Printable View
Has anyone heard anything about the plans for Twin Hills Winery LLC (previously Twin Hills Apple Ranch)? I heard they will have a large tasting room and also 12-14 large events per year? This will be even more traffic on Pleasant Hill Rd, not to mention the noise and water use for the new vineyard.
Following is information about the Twin Hills Winery. Such information is available from the Permit and Resources Management Department (PRMD) of Sonoma County.
I live only about a mile away and can alert others.
Yet another apple orchard has been converted to a vineyard and an application has been made to make it into a winery. This is at the corner of Elphick, Pleasant Hill, and Watertrough, southwest of Sebastopol. When is enough enough? The Wine Empire, unless contained, could colonize most of the ag. lands in Sonoma County. Modifying an old saying, "One cannot live by wine alone." Wine grapes already consume over 60,000 acres in Sonoma County, whereas food crops only cover about 12,000 acres. Following are links to various articles.
-- https://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/2...-ranch-sold-to
-- https://www.firstleafland.com/successes.html?bpid=3413
-- https://www.norcalvineyards.com/imag...sebastopol.pdf
Afraid I don't have anything constructive to offer on topic. The wine-lifestyle phenomena, and its destructive impact on landscape and community, just depresses the hell out of me. Thanks to everyone who tries to push back, or at least to call for some Eco-tone balance.
To everyone who finds this disturbing - if we all support apple farmers, buy their products, pay a fair price for them, eat lots of them in season, make apple sauce for the winter, come to the Free Community Apple Press on the weekends at Burbank Experimental Farm (www.slowfoodrr.org) with all your apples, your neighbors' apples, the apples you buy from our local farm stands THEN the apple farmers, who really WAnt to keep growing apples, will be less likely to sell their acreage, chop down their trees, and give up!!!!
Quote:
Posted in reply to the post by Shepherd:
This is a nice thought, however, I wonder if it would work, since the wine people have so much money to offer the apple farmers, it must be so very tempting, especially if they've done it for a long time, or there are other circumstances that would make it appealing to sell out. I don't know how profitable apple farms are, but even if every apple from every tree was sold, it would probably pale in comparison to what the wine people could offer.
Quote:
Posted in reply to the post by applefan:
There is still time to do something about the proposed winery, event center, and wine tasting room planned for the corner of Elphick Road and Pleasant Hill Road. While the permit process is underway, various discrepancies have showed up between the application with ABC and Sonoma County Planning Department
They have an application into Alcoholic Beverage License (ABC) for a bookkeeping, record keeping place. Yet their application with the County is requesting a wine tasting and event venue.
These are two vastly different enterprises. ABC is under the impression that Twin Hills will only have an office where their records are kept.
Twin Hill Vineyard LLC, aka Reichwage Winery Inc has an application into ABC now. The tasting room will be within less than 600 ft of schools and a cemetery which conducts religious ceremonies.
Please, please, we need Protest Against Alcoholic Beverage License Application forms to be sent in to ABC. The form is easily downloaded at: https://www.abc.ca.gov/forms/abc510.pdf. We need to get these forms in ASAP. I believe they can also be filled out online.
We don't need to sit back and let another winery/tasting room/event center take over our county. The Dairyman project was shut down so the wine people do not always win.
Thank you for your help in preserving Sonoma County.
Dale
I have just posted that now is the time to file Protest Against Alcoholic Beverage License Application, https://www.abc.ca.gov/forms/abc510.pdf We only have a short amount of time left to file our protests. They an be filed online.Quote:
Posted in reply to the post by bsmith:
Please contact anyone you know who is interested in stopping another winery/tasting room/event center in our rural county.
Thank you,
Dale
Quote:
Posted in reply to the post by Shepherd:
Thanks,
Dale
Isn't it too late? Protest must be filed with 30 days of the date notice is first posted at proposed business,
or date that the business mails notice to residents/owners within 500' radius.
Does anyone have specific information on this?
