LAKEPORT — The Lake County supervisors conducted about two hours of hearings on a pair of proposed winegrape projects in Kelseyville on Tuesday but delayed their final deliberations until the end of the month.
The first discussion focused on the Red Lava Vineyards and Winery proposal to open a small winery off Highway 29 while the second centered on a landowner”s desire to plant a commercial vineyard on the Buckingham Peninsula.
The owner of Red Lava wants to convert an existing building on the southeastern Kelseyville property into a winery that could produce as many as 15,000 cases annually.
An attorney for Old Muddy II, LLC — which owns neighboring land — filed an appeal asking the Lake County Board of Supervisors (BOS) to overturn a May planning commission decision to approve a minor use permit and mitigated negative declaration for the small winery.
The commission did not approve the second phase of the project, which proposed a tasting room that would also host special events.
The appeal raised several concerns about the winery phase, including environmental impacts, inadequate conditions of approval and traffic access.
Attorneys representing Old Muddy II and Red Lava presented most of the comments during the roughly hour-long discussion Tuesday morning at the Lake County Courthouse.
The supervisors closed the public hearing but rescheduled their deliberations to Aug. 28 to allow them more time to review materials and visit the site.
They made a similar move after hosting an hour-long talk about Dennis De La Montanya”s application for a general plan amendment and rezone request for land he owns on Point Drive in Kelseyville.
He asked the county to change the approximately 18-acre parcel from a single-family residential zone to suburban reserve so he could plant a commercial vineyard.
“I”m not asking for (agricultural) zoning. I”m just asking for a zoning that allows me to put a vineyard in (for) an interim economic purpose,” he told the supervisors Tuesday.
More than a dozen others spoke to the BOS, and a majority of the speakers disapproved of the proposal, expressing concerns such as chemical use, noise, erosion and keeping the area residential.
“It”s pretty common knowledge that agriculture and residential don”t mix,” Bob Braito said. “(The vineyard) doesn”t belong there.”
After the discussion, the supervisors decided to close the public hearing and postpone their deliberations until Aug. 28 to allow them more review time.
The planning commission recommended that the BOS deny De La Montanya”s application.
