COUNTY CLOSE TO SETTING TIMBERLAND RULES: STRICTEST STANDARDS IN STATE WOULD LIMIT CONVERSION TO VINEYARDS, ORCHARDS ON ABOUT 200,000 ACRES

December 14, 2005

By BLEYS W. ROSE
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Timberland conversion rules -- possibly the strictest in California -- cleared a major hurdle Tuesday when Sonoma County supervisors tentatively approved regulations that will limit development of vineyards and orchards on about 200,000 woodland acres.

``I know this is not perfect for everybody, but these will, in fact, be the most stringent regulations on timber conversion,'' said Supervisor Mike Reilly, chief advocate for tough conversion rules on the board.

The chief opponent, Supervisor Paul Kelley, said he remains opposed, but conceded, ``the fact that everybody is not happy with it'' indicates a compromise has been reached between environmentalists and property owners.
After hearing 90 minutes of testimony from environmentalists, property owners, forestry experts and developers, the five-member board decided to solicit views from its planning commissioners and then bring the rules back for a board vote Feb. 7. The supervisors' decision settles a running dispute between environmentalists alarmed at the pace of vineyard conversions in northern Sonoma County and property owners who see better profits from wine grapes than wood.

The rules impose the county use permit process on landowners who want to convert timberland into ``noncompatible'' uses such as vineyards or orchards. And they set standards for mitigation, setback areas and restoration payments that must be followed when developers receive approval for agricultural uses on nontimberland in timber production zones.

Several registered foresters told supervisors that the proposed rules would present an economic drag on future projects. Conversions are occurring on sloping land that is not suitable for timber production but is economically attractive to landowners putting in vineyards, one said.

``It is a bad solution to a nonexistent problem and it is already overregulated by the state,'' said Philip Lowell, a forester who has advised several conversions in Sonoma and Napa counties. He said the proposed rules ``are duplicative, counterproductive and expensive.''

Representatives of the Sierra Club, the Community Clean Water Initiative and the Town Hall Forum called for higher mitigation ratios, for wider setbacks and more timberland acreage in protected zones. For the most part, their proposals were rejected by the majority of supervisors.

``If you make it too easy, you may get something you may not be too happy with,'' said Sierra Club official Keith Kaulum, who argued that supervisors should broaden the classifications of timberland in which conversions will be banned.

The proposed rules were endorsed by Richard Wollack, chief executive of Premier Pacific Vineyards. The company owns 20,000 timberland acres in northwestern Sonoma County and is considering vineyard development on a tenth of the property.
``We endorse this approach. This may be the most rigorous in the state,'' Wollack said, adding that his company's Preservation Ranch project will likely be proposed in the spring.

You can reach Staff Writer Bleys W. Rose at 521-5431 or brose@pressdemocrat.com.

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