Friends of Gualala River Protecting the Gualala River watershed and the species living within it
Sonoma County freezes hillside vineyard conversions
The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved an emergency halt to new vineyards and orchards on forested slopes and hilltops.
| by Brett Wilkison January 31, 2012 Santa Rosa Press Democrat |
[excerpt:]
The four-month freeze was prompted by a wave of new vineyard projects and a need to update 12-year-old farming regulations that don’t deal with tree removal, officials said…
Two Annapolis-area proposals call for the conversion of over 1,900 acres of forest into land for wine grapes.
County officials have suggested those two projects — the 146-acre Artesa Vineyard proposal and the 1,769-acre Preservation Ranch project — would be subject to any updated regulations, as well as existing state and county rules governing timber-to-vineyard conversions.
In the short-term, the moratorium would affect seven pending vineyard projects covering 341 acres in western and northern Sonoma County. Artesa’s proposal, which is further along than Preservation Ranch, is the largest in the affected group. . .
| To read the entire article, visit the Press Democrat: Sonoma County freezes hillside vineyard conversions. |
