Community letter to Sup Pedroza
on the web at: https://sodacanyonroad.org/forum.php?p=1748
Barbara Guggia | Oct 19, 2017We just sent an email to AP that might provide some additional motivation for him to work on access for vineyards and property owners. We tried to touch upon all concerns mentioned earlier. Here is a copy.
Barbara
Mr. Pedroza-
Napa County has experienced an overwhelming ordeal in the last ten days and my wife and I appreciate the sincere efforts of our first responders and public employees who have worked tirelessly to meet the challenges of this horrible situation. Thank you.
As property owners on Soda Canyon Road, we have been devastated by the fire and the loss of life and property in our community. Although I understand it is a time consuming process to make our neighborhood safe again , the lack of accurate information regarding when property owners can return to their homes, has greatly increased the anxiety level and heartbreak many of us are experiencing. Since you are the supervisor for our district, I am asking you to help problem-solve property access issues.
I recently learned that PG&E, while they have been completing an enormous amount of work, may not be at a point where Soda Canyon Road can be opened to property owners for another 5 to 7 days. The damage is much worse than their initial assessment.
Many property owners on Soda Canyon Road are not directly in the agriculture business and therefore cannot apply for the Ag passes available from the Napa Agricultural Commission. This leaves the majority of the property owners in a situation where we cannot assess the damage to our property, cannot complete insurance claims, cannot make repairs that would limit continuing damage and cannot retrieve and/or secure family heirlooms and other valuables.
My neighbors who have vineyards who have not harvested their grapes are also frustrated with the lack of access and will suffer significant losses if they are not allowed to pick soon.
As the supervisor representing our community, I am calling upon your leadership skills to facilitate a positive outcome to this situation. Yes, we all want power restored to SCR, we don’t want to impede PG&E with their work but the grapes also need to be picked. Property owners also need to have access to their properties. I am confident that a schedule could be worked out where property owners and vineyard owners’ needs are met. To avoid potential traffic congestion, the property owners could be required to remain on their property until a specified time. This would allow vineyard trucks to only have to negotiate with PG&E.
A few other issues that would need to be addressed include the fact many property owners have evacuated to locations outside of the county and at least a 24 hour notice would be needed to insure everyone has access. It could be a total mess, if the law enforcement agency in charge of the SCR closure had to verify every driver’s license or tax bill before allowing access, therefore, if property owners could verify residence and obtain passes prior to the road opening, it would alleviate a major traffic jam. It would also allow those residents who might have lost all paperwork in the fire, to verify residency with the county’s assistance prior to road opening.
Your assistance is greatly appreciated,
Steve Chilton
Napa County has experienced an overwhelming ordeal in the last ten days and my wife and I appreciate the sincere efforts of our first responders and public employees who have worked tirelessly to meet the challenges of this horrible situation. Thank you.
As property owners on Soda Canyon Road, we have been devastated by the fire and the loss of life and property in our community. Although I understand it is a time consuming process to make our neighborhood safe again , the lack of accurate information regarding when property owners can return to their homes, has greatly increased the anxiety level and heartbreak many of us are experiencing. Since you are the supervisor for our district, I am asking you to help problem-solve property access issues.
I recently learned that PG&E, while they have been completing an enormous amount of work, may not be at a point where Soda Canyon Road can be opened to property owners for another 5 to 7 days. The damage is much worse than their initial assessment.
Many property owners on Soda Canyon Road are not directly in the agriculture business and therefore cannot apply for the Ag passes available from the Napa Agricultural Commission. This leaves the majority of the property owners in a situation where we cannot assess the damage to our property, cannot complete insurance claims, cannot make repairs that would limit continuing damage and cannot retrieve and/or secure family heirlooms and other valuables.
My neighbors who have vineyards who have not harvested their grapes are also frustrated with the lack of access and will suffer significant losses if they are not allowed to pick soon.
As the supervisor representing our community, I am calling upon your leadership skills to facilitate a positive outcome to this situation. Yes, we all want power restored to SCR, we don’t want to impede PG&E with their work but the grapes also need to be picked. Property owners also need to have access to their properties. I am confident that a schedule could be worked out where property owners and vineyard owners’ needs are met. To avoid potential traffic congestion, the property owners could be required to remain on their property until a specified time. This would allow vineyard trucks to only have to negotiate with PG&E.
A few other issues that would need to be addressed include the fact many property owners have evacuated to locations outside of the county and at least a 24 hour notice would be needed to insure everyone has access. It could be a total mess, if the law enforcement agency in charge of the SCR closure had to verify every driver’s license or tax bill before allowing access, therefore, if property owners could verify residence and obtain passes prior to the road opening, it would alleviate a major traffic jam. It would also allow those residents who might have lost all paperwork in the fire, to verify residency with the county’s assistance prior to road opening.
Your assistance is greatly appreciated,
Steve Chilton
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