Local mayors, supervisors, other experts discuss successes, obstacles in region
The many movers and shakers in the region gathered at Craft House at Corque in Solvang to discuss the economic direction on Thursday, June 5, at the 2025 Santa Ynez Valley Economic Summit.
For the second straight year, Danna Stroud, community-based solutions regional manager at the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz), was the keynote speaker for the event, talking about the job situation statewide. Other speakers included Solvang Mayor David Brown, Santa Barbara County Third District Supervisor Joan Hartmann, Buellton City Manager Scott Wolfe, EconAlliance CEO Janelle Osborne, and Santa Barbara Vintners CEO Alison Laslett. There were also two three-person panels who took time to field questions from the audience.
Brown took the floor first to talk about Solvang, and said the city had a unique position in the area as a tourist destination.
“We are a town of 6,000 that draws 5 million tourists a year,” Brown said. “The town offers an immersive experience of an earlier time and is on the national radar.”
Brown pointed out the attention Solvang has gotten with travel columns and awards, such as the “Best Small Town in the West” it earned from online voters in the USA Today/10Best travel series. Solvang was also in the top 5 for the series categories of “Best Small Town Food Scene” and “Best Main Street”
While Brown painted a positive picture of his city, he said there are still issues it needs to confront.
“Our housing is still our most urgent issue,” he said. “We need more units and its tougher to do it without extending the Urban Growth Boundary.”
Brown said the town needs to become more water-independent, and transportation needs to be addressed, as Solvang has a main thoroughfare, Mission Drive, that doubles as a state highway and for many is the only way in and out of town, with Brown admitted can be a concern if there is an evacuation situation.
However, the mayor said the situation still looks rosy in Solvang. “We will continue to build a vibrant and solid future.”
Later on, Wolfe took the podium to talk about Buellton’s state and its role in the Valley.
“Buellton has really involved in the six years that I’ve been here,” he said, pointing out a public arts program, a new library that opened this year, and an expansion of social services.
Wolfe likened Buellton’s situation to a fictional town in a family-favorite animated movie.
“If you all have ever seen the movie ‘Cars,’ they have the town of Radiator Springs, that died when the highway went past it,” Wolfe explained. “Well, that was Buellton in 1968. The highway moved a few blocks away, but there was an area [Avenue of Flags] that needed to be redeveloped.”
That was done partly thanks to the Pea Soup Andersen’s restaurant that has been closed for a few years now, but will be replaced by a development that will include a new Pea Soup Andersen’s. Wolfe also pointed out a flags project on Avenue of Flags, and a proposed hotel, market, and coffee shop in the lots next to the Sideways Hotel and Flying Flags RV Resort.
“Buellton is in a big shift,” Wolfe said, “and has gone through bigger changes in the last three years than in the previous 50.”
Brown, Wolfe, and Hartmann also conducted a panel discussion on needs for the area, and much of it centered on providing activities for children and teens.
To that end, Wolfe mentioned a bowling alley project that the city has been trying to get off the ground for multiple years and multiple owners. While pointing out the agreement the city made in partnering in the developing Children’s Museum, he said that most of the efforts to bring in activities would be through the private sector.
Hartmann said while they were always looking at stuff to add, there were activities that families could enjoy if they know where to look and pointed out the zipline attraction that operates near Buellton and Highway 146. Brown said that Solvang’s population tends to skew older, so they are always in search of activities that seniors can take part in.
The three also discussed the issues of transportation, keeping homes protected against possible fire, and affordable housing, which Brown and Wolfe both agreed was difficult for having to deal with the state government and codes.
A second panel made up of Buellton Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Kathy Vreeland, Visit SYV CEO Shelby Sim, and Anna Ferguson Sparks of Stilletto Marketing, which serves Solvang, discussed tourism issues.
Sim, who defined his job as putting “heads in beds” at local hotels, said this year was going better than 2024. “Nature helped us out this year,” he said, describing the lack of heavy rain that hindered tourism at the beginning of 2024. “Los Angeles has been a great source for visitors who want to come up, and we get 85% of our visitors from Southern California.”
Vreeland recognized the double-edged sword in Buellton of citizens wanting less distractions in town, but then pointed out that the Transient Occupancy Tax, paid mostly by tourists, represents 38% of the city budget.
“Some complain, but we want them to come in here,” she said. “We have to deal with it, but we are measuring our success with tourism.”
