GROWERS' UPHILL BATTLE : REGULATIONS HAVE RAISED ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS, BUT THEY ALSO HAVE MADE PLANTING NEW VINES COSTLIER AND MORE TIME-CONSUMING Published on February 4, 2001 © 2001 The Press Democrat by TIM TESCONI PRESS DEMOCRAT Staff The vineyard Kirk Lokka is developing on an old apple ranch in Sebastopol could become a model for Wine Country's future: One-fifth of the land will stay in its natural state, there will be no deer fencing and the grapes will be farmed without pesticides. It's the antithesis of the ``industrial vineyard'' that has become the rallying cry for wine industry critics. Lokka, a Sonoma County vineyard manager for 20 years, said the new approach he is taking is driven by the county's hillside vineyard ordinance, which turns a year old this week. ``Two or three years ago we would have come in and bulldozed the oak trees, plowed and planted grapes fence to fence,'' Lokka said. ``We are looking at things differently now.'' The difference is traced to the public debate that led to passage of the ordinance, which regulates where and how vineyards can be planted on erosion-prone hillsides. The ordinance is one piece of an overall change in how vineyards are viewed, developed and managed in Sonoma County. There is a greater awareness of environmental concerns. But there is also increased cost and time to develop a vineyard. Those who have failed to comply were hit last year with fines up to $2,000. Still, vineyards are driven by market conditions and the added regulations did not stop development; grape planting continued at the same pace as in the previous five years. Lokka said the regulations in the 26-page ordinance required that he hire civil engineers to develop an erosion-control system on the land. He was also required to register his project with the county agricultural commissioner. But he is going well beyond the technical requirements of the ordinance, taking into account environmental issues that have been at the forefront of the debate between grape growers and environmentalists bent on preserving the natural landscape in an increasingly urban county. Lokka's not the only one. Kendall-Jackson, Sonoma County's largest vineyard owner, has vowed it will never cut another oak tree to make way for vineyards. And E & J Gallo has permanently preserved thousands of acres of forest and oak woodlands in developing its vineyards in Sonoma County. Still, a split remains between environmentalists and growers: * Environmentalists say the ordinance does not go far enough to put the regulatory brakes on hillside vineyards, which continue to move into fragile ecosystems. They say there is no protection for forest lands, oak woodlands, watersheds and wildlife habitat. * Growers and county officials say the ordinance is working well and preventing the disastrous soil erosion problems and landslides that necessitated the law. So far, no major violations While no one was caught evading the ordinance, 11 property owners were fined, mostly for not properly implementing the engineered plans they had paid for. The ordinance is narrow in its authority, focusing on controlling soil erosion and keeping sediment from polluting streams. ``The ordinance has increased awareness of environmental issues. When most people plant vineyards they want someone to tell them the right thing to do,'' said Gail Davis, a county planner who is coordinator of the Sonoma County Vineyard Erosion and Sediment Control Ordinance. As the first stop for landowners planting vineyards, Davis' office tries to steer growers around potential problems. Davis said a half-dozen property owners have given up on the idea of planting grapes after learning it could be a long, costly battle with state regulatory agencies and one they might not win. During the ordinance's first year, Davis and her assistant processed 451 vineyard projects totaling 4,100 acres. Of the total, 2,800 acres are new vineyards and 1,262 acres are replanted vineyards. The new plantings bring the county's total vineyard acreage to more than 54,000 acres. The new vineyard acreage is similar to the 2,000 to 3,000 acres added annually over the past five years as growers and wineries respond to the unprecedented demand for Sonoma County wines. But viticulture industry leaders expect planting to slow this year as demand stabilizes and prices soften for some overplanted grapes such as chardonnay. Law was a `first step' Although environmentalists and growers parted ways over the final version of the ordinance last year, the Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the law as a ``first step'' in addressing environmental issues related to grape production. Environmental activists remain critical of the ordinance, describing it as a ``sell out'' to the wine industry, a law with few teeth to curb the march of grapes into fragile forest lands and vital watersheds. ``The ordinance does nothing to stop the conversion of badly needed forest lands and woodlands to vineyards. The destruction of habitat is a serious threat to public health as well as the environment,'' said Lynn Hamilton, founder and spokeswoman for the Town Hall Coalition, a group formed in 1999 to address vineyard expansion. The California Department of Forestry reports that in 2000 applications were submitted to convert a total of 173 acres of forest land to vineyards in Sonoma County. This includes six conversion applications for three acres or less. The largest conversion application was for 88 acres. There was one application for 60 acres and another for nine acres. Forestry officials said some of the applications are still being processed so not