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A New Year's resolution unkept
A New Year's resolution unkept
Bill Hocker | Jan 6, 2016 on: APAC
NVR 1/6/16: Supervisors set rough outlines for winery rule changes
I was optimistic last year about the prospects for the new year in this post written at the end of 2014. The Board of Supervisors at the time were resolved to look at the issue of continuing development and its implication for the future of Napa County. A new resident stakeholder, NapaVision2050, was created in January. In March the Supervisors created an Agricultural Protection Advisory Committee to look at what needed to be done to slow the trend toward more profitable tourism-based wineries. In November the committee and the planning commission presented recommendations, and now at the end of 2015 the Supervisors are reviewing those recommendations. The NVR cronicle of the saga is here. (Top Story No. 3 this year up from No. 8 last year.)
It has become somewhat obvious that the Supervisors have been handed more reform than they would like to see. While the original APAC recommendations were modest and unlikely to change the development dynamic, the Planning Commission in their review made a couple of additions that had some definiteness about them. At this Jan 5th review of the APAC/PC recommendations the supervisors categorically refused to consider any of he Planning Commission changes, supported some and sent those that might have an impact back to the planning department for further emasculation.
The recommendations under consideration:
- One requires setback variances to be more carefully considered (supported).
- One reduces somewhat the amount of area that can be developed on a property (questioned) .
- One expands what is considered the hospitality area of a winery (questioned).
- One proscribes the method waste disposal at wineries (questioned).
- One requires that only new wineries, not expansions must meet new requirements (supported).
- One requires existing winery owners to certify that they will comply with their uses permits in the future. They will, of course, have the opportunity of having their existing illegal uses recognized and allowed first (supported).
- One asks the county to complete tasks previously in process and to be consistent in its decisions and to address regional issues in conjunction with the cities (supported).
- One asks the county to share winery data with the cities (supported).
- Far from countering proliferation, one establishes a new class of tourism winery exempt from automatic planning commission review (supported - I seem to be the only person that sees this as a major impetus for new winery construction).
As 2016 begins the Supervisors are still resolved to a "growth summit", formed in conjunction with the municipalities, to look at the regional issues of traffic and affordable housing. If only those problems can be mitigated, some may reason, the residents perhaps will not be so concerned about the amount of development beginning to impact their lives. Unfortunately those problems are unlikely to be reduced, even if the county and the cities are able to collaborate, as long as the "growth" that creates the problems continues.
Hope springs eternal, but the retreat from reform in the APAC process (despite what I sensed was a real effort at reform on the part of the chairman, some members of the committee, the planning department, and some of the planning commissioners) signals that development interests have carried the day, perhaps as they always do, and that this year (and for the next 45 years) there is much less to be optimistic about than there was a year ago.
NVR 1/6/16: Supervisors set rough outlines for winery rule changes
I was optimistic last year about the prospects for the new year in this post written at the end of 2014. The Board of Supervisors at the time were resolved to look at the issue of continuing development and its implication for the future of Napa County. A new resident stakeholder, NapaVision2050, was created in January. In March the Supervisors created an Agricultural Protection Advisory Committee to look at what needed to be done to slow the trend toward more profitable tourism-based wineries. In November the committee and the planning commission presented recommendations, and now at the end of 2015 the Supervisors are reviewing those recommendations. The NVR cronicle of the saga is here. (Top Story No. 3 this year up from No. 8 last year.)
It has become somewhat obvious that the Supervisors have been handed more reform than they would like to see. While the original APAC recommendations were modest and unlikely to change the development dynamic, the Planning Commission in their review made a couple of additions that had some definiteness about them. At this Jan 5th review of the APAC/PC recommendations the supervisors categorically refused to consider any of he Planning Commission changes, supported some and sent those that might have an impact back to the planning department for further emasculation.
The recommendations under consideration:
- One requires setback variances to be more carefully considered (supported).
- One reduces somewhat the amount of area that can be developed on a property (questioned) .
- One expands what is considered the hospitality area of a winery (questioned).
- One proscribes the method waste disposal at wineries (questioned).
- One requires that only new wineries, not expansions must meet new requirements (supported).
- One requires existing winery owners to certify that they will comply with their uses permits in the future. They will, of course, have the opportunity of having their existing illegal uses recognized and allowed first (supported).
- One asks the county to complete tasks previously in process and to be consistent in its decisions and to address regional issues in conjunction with the cities (supported).
- One asks the county to share winery data with the cities (supported).
- Far from countering proliferation, one establishes a new class of tourism winery exempt from automatic planning commission review (supported - I seem to be the only person that sees this as a major impetus for new winery construction).
As 2016 begins the Supervisors are still resolved to a "growth summit", formed in conjunction with the municipalities, to look at the regional issues of traffic and affordable housing. If only those problems can be mitigated, some may reason, the residents perhaps will not be so concerned about the amount of development beginning to impact their lives. Unfortunately those problems are unlikely to be reduced, even if the county and the cities are able to collaborate, as long as the "growth" that creates the problems continues.
Hope springs eternal, but the retreat from reform in the APAC process (despite what I sensed was a real effort at reform on the part of the chairman, some members of the committee, the planning department, and some of the planning commissioners) signals that development interests have carried the day, perhaps as they always do, and that this year (and for the next 45 years) there is much less to be optimistic about than there was a year ago.