Owners say it would restrict operations, and critics say noise, traffic still a factor.
By Cathy Locke - Bee Staff Writer, El Dorado County winery owners say a proposed ordinance would tighten restrictions on their operations, but critics complain that it would do little to protect neighboring residents from noise and traffic generated by special events allowed at the sites.
After more than three hours of debate last week, the Board of Supervisors directed staff members to complete an initial study of the draft ordinance for presentation Tuesday.
Based on the initial study, the board will determine whether to require an environmental impact report or a less extensive environmental study.
El Dorado County is home to about 50 wineries, most of which sell their wines through on-site tasting rooms and wine clubs, said Valerie Zentner, executive director of the El Dorado County Farm Bureau.
County planner Roger Trout said staff members have identified a half-dozen significant effects related to activities that would be allowed under the draft ordinance.
"But we also have identified mitigations for the impacts," he said, explaining that staff members believe a less extensive environmental document, known as a mitigated negative declaration, would be adequate.
"If you can't mitigate one (of the effects), or you don't want to mitigate it, then we have to go to an environmental impact report," he told the board.
Noise, for example, has been identified as a significant impact associated with special events at wineries, but Trout said standards could be included to reduce noise.
Winery industry representatives, who helped develop the proposed ordinance, and members of the county Agricultural Commission, said the proposed ordinance offers more safeguards for the public than the existing ordinance.
They noted the current ordinance allows wineries to hold an unlimited number of special events with up to 250 people per event. The proposed ordinance would restrict the total number of events allowed without a use permit to 88 per year.
But neighboring residents and some supervisors said the number was excessive.
"In my opinion, this is an events ordinance. Agriculture is becoming the secondary usage," Supervisor Ron Briggs said.
"It's folly to allow the events to take the place of agriculture," he said.
Bill Stephans, county agricultural commissioner, said staff members would conduct compatibility reviews to make sure special events were secondary to the agricultural operation.
Supervisor Norma Santiago also noted that wineries on small parcels would not have the same privileges as those on larger acreages.
"They have to have use permits," she said of operations on smaller parcels.
But Bill Barr, a real estate agent and Fair Play resident, said problems are increasing with the proliferation of wineries.
Explaining that he lives near three wineries, Barr said, "The noise is terrible, and they are getting worse."
Barr said he sells agricultural property and supports agricultural operations.
But, he said, "People don't know what they're up against until they're right next door. Being right next to a winery can be good, and it can be very bad."
Greg Boeger said he has operated a winery in the Apple Hill area for 35 years, and neighbors have never complained about activities there.
"I have neighbors that bought their property because it is next to a vineyard. ... If wineries are smart," he said, "they will be respectful of their neighbors."
But some residents argued that wineries need a stronger nudge from the county to ensure a neighborly relationship.
Jerome Pasto, said he was representing 75 residents of River Pines Estates in the south county area who are concerned about the impact that winery traffic has had on area roads. Although the road through the development is public, he said, residents pay to maintain it through a zone of benefit.
Patrons and 18-wheel trucks use the road to travel to and from the winery, Pasto said, but the winery does not contribute to the maintenance fund.
"It's the weight and the traffic that's deteriorating our road," he said.
Board Chairwoman Helen Baumann said the road maintenance issue must be addressed. She directed staff members to prepare a map showing the location of zones of benefit in relation to wineries.
Supervisors Briggs and Rusty Dupray said they believed the effects of activities allowed under the proposed ordinance would be significant enough to require an environmental impact report.
"It's not the winery, it's the events," Briggs said, explaining why he would not support a motion to proceed with the initial study of the draft ordinance.
Dupray, however, voted with Baumann and Santiago to re- lease the initial study for public review Tuesday and to determine what type of environmental study to pursue at that time.
Supervisor Jack Sweeney was absent.
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