The City of Solvang has decided to end the outdoor dining options that shut down Copenhagen Drive during the height of the pandemic.
The City says that it has caused several issues including negatively affecting a minority of businesses.
"It's been great to provide seating outdoors to accommodate customers for the pandemic but we are still dealing with parking and circulation on the back end and in the alleys, so we are working towards reopening while we consider all those problems," explained Claudia Orona, Solvang Mayor Pro-tem.
Businesses and customers, though, have expressed overwhelming support in favor of keeping the downtown area the way it is.
The overall consensus seems to be that while COVID changed a lot of things, this is one change that has been heavily accepted.
Some businesses feel that their business heavily relies on outdoor options.
"It's gonna cut into our business quite a bit we've had some good business the past 18 months with the roads being closed…frankly we kind of like it," explained Andrew Moore, a tasting room manager.
Solvang City leaders did say that they are open to a discussion about how to keep the parklets in place, but as of right now they are in the works to clear it out by January 31st.
They say in order to keep things the way they are, they would need a solution for parking, and making the area more aesthetically pleasing.
