Smith, meanwhile, said tenants deserve the right to use STRs if that’s their prerogative.

“I don’t want to take away TOT from hotels, but STRs are a better option for some,” Smith said. “We need to look at how to expand, but only if we have a way to control it. We need to look at visitors who may need something other than hotel room.”

Ultimately, the council decided to give staff direction on bringing back an ordinance where the STRs are limited to the VMU, and to just 30 permitted STRs in that zone. Also, the councils agreed that they would not permit “homestays,” STRs where the property owner resides in the house at the same time as the tenants.

In another discussion item, Castillo introduced a report on the possibility of chain retailers in the city, especially the downtown area.

In his report, Castillo said that at the March 24 meeting, the City Council requested information on chain retailers, whether it was a problem, or it might be anticipated as a problem. Additionally, it was requested that information be brought forth regarding “ghost retail stores,” referring to the businesses that take up storefronts, but are more the “fulfillment center” or warehouse for filling online orders.

In discussion, the council determined that it doesn’t foresee a problem with chain stores moving in. National brands have minimal representation downtown as just Subway and Domino’s have location along Mission Drive, and a lesser-known clothing chain, Kahuna’s, took over the space on Alisal Road that housed Rasmussen’s

Claudia Orona even played what she termed as “devil’s advocate,” in expressing support for a story like Kahuna’s in Solvang.

“I’v been in town since 2008, and I’ve seen different chain retailers; they come and go. I’d caution against making regulations,” she said. I’d much rather have a Kahuna’s store or similar retailer than another cheap trinket store. If someone wants to try opening a chain store  , let them and see how it goes.”

The item ended without action or directive to staff.

The next regular Solvang City Council meeting will be Monday, Oct. 13, at 6:30 p.m.

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Buellton will soon have a full City Council. Santa Barbara County certified the city’s Aug. 26 Special Election on Sept. 12, with Carla Mead earning the District 4 seat. The math tutor and board chair for the SYV Humane Society earned 269 votes (60%) to defeat former Buellton City Council member and Mayor Dave King, who received 179 votes (40%). The vote total was unchanged from the previous update that was released on Aug. 29.

“It’s official! Santa Barbara County has certified the election results and I’m honored to share that I’ve been elected to represent District 4 on Buellton City Council,” Mead posted on Instagram after the certification was announced. “Thank you to everyone who believed in me, knocked on doors, and cast a ballot. I promise to be a leader who listens, serves, and works every day for our community.”

Mead also invited Buellton residents to attend the Sept. 25 meeting where she is expected to be sworn in, and encouraged everyone to dress in pink.

The mail-only election involved only those voters living in the city’s District 4, which consists of all the city area east of Highway 101, and a strip of land east of 101 and north of Central Avenue and Avenue of Flags. The county reported 449 of 879 registered voters in the area (51%) sent in ballots.

In Buellton’s Sept. 11 City Council meeting, City Manager Scott Wolfe said the winner of the special election will be sworn in and take the District 4 seat at the Thursday, Sept. 25, City Council meeting.

The seat was vacated when previous District 4 City Councilmember David Silva assumed the mayor’s seat in January. Silva had defeated the incumbent King in last November’s mayoral election.

Mead expressed her interest in the seat early on and had met with the members of the current City Council before stating her case for the position at the Jan. 9 meeting, with many residents coming to support her bid. However, King, also at that meeting, then expressed his interest in the vacancy. The councilmembers, some of whom hoped to appoint a councilmember that night, then deadlocked on the candidates, with Silva and Vice Mayor Elysia Lewis supporting Mead, and City Councilmembers Hudson Hornick (who said at the time he preferred an election to decide the seat) and John Sanchez backing King. At the next meeting, on Jan. 23, the councilmembers deadlocked again and then decided to have a special election.

