Cannabis, anti-vaxxers, winery events and more
Cannabis tourism slippery slope
Dear Editor:
Our Supervisors are going to decide soon whether cannabis tourism promotion will be part of the new cannabis or-dinance. This is a slippery slope! Getting high in the privacy of your home is one thing. But how will cannabis tast-ing rooms operate - will they resemble opium dens or cigar bars, with tourists lounging while munching appetizers until the drug takes effect? And, then where do they go? Road safety is a major concern here.
Although tourism is important to Sonoma County; let’s put it in perspective. Pre-pandemic data from the Sonoma County Economic Development Board, shows tourist spending at about 6.5% of Sonoma County’s annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This includes a full range of tourist types, such as bicyclists and coastal visitors. However, media’s coverage of tourism may lead the public to believe tourism is the dominant factor in our economy – not so. Six (6) other industries generate more value to the County’s GDP.
In fact, Sonoma County’s greatest assets are what we – citizen advocates working constructively with our County officials – have preserved: A pristine coast, extensive agricultural lands, greenbelts and community separators, as well as open space and park lands. And, County voters consistently vote for additional taxes to protect and pre-serve these environmental and community assets.
Please write your Supervisor and encourage him or her to retain County Ordinance No. 6245, Sec.26-88-250 (c) (5), which states: “Tasting, promotional activities, and events related to commercial cannabis activities are prohibit-ed.”
Charlene Stone
Santa Rosa, CA
Winery workshop more lip service
Dear Editor:
At the County’s Winery Events Ordinance workshop we heard lip service by County staff about balancing wine industry needs. Yet, the county fails to recognize that for the past 20 years they permitted nearly 500 wineries, double the number forecast in our General Plan. Tasting rooms morphed from drop-in, stand up tasting, to seated wine and food pairing, coupled with an explosion in the number of events county-wide.
This effort grew from residents’ concerns that the proliferation of tasting rooms and events that had gotten out of hand. The wine industry has made the absurd suggestion that rather than limit parties and events, the County should expand them.
It’s long overdue for County staff to put pen to paper and develop an Ordinance that protects public safety and quality of life for residents living in neighborhoods with an ever- increasing number of facilities and promotional uses.
At the workshop, the public voiced strong preference for continuing the standards for events and focusing on further limiting the size of such events. If the County is considering expanding hospitality uses it must do a full EIR to examine the impacts of such a significant policy change.
Chris Meyer
Rohnert Park CA
Enough is Enough
Editor:
The County's February virtual Winery Events Ordinance workshop, attended by 200 participants, was another exercise in the redundant, chaotic, mind-numbing process the county has burdened the community with for the last several years. The County has repeatedly asked for feedback from the same concerned residents and winery reps-- in numerous workshops, to the 21-member Winery Working Group that met monthly in 2015, to county sponsored Community Advisory Councils, primarily made up of vintners with self-interest as their only agenda.
Community groups have worked constructively with the County for seven long years and have repeatedly submitted balanced recommended guidelines. Meanwhile, the wine industry met in secret ad hoc sessions with some of our supervisors the past few years to advocate for less regulations.
It’s time to cut bait and come up with an Ordinance that protects public safety and quality of life for residents living in neighborhoods with event centers.
While the wine industry advocates for less regulations, and more entitlements, resi-dents want peace of mind, less traffic, less noise and fewer DUI’s in their neighbor-hoods.
The County is responsible to the entire community when it comes to safety, environ-mental and quality of life concerns. Turning this process over to industry dominated committees and lobbyists to promulgate lax regulations is a dereliction of responsibility.
Enough is enough.
Padi Selwyn
Co-chair
PRESERVE RURAL SONOMA COUNTY
Equitable taxation
To Citizens of Sonoma County:
As a 70 year old citizen of Sonoma County, of Asian American ancestry, I am highly sensitive to issues of injustice and inequity.
So when our local politicians talk about putting sales tax and TOT tax increases on the ballot measure to support needed local services, services that I support and value, I get frustrated that the tools the poli-ticians keep falling back on are most painfully felt by those who can least afford the tax increases—namely seniors on fixed income and young families just beginning their lives.
