City submits its comments on the Mountain Winery

By Kara Chalmers

City officials are preparing the final letter to the county Planning Commission in response to the draft environmental-impact report for the Mountain Winery's conditional-use permit and architectural and site approval (ASA) applications.

The city has until Jan. 15 to submit its final response. At the Jan. 5 City Council meeting, council members and citizens suggested changes or additions to a draft written by Saratoga Community Development Director James Walgren.

The county Planning Department in December granted the city's request for an extension of the draft EIR's comment period so the city would have time to look into annexing the winery. The city sent a preliminary response on Dec. 15.

Walgren's letter addresses what the city perceives as shortcomings in the draft EIR. It ends with the city's request that the county work with the city to facilitate an annexation of the winery.

Council members and city staff agree that annexation might be the best idea for Saratoga because winery traffic, noise and visual impact affect Saratoga almost exclusively. Annexation would allow the city to better regulate and monitor the winery, and Saratoga would receive revenue from the property and sales taxes generated by the facility's restaurant, Chateau La Cresta.

If the city annexes the winery, it will be responsible for issuing permits and enforcing codes, which would mean hiring additional staff, the costs of which would be reimbursed by service charges, according to the report prepared by Walgren.

According to the county zoning ordinance, the winery's Hillside zoning allows the types of uses that have occurred at the Winery since 1958, as long as it has a conditional-use permit from the county. Therefore, the permit would "legalize" the current activities, but would not allow any new uses.

The draft EIR, prepared by a consultant selected by Santa Clara County, outlines possible outcomes of approving the winery's use permit and lists mitigation measures for those effects. According to the draft EIR, any outcome can be mitigated so that it is insignificant.

However, the draft EIR discusses expansion and improvements at the winery, such as a proposal to increase the number of seats in the concert bowl from 1,750 to 2,500, construct new performer bungalows and relocate the kitchen, which means expanding the winery building by 1,500 square feet.

The main areas of the draft EIR with which the city's letter finds fault are the sections dealing with the scope of the project--meaning whether the draft EIR is intended to address current uses or future expansion. The letter also addresses traffic, trails, parking and noise concerns.

The letter also notes that the city adopted a septic-abatement ordinance in June which may apply to parts of the winery property and also says that the condition of the abandoned quarry on the property should be addressed in the EIR.

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