City Council reclassifies two city positions in short meeting

The Buellton City Council, cognizant of the imminent retirement of two city employees, voted to reclassify two city positions during its regular meeting on Thursday, Sept. 11. It was the only business item for the meeting, which last about half an hour. The council was at three members on the night with the absence of Hudson Hornick.

The two positions being reclassified were Administrative Assistant to Administrative Assistant/Deputy City Clerk, and Staff Assistant/Planning Technician to Planning Assistant/Code Enforcement Officer. The adjustments are being done because the city will be seeing or have seen a retirement with current employees taking on additional duties onto their own.

City Clerk Linda Reid said the employees whose positions have been reclassified would each get a 10% raise, which would be an increase of $17,942 in the city budget. Reid said the increase would be taken out of a city operating surplus, making the fiscal impact on the city minor.

City Councilmembers were pleased with the move, which they said dealt with the succession of the positions. Reid herself is planning to retire next year.

“I see it as a fiscally responsible move,” Silva said. “I like the idea of additional compensation for employees as they seek retention and growth, and there’s a saving by not having another full-time position. I’m grateful for the staff thinking outside.”

Vice Mayor Elysia Lewis thought it was a forward-thinking move.

“I think it’s also important for retention planning; when you’ve had someone working there for several years and is a staple of the place, you forget and realize you don’t know much they do,” said Lewis, referring to Reid. “Getting somebody new in, it takes awhile for someone new to get that same expertise, and it can burn them out when they don’t know stuff right away.”

Sanchez moved to approve the item, with Lewis seconding, and it passed 3-0.

In other business:

Silva read a proclomation to recognize Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15.

In his council comments, Silva requested a moment of silence for the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001.

Silva also inquired about makes a Request for Proposals to look into getting a new vendor for its city website, which Wolfe said he would look into. Silva also mentioned the Chumash tribe being open to sharing artifiacts with Buellton entities, and discussion about a tree canopy, which Hornick has express support for in the past.

In his City Manager’s Report, Scott Wolfe said the new City Councilperson would be sworn in the next meeting on Thursday, Sept. 25, and the meeting after that, on Thursday, Oct. 9, would be cancelled.

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The owner of the Farmhouse Motel on Avenue of Flags objected to the Buellton City Council’s attempt to remove his business’ standing as a housing unit, as the council introduced a first reading of a proposed update that would limit hotel rooms to just short-term rentals, during the council’s regular meeting on Thursday, Aug. 14.

The council put the public hearing, Resolution 25-06, on the agenda to eventually prohibit hotels rooms from being long-term rentals, or single-room occupancies (SROs). Farmhouse Motel was one of the lodging establishment that eventually became residential units for low-income individuals that the city believes does not fit in with the planned redevelopment of the Avenue of Flags corridor. The city also desires hotels on that street that will bring in more Transient Occupancy Tax (TOR).

However, due to the state of California designating the motel as a low-income residence, the city would have to arrange alternate housing for any displaced residents to move into.

During Public Comment on the item, Kerry Moriarty, owner of the Farmhouse Motel, protested the proposal to take away his business’ designation for long-term residence, believing his motel is being singled out.

“My property is really the only one that’s affected by this proposal,” said Moriarty, who noted that the nearby Red Rose Court was deterimined to be exempt from the ordinance, and the San Marcos Hotel, which only rents long-term to “three or four” tenants.

“I’ve had this property for 20 years; I’ve operated it as an apartment building, I’ve got a mortgage on it underwritten as an apartment building,” he said. “If it goes back to being a motel, guess what happens to that mortgage — I go in default.”

“I don’t know how you’re even considering this with the state mandate on affordable housing,” he continued. “My property is what the state mandate is trying to preserve.”

Later on, one of Moriarty’s tenants spoke on behalf of the owner.

“I’ve been a Farm House resident 14 years, disabled 15 years ago and this is the only place I can afford,” said the man, who did not give his name. “It just doesn’t seem right, it’s a nice place .Cary keeps it up nice. With the homeless problems in that state, to take our home away from us, I don’t understand.”

