The developers of a proposed Lompoc wine and entertainment center—which many locals hoped would be a catalyst in revitalizing Old Town—now say the project may be abandoned.
Lompoc business partners John Linn, Nick Gonzalez, and Ruben Solorzano have put more than $135,000 into the project in the past year for equipment and repairs, but repeated permitting problems eventually took a financial toll on the developers.
“We’re stuck in the mud,” Linn told the Sun.
Plans for the Santa Rita Wines Tasting Room and Lounge—which was originally expected to open in June 2010—include a 190-square-foot banquet room as well as a deli and an area for live music. The planned site is a 9,500-square-foot space at 118 W. Ocean Ave.
The developers began discussions with the city in September 2009 to figure out codes and requirements and to obtain a building permit to complete renovations to the property.
According to Linn, the project began deteriorating in subsequent meetings with city officials. Changes in requirements for occupancy, lighting, electrical wiring, heating, air conditioning, and ventilation dogged the project at every turn, Linn said.
Linn also said communication between the businessmen and the city were further strained by the April 2010 retirement of former building official Rick Curtze, with whom they were working.
The last straw came in September of this year when Linn and his partners were notified by the new city building official that the property would require a seismic retrofit, he said.
“That’s the very first thing we asked when we started this,” Linn said. “Had the answer been yes, that would have been the end of it—there would have been nothing else to talk about.”
One of the most costly parts of the project, from the property owners’ perspective, Linn said, is the stand-still time. For now, the project has more or less ceased while the owners of the downtown property continue talks with a structural engineer.
“At this point, the project’s dead,” Linn said. “At least until the seismic issue can be resolved.”
In a letter to Linn from the new building official, Bruce Taylor, dated Sept. 3, Taylor acknowledged communication problems and suggested a design professional be present at future meetings to avoid “secondhand information.”
Taylor had not returned the Sun’s requests for comment as of press time.
At the heart of the issue is whether the building permit process places too many hardships before business developers, essentially making it too difficult to cut through the red tape and ultimately contributing to a weaker local economy by keeping viable businesses out of already-vacant lots, said Lyla Mendez, a member of the Moore family, who owns the property.
“I can’t speak for anyone else, but I think that if anything comes out of this, a closer look will be given to future projects,” Mendez said. “The hope is that everyone can work together more closely in the future.”
The project was met with initial excitement by city officials and downtown business owners who saw it as a possible catalyst for attracting more wine tasting rooms and bolstering neighboring businesses. Linn also said the center had plans to employ 16 full-time and two part-time employees.
The proposed complex was lauded by the Lompoc Valley Chamber of Commerce, the city Planning Commission, and the City Council, who in 2009 adopted a resolution to create a downtown wine zone so Linn and his partners could secure the proper liquor licenses.
Linn is currently making his second run for mayor, but he said the permitting issues he faced are incidental to his candidacy, since they’re a problem many prospective small business owners are butting their heads against. His opponent in the race, Councilwoman Cecilia Martner, has also said the existing system needs improvement.
“If you are a large corporation with a lot of money, it’s very straightforward and happens fast,” Martner told the Sun. “The problem is that the majority of our businesses who are not the JC Pennys of the world find it confusing and cumbersome.” Many of the problems, as she sees them, stem from small business developers who don’t have professional architectural plans in place from the beginning.
“If they don’t, they get frustrated very fast,” she said. “We need to come up with a way to help small business feel comfortable, such as having somebody on staff to take them through the steps.”
In August, the city received a report from a team of advisors from the California Association of Local Economic Development, which found that the city’s process was fair, but noted the city should consider a “concierge” or “ombudsman” to provide developers with a single contact person who can guide projects through the process to avoid potentially deal-breaking snags.
“We need somebody who’s in the trenches,” Martner said. She added that there’s currently no process in place to hire such a person, and that the council needs to focus on that task.
Contact Staff Writer Matt Fountain via the executive editor at rmiller@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Oct 28 – Nov 4, 2010.