No matter how often any given Buellton resident flushes their toilet, the monthly, fixed sewer rate for a single-family home increased by 95 percent between fiscal years 2025 and 2026—from a flat fee of $30.45 to $58.96. July 1 marked the beginning of the next chapter in Buellton’s five-year plan to improve its wastewater reserve […]
Buellton City Council
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Farmhouse sues Buellton over motel reversion mandate
Less than a month after becoming enforceable, Buellton’s new housing restrictions on motels along Avenue of Flags now face a civil lawsuit that one property owner warned city officials was inevitable. Farmhouse co-owner Kerry Moriarty was vocal about his intentions to sue the city during public hearings focused on Buellton’s motel reversion ordinance, enacted in […]
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Mounting losses: Horseback ride and petting zoo operator alleges pony’s death caused by nearby construction
Runny noses. Swollen eyes. Rashes. Hives. A wave of illness that plagued Bob Sweeney’s horses last summer, he said, coincided with construction work happening adjacent to his stables in Buellton. Sweeney described the city’s nearly yearlong construction of a new 100-space parking lot on Sycamore Drive in 2025 as detrimental to his business—SYV Horseback Rides, […]
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Checkout aisle: New housing restrictions impact long-term motel tenants on one corridor in Buellton
There’s at least one framed photo in 34-year-old Cesar Garcia’s living room that tends to elicit a physiological reaction from first-time visitors. Within days of departing from the White House, Joe Biden posed with Garcia in early 2025 for a selfie at Mission Santa Ines—where the Buellton resident has regularly attended Sunday mass since he […]
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Historical landmark policy complicates Pea Soup Andersen’s demolition
Pea Soup Andersen’s future demolition hinges on how Buellton decides to preserve parts of the more than 100-year-old building. Designated by elected leaders as an official city landmark in 2020, the restaurant has been closed since early 2024. That year also marked its centennial. For Buellton to approve the shuttered eatery’s demolition, staff told the […]
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Buellton moves motel conversion rules forward
Restricting long-term housing at motel properties along the Avenue of Flags would help maximize Buellton’s efforts in revitalizing the corridor, according to city staff. In local attorney Mack Carlson’s eyes, the proposed ordinance amounts to “gentrification by policy,” he said during the Buellton City Council’s March 12 meeting. “Let’s be clear about the decision before […]
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Buellton developer preps to demolish Parks Plaza theater
Idle and shuttered since 2020, Buellton’s former movie theater—Parks Plaza on McMurray Road—will be demolished to make way for a new three-story Cottage Health medical office thanks to a recent Planning Commission vote. The 20-day period for the public to formally appeal the commission’s decision to the City Council kicked off on Feb. 19. At […]
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Buellton installs the county’s first public pet microchip scanner stations
Typically found in veterinary offices and animal shelters, a pet microchip scanner can quickly help someone who’s found a stray animal—if it’s been microchipped—arrange a reunion with its owner. Although its availability is limited by working hours, staffing, and other factors tied to locations that carry scanners, the Santa Barbara Animal Care Foundation (SBACF) is […]
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Buellton refreshes its tree policies while pursuing Tree City USA status
There are plenty of guidelines and recommendations for developers related to tree upkeep in Buellton, but not enough enforceable do’s and don’ts, some city officials recently argued. “I don’t like the fact that, … ‘Should’ leads to ‘I don’t need to,’” Buellton Mayor David Silva said at the council’s Nov. 13 meeting. The city is […]
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Carla Mead leads Buellton City Council vacancy election with 60 percent
Determining who will take the Buellton City Council’s vacant 4th District seat rests on the results of the August vote-by-mail special election. While those results are set to be certified by Sept. 12, the city’s semi-official reports show candidate Carla Mead in the lead with 60 percent of the votes. According to an Aug. 29 […]
