NAPA EXTENDS PLANNING HOLD TIL 2058

Can South Australian planning experts learn something from the Napa Valley? You bet. Ambiguous statements by SA Planning Minister Paul Holloway deeply concern lovers of beautiful wine regions, like McLaren Vale (pictured) and the Barossa. Click on the photograph to go to Wines And Vines, the source of the following story.Photo: Milton Wordley

by Kate Lavin - 7 November 2008

Napa, Calif. -- Residents of Napa County on Tuesday overwhelmingly voted to extend Measure J, the agricultural lands preservation initiative passed in 1990, for another 50 years.

Like its predecessor, Measure P required a vote of the people in order to redesignate agricultural, watershed or open space land within the county and make it available for development. Supporters said that the five-member Board of Supervisors should not wield sole control over the future of open space within the county.

"Everybody likes (Measure J), and what happened in the intervening 18 years (since it passed) is that people have seen that the measure does nothing against business. It isn't bad for anybody--the realtors are making tons of money since the land prices are sky-high anyway, so nobody is complaining," said Volker Eisele, founder of Volker Eisele Family Estate in the Chiles Valley viticultural area.

Measure P gained the support of 62% of the voters who cast ballots by Tuesday. Although there were no formal opponents in the ballot arguement, and it was supported by all five cities within Napa County as well as the Board of Supervisors, 37% of voters rejected the proposal. "A lot of people just vote 'No' on propositions," said Peter Nissen, president of the Napa County Farm Bureau, which backed the initiative.

Nissen added that there were a couple of tweaks to the original measure, which was almost identical to its 1990 predecessor. Besides the 50-year extension, Measure P included a passage allowing it to be in compliance with the housing requirements the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) makes of Napa County. Measure P states that, "Where necessary to comply with applicable state law governing the provision of housing, the board may redesignate land designated as 'agriculture, watershed and open space' or 'agricultural resource' on the land use map…without a vote of the people."

Although the original proposition, Measure J, wasn't due to expire until the year 2020, its authors decided to include the extension measure on the Nov. 4 ballot because the 2008 presidential election was predicted to draw a huge number of voters.

"This is a convenient year because it was a normal election year," said Mel Varrelman, one of the authors of Measure P and former Napa County supervisor. "That measure was due to sunset in about 10 years or so, and we started looking at (an extension) a little over two years ago."

Shortly after voters approved Measure J in November 1990, four residents joined Richard DeVita in bringing a lawsuit against Napa County. The suit, backed by the Building Industry Association of Northern California, alleged that the General Plan could not be changed at the will of the voters. After a series of verdicts and appeals, the case was argued before the California Supreme Court, which sided with the county and upheld Measure J.

Since the enactment of Measure J, voters have approved a handful of the proposals put before them--expansion of Bistro Don Giovanni, the Stanly Lane pumpkin patch and a boat storage facility in Lake Berryessa--while rejecting others, such as a large development project south of the city of Napa.

"It has kept out several massive projects out of Napa County," Varrelman said, citing a large project one developer hoped to build south of the city of Napa. "And I think, because of the Measure J requirement, we can't count the number of people who were discouraged" from even trying to get their projects approved.

Although winegrapes are the most popular agricultural export from Napa County, Eisele said that the legislation was crafted to protect all land designated for open space, watersheds or agriculture.

"If I switched from growing Cabernet to growing tomatoes, the land would be just as important," he said. Measure P "is not winery or vineyard specific. It really puts the bar a little bit higher, since supervisors are an easier place to get exceptions than the voters at large."

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SENSIBLE NAPA PLANNING IDEAS TO COPY

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The Land Trust Of Napa County

The Land Trust of Napa County is a local non-profit organization formed in 1976 charged with maintaining the rural character of Napa County by protecting the area's most important open space and agricultural lands for present and future generations. The Land Trust is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization supported by more than 1,600 members. Since our founding, we have worked cooperatively with private landowners and public conservation agencies to permanently protected over 33,000 acres in Napa County. Over 20,000 acres of these lands are covered by conservation easements with private landowners. Napa's extraordinary beauty and its proximity to the Bay Area mean that housing pressures for our County will likely continue to increase. The vintners and growers on the following list have made a loud response to this threat. Through the use of conservation easements on their properties, they have permanently assured that their lands will forever remain in open space and agriculture. www.napalandtrust.org

Napa Sustainable Winegrowing Group

The Napa Valley Vintners supports the Napa Sustainable Winegrowing Group - a group dedicated to promoting sustainable farming practices including natural farming, Integrated Pest Management (IPM), pesticide reduction or elimination and, restoration of natural habitats on vineyard properties. The mission of the Napa Sustainable Winegrowing Group (NSWG) is to identify and promote winegrowing practices that are economically viable, socially responsible and environmentally sound. Specifically, the Napa Sustainable Winegrowing Group promotes viticultural land stewardship through educational outreach. Formed in October 1995 the group is comprised of members representing Napa winegrape growers, vintners, and local government and educational organizations. Additionally, the group is interested in identifying and acknowledging sustainable practices that are already being used effectively throughout the district. Visit the Napa Sustainable Winegrowing Group Web site at www.nswg.org.