When it went to council, it was pointed out that this was just a first reading, and wouldn’t have a chance to pass until the next council meeting on Sept. 11.

Vice Mayor Elysia Lewis said she was uncomfortable with the Dec. 31 deadline for residents of the Farmhouse to move out, citing the probable cold weather at the time. Councilmember Hudson Hornick thought the deadlines were too tight also, while John Sanchez (who incidentally was on remote from Nottingham, England), suggested the Farmhouse could get an extension and noted that his son had stayed there at one point.

Ultimately, council moved to approve first reading, but with the ameneded dates of April 1, 2026 (instead of Dec. 31), to vacate the motel, and Oct. 31, 2026 (instead of June 30, 2026) to be moved into other affordable housing. The motion passed 3-1 with Sanchez dissenting.

In other business:

The City Council approved a $48,800 outlay to the upcoming Buellton Theatre Project, a 14-week theatre arts program that will culminate in a performance of the Broadway musical “Annie.”

City Manager Scott Wolfe introduced the item because the original choice, Allison Firey of Buellton Parks and Rec, will be a volunteer on the project and recused herself. In fact, it was Firey who made the presentation to council, noting that her love of performing was inspired by being in a production of “Annie” as a child. Council passed the item 4-0, with Hornick calling the proposal “awesome.”

After the approval last month of Hundred Hills School operating on the Willemsen site by the library for up to five years, council discussed initiating the process of investigating possible uses for the Dairyland Road parcels once the school finds another permanent location in Buellton and leave it temporary site. If approved the council would then appoint two members of council to appoint an ad hoc committee to lead the effort.

While three of the councilmembers backed the idea, Sanchez opposed it, citing animosity in the debate over the school’s location, and said they should let the school settle in at the site before thinking about a replacement. “Let the school have its time there. Put it off for a year,” he said.

However, Lewis believed that with the complaints during the HHS debate about the lack of transparency and notification on the proposal, the council needs engage with the public early. “Getting ahead of future project, being proactive would benefit city more,” she said. “Also it would be a show of faith to public.”

Interestingly, when the council decided there was a consensus to go forward with the committee, Sanchez immediately volunteered to serve on the committee. However, Wolfe believed that the Distict 1 representative, Hornick, should serve along with Mayor Silva. Silva and Hornick agreed and were voted as the ad hoc committee by a 3-1 vote, Sanchez dissenting.

The City Council will not meeting on the next scheduled Thursday, Aug. 28, and will return to session on Thursday, Sept. 11.

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The Solvang City Council culminated a busy Monday, Aug. 11, regular meeting by directing staff to draft a new ordinance focused on short-term rentals (STRs) in the city in an effort to limiting them to the Village Mixed-Use zone. The council on this evening was just four members, with Councilmember Claudia Orona absent.

During the meeting, the council also voted to change how the city handles retirement benefits, discussed plans for the upcoming Julefest Christmas celebration and next year’s Wine County Half-Marathon.

Back in March, the City Council had directed city staff to begin revisions to the City’s short-term rental (also known as vacation rental) ordinance, which would include a framework of an ordinance for further input from the City Council and residents.

Planning Development Director Rafael Castillo in giving his report, said the main objective of the ordinance is determining where the rental (which by definition are homes where people reside for 30 days or less) was where the council would allow the STRs in the city.

Currently, the areas in the city zoned for STRs are the Village Mixed-Use Area (VMA), and some lots in the R-3 zone of the city, along Copenhagen Drive, east of Fifth Street. Castillo said staff recommend that the STRs be limited to the Village Mixed-Use Area only.

Residents who spoke in Public Comment agreed the STRs should be kept in the VMU area. Dennis Beebe said the council needs to make the VMU boundaries “explicitly defined,” along with the limits for STRs. C.J. Jackson and Aaron Peterson reiterated their views that city’s should not allow STRs in residential areas. “Have a nice neighborhood and put in transient people is not something we should not consider,” Peterson said. “Hotels basically are vacation rentals.”

