Solvang City Council may cap wine bars and tasting rooms

 

Business owners looking to open wine bars and tasting rooms in Solvang may be in for a rude awakening, as the city soon could see a limit placed on the number of such establishments in Solvang.

At its April 14 meeting, the Solvang City Council unanimously voted to look into the prospects of placing a cap on the total number of wine bars and tasting rooms doing business in Solvang.

“This question is going to have to come up for us at some point,” said Solvang Mayor Linda Jackson, who placed the item on the agenda.  “What criteria will [we] start to use to create a level and cap it at that?”

 

Jackson said she wanted to keep a healthy business environment and avoid “over-saturation.”

She also said it brought up the question if the city should “let water reach its level,” or step in.

The primary question is what does the council want Solvang to be?, Jackson asked.

The topic exposed the conflicts between the idea of free enterprise and the council’s duty to protect the City of Solvang. While the council expressed a weariness to venture into placing a cap on the number of wine bars and tasting rooms that are not associated with a local vineyard, it also expressed growing concern about public safety and the dangers of adding more tasting rooms and wine bars to the city.

 

Wine bars and tasting rooms that are not associated with a local vineyard and sell other wines than what’s produced at their vineyard are required to obtain what is known as a Type 42 permit.

Councilman Ken Palmer said he was in between a rock and a hard place in the discussion.

“It’s an issue of public safety as much as Solvang’s image,” he said.

He added that he didn’t want Solvang to only be known for wine tasting.

“The council would be within its rights to set some type of a limit before we become known as a wine tasting center,” he said.

Mayor Pro Tem Edward Skytt expressed concern about protecting the wine bar and tasting room businesses, saying if the city started protecting one type of business it would be obligated to protect all of the other businesses, such as the hotel and gift shop businesses.

“[Would] that be sticking the camel’s nose under the edge of the tent,” he said. “We have to be careful…it’s going to open up Pandora’s Box…we will start saying we don’t want any more gift shops to protect the ones we have; we don’t want any more hotels because we have to protect the ones we have…we’re in a conundrum.” 

 

Councilman Eugene Boyle agreed with Palmer saying that his campaign platform was based on him protecting and maintaining the Danish character of Solvang.

“On that basis” he supported placing a cap on the number of wine bars and tasting rooms in the city.

Councilman Jim Richardson requested that the council and city research other cities similar to Solvang and look at the impacts placing a cap on the bars and tasting rooms would have on the city’s revenues. 

Solvang has a total of six wine tasting rooms and bars that do not require special permits because they are associated with a local vineyard or winery.

 

The city has 11 wine bars and tasting rooms that require the special permit to operate.

The council directed city counsel to look into the matter and at an unknown time, the council will return with more than preliminary discussion about placing a cap on wine bars and tasting rooms that require the 42 permit.