Sups to decide on 10/13 on Wilsons' Dry Creek Rd. Winery

Please consider commenting on the following PD article at the link below, where a vigorous pre-dawn discussion has already been occurring. The Board of Supervisors meeting this Tuesday, 10/13, at 2 p.m. will set an important precedent for either the expansion or reining in of the wine industry. Though only a short notice in today's newspaper, this meeting and potential decision will be a big deal for the future of the threatened food ag and rural character of our county.

https://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/4595548-181/sonoma-county-supervisors-to-hear

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Sonoma County supervisors to hear Dry Creek Valley winery dispute Tuesday
BY ANGELA HART, THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
October 12, 2015,

Sonoma County supervisors on Tuesday are expected to decide the fate of a contested Dry Creek Valley winery proposal from vintners Ken and Diane Wilson during a high-profile appeal hearing — the first in a slate of winery disputes headed to the Board of Supervisors this year.

“This could be an indication of where the board is going on new wineries, tasting rooms and events,” said Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Susan Gorin.

The county’s Board of Zoning Adjustments in April approved the Wilsons’ Hale Winery, which includes a new 25,000-case winery and tasting room on 40 acres on the west side of Dry Creek Road, north of their flagship Wilson Winery.

During the controversial public hearing, the zoning board voted 3-1 to approve 20 events per year after Supervisor James Gore’s appointee to the zoning board, Willie Lamberson, told neighbors to stop “bitching and moaning” and “call code enforcement.” The comment riled neighbors and some in the audience. Andrew Dieden, a Dry Creek Valley vineyard owner who filed the appeal, contends that the traffic, noise and water analyses for the project are outdated and incomplete.

Tuesday’s hearing is set for 2 p.m. at the Board of Supervisors chambers, 575 Administration Dr. in Santa Rosa.

You can reach Staff Writer Angela Hart at 526-8503 or[email protected]. On Twitter @ahartreports.

The Hale Winery hearing scheduled for today has been postponed to Nov. 17, Tues., at 2:10. A main reason for this is apparently to allow a peer review of the Noise Study. Following is the brief article in today's PD announcing the postponement, by the Supervisors, because of the "time needed to review a recent influx of public correspondence." Please forward this information about the delay to others who may have been intending to attend today's hearing and continue your comments to supervisors and PRMD.

The vineyard owner and attorney challenging the application, Andrew Dieden, describes this change as "fine." As someone who has experienced, studied, and published chapters in books on the serious impacts of noise pollution, my letter to the Board of Supervisors will focus on the multiple negative impacts of noise upon many military veterans, such as myself, and wildlife.

I hope that you will consider attending the Nov. 17 hearing and take the time to write to the Board of Supervisors about this important challenge. Whatever the Supervisors decide on this application may set a precedent for future such projects to expand wineries as industrial event centers further into our beloved rural Sonoma County and cause increased concentration and numerous cumulative impacts.

More information at Wine and Water Watch (www.WineWaterWatch.org)

PD article: Appeal of Wilsons' Dry Creek Road winery postponed