The Gaviota Coast of Nearly 70 Years Ago

But when peace restores the automobile to the family man and honeymooning couple, they will know [the journey from Santa Barbara to San Francisco] again as most travelers have known it, as 360 of the loveliest miles of the American landscape. You follow the ocean to Gaviota, and high away on your right are the violet Santa Ynez Mountains trenched with deep purple shadows. On your left are fine bean and walnut farms carpeting down to the edge of the cliffs over the sea. And the highway runs between poplars. Then you go north through a high pass and climbing up the mountains watch the afternoon light break up the smooth green contours of the morning, till the mountains break and fold into all the violent shapes, the fierce blue valleys that have made every afternoon for thousands of years. Occasionally, you see something glisten from the brushwood like the snout of a puppy. It is anti-aircraft guns again. On a narrow plateau with your back against the hard mountains and your face toward the silver Pacific, you can see islands like mirages floating above low clouds.

- The American Home Front, 1941-1942
- by Alistair Cooke

Everyone Has A Vision

Though Buellton has been a city for 16 years, we — as a community — have yet to articulate a vision that helps our city officials set civic priorities and guide us into the future. Each of the City Council candidates, who ran in fall election, stated their interest in redeveloping the Avenue of Flags as their highest priority. They also mentioned the desire to involve the community in determining a theme that would reflect what Buellton is becoming.

More than 69% of our neighbors recently approved Measure E, which gives Buellton residents the right to vote on whether or not the city provides services outside the city limits/UGB. The message is that our community cares about how and when it expands.

What does your vision of Buellton look like?

What do you like best about Buellton?

What would you like to see changed?

• Would a downtown district along the Avenue of Flags be an asset to the community? If so, what would you like to see located there?
• Unlike our neighboring Valley communities, Buellton has no defining architectural style. Should we adopt one?
• Many of our elected officials refer to Buellton as "the Gateway to the SYV." As the "Gateway," what amenities should we offer our citizens and visitors to our community?
• What types of business enterprise should we attract to and encourage in our community?
  

Here is my vision:

I believe having a downtown district is really important for a community — it becomes its heart. On the Avenue of Flags I'd love to see:

• the Library
• the Post Office
• the Visitors Center
• a coffee house that has comfortable chairs where friends and neighbors can meet
• a bistro-style restaurant that serves locally grown and inventively prepared food
• a quiet place that specializes in SYV produced wines to share a drink with friends at the end of the day, and perhaps offers live jazz, blues or acoustic music on the weekends
• one or more shops that features "Buellton-Made" and "SYV-Made products."

What's yours?

What I Love About Buellton--Add Your Own

I grew up in a small town about the size of Buellton. Mountains surrounded my little home town, as they do Buellton, and that is one reason I love both. Being able to lift my gaze and see the San Rafaels keeps me in touch with the precious natural beauty of our state and our planet. We may not be able to "have it all," but Buellton brings it close.

Democracy Alive and Well in Buellton

One measure of how committed citizens are to our democratic form of government is how many go to the trouble of participating in elections. On that measure, Buellton's voters come off very well indeed. As of Election Day, Buellton had 2,446 registered voters. Of that total, 2,072 voted for or against Measure E, and almost as many voted for or against Measure F. The total for Measure E represents 85% of registered voters. That is an extraordinarily high percentage of participation and shows how actively engaged Buellton residents can be in issues that affect them and our community. Whether each of us was for or against a particular item on the ballot, we can all take pride in this evidence that Buellton residents care. That bodes well for the future of our city.

Welcome to Blog for Buellton

Welcome to the Blog for Buellton. Comment on posts by others, or create your own. To post, please e-mail jpowell@usc.edu and I will "invite" you, which will add you to the list of those allowed to post rather than to comment only.

You will need a Google account, which is easy to acquire and worth having: go to https://www.google.com/accounts/NewAccount.

No topic is off limits, but posts should be worded with respect for others and have relevance to Buellton. Posts with inappropriate language will be deleted immediately.

Please help us launch Blog for Buellton as a way of building community and sharing our ideas and hopes for our city.

Thank you for blogging.