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Mountain Winery continues efforts to comply with terms
By Rebecca Ray
After receiving a conditional-use permit from the county in August 2000, the Mountain Winery has begun attempts to comply with the permit by taking measures to reduce traffic and noise and improve parking at its site on Pierce Road.
Winery officials applied for a permit so they could begin plans to increase the number of seats in the concert bowl from 1,750 to 2,500 and expand the winery building by 1,500 square feet. Once the winery expands, winery officials can increase the number of parking spaces up to 725.
Since the first concert of the season, which spans from May 24 to Sept. 27, three deputies from the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office have been controlling traffic, according to winery President and CEO Nancy Bussani. While one deputy monitors the winery entrance, another is stationed at the corner of Pierce Road and Big Basin Way. A third deputy monitors the section of the Village between 3rd and 4th streets. If the system proves effective, the winery will implement it during future concert seasons.
To address noise, county officials are testing what they perceive are the 10 loudest concerts this season. After the last concert, they will determine whether the winery complied with the permit. The winery is also working with Bill Graham Presents--which it contracted with in fall 2000 to promote its concert series--to restructure speakers to decrease decibel levels. A sound engineer hired by the county conducted a study and recommended the change, Bussani said.
The winery set up a hot line to address questions and concerns about concerts. The winery published the number in its neighborhood newsletter, and a staff member, rather than a recording, answers the calls, Bussani said. The 100 or so neighbors who live closest to the winery receive the newsletter about four times a year.
Although the winery never allowed parking on neighborhood streets, it didn't install signs that prohibited parking during concerts until after the permit was approved. The winery has installed signs on the eight residential streets closest to the winery, reduced its number of parking spaces on the site from 700 to 630 and has begun to encourage carpooling in its neighborhood newsletters and advertisements.
The winery hasn't yet begun to design plans for additional seats and expansion, Bussani said. The plans are supposed to go to the county for approval by August 2002.
The winery must obtain a permit from the county, rather than the city of Saratoga, because while the 75 or so acres of the winery's property nearest to Pierce Road are within the Saratoga city limits, the other 600 or so acres--which include the winery building, parking lot and concert bowl--are on county land.
The winery obtained a permit from the Santa Clara County Planning Commission in March 2000 to continue to host various events, including weddings, concerts and business meetings. Saratoga city officials and members of the Trail Enthusiasts, a nonprofit organization that supports city's trails, appealed because they said the Environmental Impact Report on which the planning commission had based its decision failed to address traffic, noise and parking.
Before the appeal hearing with the county board of supervisors, city and winery officials negotiated an agreement, and the city withdrew its appeal. On Aug. 15, 2000, the board of supervisors reviewed the Trail Enthusiasts' appeal, denied it and approved the permit. The board of supervisors also approved the additions to the permit agreed upon by winery and city officials.
The Trail Enthusiasts have sued the county and board of supervisors since then. The Trail Enthusiasts are challenging the county's issuance of the permit, its certification of the Environmental Impact Report and its approval of the winery's architecture and site. According to the Trail Enthusiasts, the permit violates the county noise ordinance, which prohibits noises of a certain decibel level after 10 p.m. The permit also applies to individual parcels of land that are of at least 90 acres, and the winery's building complex, picnic area and parking lots--the areas the permit covers--sit on two parcels of land, neither of which are as large as 90 acres, the Trail Enthusiasts say.
The Trail Enthusiasts say the environmental impact report, which was prepared by a consultant chosen by the county, used the wrong baseline when assessing environmental impact. They say that significant new information was added to the report and that this information was not recirculated for public review, which violates the California Environmental Quality Act. The Trail Enthusiasts also say the guidelines the winery must follow for architecture and site approval do not adequately address traffic safety and noise issues. A hearing to address the lawsuit is scheduled for Sept. 10 at the Santa Clara Superior Court.
On behalf of the organization, Trail Enthusiasts member James Baron is also discussing with county officials ways to best implement the permit and make the winery comply with the permit in a timely manner. According to Baron and County Planning Director Ann Draper, winery officials have turned in documents, such as reports and plans--which prove they are complying with the permit--after the dates the documents were due. Draper said, however, that because winery officials have not neglected to turn in any documents, county officials have judged them to be in compliance with the permit. According to Draper, the county's policy is to work with applicants to gain compliance, rather than punish applicants for noncompliance.
The conditional-use permit says winery officials must end all concerts by 10:30 p.m. and have no more than two performing arts begin before 6:30 p.m. Winery officials must hire three law enforcement officers to monitor traffic on a one-year trial basis during the 2001 concert season, which lasts from May 24 until Sept. 27; hire an acoustical engineer to conduct a sound study by May 15, 2001, and recommend ways the winery could reduce noise from its events; set up a hot line to address questions and concerns about concerts; not allow parking on neighborhood streets during concerts; and limit parking spaces to 630 during the 2001 concert season.
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Saratoga, California Since 1955