Although the council was on board with limiting the rentals to the VMU area, Councilmember Elizabeth Orona did remind her colleagues of the importance of tourists and visitors, including those using STRs, to the city’s economy, and wondered if there could be a way to allow them outside the VMU with further conditions like caps, allowed usage, and a minimum distance betweens STRs.

However, Councilmember Mark Infanti said his problem was with the “outside the VMU part of that,” and Mayor David Brown agreed the rentals should be focused within the VMU.

“I’m not sure the juice is worth the squeeze — doing the entire city,” Brown said. “If we can limit it to Village we’ll be OK, outside that, there would be lots of problems.”

Castillo then suggested the compromise of limiting STRs outside the VMU to “homestays” where the property owner would have to be present, Mayor David Brown also favored limiting them downtown.

Castillo and staff were directed to draft an ordinance limiting the STRs to the VMU, but adding the possiblity of allowing the homestays outside the VMU and listing the conditions of them. Castillo said the draft could be presented at the next meeting in September.

In other business:

The council voted 4-0 to move its city employees retirement plan from the management of CalPERS to that of the Public Agencies Post-Employment Benefits Trust administered by Public Agency Retirement Services (PARS).

Administrative services director Wendy Berry introduced Rachel Sanders from PARS to make a presentation on the program to the council. Sanders said benefits of the program would be complete local control over assets, pension rates stabilization, establishment of a “Rainy Day Fund,” and more diversification

The plan would see the city’s retirement fund go into two “buckets” — a Pension bucket and Other Post-Employment Benefits (OPEB) bucket —, require a plan adminstrator, and would be subject to annual reviews or more frequents reviews, if desired. It also gives the city the option of active and passive approaches to investments within the plan.

The council approved the item, along with an add-on to add language that council will select strategy and annually review the strategy.

Solvang Marketing and Events Coordinator Candice Libera addressed the council on two discussion items, one regarding plans for this year’s Julefest Celebration in December, and next May’s Wine Country Half Marathon.

She first spoke on the half-marathon, which has run in Solvang every Mother’s Day weekend since 2008, and draws approximately 2,500 participants plus their friends and families, Libera said. However, she also said that there were complaints about restricted access to businesses with the race’s finish line on Copenhagen Drive, as well as concerns about litter and damage to the grass at Solvang Park, where the post-race gathering is held. Libera said that changes would be made to the race course, placing the finish line at a new location that wouldn’t inhibit access to merchants, and measures would be taken to mitigate the litter and placement of equipment at the park to protect the grass.

She also said advertising and promotional materials would more prominently feature the Solvang name, another point of contention.

For the Julefest, Libera said that the city was close to a deal to bring in snow at some point during the monthlong celebration, and with consideration for traffic and safety on Copenhagen Drive, the street would be closed to vehicles between Alisal Road and 1st Street for the entire Julefest and the light diplay at Solvang Park would be expanded.

Libera said options to address parking concerns were being looked at, including the opening of Lot 72 east of Alisal Road for additional parking.

The City Council will take a scheduled break, with no meeting on Aug. 25, and will next meet on Monday, Sept. 8.

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For the second time within a month, opponents and proponents of the proposed expressed their views on the potential Hundred Hills School (HHS), a Waldorf-inspired private school, to be temporarily placed on three parcels on the city-owned Willemsen property, this time to the Buellton City Council in its five-hour meeting Thursday, July 24, meeting.

After hearing the arguments, both pro and con, for the school founded by husband-and-wife Sundeep Chanana and Whitney Stevenson, the council voted 3-1 to approve the Conditional Use Permit allows the private educational facility to be established on four parcels next to the Buellton Library on Dairyland Road. The decision overturned the 2-2 vote at the Buellton Planning Commission meeting on July 3, which was technically a denial of the CUP.

