Two of the candidates for 3rd District Supervisor are hostile to charity fundraisers at county wineries.
When the winery ordinance was first proposed, several of us were apprehensive that the regulation of special events would adversely affect charitable events at wineries. We drafted a resolution asking the county not to count charity events at wineries as a special event. We submitted this resolution to the Solvang City Council, which approved it 3-1, and the Lompoc City Council approved it 5-0.
When we came to the Buellton City Council, it was tentatively approved 5-0 and deferred to the next meeting’s consent calendar for “minor” language edits. Unbeknown to us, by the day of the second Buellton meeting, the county CEO at that time sent a letter to the mayor of Buellton requesting no action be taken on the winery resolution. The county was conducting public hearings on the winery ordinance, the letter said, and our concerns would be addressed in those hearings.