The campaign to create a 1 percent tax on Santa Barbara County winery sales to support regional marketing efforts crossed a critical hurdle on Tuesday afternoon, when the Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to advance the proposed business improvement district onto its next stage.
The Santa Barbara County Association of Vintners must now seek backing for the idea from every city in the county and then return to the Board of Supervisors for a public hearing on January 14. If all goes according to plan, the “Wine BID,” as it’s known, would then be created during the February 11 meeting.
Tuesday’s largely procedural meeting featured a presentation that highlighted how Temecula Valley’s creation of a BID led to an immediate increase in visitation. Santa Barbara Vintners head Alison Laslett further explained that the BID would likely generate $1.5 to $1.6 million annually for her organization’s marketing efforts.
“We could bring representation and visitation to our region like we never have before,” said Laslett.
There were six speakers, five of whom were winery owners and/or executives strongly in favor of the idea. “Our little association is really fighting giants here,” said Keith Saarloos of Saarloos & Sons. ”We’re fighting big companies and really corporate wine.”
The only one speaking against the BID was Clos Pepe Vineyard owner Stephen Pepe, who referred to legal concerns over the idea and pointed to 250 comments on an online forum as evidence of further opposition.
In voicing her support, Supervisor Joan Hartmann noted the various visitor bureaus and hotel associations in the county, and explained that this could help to better connect the whole region. “This will be an umbrella that will give us synergy, even for the other visitor-serving industries,” she said.
In his remarks, Supervisor Bob Nelson expressed concerns over using the money for political advocacy that wasn’t directly wine-related. But in expressing his support, he referred to a conversation he had with a struggling winemaker near Lompoc. “It’s unusual that a business says tax me more because I’m on life support,” he said.
With that, the last item of business for the last meeting of the year was done at the Board of Supervisors. Bottles were surely cracked.