After that decision, the council unanimously agreed to approve a license agreement for HHS to operate on the property for up to five years, with a fair-market value compensation of $1,750 per month, to give the school time to find a permanent location in Buellton.

Buellton Planning Director Andrea Kiefer started off the presentation by describing the school that would come to the neighborhood: It would be a Waldorf-inspired school serving preschool through the fourth grade. The campus, on the topmost portion of the Willemsen Property at 202, 208, 212, and 218 Dairyland Road, would consist of four classrooms, one administration building, and one restroom, all of the California Roundhouse building style, more commonly know as “yurts.”

The school’s founders spoke on their proposed school, with Montgomery starting off calling HHS a project “small in size, but enormous in possibility.”

Alluding to the opposition that been stated against the school and the founders, Stevenson told her story as someone who was raised in Buellton and went to numerous local schools, and said that heirs of the Wilhelmsen family that used to own the land approve of the plans.

“My husband and I were lucky to be exposed to an approach to education that deeply resonates with us,” Stevenson said. “Now we’re in a place where we can help bring it home to share it with the place that raised me. I just ask that we pause and consider what tonight means to this town.”

After that, Stevenson’s husband Sundeep Chanana spoke about the project, and listed a number of reasons why he felt the project would benefit Buellton: It would keep the land away from developers who wish to build high-density projects, it would allow the city to collect rent and fees for the property, it would give local families another school option, and it would help the “preschool crisis” for a town that has just one preschool.

“I can’t think of a single reason to vote anti-school,” Chanana said.

During a long public comment session, that saw 55 people speak on the project, many found reasons against the project, with pretty much all indicating that while they didn’t have problems with the school per se, they did not like it being proposed for the parcels on Dairyland Road next to the library.

As in the Planning Commission meeting, most of the objections came from residents of the surrounding neighborhood who believed there would be a negative impact with traffic and noise because of the school. Others did not like the idea of city-owned land being used for a private school. Others were concerned that some of the trees would be removed (although Chanana stated earlier that would not be the case), and residents would lose the use of the green area on the site.

An informal count of the 55 people who spoke found 34 that opposed the project.

Some of those who spoke in favor of HHS noted the lack of options for students in early education, most notably preschool, while others praised other Waldorf schools and said it would be a great experience for Buellton children. Some said they had to drive their kids to a Waldorf school in Santa Barbara and would appreciate being able to go to the same kind of school in Buellton.

When the item came back to council, Councilmember Hudson Hornick agreed with arguments on both sides, saying he felt the school would be a huge benefit, but also believed its proposed for the wrong site. However, he said he would support it, noting the site would be temporary and that he hoped “the open space would return.”

“It’s important we guide city in positive direction, and the Waldorf school is part of that,” he said. “The preschool is very important in this, we need more locations.”

Councilmember John Sanchez said he also supported the project, downplaying the complaints about traffic.

“I don’t see the additional trips as a deterrent; there will always be traffic,” he said. “It would be an honor to have a Waldorf school. I don’t see the problem.”

Vice Mayor Elysia Lewis said supported the school for the same reasons Hornick did, although she agreed the location was not a good one. She also thanked the public speakers for their decorum during comment.

Mayor David Silva said his decision on this is “the most torn I’ve ever felt,” and admitted that he was a bit detached on the subject because he doesn’t have kids.

“I sat through experience of people living next to site concerned about it,” he said. “I’ve struggled with it. Hard to make decision you aren’t impacted by, and you’re against. This is one subject where there hasn’t been neutrality, either you’re for it or against it.”

Lewis moved to approve the resolution overturning the Planning Commission decision and OK the Dairyland Road site for the school, with Hornick seconding, and the motion passed 3-1, with Silva dissenting.

The City Council will next meet on Thursday, Aug. 14, at 6 p.m.

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The Solvang City Council, in its Monday, July 14, meeting, awarded a contract to XIT Inc. to implement an AI-enabled surveillance camera system as part of the Downtown Corridor Surveillance Project.

