Protecting our environmental resources and promoting social justice
“Napa’s oaks have become a flashpoint in the story of wine’s takeover. Ninety-five per cent of those on the valley floor have been felled, the vast majority replaced by grapes. Now developers are eyeing the surrounding hillsides. “With great success came great money and outsiders,” explains James Conaway, a journalist and author who has been …
We urge you to write a letter if you live in this neighborhood, you know traffic is bad already. This project will be open 7 days a week. Add to this the huge project right down the street on Occidental Road & Hwy 116 and you have traffic hell for residents. Cumulative impacts anyone? From …
A response to the mass emailing campaign by the Sonoma County wine industry. We all want peace and quality neighborhoods to raise our children and grow old in. Please consider sending your thoughts to your supervisor. Currently the supervisors are allowing the wine industry to write their own rules. Susan.Gorin@sonoma-county.org, Shirlee.Zane@sonoma-county.org, David.Rabbitt@sonoma-county.org, Lynda.Hopkins@sonoma-county.org, James.Gore@sonoma-county.org Dear County …
Letter in support of limits and regulation for winery event centers Read More »
By Mike Dunne in the Sacramento Bee A new book by an expert on the Napa Valley isn’t hopeful about the direction Napa has taken: water availability, traffic congestion, pollution and erosion in the valley, and corporate takeover of family wineries have denigrated what once was seen as an agricultural Eden. http://www.sacbee.com/food-drink/wine/dunne-on-wine/article202232974.html
From our friends at Preserve Rural Sonoma County: Several Sonoma County groups and their representatives have appealed the September 21st Board of Zoning Adjustments (BZA) approval of a large winery and event center at 7097 Westside Road near Healdsburg, the site of historic Westside Farms. A main concern is that many of the project’s features set dangerous precedents …
Countywide groups file appeal of Westside Farm Winery/Event Development Read More »
Update: Skirting Protections http://www.pressdemocrat.com/opinion/7459500-181/thursdays-letters-to-the-editor EDITOR: The recent article about proposed development along Old Redwood Highway on the outskirts of Santa Rosa is an example of efforts to skirt protections for open space and greenbelts (“Cloverleaf Ranch a family affair for 70 years,” Sept. 18). The Sonoma County Resource and Permit Department (now Permit Sonoma) and …
OPINION: PRMD approves Winery Use-Permits that Urbanize Rural Areas Read More »