La Campagna development back in the cards

The long embattled La Campagna property in the heart of Sonoma Valley changed hands at the end of 2014, with ownership passing to Tohigh Property Investment, a subsidiary of the Chinese financial corporation Oceanwide Holdings. The sale has renewed attention on the environmental impacts of developments in the north end of the Valley, near the town of Kenwood, including increased traffic, water use and the loss of rural character.

“Like other residents of the Sonoma Valley, I was interested to read of the sale of the La Campagna property,” said 1st District Supervisor Susan Gorin. Her residence is not far from the property and she drives by it daily, she said.

The citizen’s group Valley of the Moon Alliance (VOTMA) also expressed concerns that the sale might lead to changes in the “entitlements” approved by the Board of Supervisors in 2004. “If changes to the approved project are proposed to the county, the process should cause a re-evaluation which would need to reduce impacts,” wrote Alliance president Kathy Pons in a message to the Index-Tribune. “Other projects approved since this one need to be taken into consideration with any re-evaluation.”

The 186-acre property is a large slice of the former Graywood Ranch in Kenwood, with Highway 12 frontage at Campagna Road (formerly Gray Road), and extending north toward the stony escarpment of Hood Mountain. From the road, a large unplanted pasture decorated with mature Valley oaks recedes toward a dense woodland, climbing the flanks of the Mayacamas Mountains. The announced sale price was $40.7 million, about five times what the previous owner Save Mart Supermarkets, paid for it in 2000.

The parcel lies midway between two large and successful wineries, St. Francis and Chateau St. Jean, each of which hosts multiple events during the year.

Developing the parcel, still unplanted by vines and supporting a dozen or more fully grown valley oaks in its roadside acreage, has been in the planning stages at least since 1980, passing through several hands over the decades from the Gray family to Auberge Resorts, Save Mart and now Tohigh.

The scale of the development has expanded slightly in that time, from the 36-room inn and 18 home sites proposed in 1984, to the current 50-room inn, 125-seat restaurant and 11 residential lots. Vineyards, a public winery and a retail store are also in the plans, already approved by the Board of Supervisors in a controversial 2004 vote.

“Obviously it’s entitled already for a variety of diverse activities and buildings,” said Gorin. “We’ll see if they stick to those or start all over.” Those entitlements – still in effect from the 2004 vote – include up to 20 special events in a year as well as the inn, restaurant and residences. In return, the approved proposal included a creekside preservation zone, hiking trails and other environmental adjustments.

The thousand-member VOTMA was formed in 2002 in response to the proposed development of the property, and a similar proposal to build a 98-room luxury resort behind nearby Chateau St. Jean. Even though VOTMA brought suit against the county to arrest these projects, it was not their failed litigation but the stalled economy that held up plans to develop the La Campagna property.

In response to the news, VOTMA held a meeting to discuss the sale in light of their ongoing mission to protect the agricultural character of the valley. “We still feel it will have significant impacts,” said Pons. “A lot has changed in the Valley during the last 10 years with regard to traffic on Highway 12, the number of other projects that have been approved since 2004, and a sense of over concentration.”

Supervisor Gorin seemed to echo VOTMA’s caution, saying “I will be following it closely.”