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Woolls Ranch Hearing Statement
Woolls Ranch Hearing Statement
Harris Nussbaum | Nov 25, 2014 on: Mount Veeder
BOS Hearing - Woolls Winery- 11-22-14
I’m Harris Nussbaum. I hope you were able to watch 60 minutes special on water problems in California. Then you would realize we do have a problem and something needs to be done. In 2011 Napa Valley Vintners hired a consulting company to study wineries. They found there were 789 bonded wineries in the city and county of Napa. Today that number is 1045 with about 85% having tastings and events. Many bright people, doctors, lawyers, engineers, educators, believe that with current conditions having over 500 wineries in NC and adding more is unsustainable. We are not against wineries, many are winery and vineyard owners. We appreciate their contribution to this Valley, but worry about the future of that industry, the ag preserve and this great Valley.
Times have changed. It is impossible for the Planning Department to handle all that is asked of them. With new liberal rules for approval, few inspections, almost no enforcement, and many, many new requests, the ag preserve itself is at risk. You don’t know if what you are being told by applicants is the truth. Recently 40% of the few inspected had serious permit violations. That was 480% over permitted visitor count.
Some of the issues that you are hearing to deny the Woolls request are water issues including amount, arsenic and boron in the water, water tests done during the wet season, springs drying-up and need to drill deeper, traffic, danger, guidelines not adequate, environmental issues, neighbors wells affected and many more problems. Probably most important is the cumulative impact and this project is not sustainable. You and the applicant know there isn’t 1AF of water under every acre in the Valley and ½ AF in the hills. And why did they truck almost 2 mil. Gal. of potable water up the hill from City fire hydrants to water grapes. Their explanation of pump problems is hard to believe.
The ag preserve was written by a Board that had diverse views about property rights and environmental issues, but they realized that the Valley was at risk and something had to be done. Today we are in another crisis and you also have diverse views. It is now your turn to be the heroes of this Valley and to save the Ag Preserve. If you are leaving, retiring, or hope to stay for a while I urge you to have the courage to fulfill your responsibility for all the citizens of the Valley and not just the large earnings of a few.
What you do now will affect the quality of life for all of us as we move forward. Doing nothing will put one more nail in the coffin of this wonderful valley. Please, please, please, vote no. At least delay any decision to some future time when we know what the real impact will be.
BOS Hearing - Woolls Winery- 11-22-14
I’m Harris Nussbaum. I hope you were able to watch 60 minutes special on water problems in California. Then you would realize we do have a problem and something needs to be done. In 2011 Napa Valley Vintners hired a consulting company to study wineries. They found there were 789 bonded wineries in the city and county of Napa. Today that number is 1045 with about 85% having tastings and events. Many bright people, doctors, lawyers, engineers, educators, believe that with current conditions having over 500 wineries in NC and adding more is unsustainable. We are not against wineries, many are winery and vineyard owners. We appreciate their contribution to this Valley, but worry about the future of that industry, the ag preserve and this great Valley.
Times have changed. It is impossible for the Planning Department to handle all that is asked of them. With new liberal rules for approval, few inspections, almost no enforcement, and many, many new requests, the ag preserve itself is at risk. You don’t know if what you are being told by applicants is the truth. Recently 40% of the few inspected had serious permit violations. That was 480% over permitted visitor count.
Some of the issues that you are hearing to deny the Woolls request are water issues including amount, arsenic and boron in the water, water tests done during the wet season, springs drying-up and need to drill deeper, traffic, danger, guidelines not adequate, environmental issues, neighbors wells affected and many more problems. Probably most important is the cumulative impact and this project is not sustainable. You and the applicant know there isn’t 1AF of water under every acre in the Valley and ½ AF in the hills. And why did they truck almost 2 mil. Gal. of potable water up the hill from City fire hydrants to water grapes. Their explanation of pump problems is hard to believe.
The ag preserve was written by a Board that had diverse views about property rights and environmental issues, but they realized that the Valley was at risk and something had to be done. Today we are in another crisis and you also have diverse views. It is now your turn to be the heroes of this Valley and to save the Ag Preserve. If you are leaving, retiring, or hope to stay for a while I urge you to have the courage to fulfill your responsibility for all the citizens of the Valley and not just the large earnings of a few.
What you do now will affect the quality of life for all of us as we move forward. Doing nothing will put one more nail in the coffin of this wonderful valley. Please, please, please, vote no. At least delay any decision to some future time when we know what the real impact will be.