The Buellton City Council unanimously approved on Thursday the first reading of an ordinance that would change how certain motel properties operate along the Avenue of Flags.

The ordinance would require certain motels along the Avenue of Flags that have been used as long-term housing to revert to short-term lodging, with operators also required to register with the city and resume paying hotel taxes.

City officials described the change as part of a years-long effort to bring the properties into code compliance and clear the way for efforts to revitalize Buellton’s commercial downtown.

During public comment, some residents spoke against the change, saying it would displace vulnerable residents and eliminate existing low-income housing in an already scarce market.

Developer Kerry Moriarty, who owns the Farm House Motel at 588 Avenue of Flags, said 22 low-income individuals and families could be displaced.

“These people most likely will not qualify for the new affordable housing projects that have come out,” he said. “To me, this would be a real black eye for the city of Buellton from a public relations standpoint, kicking out 22 low-income people.”

Council members and staff pushed back on Moriarty’s claims of displacement, with Mayor David Silva saying the city has conducted outreach since the ordinance was first discussed in October, and that the proposal includes a lengthy transition period for qualifying tenants who join the county’s affordable housing waitlist.

“We’re talking about a 34-month timeline to implementation that we’re looking at,” Silva said. “Eight months between when we first brought this up till now, eight months between adoption if it moves forward to October, and then you could get an additional 18 months if you’re on a list.”

To help facilitate the transition, staff said, tenants can receive the extension by pre-qualifying for upcoming local projects, including the 89-unit Buellton Garden Apartments, which is anticipated to open this summer.

Moriarty also called the argument that the change would spur redevelopment of other motels along the avenue an “unrealistic expectation.”

“Changing the use of the Farm House back to a hotel or motel will do nothing to encourage redevelopment on the avenue,” he said. “If this were the case, then the other motels situated on the avenue would be making plans for redevelopment already.”

City officials argued that the ordinance is intended to remove a longstanding barrier that has made redevelopment along the avenue difficult.

In his staff report, City Manager Scott Wolfe explained that prior state laws and litigation required developers to build “replacement units” if they demolished long-term motel housing to make way for new projects.

He said that because the motel parcels are relatively small, that requirement made redevelopment financially unfeasible.

Moriarty warned that the city could face what he described as an “unnecessary lawsuit” if the proposal moves forward, adding that it was “especially baffling” that the ordinance would exempt Red Rose Court at 435 Avenue of Flags but not the Farm House Motel.

While council members and staff did not directly address the litigation, they defended the legality of the ordinance, saying the California Department of Housing and Community Development had reviewed and helped shape the changes to ensure compliance with state housing laws, and that the properties’ shift to long-term housing was never formally authorized.

Councilman John Sanchez said he could not recall the Farm House ever operating as a motel and asked when it had transitioned into apartments.

Wolfe said he did not have exact dates, but that the city had found documentation showing that a previous owner’s request to formally convert the property to apartments had been denied.

In his staff report, Wolfe wrote that the traditional motel use of those businesses had gradually shifted into longer-term residential occupancy, with former motel rooms becoming single-room occupancy housing units.

The report states that those units existed “largely illegally” under the city’s zoning ordinance.

The council voted 4-0 to approve the first reading of the ordinance, which will return for a final reading and adoption vote at a future meeting.

“I feel like this is the city doing its due diligence to bring things into compliance and to code, and to follow what’s the rule of law with as much compassion as possible,” Silva said.

The next regular Buellton City Council meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday, March 26 at 140 W. Highway 246.