Quote:
Posted in reply to the post by dwert56:
I've appreciated all the info and comments re this situation re Twin Hills and the winery. What has me confused however are the words "I've heard, we've heard." Is there any way to nail down the facts ?
You can't spit around here anymore without hitting a wine tasting room. It's too much.
About wine tasting and spitting. I worked in a winery a long time ago and when the wine maker was "tasting", he would spit each taste into a bucket. This does not happen in these so called tasting room. Why not call them what they are, Bars.
In response to request for more information about the proposed Twin Hills Winery on Pleasant Hill at the precarious intersection with Elphick in the Sebastopol countryside, a neighbor who works in the wine industry sent out the following.
Please consider commenting on the Twin Hills Winery to the Permit & Resource Management Department - County of Sonoma
I welcome any more information, as you discover it. As with the Paul Hobb about a mile away, this is another example of a conversion from an apple orchard to a vineyard, and then in this case to an industrial, commercial processing plant. Stay tuned for more information at www.winewaterwatch.com, https://www.preserveruralsonomacounty.org, andhttps://www.facebook.com/preserveruralsonomacounty.
Shepherd Bliss, Bloomfield/Lone Pine/Cunningham Neighborhood Association
Two schools, a fire house, a cemetery and a religious center all within 400 feet of this proposed winery/tasting room. The intersection of Elphick and Pleasant Hill is a precarious one. A blind hill feeds fast moving traffic, traffic that travels faster than it should, into that intersection with a wide left turn into the driveway of the former Twin Hills Farm. Cars have to stop in the middle of that intersection and hope they're not rear-ended. Line three cars in a row and it's an inevitability.
Most days during the spring and fall I witness the school marching band walking along the side of the road to practice in the cemetary parking lot. The Gold Ridge fire dept. needs clear sailing to do the job. Children walking and biking to school are a constant occurance. School traffic in the morning and afternoon is quite thick.
I work in the wine industry. I am certified by the state of California as a Responsible Server of Alcohol. And I am quite experienced in refusing service to those who have visited too many wineries - an event that usual occurs around 3:00pm and later. Just when school gets out.
We do not need to add winery traffic to block firetrucks or run over school children. It starts with a tasting room; a destination that encourages drinking. Then it turns into an event center; tripling traffic to the winery.
From a neighborhood standpoint, the wine makers and winery owners I speak to always communicate that, "Aw, people are just resistant to change. They want things to stay the way they are." Well, that's right. it's the reason we live here. That so-called "change" is not for the better. It has absolutely nothing to do with the quality of our lives. It is only about the quality of the very few who sell the wine.
A tasting room at that location will create a dangerous environment that not only diminishes our quality of life, but put the lives of our children (and anyone else doing business in that area) at great risk.
A permit issued to sell wine on that site is a total disregard for the safety of the families who call this neighborhood, HOME.
Bill
Shepherd,
Thank you so much for the extensive detailed information that hopefully prompts more protest to this proposed winery which can only increase risks that are already present. Some of this article would be great to include in a protest letter. I wonder if these kinds of things are approved without an actual site inspection from the permit dept. What are the considerations for approval of a such a high traffic business, in a residential area with a school nearby? What are the restrictions/limitations for any business in this area? Does anyone know a way to find out?
I just took a look at the "Zoning-Index" regulations, and found this:Quote:
Posted in reply to the post by Shandi:
- Article 30. - C1 Neighborhood Commercial District.
- Sec. 26-30-005. - Purpose.
- Purpose: to implement Sections 2.3.1. and 2.3.2 of the general plan land use element by providing areas which permit various retail business, service and professional activities in rural neighborhoods and within urban service areas. The neighborhood commercial district is also intended to implement the objectives of adopted redevelopment plans within redevelopment project areas in the general plan.
(Ord. No. 4643, 1993.)- Sec. 26-30-010. - Permitted uses.
