Sonoma Valley Citizens Advisory Commission considers its own winery event guidelines

A week after the county approved a Winery Events Ordinance, the Sonoma Valley Citizens Advisory Commission received feedback from industry stakeholders as it seeks to refine its own set of guidelines for local wineries.

Commissioners felt it was important to offer guidelines specific to the Valley during its March 22 meeting — the first time the SVCAC has met in person in three years. There was a bit of confusion among commissioners about the distinction between the two sets of guidelines.

“Our guidelines are just that — they’re guidelines,” Chair Tim Freeman said. “What the board has approved is actually, for lack of a better word, is law.”

The SVCAC guidelines, which are used when reviewing use permit applications, did not receive a final vote, allowing the discussion to continue at a future meeting. The proposal was criticized by industry leaders as overbearing and cookie-cutter.

“My whole goal has been to find resolution and direction so applicants and commissioners are all of the same page,” Tom Blackwood, general manager of Buena Vista Winery and a board member of Sonoma Valley Vintners and Growers Alliance, said during public comment. “It’s so in-depth into the specifics of a project that it’s too much, it’s overbearing, it’s over regulating — that’s the concern.”

Blackwood preferred a more general set of guidelines that he helped submit in 2020, just before the pandemic. He said he’d been involved in the drafting process for 10 years, and was frustrated those guidelines were essentially “thrown out” and weren’t reflected in the final document.

The SVCAC guidelines go beyond special events, aimed at increasing oversight of winery operations that include visitors. Some of the proposed regulations include: limiting the total number of events to 12 per winery; requiring wineries to have at least 20 acres (up from 10) to build a tasting room; limiting the concentration of wineries to two per half-mile of roadway and other criteria for noise, traffic and parking requirements during events.

The commission’s guidelines, first approved in May, focused on wineries that operate on land zoned for agriculture, which can become hotbeds of activity during large winery events like music festivals or weddings. It covers new and heavily renovated wineries, “all other wineries are exempt or grandfathered,” said commissioner Margaret Spaulding in an email to the Index-Tribune.

According to Bradley Dunn from Permit Sonoma, guidelines from both the county and the local citizens advisory commission are taken into account when issuing use permits. The SVCAC’s opinion would be included in Permit Sonoma’s report to the Board of Zoning Adjustments, the body charged with approving or deny such permits in the Valley’s unincorporated areas.

During the meeting, commissioners discussed a letter from Sonoma Valley Vintners and Growers Alliance, which was not impressed with the one-size-fits-all approach to the guidelines.

“Each winery has its own approach to doing business, which may involve regular tastings, direct-to-consumer events or trade tastings. It is crucial to have a flexible and adaptable approach that recognizes the unique needs and challenges of each winery while ensuring compliance with regulations and standards,” the alliance wrote.

As a SVCAC commissioner and president of the the alliance, Tom Rouse sided with the wineries. There was a brief discussion on whether he should recuse himself from the discussion, as the alliance hosts winery events, but it was deemed unnecessary.

“I get that we as a advisory commission can look at projects and look at the scope of those projects and see how they may affect the area around them, the people around them etc. This (guidelines) to me feels like we’re stepping outside that scope. There is a county ordinance in place that is acceptable,” he said. “I just think that in this particular case, we are overstepping the bounds of the citizens advisory commission.”

In response to Rouse, commissioner Donna Dambach said, “We were asked as a committee to provide input for citizens, and I think that in the spirit of that, I think that’s what these guidelines bring. It’s just giving us an orientation around what would seem reasonable.”

Multiple commissioners pointed out that each application will still be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

Taylor Serres, interim executive director of SVVGA and fifth generation grower at Serres Ranch, expressed concern over the stringent rules, such as specific requirements for parking spaces, shuttle buses and seasonal restrictions for events.

Kathy Pons, of the Valley of the Moon Alliance, stood by the need for guidelines as the line between wineries and event spaces continues to blur.

“We further propose that these guidelines remain in effect for at least two years, during which the SVCAC and the community can evaluate their effectiveness and then undertake a revision if needed,” the commission wrote in a response to the SVVGA letter.

The SVCAC is a joint advisory agency aimed at better coordinating local planning in the Sonoma Valley, which spans both city limits and unincorporated areas.

Contact the reporter Rebecca Wolff at rebecca.wolff@sonomanews.com.