Supervisors to consider sweeping changes to Temecula wine country

Plans to turn a 19,000-acre swath of southwestRiverside County into a viticultural Valhalla — despite a variety ofchallenges stemming from pollution, noise and traffic — will be on the Boardof Supervisors’ agenda for consideration next week.

The Temecula Valley Wine Country Plan, in development since 2008 andapproved by the county’s Planning Commission last December, will requirerevisions to the county general plan, as well as changes to zoning designationsand the approval of an environmental impact report that points to unavoidableproblems as the build-out occurs.

The board will hear a lengthy presentation and testimony regarding thewine country plan during its afternoon session Tuesday.

“The purpose of the project is to provide a blueprint for growth toensure that future development activities will enhance, not impede, the qualityof life for existing and future residents, while providing opportunities forcontinued development and expansion of winery and equestrian operations withinthis part of the county,” according to a county Transportation & LandManagement Agency statement submitted as part of the presentation.

Under the plan, the Temecula Valley Wine Country would be defined asencompassing an unincorporated area three miles north of the San Diego Countyline, just east of Temecula, south of Lake Skinner and Northwest of Vail Lake,according to TLMA documents.

The area is currently home to 42 vintners, or wine growers. SupervisorJeff Stone, whose third district covers the entire southwest county region,envisions 120 wineries eventually operating there.

Preparing the area for expansion will require new infrastructure, moregovernment services and accommodations for existing residents and businesses –all of which pose challenges, though most of them can be mitigated, accordingto the environmental impact report prepared for the board.

The TLMA is recommending that the board tentatively approve the 711-pageEIR, which identifies the following “significant” impacts arising from theproject:
— a 25 percent reduction in the amount of prime farmland otherwiseavailable for cultivation;
— an increase in particulate air pollution because of vehicle traffic,industrial equipment, grading, excavation and other activity;
— an increase in greenhouse gas emissions that exceed the South CoastAir Quality Management District’s “draft mass emission thresholds”;
— an increase in noise during the construction phase and afterward, aslarge-scale events, including weddings and wine tastings, occur;
— greater demands on fire protection services, which are already spreadthin throughout the area; and
— higher traffic volume and more roadway congestion from tourists andbusinesses.

Planning officials proposed a number of mitigation measures to offsetthe impacts, though none of them would provide a 100-percent fix, and someefforts would have to be undertaken on an ad hoc basis, documents showed.

“It should be noted that while the proposed project represents anincrease in new development compared to existing conditions in wine country, itis considerably less dense than currently allowed in the county’s general planpolicies,” the TLMA stated.

As part of the wine country plan, the board will have to approvereplacing the Citrus Vineyard Policy Area Design and the Southwest Area plans,as well as implementing the following new zoning classifications: Wine Country-Winery; Wine Country-Residential; Wine Country-Equestrian and Wine Country-Existing.

Each designation specifies the character of a subdivision. One keychange would be mandating that the minimum size of a vintner be 20 acres,instead of 10, and that at least half of all wine distributed be made on site.

Plan advocates tout the economic advantages of expanding the winecountry, with more vintners, inns, stores, equestrian arenas and othercommercial enterprises contributing to increased employment and a higherstandard of living.

Critics dislike the added stress on local resources and the overall sizeand scope of the project, which would evolve over several decades.