To: Sonoma County Board of Supervisors
Department or Agency Name(s): Permit Sonoma
Staff Name and Phone Number: Marina Herrera, Project Planner (707) 565-2397
Vote Requirement: Majority
Supervisorial District(s): First
Title:
Title
1:45 PM -PLP17-0031; 565 Mountain Avenue, Zone Change and Use Permit for a Winery
End
Recommended Action:
Recommended action
Adopt a Resolution approving a Use Permit subject to Conditions of Approval and adopt an Ordinance approving a zone change from Rural Residential (RR) to Agriculture and Residential (AR); finding the project exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act under CEQA Guidelines Section 15301 (Existing Facilities), Section 15303 (New Construction or Conversion of Small Structures) and Section 15061(b)(3) (Common Sense Exemption). (First District)
end
end
Executive Summary:
The project proposes a zone change from Rural Residential (RR) to Agriculture and Residential (AR) and a Use Permit for a small winery with a maximum annual production of 1,000 cases to occur within a residential structure. The project was recommended for approval by a unanimous vote (5-0-0) on October 20, 2022 by the Planning Commission.
Staff recommends approval of the Zone Change as both the current Rural Residential zoning and the requested Agriculture and Residential zoning are under the Rural Residential land use category; therefore, the proposed zone change does not require a General Plan Amendment. Staff further recommends approval as the proposed winery is consistent with the standards outlined in the General Plan and the Zoning Ordinance for wineries located within the Agriculture and Residential zone district, and is sized appropriately to be compatible with surrounding residential and agricultural land uses.
Discussion:
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Site Characteristics
The project site is a 6-acre parcel at 565 Mountain Avenue, in an unincorporated rural residential area of Sonoma County, approximately 1.3 miles north of the City of Sonoma (Attachment 4, Vicinity Map). Access to the project site is via Mountain Avenue, by an existing paved 10-foot-wide private driveway off, which includes a hammerhead turnaround adjacent to the primary residence.
The project site presently supports a primary single-family residence (nearing completion of construction), an accessory dwelling unit (converted from the original single-family dwelling), ancillary structures, and 2.5 acres of vineyards planted in 1996. The applicant intends to plant an additional half acre of vineyards onsite. The accessory dwelling unit is served by an onsite septic system while the primary residence will be served by the Sanitation District. The project site is supported by an onsite well which presently serves residential and irrigation needs and will also service the proposed winery.
The site is located in a Groundwater Availability Class 3 - Marginal Groundwater area and is not within Medium or High Priority basin defined under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). The project site is served by the Valley of the Moon Water District and the Sonoma Valley County Sanitation District.
The project site is located in a State Responsibility Area and is within a High-Moderate risk area (Wildland Fire Hazard Areas, Figure PS 1-g of the Sonoma County General Plan). Additionally, the site is located within the Wildland Urban Interface and designated as Intermix.
General Plan Land Use and Zoning
The General Plan Land Use Designation on the parcel is Rural Residential with a 5 acre density. The parcel is zoned Rural Residential (RR B6 5) with a 5-acre per dwelling unit density and combining zone overlay for Riparian Corridor (RC 50/50).
Surrounding Land Use and Zoning
The subject property is bound to the west by residential uses on parcels generally 0.5 acres in size zoned for Low-Density Residential (R1). To the north, east and south the subject property is bound by larger parcels and parcels comparable in size to the project parcel which contain a variety of agricultural, vineyard operations and residential developments. To the east parcels are larger in size and zoning is comprised of Resources and Rural Development (RRD) and Land Intensive Agriculture (LIA). To the north and south zoning is comprised of Rural Residential (RR) and Low-Density Residential (R1).
Project Description Summary
Zone Change
The Zone Change request is seeking to rezone the 6-acre project parcel from the Rural Residential (RR) zone district to the Agriculture and Residential (AR) zone district. The rezone is requested under the Rural Residential land use category as designated by the General Plan and does not require a General Plan Amendment.
The rezone is necessary to allow for onsite agricultural processing as the AR zone district allows for more expanded agricultural uses than that of the RR zone district.
Use Permit
The Use Permit request is to allow for a winery with a maximum annual production of 1,000 cases. The applicant/landowner has previously exported his site grown grapes offsite to a custom crush facility and produced 370-500 cases annually, therefore this Use Permit will allow the applicant/landowner to increase his annual production and to process onsite.
The processing facility will be located within the first-floor workshop of the new primary single-family residence, converting 1,775 square feet, the remainder of the structure will remain as a residence. The crush/utility pad will be located to the east of the single-family residence and will be 1,500 square feet in size.
