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City Council consents to countywide wine business improvement district after unanimous vote
Summary
After presentations from vintners and hospitality partners, the Santa Barbara City Council voted unanimously to let the County create a Santa Barbara County Wine Business Improvement District that would include city wineries and impose a 1% assessment on direct-to-consumer retail sales.
The Santa Barbara City Council voted unanimously Feb. 4 to grant the County of Santa Barbara consent to include territory inside the city in a proposed Santa Barbara County Wine Business Improvement District.
The council’s action allows the county-led ballot process to include city wineries in a district that proponents say will produce steady, predictable marketing funds for the region’s wine industry and its hospitality partners.
The item was introduced by Allison Laslett, chief executive officer of the Santa Barbara Vintners Association. Laslett told the council the district would levy a 1% assessment on direct-to-consumer retail sales at participating wineries and tasting rooms. “We expect this district to bring in approximately 1 and a half million dollars annually,” she said, adding that the assessment would not apply to wholesale sales or sales outside California.
Laslett described a collections process that would use HDL, a third-party…
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