Bill Hocker | Sep 10, 2015

FINAL REPORT: AGRICULTURAL PROTECTION ADVISORY COMMITTEE (APAC) RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION

Sigh! Someone with knowledge of these things told us during the process that at the end of the day the hospitality industry will use APAC to extend their control over the wine industry (and the lives of the county residents), despite the fact that the impetus in creating the committee was to do exactly the opposite. It is interesting that of the 6 items identified at the Mar 10th joint BOS/PC meeting to be considered by APAC none were accepted and some not even considered.

My immediate take on each of the 12 recommendations:

1. Avoid the use of variances as a principal tool for achieving compliance with land use regulations. Variances may be used only when there is specific evidence supporting all necessary findings.

Can they be used as a secondary tool to make projects fit? This really seems like an un-toothed recommendation hinging on the malleable words "avoid" and "principal".

2. Develop guidelines and benchmarks for consideration of future winery use permits based on the format of Proposal X (see Appendix).

The framework but not the contents of Proposal X survived. Let's assume that it is now up to the planning commission to fill in the grid. If they adopt Dir. Morrison's original contents there may be some hope to curb winery proliferation. Filling in the content was purpose of the APAC, and they punted.

3. Use the working definition of agriculture (see Appendix).

This and #8 below are the black heart of the recommendations and the reason the committee not only didn't protect agriculture but solidified the commercial exploitation of ag lands. By restating that marketing and food service are a part of the definition of agricultural processing (i.e. that processing tourists is equivalent to processing grapes) and specifically denying that marketing is an accessory use of a winery (as tours and tastings are) is to guarantee that event centers will continue to proliferate.

4. Implement an annual self­certification reporting process, requiring a report to be submitted by the principal officer of each winery certifying the amount of wine produced, compliance with the 75% rule, as applicable, and compliance with all conditions of use permit approval. All data collected shall remain confidential to the extent allowed under the law.

This was Proposal Z in the APAC discussions and is good - when wineries are found to be out of compliance owners can be prosecuted - some incentive there. But even if all use permits are followed to the letter there are already too many wineries, too much visitation, too many parties. And more will continue to come asking for the numbers that they would have cheated to achieve in the past. This won't change the upward trend.

5. Limit the total development area, for parcels up to 40 acres in the AP and AW zones, to no more than a cumulative total of 20% of a parcel, including new winery, residential and/or other permitted uses. The total development area for parcels larger than 40 acres would be capped at a fixed eight (8) acres maximum.

This is good. The wine industry has always been a war with home developers (which they often conflate with residents) and this closes one of the loopholes that allowed mega estates to consume ag land. It also reduces the development area from the current 25%.

6. Modify the County code to include outdoor hospitality areas and Type 3 caves in the total area used to determine the maximum square footage for accessory uses for new wineries in the AP and AW zones.

This is good. I am assuming that type 3 caves, which allow public access, will be counted in their entirety as hospitality space.

7. Prohibit hold and haul of wastewater and related liquid by­products on all AP and AW zoned parcels for new wineries except during winery development, not to exceed one year from certificate of occupancy, or in an emergency situation.

This is good. Although there will be a lot more Lyve wastewater treatment systems churning away next door and a lot more 100,000 gal holding tanks littering the landscape. And of course existing wineries can continue to expand and increase their hold and haul operations.

8. Establish a process for the approval of use permits for small wineries as defined in Napa County’s Local Procedures for Implementing California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA):

● Include less than 5,000 square feet in size excluding caves
● Involve either no cave excavation, or excavation sufficient to create no more than 5,000
additional square feet with all of the excavated cave spoils to be used on site
● Produce 30,000 gallons or less per year
● Generate less than 40 vehicle trips per day and 5 peak hour trips except on those days
when marketing events are taking place
● Hold no more than 10 marketing events per year, each with no more than 30 attendees,
except for one wine auction event with up to 100 persons in attendance
● Hold no temporary events.

The "CEQA" definition has been around for a while and infrequently used in the proposal of new wineries. Promotion by this committee may mean that it is used more often as a development tool to skirt more rigorous review. (Planning commission review would still by required if I understand the proposal correctly). My screed on the "CEQA" winery is here. The visitation allowed under this definition (19,380 visitors/yr) is not insignificant. A 10,000 sf winery (bldg+caves) allowed is also not an insignificant size. There are perhaps 150 properties on Soda Canyon Road that can accommodate such a winery: a potential of 3063 cars up and down the road each day on average. (Well maybe 1000/day if they each visit 3 wineries.) If the trend toward micro wineries continues, this adoption of the "CEQA" definition will probably encourage tourism development of ag lands more than the normal process has done so far.

9. Limit the implementation of the recommended new requirements for winery use permits, including maximum winery development area, small winery use permit approval processes, and hold and haul restrictions to new use permit applications for wineries submitted after January 1, 2016.

This is bad. Right now existing wineries must comply with the requirements of the WDO for the expansions of facilities at existing wineries. This provision essentially exempts existing wineries from ever having to comply with updated ordinances. Like coal companies being able to pollute forever. It creates a whole new layering of grandfathered uses that are difficult to enforce. And then there is the rush of new winery proposals that will be coming in at the end of the year for the planning department to deal with. Any proposed start date requires a retroactive moratorium on new applications until that time.

10: Strongly encourage elected and appointed officials of the County, and their staffs, to take the following actions:

● Implement the land use policies identified in the Napa County General Plan update.
● Enforce all current regulations fairly and consistently.
● Deny any unrealistic use permit applications and modifications that are depending on the excessive use of variances.
● Consistently follow existing procedures.
● Discontinue creative efforts to justify projects on non­conforming parcels.
● Be consistent in the interpretation, application and enforcement of all use permits.
● Complete items the County Board of Supervisors and Planning Commission identified at the joint special hearing on March 10, including:

o County Climate Action Plan
o Circulation Element of the General Plan
o Summit of County, City, and Town officials to discuss joint efforts to address regional land use and transportation issues.

Who can disagree? The CAP and transport element of the GP are already being worked on. The growth summit remains to be convened. I had great hopes for such a summit in stemming the development that is turning Napa County into just another Bay Area suburb. After APAC, which caved to tourism interests without an overt tourism industry presence on the committee, the chance of a one-napa committee which will have a large tourism industry presence curbing growth is very unlikely.

11. Share the County’s production reporting methodology with the five other Napa County jurisdictions and encourage annual winery data collection from wineries located in the incorporated areas for the purposes of capturing more complete data.

Of course.

12. Appoint a five­-person subcommittee of APAC to review language prior to the final report being presented to the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors and to confirm accuracy of recommendations.

I assume this report the result of the 5 person subcommittee.

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