The winery operation will continue to be family run, including one existing full-time employee. This use permit request does not include additional employees. Hours of operation for the winery facility will be 8:00am to 5:00pm Monday through Friday, with occasional weekend work during the harvest season. No visitor serving uses are proposed, such as public tasting or participation in industry wide events. A winery wastewater system will be developed upon approval of the Use Permit in accordance with Conditions of Approval and pomace will be composted in the onsite vineyards.
The project site is served by the Valley of the Moon Water District and the Sonoma Valley County Sanitation District. Additionally, the project site is supported by an onsite well which presently serves residential, and irrigation needs and will also service the proposed winery. Using default water use rates specified in Appendix A of 8-2-1 Water Supply, Use and Conservation Assessment Guidelines, the water use for the proposed 1,000 case winery is 16,700 gallons or 0.05 acre-feet per year. A single-family residence use default rate is 0.5 acre-feet per year, therefore the expansion of water use in conjunction with the winery of 0.05 acre-feet per year is considered to be negligible.
STAFF ANALYSIS
ZONE CHANGE
I. General Plan Consistency
The project site’s current General Plan land use designation is RR (Rural Residential). The General Plan Land Use Element sets forth the policies for the Rural Residential lands as well as the criteria for their designation:
Purpose & Definition: This category provides for very low density residential development on lands that have few if any urban services but have access to County maintained roads.
Permitted Uses: The primary use shall be detached single family homes. Secondary uses include attached dwellings, farming, small scale animal husbandry, home occupations, small scale home care and group care facilities, second dwelling units, public and private schools and places of religious worship, and other uses incidental to and compatible with the primary use. Consistent with Policy LU-6d, this category will allow application of the Rural Residential district that limits agricultural activities or the Agricultural and Residential district that allows unlimited animal and crop production on parcels of 2 acres or more.
Consistent with Policy LU-6d the Rural Residential land use category permits the application of the Agricultural and Residential zone district, which allows for more expanded agricultural uses than that of the Rural Residential zone district.
Policy LU-6d: Provide for different levels of crop and animal production in the Rural Residential land -use category by creating an "Agriculture and Residential" and a "Rural Residential" zoning district, one which permits unlimited animal and crop production on parcels two or more acres in size, and one which limits agricultural activities regardless of parcel size. Allow expanded agricultural uses in the “Agricultural and Residential” zoning district limited to agricultural processing, sales of products grown on site, product promotion, tours, educational visits, and small scale events. Where appropriate, simplify permit processing for these uses. In neither zoning district will the agricultural activities be considered the primary use of the land; nor will all of the policies of the Agricultural Resources Element apply.
Staff Comment:
The project includes a zone change from the current RR to AR zone district to allow for agricultural processing (i.e. winery). The zone change request is consistent with General Plan Policy LU-6d because the parcel is larger than two acres and presently supports agriculture production.
Zoning Ordinance, Section 26-01-010, lists the applicability of zoning districts to General Plan land use categories. Under this Section, the Agriculture and Residential (AR) zoning district is consistent with a Rural Residential General Plan land use designation, therefore it has been determined that a General Plan amendment is not required to rezone the project site from the RR to AR zone district.
In addition, because the land use designation is Rural Residential, the General Plan Policies and Goals that are typically applied to winery projects are not applicable because the project site is not in an agricultural land use designation or zoning district.
II. Zoning Consistency
Section 26-08-020 of Zoning Ordinance sets forth the purpose of each residential zone district. The purpose of both the RR and AR district are as follows:
Rural Residential: The RR zone preserves the rural character and amenities in areas best utilized for low-density residential development. Rural residential uses are intended to take precedence over agricultural uses. Agricultural service uses are not allowed.
Agriculture and Residential: The AR zone provides lands for raising crops and farm animals in areas designated primarily for rural residential use.
The table below summarizes the lot development standards for both the RR and AR Zone Districts that apply to the site as outlined in the Sonoma County Zoning Ordinance.