Based out of Bakersfield, XIT Inc. who founded operations starting in the 2000s, claims to have become a significant player in the technology and IT services sector in the Central Valley of California and Southern Nevada.

City Manager Randy Murphy said seven new cameras would be installed as a pilot program to surveil strategic spots that were chosen by city staff with the help of the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department. This project was hatched from one of the city’s goals, established earlier this year, to improve police response utilizing private security and technology.

The contract calls for surveillance camera purchase and services in the amount-not-to-exceed $147,407.01 for the three-year term from July 1, 2025 to Dec 31, 2028.

Murphy said XIT will be responsible for the installation of the cameras, and for storing the data from the cameras.

“The system will be monitored by city staff, with access provided to the sheriff’s department,” he said. “We do not have a policy in place yet for how to operate the program yet. We will bring that to council before its implemented.”

Councilmember Mark Infanti began the council questions by asking who would be doing the monitoring. Murphy answered that he and Assistant to the City Manager Olivia Uribe Mutal would be keeping tabs, but that mainly the system would be AI-enabled and that the objective would be to have footage that city officials or law enforcement can look at if a crime or incident is reported in Solvang’s downtown area.

At this point, City Counsel Chelsea O’Sullivan pointed out that the item was just to OK the contract, and the city would be able to start figuring out policy and usage afterward; however, Councilmember Elizabeth Orona pointed out that according to the schedule supplied to council, the system was going to start operation in September.

“Does the Sheriff’s Department have same software, and can it integrate with our system,” she asked. “We want to know the framework of what criteria they help us set, identifying procedural process, and clearing guidelines on what is being surveilled.

“I would like to approve this, but I feel like we’re behind the times on this,” Orona said. “There’s no policy; no skill set; there’s still work to do. We don’t know how complicated it gets until we get more answers.”

Murphy answered that by saying he would try to bring the framework of a policy by the next council meeting on Monday, Aug. 11.

Infanti then moved to approve the contract, with Councilmember Claudia Orona seconding, with the understanding that a policy for the use of the program was would be coming soon. The items passed 5-0

In other business:

The council unanimously approved the city’s new appropriation limit of $26,362,892 for the Fiscal Year 2025-26, an increase from $24,651,978 in FY 2024-25. The annual appropriations limit is calculated based on the 1978–79 fiscal year limit, adjusted annually to reflect changes in the cost of living and population. As required, the City has reviewed and calculated its annual Appropriations Limit. Based on population and cost-of-living data provided by the California Department of Finance (DOF).

The council had actually introduced the item in its previous meeting on June 23, but it was published just 12 days before the meeting, short of the required 15 days. Because of that, they couldn’t approve it until the July 14 meeting.

Also approved was the amendment of the Safety Element of the Solvang General Plan to incorporate the adopted Local Hazard Mitigation Plan, and update Figure SAF-8, Fire Hazard Severity Zones. The city had updated the Safety Element in 2024, and the latest amendment included language to make it compatible with Assembly Bill 2140, which opened up funds for use in disaster recovery. Murphy estimated that the city’s Local Hazard Mitigation Plan (LHMP) hadn’t yet been added to the Safety Element during the damaging storms in January 2023, and if they had, the city could have gotten another $40,000 in emergency funds.

The council passed the first reading of the amended Cross-Connection Control Plan ordinance, and approval of the actual CCC Plan, which outlines the city’s compliance framework for backflow prevention, hazard assessments, inspection and testing procedures, and legal enforcement authority. Utility Director Jose Acosta said it was the city’s program for protecting its plumbing.

The council OK’d a new agreement with Wildan Engineering for Building Official Services, Plan Review, and Inspection, and an agreement with 4Leaf, Inc. as an on-call contractor for the same services if Wildan is not available. The fiscal impact of the two agreements was give as $200,000.

The City Council will next meet on Monday, Aug. 11, at 6:30 p.m.

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