all the acreage has been cleared and converted to vineyards yet. The Town Hall Coalition, said Hamilton, will soon seek amendments to the ordinance so there are more regulatory controls on where grapes can be planted in Sonoma County. She believes some land should be off-limits to grapes, no matter what kind of erosion-control system is engineered for the property. Hamilton, an Occidental resident who was formerly the mayor of Sebastopol, said the extraordinary erosion-control measures being used to develop hillside vineyards are a good indication that grapes should not be planted in the first place. ``I've never seen so many bales of straw, silt fences and cover crops in my life,'' Hamilton said. ``All these measures are to try and mitigate the effects of poorly designed vineyards to stop soil erosion.'' Ordinance requirements The ordinance prohibits vineyards on hillsides with slopes greater than 50 percent, terrain so steep that few vineyards are planted anyway. The ordinance requires that growers have certified erosion- and sediment-control plans for vineyards planted on erodible hillsides with slopes of 15 percent to 50 percent. Erosion-control plans must be prepared by civil engineers or other licensed professionals approved by the county agricultural commissioners office and all vineyard development work must cease between Nov. 1 and April 1, the rainy season when exposed soil is vulnerable to erosion. ``The ordinance has certainly elevated consciousness,'' said Nick Frey, executive director of the Sonoma County Grape Growers Association. ``People are being a lot more deliberate in the development and implementation of a vineyard.'' Frey said the ordinance allows landowners to develop well-planned vineyards on hillsides so they can realize a return on their financial investment in the property. He said some critics of the ordinance just don't want vineyards on the county's hillsides. He believes the ordinance is a good balance. ``No change in the landscape is not a reasonable objective,'' Frey said. Davis said the ordinance's authority is limited to soil erosion control but she said growers are going beyond what the county law requires when they develop hillside vineyards. Particularly, said Davis, after she walks the property with them and suggests taking a soft approach to establishing a new vineyard -- leaving stands of oak trees and not ``piping'' natural swales, for example. Vineyard manager Victor Trentadue, owner of Four Seasons Vineyard Management in Geyserville, said the ordinance's control measures on hillside vineyards are costly but necessary to protect valuable soil. He said an eight-acre site he is developing for vineyards has cost $6,000 to $8,000 an acre to engineer and install the erosion-control measures. ``I do what they say and more. I don't want any problems,'' Trentadue said. Davis cites Trentadue's work in the development of a hillside vineyard off Lytton Springs Road as a prime example of what should be done when hillsides are planted to grapes. Agricultural Commissioner John Westoby, who oversees the vineyard ordinance, said 11 growers were fined for violating the ordinance. The fines ranged from $200 to $2,000. He said most of the violations were for not following the engineer's erosion control plan in developing the vineyard site. Other obstacles The county ordinance is not the only law that regulates vineyard development and it's certainly not the toughest in implementing environmental protection. State agencies such as the Department of Forestry, the California Department of Fish and Game and the North Coast Water Quality Control Board enforce laws that protect trees, waterways and wildlife from poorly planned vineyard development. Those agencies are working together to crack down on shoddy vineyard development that damage wildlife and waterways. Jeffrey Holtzman, the deputy district attorney who handles environmental cases, said the county ordinance can help growers avoid hefty state fines. ``The greatest irony that I have seen is that some growers in an effort to get around the county ordinance end up violating state laws, which carry far more weight and bigger penalties,'' Holtzman said. Under the ordinance, anyone who plants a vineyard in Sonoma County -- even on flat land -- must notify the Sonoma County agricultural commissioner, who administers the county law. ``The point is that there is rhyme and reason to the county vineyard ordinance. If growers comply, it can significantly reduce their risk of violating state laws,'' Holtzman said. Before he moved an inch of dirt on the 127-acre apple ranch on Sanders Road, Lokka met with Davis and Alan Buckman of Fish and Game. The ranch, an historic spread settled in the past century by the Sanders family, is bisected by Atascadero Creek and encompasses a good part of the creek's watershed. Lokka said Davis and Buckman had ideas about preserving natural habitat and saving some minor tributaries to enhance the wildlife on the ranch. Even though it wasn't required he set some land aside for the wildlife. ``It feels good to provide a home for the deer and flock of turkeys living here,'' said Lokka, a wildlife enthusiast himself. You can reach Staff Writer Tim Tesconi at 521-5289 -- NOTICE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C., section 107, some material is provided without permission from the copyright owner, only for purposes of criticism, comment, scholarship and research under the "fair use" provisions of federal copyright laws. These materials may not be distributed further, except for "fair use," without permission of the copyright owner. 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