|
Zoning Standard |
RR (Existing) |
AR (Proposed) |
Project Site |
|
Min. Lot Size - UR LU Designation w/ Public Water: No urban services: |
20,000 sq ft 1 ac 1.5 ac |
- 1 ac 1.5 ac |
6 acres Within Urban Service Area |
|
Min. Lot Width |
80 ft |
80 ft |
±517 ft |
|
Residential Density |
1-20 acre/units |
1-20 acre/units |
5 acre/units |
|
Min. Setbacks - Front: Side: Rear: |
20 ft 20 ft 20 ft |
30 ft 30 ft 20 ft |
296 ft ±173 ft 81 ft |
|
Max. Lot Coverage |
35% |
5 ac. - 20 ac. 30,000 sq. ft. or 10%, whichever is greater |
9,016 sq ft 3.40% |
|
Max. Building Height |
35 ft |
35 ft |
26 ft |
Staff Comment:
The existing Rural Residential (RR) and the proposed Agriculture and Residential (AR) zone support a range of similar allowable residential uses and limited agricultural uses restricted by parcel size. Both the RR and AR zone districts support similar principally permitted residential uses including but not limited to, a primary residence, an accessory dwelling unit, a guest house, a home occupation, periodic special events, home family day care (small and large), and permanent supportive housing. Additionally, the RR and AR zone districts support similar conditionally permitted uses including but not limited to, community meeting facilities, country clubs, golf courses, live/work uses, and retail nurseries.
The AR district allows for expanded agricultural uses otherwise not allowed in the RR district such as, agricultural processing, confined farm animals, mushroom farming, farm retail sales, recreation and sports facilities (rural sports and recreation), horse boarding, and commercial horse and kennel facilities. The AR district does allow for agricultural processing but does not allow for tasting rooms. Although farm retail sales are allowed within the AR district, this use category excludes tasting rooms and alcoholic beverages and is intended for the sale of agricultural products, including pre-packaged goods and dairy and/or meat products that are grown or raised onsite.
The County of Sonoma has implemented a comprehensive land use plan through its Zoning Ordinance. Spot zoning is generally considered undesirable but can be considered when the zone change would allow for similar and compatible land uses with the surrounding area. The subject property was compared to adjoining properties to determine the overall patterns on zoning designations. The zoning in the vicinity has a distinct pattern moving east from SR 12 toward the Mayacamas Mountains, beginning with various Commercial (C2, LC) districts along the SR 12 corridor, followed by Single-Family Residential (R1) and Rural Residential (RR), then into Resources and Rural Development (RRD) and Land Intensive Agriculture (LIA) as the elevation increases. Residential density and land use intensity both decrease following this west to east pattern. Overall, rezoning the parcel to AR is consistent with the area zoning pattern from higher to lower density and would not constitute impermissible spot zoning.
The General Plan Land Use Category of Rural Residential encourages the allowed expansion of agricultural uses on parcels of 2 acres or more in size for the designation of the Agriculture and Residential Zone District. Where it exists, AR zoning is generally located between RR and either RRD or agricultural zones (i.e., LIA, LEA, DA) to allow for a transition of more intense agricultural uses on parcels where the primary use is still residential to parcels where agriculture is the primary use. Due to the parcel’s size, its contiguous surrounding agricultural uses to the east, and its onsite agricultural use, the rezone to AR would be consistent with the General Plan Rural Residential land use designation. The rezone to AR does not encourage a substantial enlargement of development potential as the majority of additional conditionally permitted uses are not consistent with the proposed use of a winery and a new conditional use would be required to go through the discretionary use permit process. Although the AR district does allow for a limited expansion of agricultural uses, including agricultural processing (i.e., wineries), visitor serving uses in conjunction with wineries (i.e., tasting rooms, industry wide events) are not permissible in the AR district. Therefore, this Use Permit does not include any visitor serving uses and could not be modified in the future to add such uses under the current zoning and land use designations.
USE PERMIT
I. General Plan Consistency
A winery within the AR zone district is subject to General Plan Policies, AR-5c & AR-5g, the General Plan Noise Element and the General Plan Public Safety Element for projects within a State Responsibility Area.
Policy AR-5c: Permit storage, bottling, canning, and packaging facilities for agricultural products either grown or processed on site provided that these facilities are sized to accommodate, but not exceed, the needs of the growing or processing operation. Establish additional standards in the Development Code that differentiate between storage facilities directly necessary for processing, and facilities to be utilized for the storage of finished product such as case storage of bottled wine. Such standards should require an applicant to demonstrate the need for such on-site storage.
Policy AR-5g: Local concentrations of any separate agricultural support uses, including processing, storage, bottling, canning and packaging, agricultural support services, and visitor-serving and recreational uses as provided in Policy AR-6f, even if related to surrounding agricultural activities, are detrimental to the primary use of the land for the production of food, fiber and plant materials and shall be avoided. In determining whether or not the approval of such uses would constitute a detrimental concentration of such uses, consider all the following factors:
1) Whether the above uses would result in joint road access conflicts, or in traffic levels that exceed the Circulation and Transit Element’s objectives for level of service on a site specific and cumulative basis.
2) Whether the above uses would draw water from the same aquifer and be located within the zone of influence of area wells.
