An ongoing lawsuit prompted a two-month grace period for long-term tenants of Buellton’s Farmhouse Motel, before new housing restrictions kick in.
While a recent city ordinance to help ramp up redevelopment efforts in town requires motel properties along Avenue of Flags—including Farmhouse—to convert units that house long-term renters to traditional motel rooms by October, a Santa Barbara County Superior Court judge will decide in December whether to grant injunctive relief to the petitioners behind a civil suit challenging the directive.
“The city has agreed to extend the tenant move-out date until the hearing,” Farmhouse co-owner Kerry Moriarty told the Sun via email.
In late August, Moriarty’s attorneys outlined the hardships he believes justify his petition for relief in court documents.
“Petitioners face the loss of a stable, decades-old business and, for many residents, their only viable housing,” local attorney Christopher R. Guillen, of Santa Barbara-based law firm Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, wrote in court documents, “while the city suffers no harm whatsoever from maintaining the status quo that has existed for over 30 years.”
While a case management conference is scheduled for Oct. 14 between Farmhouse and city of Buellton representatives, the hearing to consider preliminary injunctive relief is set for Dec. 3. Santa Barbara County Superior Court Judge Jed Beebe will preside.
When Farmhouse’s attorneys first filed the civil suit in May, court summons included a request for respondents—the city of Buellton and City Manager Scott Wolfe—to file a written response within 30 calendar days.
According to court documents, during a settlement conference in June, all parties agreed to extend Buellton’s deadline to “prepare and certify” its administrative record to Sept. 18.
“Parties are still exploring the potential for settlement,” City Attorney Greg Murphy wrote in court documents filed in July. “Counsel for all parties have met and … agree that while progress is being made, more time is necessary to meet and confer regarding the contents [of] the administrative record.”
Over the past few months, the Buellton City Council has met in closed session to discuss the lawsuit a handful of times.
In late August, Farmhouse co-owner Moriarty told the Sun that a potential settlement option he discussed with the city was an “agreement to convert the property back to a motel use under a phased structure over five years.”
“The city declined the offer,” Moriarty said via email.
He described his recent filing for preliminary injunctive relief as an aim to “allow our residents to remain until the suit was fully litigated.”
“I want the citizens of Buellton to know where their money is being spent. … We anticipate the potential legal fees for the city will be well over $300,000,” Moriarty said. “Should we lose, we plan to shutter the Farmhouse building until a new set of city leaders are elected that are more cooperative.”
This article appears in September 10 – September 17, 2026.
