Sonoma County Coastal Plan comments focus on event centers and vineyards

Wine and Water Watch, SONOMA COUNTY GAZETTE
forest-to-vineyard-anapolis-600Wine and Water Watch (WWW) will launch a series of direct actions designed to educate people about the expanding wine industry in rural Sonoma County and in nearby counties, especially on our fragile coast. This emerging campaign seeks to “Save Our Coast.”
WWW is a four-county network–Sonoma, Napa, Lake, and Mendocino. It has hosted monthly meetings in Middletown, Jenner, Calistoga, Graton, Healdsburg, and Rohnert Park. Our mission statement follows: “We challenge the over-development of the wine tourism industry and promote ethical land and water use. We advocate agricultural practices that are ecologically regenerative.”
Some of us attended the Sept. 14 Timber Cove meeting about an effort to modify the Local Coastal Plan by Sonoma County’s Permit and Resource Management Department (PRMD.) This would allow even more wineries as event centers on the coast, thus further damaging this unique environment where land meets the sea.
The late County Supervisor Bill Kortum lead a charge 50 years ago that prevented PG&E from building a nuclear power plant at Bodega Head. Now it is time to prevent further damage to our coast’s environment. Please visit Wine and Water Watch website for comment letters submitted that address the lack of protections people feel must be put into place to preserve the fragile coastal ecosystem.
People have only until Sept. 30 to express their concerns during this first stage.
Email PRMD-LCP-Update@sonoma-county.org. Of special concern are these three elements of the 9 element plan.
LAND USE: http://www.sonoma-county.org/prmd/docs/coastal/LCP-Element-02-Land-Use.pdf
AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES: http://www.sonoma-county.org/prmd/docs/coastal/LCP-Element-03-Agricultural-Resources.pdf
WATER RESOURCES: http://www.sonoma-county.org/prmd/docs/coastal/LCP-Element-05-Water-Resources.pdf
For background information and the full documents and maps on the Coastal Plan – please visit this website: Local Coastal Plan – Preliminary Draft: http://www.sonoma-county.org/prmd/docs/coastal/
If you would like more information or were unable to attend the public workshops, you can provide input by contacting Lisa Posternak by e-mail:lisa.posternak@sonoma-county.org; phone: 707-565-7383;
Comments can also be sent by mail to: Sonoma County Permit and Resource Management Department, 2550 Ventura Avenue, Santa Rosa, CA 95403.
Source: Sonoma County Coastal Plan comments focus on event center and vineyards