From a zebra-themed bed and breakfast to a permitted treehouse in someone’s backyard, Solvang resident Max Hanberg has booked some pretty wild vacation getaways in his lifetime.
He and his wife were already frequent users of Airbnb and Vrbo by the time they began using both platforms to list a short-term rental of their own during the spring of 2021.
Previously a one-bedroom apartment for long-term occupancies, the couple’s towering property on Alisal Road in downtown Solvang is hard to miss thanks to its height of 38 feet. Hanberg’s Danish-born father built the multi-level structure during the 1980s with inspiration from Denmark’s 17th century Rundetaarn, or Round Tower, in Copenhagen.
“He had an epiphany and decided he was going to build a round tower,” Hanberg told the Sun. “I don’t know if you’re familiar with the one in Denmark, but it’s the highest observatory in all of Europe.”
Available for about $550 a night, Hanberg’s short-term rental affords its guests a living room, kitchen, and bedroom, all connected via a spiral staircase that leads to a rooftop patio.
“There’s not a better view in town, other than living up in the hills,” said Hanberg, whose property is located in Solvang’s village mixed-use zone.
While some of Solvang’s short-term rentals are within the city’s residential zones, the city won’t issue new permits to allow that use outside of the village mixed-use zone if a proposed policy moves forward.
‘Limiting the number of homestays in Solvang, especially in the outer neighborhoods within walking distance to downtown, will cost our city revenue that will be taken to Los Olivos, Santa Ynez, and Buellton.’
—Solvang resident Susie Townsend
On Feb. 23, the Solvang City Council unanimously approved new restrictions on short-term rentals—regularly listed on platforms such as Airbnb and Vrbo like Hanberg’s—including a cap that limits active short-term rental permits to 40. If the council maintains its stance and clears the policy during its final reading on March 9, the new rules would go into effect in April.
One aspect of the policy update Hanberg is pleased with is that it would ban new short-term rentals from popping up in suburban neighborhoods, “not just because of competition,” he explained.
“Adding vacation rentals in neighborhoods congests parking,” Hanberg said. “Some locals are already upset about parking, so having it out there would just contribute to that irritation.”
Solvang Community Development Director Rafael Castillo told the Sun that the proposed policy reform was partly shaped by “chatter from members of the community that there were some illegal rentals out there, and that some of these rentals were in their neighborhood.”
“We just want to make sure that everyone’s playing on the same playing field,” Castillo said.
Part of staff’s investigation into the issue involved combing through vacation rental listings on Airbnb, Vrbo, and similar websites.
“We did do an enforcement back in November. We had approximately 20 [properties] that were illegally advertising short-term rentals without a permit,” Castillo said. “These were properties that were outside of the area that we’re going to be allowed for short-term rentals, so they had no way forward. So essentially, what we did was we sent out a letter about the new ordinance, and … [asked them] to remove their listing. We actually had a complete 100 percent voluntary compliance of all the properties.”
Castillo also described the city’s potential shift in short-term rental policy as living up to goals set by Solvang’s current housing element—which calls for preserving long-term, high-density housing—and state initiatives.
“The state is really taking a look at each individual municipality and making sure they’re actually doing what we’re supposed to be doing to alleviate the housing crisis in California,” Castillo said. “We have a housing crisis, whether we like it or not.”
Although the new policy, if enacted, will stop future short-term rental permits in residential zones, current permit holders in suburban areas will be grandfathered in, to an extent, Castillo explained.
“If you have an existing vacation rental permit and you’re in that [residential] zone, we’re going to let you renew that. However, we’re not going to let you transfer that,” Castillo said. “What that means is if you’re going to sell that house on the open market, … then it goes to long-term housing. But for now, we’ll let you stay in the program. We’ll let you do your thing.”
Based on direction from the City Council, the proposed ordinance doesn’t differentiate between short-term rentals with off-site property owners and homestay rentals where owners reside on the property.
“Owner-occupied homestays are a completely different issue than a large absentee-owned vacation rental,” Solvang resident Susie Townsend said during public comment at the council’s Feb. 23 meeting. “I completely understand the concern with allowing larger homes within the city to be rented as an unsupervised short-term rental. However, when the owner lives on the property, there is built-in oversight and far fewer, if any, issues, especially in the smaller ADUs and studios that can only accommodate up to two people.”
Townsend was the sole public speaker at the hearing, where she opposed multiple restrictions laid out in the proposed policy update.
“We need to recognize that short-term rentals and homestays are a very popular way for people to travel today. Travelers increasingly choose this option. They want a different experience—a quiet neighborhood setting or an owner-hosted stay in a more homelike environment,” she said. “Severely limiting these options … puts us behind current traveling trends.
“We can comfortably add more permitted homestays in the surrounding neighborhoods without bothering anyone and only adding revenue to the economy that will otherwise be lost,” Townsend continued. “Limiting the number of homestays in Solvang, especially in the outer neighborhoods within walking distance to downtown, will cost our city revenue that will be taken to Los Olivos, Santa Ynez, and Buellton. … When they stay there, they are more likely to dine and shop there.”
Vacation rental operator Hanberg told the Sun he doesn’t believe the proposed restrictions will impact Solvang’s tourism numbers.
“It crosses over. I see people from the casino here in my store all the time. The whole valley is a destination,” said Hanberg, who owns the Solvang Shoe Store on Copenhagen Drive. “There’s vacation rentals all over the valley, so I don’t think it’s going to affect tourism one bit if they shut down the, for lack of a better word, illegal ones.”
Reach Senior Staff Writer Caleb Wiseblood at cwiseblood@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in March 5 – March 12, 2026.