LAKEPORT >> When the Lake County Planning Commission discussed the Cristallago Vineyard project once again this week, one resident during public comment said it felt like déjà vu.
And it’s hard to disagree with the sentiment. It has been about a decade since the project was proposed. Since then it has been wrung through many public debates — and a lawsuit from the local Sierra Club. Still, the large-scale project still has yet to break ground.
But with the commission’s unanimous approval of the project’s new design, the vision may become a reality — albeit a scaled down one.
According to the Lake County Planning Department, the updated proposal cut out the 18-hole golf course. Instead, the community/vacation-resort hybrid will orient itself around the vineyard and provide residents access to interactive wine bottling and labeling facilities.
The course was removed from play because it was “economically unviable,” Matt Boeger of Boeger Land Development said, adding that it would cost approximately $20 million.
“We’ve replaced that with an agricultural piece, hopefully an income-producing piece that’s more in keeping with the county and the area,” Boeger said. “It’s going to allow this project to be more economically viable and sustainable now.”
He likened concept to a similar development in Napa County called the Napa Valley Reserve. It works similar to golf club membership: members would gain exclusive access to a winemaking boutique. However, most of the grapes grown in the vineyard wouldn’t go towards the boutique, but to commercial winemakers.
Some expressed support for project, including Sierra Club Chapter Chair Victoria Brandon, who led the club to file a lawsuit in 2010 in Lake County Superior Court claiming that the previously approved environmental impact report was inadequate.
Eventually the parties came to a settlement, leading to a proposed General Plan of Development Extension of two years and other changes.
“If this was coming up for the first time, I’d have a list of concerns as long as your arm,” Brandon said. “I think this is a major improvement over what was proposed before.”
Yet, she and others had some issues. Most notable among their questions was the hydrology report for the three deep wells that would be used for the vineyard that would be located near Scott’s Valley on Hill Road. It would be independent from the nearby aquifer.
That report was completed in the early 1980s, which were wet years. Due to the historic drought, many members of the public were concerned about the health of the wells and their use.
“I don’t think that’s relevant today,” one resident said.
The vote was unanimous, 5-0. The environmental impact report will be reviewed by the Board of Supervisors at a future meeting.
The project would be built in phases, the first being preparing the planting and farming the vineyards.
