A similar effort was withdrawn in 2020 due to fierce opposition from small vineyards
Saarloos Vineyard | Photo: Shannon Brooks
County supervisors announced Tuesday that they are signing an agreement among the county's winemakers to create a winemaker improvement district to better promote Santa Barbara County as a premier destination for wine tourists and wine seekers. It approved a small but important procedural step that could pave the way for an election. Buy wine directly from the producer. If approved, such a business improvement district could generate $1.65 million annually, much of it to help market Santa Barbara's wine scene more aggressively against regional rivals like Paso Robles and Monterey. It will be used.
A similar initiative was floated four years ago but was withdrawn in 2020 after fierce opposition from some small vineyards. Whether those wrinkles have ironed out in the intervening years is still speculation, but Steve Pepe, an official at Pepe Vineyards, vehemently opposes the idea, saying that he It noted that only 96 out of 350 business owners supported this idea, while the rest opposed it.
He said the 1% tax on gross sales imposed by improvement districts is too burdensome for small businesses, amounts to a new tax under state law, and any such proposal would require a statewide referendum. He argued that it would be.
Under the system tentatively approved by regulators, such a vote would require a simple majority of wine producers in the county. But under the rules governing the formation of business improvement districts, votes are weighted based on a wine operator's total sales. To allocate votes based on sales, regulators had to approve the release of all 350 operators' proprietary sales tax data to private consultants. If he 50 percent (plus one person) of all brewers agree to the improvement district, the idea will pass.
Tom Snyder, president of the Santa Barbara County Vintners Association, argued that Santa Barbara needs new improved districts to remain regionally competitive.
