Solvang residents and members of the city’s Design Review Committee on Thursday critiqued a proposal to create a high-end glamping resort, concerned it won’t fit in properly in the city’s downtown area.

The proposal came before the committee earlier this week as part of a pre-application process, where the development team elicits feedback before formally seeking a development permit.

While Lonnie Roy is named as the applicant, an Ed St. George firm is listed as the property owner. 

Phil Stevens, who represented the applicant, discussed the proposed Airstream hotel, or a trailer park resort, with 31 spots at 1783 and 1793 Mission Drive, the former Solvang Lumberyard property.

The proposal includes converting an on-site residence into two hotel suites, remodeling a commercial building into a bar lounge and lobby, demolishing an existing garage and adding a 720-square-foot guest amenities center. It also includes a pool, restrooms and showers, as well as a lookout tower.

The proposed resort sits in an area requiring Spanish Mission-style architecture. At the meeting, several residents pushed back against the project, citing concerns about its lack of Spanish architectural elements.

“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,” said Dennis Beebe, president of Santa Ynez Valley Citizens Council. “I find it completely inappropriate for downtown Solvang.”

Speakers also opposed the lookout tower. Resident Susan Belloni described it as an “old West military fortress” that doesn’t fit within the Santa Ynez Valley.

Design Review Committee member Charlene Goetz encouraged the applicant to better incorporate the historical Spanish style, as opposed to the current contemporary look.

Another committee member, Jennifer Johnson, objected to the Airstream proposal completely.

“Even if I was going to go camping, which I did all my life growing up, I would never go in an Airstream,” Johnson said.

Committee members also opposed the location of the pool, which would be adjacent to residential homes. 

Vice Chair Richard Boyd said he “would not be real happy” living close to the pool.

Johnson agreed, saying she wouldn’t want to be “listening to Marco Polo for hours on end.”

Stevens acknowledged the critiques from residents and the committee and said the design team will go back to the drawing board to “strike a better balance.” 

The committee invited applicants to undergo a second pre-application review before attempting to obtain a formal development permit.

This project is the latest proposal for the old Solvang Lumberyard property.

Multiple different ideas have been proposed in recent years, attracting lukewarm responses from officials and residents.