Something’s rotten in the state of Little Denmark.
The quaint California tourist town of Solvang is in a major snit over a controversial glamping resort proposal from a developer that’s in court with the town over another disputed hotel project — with new details emerging from inside the battle against what one member of the Scandinavian-ish town’s steering committee decried as a “gulag” in the making.
The dust-up kicked off in the self-described “Danish Capital of America” back on Aug. 20 — when the Solvang Design Review Committee, which ensures the town maintains its storybook character, convened to weigh in on a pre-application for Ed St. George’s prospective “glamping” and outdoor transient resort with 31 shiny silver Airstream campers, proposed for a roughly 2.19-acre downtown-adjacent site.
St. George has already stirred up plenty of controversy on the Central Coast in recent years — snapping up multiple properties after moving to the area during the pandemic. He’s most notable for stirring the proverbial pot with his purchase of beloved tourist attraction Pea Soup Andersen’s on Highway 101 in Buellton, slated to be torn down in favor of a luxury condominium project.
Solvang specifically has had considerable beef with St. George, too, which could be one reason why his latest proposal was met with such particular ire — his downtown hotel project, the 1704 Mission Hotel and Cottages, was slapped with a stop work order over desired design changes, leading St. George to file a lawsuit against the city, SFGATE reported earlier.
A review of a recording of the meeting revealed that much of the anger centered around a bizarre “lookout tower” planned for the glamping resort site — which would potentially allow transient guests to spy on the surrounding neighborhood.
“The tower, you could call it Jellystone Park, or you could call it a gulag,” Committee member Melissa Bates spat. “Either way, it’s gotta go.”
The site also happens to fall within the city’s Mission Design District, where all development is expected to incorporate Spanish Colonial Revival architecture, to compliment the city’s historic Old Mission Santa Ines.
City staff flatly directed St. George’s team to do better on the compliance front — while residents lined up in the meeting to share their own concerns.
Resident Susan Belloni questioned exactly how the distinctly mid-century campers belonged within the district.
“I don’t see that 31 mid-century design shiny aluminum Airstream trailers have anything in common with Spanish Colonial Revival architecture,” she said.
“If it looks like a trailer park and it gleams like a trailer park, in spite of the categorization of a lodging, it’s a trailer park,” Dennis Beebe said during public comment at the meeting — a comment that made headlines in the immediate aftermath of the Danish skirmish.
The plan isn’t dead, according to officials — just not ready for check-in. The developer was told to revise the plans and return for a second pre-application review — an unusual additional step.
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