Winery says it was slighted by the city's special meeting
By Kara Chalmers
Saratoga's City Council may have called a "special" meeting legally to vote to appeal the Mountain Winery's use permit, which the Santa Clara County Planning Commission granted on March 2. But, according to Winery President Nancy Bussani, the council didn't follow the rules of etiquette.
The winery was not notified or invited to the meeting that the council called on March 6, at which members voted 4-0 (John Mehaffey was absent) to appeal the county's approval. Neither the Council nor the Mayor contacted the winery to discuss concerns, Bussani said, adding that she was stunned by the decision to appeal.
"The most frustrating thing for us is that we didn't even know they were having a meeting," Bussani said. "It makes it hard to believe we are working towards a win-win partnership, if we're not really part of the conversation."
Saratoga city officials filed the appeal on March 17, on the grounds that the city's concerns--traffic, noise, trails and parking--were not properly addressed during the permit process. In the past 40 years of operation, previous owners never obtained a permit for the winery. The board of supervisors will hear the appeal, most likely in May, said planning commission clerk, Barbara Laskin.
This summer's concert series will not be affected by the appeal, Bussani said, since the winery is allowed to continue the series for the duration of the permit process.
The Saratoga Trail Enthusiasts, also, is appealing the county's decision. The mission of the volunteer organization is to ensure that the city's master plan for trails, which was developed in 1991, is implemented.
The permit will allow all of the events at the winery, such as the summer concert series, weddings and business meetings, to continue at the hilltop site, off Pierce Road in Saratoga. The permit restricts the number of events and the number of attendants and parking spaces. City officials say these conditions are not adequate.
According to officials, the use permit should not address the proposed 750-seat increase in the concert bowl and the proposed 1,500 square foot expansion of the winery building, at all. Rather, an amendment to the permit should address, specifically, the winery's expansion, after more studies on traffic, noise and parking impacts are done.
The Saratoga Trail Enthusiasts want the winery to grant trail easements throughout the property, in accordance with the city's master plan. In that case, people and horses won't have to use Pierce Road in Saratoga--the road to the winery. The easements would be one-way to compensate for the winery-associated traffic on Pierce Road, according to the trail enthusiasts group.
The council was not legally required to notify winery officials of the special meeting, according to the Brown Act. The act requires open and public meetings of local governments. The act also states that if a body needs to discuss or act on a matter that it deems pressing enough not to wait for a regular meeting, it may have a "special meeting" at some other time or place. The act requires that special meetings be posted at least 24 hours, in advance, with brief and general descriptions of the items to be discussed, in a place freely accessible to the public.
According to interim city clerk Carol Butler, the agenda was posted more than 24 hours in advance on the City Hall's outside kiosk, the usual place for posting agendas.
According to Walgren, the purpose of the special meeting was, in part, for Mayor Stan Bogosian to describe the results of the winery's hearing before the county Planning Commission. As a result, the council decided to appeal.
Walgren noted that the council does not have the power to make decisions on the use permit, or the winery's operations, since the county is the lead agency on the whole permit process. The council merely met to decide whether to appeal the decision of that agency and, therefore, the city never considered notifying the winery.
Walgren said that, at an informal meeting he initiated with winery part owner Bill Hirschman last fall, Hirschman made it clear the winery wanted to keep the expansion as part of the use permit, which was in conflict with the city's wishes. Walgren believed the issue could not be negotiated. Since then, neither the winery nor the city has approached each other.
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Saratoga, California Since 1955