3) Whether the above uses would be detrimental to the rural character of the area.
Staff Comment:
There are no wineries currently permitted on Mountain Avenue. The closest winery is located at 392 London Way, 2 miles north-east of the project site. However, this winery’s access lacks any cross connection to the proposed winery on Mountain Avenue as there is no nexus between the two roads. The winery use will include an expansion of groundwater use of 0.05 acre-feet per year which is considered to be a negligible expansion.
Mountain Avenue presently operates as a ‘very low volume roadway’ with less than 400 vehicles per day as defined by AASHTO standards. The section of Mountain Avenue between Highlands Boulevard and Buena Vista Avenue has an ADT of about 376 vehicles, while the roadway is expected to have an ADT of about 200 vehicles east of Hillcrest Avenue. The trip generation for the project, estimated that the proposed project would result in a worst-case scenario of no new trips during the a.m. peak hour and four new trips during the p.m. peak hour, therefore the project is expected to result in 10 new trips per day over existing conditions. This estimate was based on the conservative assumption that imported vineyard grapes, empty barrels, empty glass imports, and bottled wine exports would occur simultaneously during the same peak hour. While the proposed project does increase production levels, the increased grape importation would be offset by the reduced grape exportation therefore the total daily trips associated with winery activities would remain relatively unchanged.
Noise:
The project is required to comply with General Plan Noise Standards (Table NE-2). Considering the relatively large size of the parcel, the distance of the processing facility from property lines and access road from adjacent noise sensitive uses, the low number of employee vehicle trips (1 FTE), and the lack of visitor serving uses that could increase trip generation or include amplified sound (i.e., tasting room, industry-wide events), the noise generated from winery operations is expected to be negligible. Additionally, the project has been conditioned to comply with General Plan Table NE-2 maximum noise level standards and the process by which PRMD will process noise complaints.
Wildfire Risk:
The project site is located in a State Responsibility Area and is within a High-Moderate risk area (Wildland Fire Hazard Areas, Figure PS 1-g of the Sonoma County General Plan). Additionally, the site is located within the Wildland Urban Interface and designated as Intermix. An Access and Evacuation Analysis was prepared for the project by W-Trans, dated December 8, 2020. Mountain Avenue is generally a residential street of approximately 0.6 miles in length which is bound by SR12 on the west. Mountain Avenue varies in width between 18 and 25 feet wide between SR 12 and Hillcrest Avenue. To the east of Hillcrest Avenue the roadway is approximately 14-16 feet wide, though much of this segment has a relatively level area adjacent to the roadway of two feet or greater that can be used as a shoulder. The section of Mountain Avenue to the west of Hillcrest Avenue has numerous opportunities for a fire apparatus to pass evacuating traffic heading west towards SR 12. The section to the east of Hillcrest Avenue has a narrower roadway width with fewer passing opportunities, although they do exist. Approximately, 130 feet east of Hillcrest Avenue there is relatively flat terrain on the south side of the street between the roadway surface and a private fence set back about nine feet which can be utilized as a turnout in the event of an emergency. Similar widened areas are located approximately 600 feet east of Hillcrest Avenue and just west of the project driveway, therefore while the road narrows, there are opportunities for vehicles to pass one another in the event of an evacuation.
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Fire Safe Regulations (14 CCR § 1270.00 et seq.) require developments within the State Responsibility Area to provide for safe access for emergency wildfire equipment and civilian evacuation concurrently. In general, this includes requiring that two-lane roads have two 10-foot traffic lanes and that one-lane roads have one 12-foot traffic lane. The applicant’s request for an Exception to Standards providing for the Same Practical Effect (14 CCR § 1270.06) was evaluated and accepted by Sonoma County Fire Marshal in August of 2022 and submitted to CalFire (Attachment 10). An Exception to Standards was requested due to the substandard road width of Mountain Avenue as discussed above. The project site contains a fire truck turnaround at the termination of the residential driveway. In regards to fire suppression, there is a fire hydrant located less than 50 feet from the driveway entrance and a 5,000 gallon water tank on site to be used for fire suppression and to feed the sprinkler system on the winery processing and residential structure.
II. Zoning Consistency
The purpose of the Agriculture and Residential (AR) zone district is to provide lands for raising crops and farm animals in areas designated primarily for rural residential use. The table above in the Zone Change, II. Zoning Consistency Section demonstrates that the onsite development meets the development standards of the AR zone district.
Agricultural Processing is allowed with a Use Permit in the AR district (Sec. 26-08-030), subject to the standards in Section 26-18-030 (Agricultural Processing).
