Land Use – Page 65 – Enviro Updates

SuzanneOctober 10, 2013Land UseAgricultural Preservation and Open Space District, vineyards, wine industryLeave a comment

Supervisors accept Sebastopol winemaker's preservation offer

Sean Scully,THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Sonoma County supervisors on Tuesday approved an offer by winemaker Paul Hobbs to permanently protect 117 wooded acres near Forestville from development, but they insisted the preservation-oriented gift will not sway them if Hobbs attempts to move ahead with a controversial adjacent vineyard project.

Accepting the easement “in no way mandates, requires or ties the board’s hands” in any other matter related to Hobbs, said Supervisor Efren Carrillo, who represents the area.

via Supervisors accept Sebastopol winemaker's preservation offer | The Press Democrat.

SuzanneSeptember 11, 2013Climate Change & Energy, Land Useagriculture, renewable energyLeave a comment

Supervisors OK zoning rules for renewable energy development

Brett Wilkison, THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Sonoma County supervisors Tuesday approved zoning rules that they said would ensure a “conservative” and “cautious” approach to renewable energy development on the county’s farms, ranches and remote forested lands and hillsides.

The regulations for commercial projects on agricultural property cover more than three-quarters of the county, or more than 700,000 acres.

They will allow projects on about 140,000 agricultural acres where they were previously prohibited. Applicants would have to go through a rezoning process, including hearings before planning commissioners and the Board of Supervisors. They will also ban ground-mounted commercial projects on about 70,000 acres of the highest-value cropland, including mostly vineyards.

via Supervisors OK zoning rules for renewable energy development | The Press Democrat.

SuzanneSeptember 8, 2013Climate Change & Energy, Land Userenewable energy, solarLeave a comment

Sonoma County takes closer look at green energy projects

Brett Wilkison, THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Hearing on Sonoma County renewable energy zoning rules

WHEN: 2:10 p.m. Tuesday

WHERE: Board of Supervisors chambers, 575 Administration Dr., Room 100 A, Santa Rosa

With renewable energy development now a central issue in Sonoma County, disputed rules that would govern the size and location of green energy projects are returning to the Board of Supervisors Tuesday for approval.

The zoning changes, which focus largely on solar systems, would open up more land in unincorporated areas to commercial-scale projects, including agricultural, industrial and business parcels.

The first test case could be a 23-acre solar panel installation proposed for a hayfield outside Petaluma, a project prohibited under current zoning but allowed under the revised rules up for approval.

via Sonoma County takes closer look at green energy projects | The Press Democrat.

SuzanneAugust 28, 2013Land Use, Waterrestoration, wetlandsLeave a comment

Water agency nears completion of Napa-Sonoma salt marsh pipeline

Pond 7 of the old Cargill Salt Co. plant between Napa and Sonoma is an improbable sight: a lifeless salt flat spreading across more than 300 acres along the edge of the San Pablo Bay.

The surface is a twisted mass of filthy salt crystals, devoid of plants and avoided by the migratory birds that inhabit nearby marshes.

As long as the pond remains in this state, officials say, it poses a threat to the ecologically sensitive bay: should a rain storm flood the pond and breach the dirt banks, it could wash salt into the open water in concentrations high enough to kill fish and other wildlife.

via Water agency nears completion of Napa-Sonoma salt marsh pipeline | The Press Democrat.

SuzanneJuly 23, 2013Land Usestream restoration, vineyardsLeave a comment

Sebastopol vineyard conversion cleanup begins

Matt Brown, THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Work is underway to repair the environmental damage done during a controversial orchard-to-vineyard conversion project near Sebastopol, winemaker Paul Hobbs said.

The county shut down the Watertrough Road project last month after inspectors found that bay laurel and blackberry bushes were removed illegally from a protected zone above a creek and that erosion-control measures were not in place.

Biologists have been to the property to assess the damage and formulate a plan to fix it, Hobbs said.

via Sebastopol vineyard conversion cleanup begins | The Press Democrat.