Permitted uses include the following:
(a)
Neighborhood retail businesses which supply household commodities on the premises such as groceries, meats, dairy products, baked goods or other foods, drugs, notions or hardware; LARGE alcoholic beverage retail establishments; personal service establishments which perform services on the premises for persons residing in adjacent residential areas such as shoe repair, dry cleaning shops, tailor shops, beauty parlors, barber shops and the like. All retail sales and service uses shall be conducted entirely within a building;
At the bottom of a long list of permitted neighborhood retail businesses, I also noticed this under the same article 30: Level 1 medical cannabis dispensaries, subject to the criteria in Section 26-88-126.
This one has a lot more permit criteria reference numbers, which I didn't look up, but may have to do with proximity to schools, etc. I'm just assuming, without extensive research that there may be more restrictions on a dispensary than a winery.
My research has turned up these important details, among the others, for protesting the Twin Hill Winery Application:
sec. 22
Some of the grounds of protest, which could relate to public welfare and morals, are as follows:
1. The premises is located within the immediate vicinity of a school, church, hospital, or children's playground and the normal operation of the licensed premises would interfere with their functions
If any Wacco members have filed a protest, it would be helpful if you share the details, so that others may do the same, more efficiently. The details of what needs to be included can be overwhelming to wade through. So, if you CARE, please SHARE with other community members who oppose this dangerous, life threatening commercial "neighborhood" winery.
I appreciate Dale drawing our attention to this issue and the research that she did on the misleading application to Alcoholic Beverage for a license. Please note that there are now 2 distinct threads on this important Twin Hill Winery issue. Perhaps Barry or Bella could somehow combine them. [Done!] Or at least readers can consider consulting and posting on both threads.
I also want to note that Dairyman Winery was given a significant setback by public response, especially regarding its application that all traffic on the Joe Rodota Trail "yield" to the massive traffic that it would generate to its Event Center. However, Dairyman has not yet been "shut down." We would benefit from staying vigilant, because Joe Wagner has millions of dollars already invested and more to try to weasel his way out of obeying the law. In 2013 he settled for one million dollars with Napa County for bottling 20 times more wine than he was permitted to do.
Another example would be that members of the Watertrough Children's Alliance (WCA) managed to get a "stop work" order on Paul Hobbs for environmental violations, about a mile from this Twin Hill Winery. Though he was eligible for millions of dollars in fines, "bad apple" Hobbs settled with the County for a mere $100,000 and has now planted his chemical vineyard. That settlement is what Big Wine considers a cost of doing business. Knowingly violate the law and then pay a small fine. Keep your eyes on these Napa wine barons, like Hobbs and Wagner, who are now spreading their wine empires into Sonoma, Lake, Mendocino, and Solano counties.
If you can, be sure to attend WCA's Jan. 28 6 p.m. fundraiser at the Sebastopol Grange, mentioned in another thread on Waccobb.net. It will focus on the dangers of the use of Roundup. Wagner already admitted at a Sebastopol City Council meeting about this time last year that he would using pesticides and herbicides, which would be likely to include the carcinogenic Roundup. Recent studies document that farmworker children suffer more asthma from such pesticides than from cigarette smoke.
What we need now are Protest Against Alcoholic Beverage License, https://abc.ca.gov/FORMS/ABC510A.pdf
The application that they have in with ABC calls for the Twin Hills location to be only a Bookkeeping office. They say nothing about having a wine tasting room.
In their application with the County, they are requesting a wine tasting room which they have been approved for with Planning and Building.
We need to generate those protest letters which can be filled out online. There is only a short time left to get the forms in so don't delay.
Dale
If you've generated a protest letter, please share it. Anyone.
Quote:
Posted in reply to the post by dwert56:
Thanks to everyone for sending in your protests. Dale
The form that people should use is located here: https://www.abc.ca.gov/FORMS/ABC510A.pdf
The Applicant is Reichwage Winery Inc.
For premises at: 1689 Pleasant Hill Road, Sebastopol, CA
This is the copy that I am using in my Protest Against Alcoholic Beverage License Application:
Last week I talked to Wendy at the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board and was told this application is a request for a bookkeeping location, and not for retail sales of Alcohol.
