A draft Environmental Impact Report for the Clos de la Tech winery project has been released by the County Planning Commission for public comment. The public comment period opened on July 16, with the release of the document, and extends for 45 days, until Sept. 5. There is one scheduled meeting to receive public comments on August 27. A copy of the draft EIR can be obtained from the County website at http://tiny.cc/RhvYf (It is also attached to this posting.) If you do not have web access, you can obtain a copy of the DEIR at the Guild office. It is a 300-page document. Please take the time to review the draft EIR and attend the August 27th meeting of the Planning Commission to voice your concerns. It is important that the Guild has a good turn out at this meeting.

Oral comments:

San Mateo County Planning Commission
Time - August 27, 9:00 a.m.
Location - Chambers of the Board of Supervisors
Hall of Justice & Records
400 County Center
Redwood City

Written comments:

plngbldg@co.sanmateo.ca.us

Planning and Building Department
Attention: Lisa Grote
455 County Center, 2nd Floor
Redwood City, CA 94063

Why is the Guild concerned about the proposed Clos de la Tech winery project?
Extensive background information about the Clos de la Tech winery project can be found on the Guild’s website (www.clhg.org, please contact the office for the password to the members only section). The applicants for the winery project originally planned to cultivate acreage in the Woodhams Creek watershed. Cuesta obtains most of its drinking water from a diversion point in upper Woodhams Creek that is fed by surface runoff and springs. The concern was that vineyard activities and wells in this watershed have the potential to damage the quantity and quality of water that the community depends on. Cuesta has spent considerable effort to raise awareness of these concerns with the County, has conducted a hydrologic study of the Woodhams watershed to document seasonal patterns of water flow and siltation, and continues to obtain legal advice as to how best to protect our water resources.

In response to the community’s efforts, a land swap has been proposed by the project applicants in which acreage in Woodhams will be traded for acreage that is adjacent to current vineyard plantings in the Langely Creek watershed. This is a very positive step to address Cuesta’s concerns but some important issues remain. Among these are:

1. The DEIR has concluded that wells used by Clos de la Tech in the Langely watershed may be connected hydrologically to Tunnel Spring, a major spring feeding Woodhams Creek and an important part of our water supply, especially in dry months. A monitoring plan for spring output and creek flow in the Woodhams watershed is suggested in the DEIR, which is very positive, but the criteria that will be used to determine if well pumping has an affect on these flows are not defined. This monitoring should also be conducted by an independent party. It is critical that clear criteria be included in any permit issued for the project. In addition, there are no specific recommendations regarding mitigation measures should water flow into Woodhams be diminished by winery activities. Such specific mitigation measures must be included in a possible winery permit.

2. Part the project application is for a zoning text amendment (ZTA) that would create a class of wineries called “Scenic Wineries” in San Mateo County. This amendment would allow for higher winery production and bottling limits for Scenic Wineries, which are located above 1500 feet elevation, than is allowed for other wineries in San Mateo County. The consultants that drafted the EIR were charged with assessing the cumulative impact of this ZTA, but there is no clear analysis of the cumulative affect of the ZTA in the released draft. Cuesta has a concern about the ZTA because the other major watershed from which we get our drinking water, Mindego, is surrounded by land that falls under the ZTA. We feel that the cumulative impact of the ZTA on watershed health needs to be explicitly addressed before approving the ZTA. This is a major inadequacy in the draft EIR.

3. There is concern that the land swap does not preclude future planting of vineyards in Woodhams for use by the Clos de la Tech winery by a leaseback agreement or other mechanism. There is no provision in the current DEIR to address this concern.

What is the Guild’s position on the DEIR? There are three project alternatives evaluated in the DEIR: the project as proposed; Alternative 1 - no project; and Alternative 2- the Environmentally Superior Alternative. The Guild supports the alternative that appears to best protect Cuesta’s water supply, Alternative 2 - the Environmentally Superior Alternative. Alternative 2 would prohibit planting on steep slopes above 55% and would create larger setbacks from streams that are a function of slope.

While superior to “no project” and the proposed project, there are questions about Alternative 2 that need to be addressed. In addition to the concerns outlined above, it is not clear how the slope of 55% was determined. Ordinances in other California counties, such as Napa and Sonoma, prohibit planting on slopes above 50%, not 55%. The Guild recommends that the County adhere to slope limits used by other counties with intensive viticulture.

What can you do? Please voice your concern to the County about these questions or others that you may have regarding the DEIR. Please attend the August 27 County Planning Commission meeting and send your concerns to the County at the above address by mail or email.

There will be a community meeting on August 20, 7:00 p.m. at the Clubhouse to discuss the DEIR.

Thank you very much for your concern and action on this important community matter.

Timeline:

August 20 Community meeting
August 27 Planning Commission Meeting – oral comments received
September 5 Comment period closes
September 10 Planning Commission Meeting – discussion of comments and recommendation on DEIR

The Cuesta la Honda Board of Directors