SuzanneJuly 21, 2013Forests, Land UsemarijuanaLeave a comment

Harsher penalties sought for illegal pot farmers

Guy Kovner, THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

With illegal marijuana cultivation wreaking environmental havoc across the nation, North Coast Reps. Mike Thompson and Jared Huffman are seeking new penalties for harm done to woodlands, waterways and wildlife.

The two Democrats, joined by a pair of Republicans, introduced the Protecting Lands Against Narcotics Trafficking Act, nicknamed the PLANT Act, aimed at imposing penalties for environmental damage from pot gardens and other illegal drug production on public lands and private property.

via Harsher penalties sought for illegal pot farmers | The Press Democrat.

SuzanneJune 29, 2013Land Useagriculture, creeks, vineyardsLeave a comment

Work on Hobbs vineyard conversion halted by county

David Abbott, SONOMA WEST TIMES

The Sonoma County Ag commissioner’s office has ordered work stopped at the site of the Paul Hobbs vineyard conversion on Watertrough Road after a complaint of water runoff in the wake of storms earlier this week.

County and Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB) officials investigating the complaint found that sediment had been washed into the creek on the property and further that Hobbs had cleared riparian vegetation along the creek.

via Work on Hobbs vineyard conversion halted by county – Sonoma West Times and News: News.

SuzanneJune 15, 2013Land Use, Sustainable Livingagriculture, tree removal, vineyardsLeave a comment

Apples to Grapes Protest in Sebastopol

Shepherd Bliss, SONOMA COUNTY GAZETTE

Do not be deceived by the thin perimeter of a few live apple trees remaining next to Apple Blossom School and the five schools near 622 Watertrough Road in the Sebastopol countryside. A glorious, historic 40-acre orchard that nurtured people, wildlife, and the environment thrived there for many decades. Chain-sawed trees now languish on their sides with dying green apples, which will never ripen to red, cut down on June 14. Witnessing this slaughter is enough to make a grown man weep.

Paul Hobbs Winery plans yet another chemical vineyard by this clear cutting. The orchard attack is only the first in a series of blows. The downed beauties will soon be burned or disposed of in some way. The soil–which tests indicate contains DDT, arsenic, and lead–will be ripped deeply, adding more waves of deadly drift to the schools, its students, teachers, staff, and visitors.

via Apples to Grapes Protest in Sebastopol.

SuzanneMay 11, 2013Land Use, Water, Wildlifenative plants, riparian, stream restoration, streams, tree removalLeave a comment

Sonoma County Updates Stream Protection Zoning

Press Release, County of Sonoma

The Sonoma County Permit and Resource Management Department announced it will hold an informational public workshop in Santa Rosa to seek input on proposed amendments to the Zoning Code to incorporate existing General Plan policies. Stream setbacks were established in the adopted Area and Specific Plans and in the General Plan 2020. Zoning code changes will not result in any new setbacks, not previously adopted.

What: Informational Public Workshop to seek input on proposed amendments to the Zoning Code to incorporate existing General Plan Policies

When: Wednesday, May 22, 20134:00 pm to 6:00 pm

Where: Sonoma County Permit and Resource Management Department
2550 Ventura Avenue, Santa Rosa CA 95403

Zoning requirements for properties with streams will be amended to be consistent with the Sonoma County General Plan 2020, any applicable Area Plan and the County’s existing Building and Grading ordinances.

via Sonoma County Updates Stream Protection Zoning For Consistency with General Plan 2020 | Press Releases | County of Sonoma.

SuzanneApril 29, 2013Land Use, Sonoma CoastLeave a comment

State's Coastal Conservancy runs low on cash after local deals

Guy Kovner, THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

A little-known state agency that has poured $68 million into Sonoma County conservation projects is running low on cash and planning to scale back its mission of protecting and enhancing vast forests and coastal lands.

Down to its last $150 million, the State Coastal Conservancy has spent most of a nearly $1 billion pot of bond funds approved by California voters and is preparing to get by with no new bond measures for the next 10 years.

The conservancy, which has helped purchase about 40,000 acres in Sonoma County, is no longer likely to help swing big deals like the $24.5 million Preservation Ranch purchase it supported with a $10 million grant earlier this month.

via State's Coastal Conservancy runs low on cash after local deals | PressDemocrat.com.

Environmental Center of Sonoma County

Category: Land Use