Sonoma Cheese Factory returns to the Planning Commission

It's another packed agenda coming before the City of Sonoma Planning Commission this week – a nano-brewery at Mi Ranchita, Café Scooteria's expansion, a zucchini car race at Sebastiani, and the first look at a duplex complex on Leveroni Road.

But most of the commission's time will probably be taken up by its continued consideration of the Sonoma Cheese Factory's proposed remodel, first reviewed at its March 22 meeting. Discussion at that time diverged into a comparison of the Sonoma Cheese Factory's proposal to Napa's Oxbow Market, in part because Oxbow-developer Steve Carlin, also has a hand in the Sonoma proposal. His company website bills itself as, 'America's Preeminent Developer of Artisan Food Markets.'

The Oxbow comparison, according to Cheese Factory co-owner Maria Viviani, is causing no end of trouble. 'It's really not accurate,' she told the Index-Tribune. 'Oxbow is not taking over the Cheese Factory – my father wanted to take the concept of that place into a public market; what you see now is the first attempt at putting that together for Sonoma.'

Viviani's grandfather Celso Viviani started the cheese factory in 1931, and her father Pete Viviani helped grow it into a Sonoma centerpiece. The current building – designated a historical landmark – was built in 1945. They stopped making cheese onsite in 2001, but it's still produced by in Crescent City by the Rumiano Cheese Company, and sold exclusively under the Sonoma Cheese Factory brand at the Spain Street business.

But her father's vision, insisted Maria Viviani, was very much to continue as a local hub for Sonomans as well as visitors. Viviani said she and her sister Nina had reached out to Carlin because of his successes, but the Oxbow was one of several inspirations – along with Italian street markets. Instead, their father's vision was for a place for 'locals to gather and have access to local wares, fresh flowers and things to eat.'

As has come to be expected at Planning Commission meetings, the issues of parking and traffic drew considerable attention, though these issues apply to all downtown proposals. But the comparison with the Oxbow – Napa's bustling destination marketplace – made the impact of such a development in the immediate Plaza area problematical for some commissioners.

Carlin responded to the lengthy review testily, saying his projects are 'small town asset(s) that we have found communities embrace, and are very proud of,' and openly wondered if 'this isn't the right project for Sonoma.'

The project originally included an excavation and remodel of the building's basement, but California State Parks raised concern that such an excavation might disturb historic artifacts and undermine the structural integrity of the nearby Sonoma Barracks, part of the Sonoma State Historic Park district.

State Parks also asked that a large bear design – on the east side of the building, facing the Barracks and Toscano Hotel – be dropped. But some on the commission defended the business's right to reference Sonoma's historical legacy as the birthplace of the Bear Flag Republic.

Revised plans for the project dropped the basement and the bear, and reduced the project from 25,000 square feet to about 10,000 square feet. Final plans to be presented at this week's Planning Commission meeting had not been released at press time.

The Planning Commission will meet on Thursday, April 12, at 6:30 p.m. in the newly-renamed City Council Chambers, 177 First St. W., Sonoma. The agenda and additional information for the meeting is available at sonomacity.civicweb.net/Portal/MeetingInformation.aspx?Org=Cal&Id=287.

The print version of this article mistakenly stated that David Viviani was still involved in the family cheese business. That was incorrect.

Contact Christian at christian.kallen@sonomanews.com.