Staff Comment:
As discussed in this report, the landowner/applicant has been producing grapes onsite and hauling them off site to a custom crush facility on 8th Street East to facilitate an annual production of 15-20 barrels (370-500 cases). The use permit request is to increase annual production to 1,000 cases onsite. The site currently produces 15 tons of grapes and will import 4.5 tons from offsite vineyards, which meets the 30% allotment of grapes imported from offsite sources, included as Condition of Approval #7. Additionally, the applicant intends to plant an additional half acre which will eventually bring onsite production to 18 tons. Winery operations will occur within the lower level of a single-family residence occupying 1,775 square feet, while the crush/utility pad will be 1,500 square feet, totaling 3,275 square feet of processing area onsite, consistent with county code that has a limit of 5,000 square feet for processing buildings on parcels greater than five acres. The winery’s annual production of 1,000 cases and the size of the processing space within a larger residential structure is sized appropriately to be compatible with the surrounding area and accommodate the needs of the onsite production.
Additionally, the Riparian Corridor overlay combining zone has been applied to the property due to the blue line stream which runs parallel to the eastern property line of the project site. The riparian corridor itself is actually not located on the project site and simply runs parallel to the property line. Therefore, existing development is consistent with the required Riparian Corridor as development is located outside of the required setback.
Environmental Determination
Permit Sonoma has determined that the project is categorically exempt from the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act pursuant to the Provisions of Title 14 of the California Administrative Code, under Section 15301 (Existing Facility), which provides for negligible expansion of an existing use, Section 15303 (New Construction or Conversion of Small Structures), which provides for construction of a single-family residence and the conversion of such structures from one use to another where only minor modifications are made to support the use, and Section 15061(b)(3), Common Sense Exemption. The proposed winery will increase the applicant’s current production which occurs offsite from 500 cases to 1,000 cases annually to occur onsite. The proposed project will provide for minor alterations of 1,775 square feet of a single-family residence and construction of a 1,500 square foot crushpad but does not include new structural development to support the use.
The proposed project is expected to result in 10 new trips per day over existing conditions. While the proposed project does increase production levels, the increased grape importation would be offset by the reduced grape exportation therefore the total daily trips associated with winery activities would remain relatively unchanged and will not have an impact on local traffic conditions.
Furthermore, Section 15061(b)(3), is appropriate because it can be seen with certainty that the rezone of the project parcel from Rural Residential to Agricultural and Residential will not have an indirect and reasonably foreseeable impact as the zone change will not result in any changes in the site’s land use designation or density. The proposed zone change allows for a negligible increase in permitted and conditionally permitted agricultural uses which is appropriate as the property is presently engaged in agricultural production and the proposed winery represents only a negligible expansion of current use that will not have a significant effect on the environment.
No exceptions listed under CEQA Section 15300.2 apply, including the “unusual circumstances” exception because the evidence in the record supports the conclusion that there is no reasonable possibility the Project will have a significant effect on the environment due to unusual circumstances. The evidence does not support a finding that an unusual circumstance exists and the traffic analysis did not identify significant effects on the environment.
PRECEDING REVIEW AUTHORITY RECOMMENDATIONS
Sonoma Valley Citizens Advisory Commission
The Sonoma Valley Citizens Advisory Commission heard the project on August 26, 2020 and provided unanimous support of the project. The minutes from this meeting are included as Attachment 11.
Planning Commission
The project was duly noticed and presented to the Sonoma County Planning Commission at their October 20, 2022 meeting. A presentation was conducted by both staff and by consultants on behalf of the applicant. Ultimately the Planning Commission unanimously recommended that the Board approve the Zone Change and Use Permit, with conditions provided. The minutes from this meeting and staff report packet are included as Attachment 12.
Strategic Plan:
Not Applicable.
Prior Board Actions:
Not Applicable.
Fiscal Summary
Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
Not Applicable.
Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
Not Applicable.
Attachments:
Attachment 1: Board of Supervisors Resolution
Attachment 2: Exhibit A of the Resolution, Conditions of Approval
Attachment 3: Ordinance
Attachment 4: Vicinity Map
Attachment 5: Aerial Map
Attachment 6: General Plan Land Use and Zoning Map
Attachment 7: Zoning Map
Attachment 8: Project Proposal Statement
Attachment 9: Project Plans (Site Plan / Floor Plan)
Attachment 10: Board of Forestry Exception to Standards
Attachment 11: Sonoma Valley Citizens Advisory Commission, August 26, 2020 Meeting Minutes
Attachment 12: Planning Commission Meeting Minutes and Staff Report Packet
Attachment 13: Staff Presentation
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
Not Applicable.