On November 15, 2015 the applicant applied for a Sonoma County Use Permit to allow a wine tasting room and ten promotional events per year. Unfortunately, that request has been approved, but with a number of restrictions.
Is this application for a bookkeeping location, or is this application for a wine tasting and sales room? If it is for the sales room, then this application is inaccurate.
Another serious problem with this application is the property is that 1689 Pleasant Hill Rd. does not exist. The proper address for APN 076-093-024 is 1689 Elphick Road. This application should be rejected by ABC, and the applicant should be required to submit an application with the proper address.
We are asking that you carefully consider all the negatives that could occur if Alcohol is sold and consumed at this location. The ABC should deny a license for the sale of Alcohol at this location for the following reasons:
As stated in the Sonoma County Use Permit application, there are schools are within 400 feet of the proposed site for the consumption and sale of alcohol. Outdoor Memorial and religious services are regularly held at the cemetery across the street from the site. Neither of these long existing uses will be enhanced by nearby sales and consumption of alcohol; and the additional traffic that will result from daily wine sales.
Pleasant Hill and Elphick Roads are narrow, poorly maintained, winding roads without shoulders or turnouts.
Quote:
Posted in reply to the post by Shandi:
Here's a completed protest letter to Alcohol Beverage Control in re: the proposed Twin Hills Winery. It's important to follow ABC's guidelines; primarily, they want writers to be specific as to why the proposed facility is problematic. For example:
The deadline is the end of THIS WEEK folks!
- Since the facility is close to a school, state why selling alcohol nearby would have negative effects.
- The facility is in a residential area; how will this affect your right to the quiet enjoyment of your residence?
Quote:
Posted in reply to the post by Shandi:
You are so correct. It's important to be specific how selling alcohol close to schools would be harmful. Yes, the obvious needs to be stated:
Near Schools and Fire Station
Children walking to school, inebriated drivers, additional trucks bringing wine, and catered food, additional trucks to set up outhouses for their events.
The proposed facility is located within 400 feet of two schools. a cemetery. Areligious center and a fire station. This 3-way intersection upon which proposed facility sits on is a dangerous one. Heavy school traffic and children walking biking to school are usual. The fire station on Watertrough, Road, which passes by the proposed facility, is the busiest in the fire district.
Additional traffic would endanger children getting to school and fire trucks getting to their destinations. Drivers typically exceed the speed limit and despite entreaties to California Highway Patrol lo enforce the speed limit, little enforcement has taken place.
Quote:
Posted in reply to the post by Deborah Preston:
There's another form that we need to fill out and submit to ABC. It must go with the Protest Letter. I've attached it down below this post. Sorry for all the confusion, I've never done this before so it's learn as you go.
I just received another form that needs to accompany ABC Form 510-A. Will post ABC forms 510-A and 128 here, as well as text I pasted onto the form (I needed a 2nd page---if you do this, check the box that says "2nd page attached". Thanks to Reuben Weinzveg for forwarding Form 128.
January 19, 2016
Meeting with ABC regarding Reichwage Winery Inc.
Wendie McDonald, ABC Licensing Representative, says the application is for off sale license only. It is a duplicate license for the processing which occurs on Ross Road.
The end of protest date is 1/21/16. Protests can be emailed to:[email protected]. She will forward them over to Sacramento with the application. We only need to fill out the one sheet ABC-510-A.
Reichwage already has a wholesale license for that site.
I showed her the Permit History from PRMD. I pointed out where they had already applied and received a permit from the County for wine tasting, events and sales. She took a copy and will check with their lawyer.
It’s important to get the protests on record because then we will be contacted when the applicant changes the permit again.I also pointed out the incorrect address of the property. She also took a copy of that and will talk to their lawyer.
Dale
Today is the day to be sure and get your ABC Protest Letters in. They can be emailed to [email protected].
Thank you everyone who is participating in this effort.
Dale
Quote:
Posted in reply to the post by dwert56: