Pacaso adds another Sonoma Valley home

Despite push back from neighbors about their first property in Sonoma, Pacaso has purchased another property in Sonoma -- but this time it’s on 14 acres in the hills, and not in a neighborhood.

The new home, located at 1861 Hale Road a few miles north of Sonoma Plaza, is being sold for $1.4 million dollar per share for a total home price of $9.5 million. In Pacaso’s fractional home-ownership model, the company buys a home, turns it into an LLC, and sells eight shares of a property to “co-owners” who each get about a month and a half at the property per year.

The home was assessed in 2021 at $5.3 million, according property records. The 4,558 square-foot house overlooks downtown Sonoma and includes 3 bedrooms and 4.5 baths, a vineyard with a 92-point pinot noir and a swimming pool. The home is larger and twice as expensive than the previous property on Old Winery Court, which was listed at $4 million overall with co-ownership stakes worth $606,000 each.

Stop Pacaso Now, an organization of neighbors on Old Winery Road where Pacaso bought its first property, printed fliers this weekend and left them in an envelope near the mailboxes of residents who live nearby the property in order to build its swell of ground support against Pacaso and its business model, according to an email from its organizers.

The group contends that Pacaso is a timeshare that evades the transient occupancy tax and further exacerbates the housing shortage in Sonoma Valley by taking homes off the market that would otherwise go to families, according to the group.

Pacaso did not respond to questions in time for publication of this article.

Members of the Stop Pacaso Now group Carl Sherill and Nancy Gardner met with a homeowner on Hale Road to discuss the new Pacaso purchase after finding out last week about the new property. And they’ve received more messages from supporters on social media, the leaders said.

“I put up five (signs),” Sherrill said, about anti-Pacaso material leading up to Hale Road, which is a gated. “The neighbors have since put up more.”

Gardner said she’s seen more people come through Old Winery Court to pick up anti-Pacaso signs from one of the Stop Pacaso Now member’s home.

“I think it does kind of thumb their nose at us by saying, ‘See we’re buying these properties that are new models that are not buying in neighborhoods,’” Gardner said. “We think that’s to send a message to us.”

The Sonoma City Council banned timeshares and fractional ownership models, like those used by Pacaso, at its Jan. 19 meeting, which added to the exclusion zones the city already had in place for housing. The Hale Road home is outside of city limits, and therefore outside of the regulations of the city.

Pacaso has dug into the North Bay with homes now in Napa, St. Helena, Healdsburg and Calistoga, most of all of which have been protested by neighborhood groups.

Gardner recognizes this and how this property is in a different situation than the property on Old Winery Court because the property on Hale Road is not in a neighborhood and is less likely to obtain noise and traffic complaints.

Nonetheless, the sentiment toward Pacaso and their business model remains unchanged for many.

“Frankly, there are different issues. that is on an isolated property, 14 acres. I can’t see there being quite as much of an issue with noise and interruption of the neighborhood,” Gardner said. “But the bottom line is that Pacaso needs to get the message that they’re not welcome in Sonoma.”

Contact Chase Hunter at chase.hunter@sonomanews.com and follow @Chase_HunterB on Twitter.