Will Cambria Christmas Market happen in 2021? Here’s what SLO County planners decided
The Cambria Christmas Market is one step closer to being allowed to happen in 2021, but there could be as many as two other approval steps ahead.
San Luis Obispo County planning commissioners unanimously approved extending the Christmas Market’s expired previous five-year permit to cover this year’s event, but one Cambria resident said she will appeal that approval to the county Board of Supervisors and, if necessary, to the state Coastal Commission.
That would mean delays in getting on those agencies’ agendas and then waiting out the required appeal periods that would follow any decisions.
Technological problems that caused the county Planning Commission to have to continue its Oct. 7 hearing to the next available date, which was Oct. 22.
Originally, the Christmas Market had been scheduled to begin on Nov. 26 at Cambria Pines Lodge, 2905 Burton Drive in Cambria, and run through Dec. 23.
The newly approved permit removes that start date. Assuming the market gets final approval to run this year, the permit would allow the event to begin whenever the permit process concludes and then run for four weeks.
Victor Montgomery, a planner with the RRM Design Group consulting firm, said Christmas Market organizers researching “rather arcane provisions” of California law that might allow them to skip the supervisors’ hearing and take the issue directly to the California Coastal Commission.
Based on traditional German Christmas markets, the Cambria Christmas Market features more than two million lights, elaborate holiday-themed displays and traditional German foods and drinks, as well as live music, an open-air market with vendors and a chance for kids to meet Santa Claus.
Cambria Christmas Market nears approval amid new conditions
Based on traditional German Christmas markets, the Cambria Christmas Market features more than two million lights, elaborate holiday-themed displays and traditional German foods and drinks, as well as live music, an open-air market with vendors and a chance for kids to meet Santa Claus.
With the planning commissioners’ approval, the market would operate from 5 to 9 p.m. Wednesday through Sundays, with the exception of Christmas week.
As usual, the event would include temporary lighting, seasonal displays and concession stands. A total of 26 temporary booths would be erected for the Christmas Market and dismantled and removed at the conclusion of the event.
The Planning Commission imposed several new conditions, most of them centering on compliance with all conditions and inspections to make sure that compliance happens.
As Commissioner Michael Multari said during the hearing, “The question is, are they indeed adhered to? That’s the key issue. We can write good conditions, but we have to make sure the applicant adheres to them.”
“Over the history of the event,” that may not have gone as planned, Multari added, which he called “my primary hesitancy.”
That said, Multari made the motion to approve the permit with the conditions and modifications.
Some conditions address previous issues with unpermitted electrical connections, which triggered a code enforcement action, as well as safety precautions and traffic, parking and shuttle issues.
Only two people spoke during the public comment portion of the hearing.
Among the people who spoke were Claudia Harmon-Worthen, who listed a number of concerns and said she’ll file appeals on the approvals she expected to happen.
Russ Read of Cambria, whose home is near the market site, felt there wasn’t enough public notice about the Planning Commission rescheduled hearing, and said some who wanted to comment then might not have known about the Oct. 22 session.
He also commented about neighborhood noise and traffic impacts due to the market.
Among the other concerns raised by the community in letters and other communications prior to the hearing involved amplified music, health and public safety and the use of propane heaters in an area surrounded by forestland. Community members also expressed worries about water use by attendees and vendors.
Supporters described the market as a family-friendly community event and noted that some area entrepreneurs experience increased sales during a time of the year when business is normally slow. The event also provides a venue for vendors, they said.
Commissioner Phil Henry said the written comments appeared to be fairly well balanced between those who support the Cambria Christmas Market and those who have concerns about it or oppose it outright.
Montgomery, the RRM Design Group planner, said the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office had sent a letter saying the event was “very well run.”
Montgomery said that portable restrooms and washing stat ions reduce water use, as does the dispensing of bottled water.
An electrical engineer and an electrical contractor studied and corrected power issues, Montgomery said, adding that contracted law enforcers will be on duty at key traffic points and inside the venue.
Commissioner Kristina Simpson-Spearman said she’s concerned about COVID-19 precautions at the event and onboard the shuttle buses that carry attendees to and from the market.
She also requested written documentation from the Cambria Community Services District, which provides the town’s water, about how much water Cambria Pines Lodge used in the month of December in years prior the advent of the market, and how that holiday time use might have changed since then.