The Napa Sustainable Winegrowing Group recently released"Vineyards in the Watershed: Sustainable Winegrowing in Napa County." The book, written by local author Juliane Poirier Locke was funded by the Napa Valley Vintners and other community and environmental groups such as the Audubon Society Napa-Solano Chapter; Friends of the Napa River; Sierra Club; and the Natural Resources Conservation Service, among others.

The concept for the book began as a technical treatise targeting vineyard managers. It evolved into a collection of feature stories that richly describe how local vintners and grape growers are developing and implementing environmentally friendly, sustainable farming practices. Vineyards in the Watershed is comprised of a series of case studies and personal interviews with local farmers. Topics addressed include soil erosion, wildlife and habitat protection, organic farming, water use and quality, and more. Cost for the book is $15.95 plus tax. For a list of retail locations or to purchase Vineyards in the Watershed, contact the Napa County Resource Conservation District at 707-252-4188 or via e-mail at: nswg@naparcd.org.

Watershed Task Force

In 2000, a group comprised of representatives from the County Planning Commission, environmental community, vintners, growers, developers, engineers and county residents was appointed by the Napa County Board of Supervisors to identify possible ways to improve the Napa River Watershed.

After working together the task force submitted an official set of recommendations to the Board of Supervisors. Among the recommendations were changes to the existing conservation regulations, including ways to improve conditions for the habitat and for restoring the health of the Napa River.

The Napa Valley Vintners, Napa County Farm Bureau, Napa County Grape Growers and the Napa County Sierra Club came together to support and endorse the recommendations of the Watershed Task Force which includes Biological Analysis and Resource Protection, Oak Tree Preservation, Erosion Control Plan Requirements and, Watershed Protection Incentives to name a few.

San Francisco Bay Estuary Institute

The Napa Valley Vintners supports The Napa Watershed Historical Ecology Project of the San Francisco Bay Estuary Institute. The project is a collaborative effort to learn the history of the local landscape. The project seeks to recover, organize, and interpret diverse information about the early local landscape and how it has changed. Since conditions have changed rapidly in the last two centuries, historical research is necessary to explain current conditions of local streams, forests, wetlands, and other habitats. The project can help the community define and understand the existing environmental challenges and suggest how they can be successfully resolved. The San Francisco Bay Estuary Institute is an independent, non-profit science organization. Visit the Web site at www.sfei.org.

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Napa Sets Long Green Example

MARANANGA, BAROSSA: While Paul Holloway, the South Australian Planning Minister, says his government won't put too much more housing in the Barossa and McLaren Vale, concerned lovers of the country think a deal like the one that exists in the Napa Valley might be more comforting. Photo: Milton Wordley

From Napa Vintners:

While it may appear to the casual observer that Napa County is bursting with grape vines, the truth is that only nine percent of Napa County is planted in vineyards and less than three percent remains suitable for grape planting, according to the findings of the Napa County Watershed Task Force.

Napa County encompasses 485,120 acres in total and just 45,275 acres are planted in vineyards.

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, landowners realized that the encroaching urban growth to the south all but guaranteed that their land values were about to increase exponentially. Left unchecked much of the Valley could by now have become paved over and covered in tract-homes and strip-malls similar to Santa Clara Valley, once a thriving agricultural area.

In 1968, Napa Valley vintners and others in the community had the forethought to preserve open space and prevent future over-development by enacting the nation's first Agriculture Preserve. Since its adoption, not one acre of land has been removed from the preserve. This land-zoning ordinance established agriculture and open space as the "best use" for the land in the "fertile valley and foothill areas of Napa County." Initially the ordinance protected 23,000 acres of agricultural land stretching from Napa in the south to Calistoga. Today, more than 36,000 acres are contained within the Preserve.

Thirty years ago, in the formative stages of today's Napa Valley wine industry, local vintners joined the community's successful opposition to Caltrans plans for a freeway running up the valley. Twenty years ago, vintners and others promoted the successful passage of Measure A. Eleven years ago, the "2020 Initiative" was passed to hold all county land zonings in place through the year 2020 unless changed by a 2/3 vote of the people.

Local vintners are well into a second-generation effort to preserve the Valley. Working with the the Land Trust of Napa County, vintners are joining other property owners in placing their land into Conservation Easements. These easements dictate how designated parcels will be used in perpetuity - without a sunset date.

Of the approximately 11,000 acres of Napa County acreage that is forever guaranteed to remain rural through the Conservation Easement program, 5,100 acres been set aside by vintners. Those who place their land in these easements are making a bottom line sacrifice. Another 16,000 acres are protected under the Williamson Act, a program that provides incentives to keep land in agriculture production and open space.

Vintners have played a big role in the history of the Napa Valley's preservation. And we will continue to play a vital role in ensuring that the pastoral beauty and intact natural environment that we all enjoy today still exists for future generations.

http://www.napavintners.com/about/ab_2_land.aspx