Feeling Graton by Jennifer Butler - May 2018
Happy beautiful warm weather season to you! I hope the April showers have brought you May flowers. Driving through a residential area?Please slow your roll.Congratulations to all graduating students!
CHA, CHA, CHANGES…IS GRATON THE NEW PARTY TOWN USA?
Graton is experiencing some significant changes. I enjoy my community and want to ensure that as a collective we are looking out for one another and the earth we share. This month, I am going to start coverage on another potentially big change for Graton. I will do my best to give fair reporting as it progresses. I am not a professional, so if I mess up just e-mail me corrections and/or opinions for that matter.
This brings forward the proposal for ‘Knuckle Junction’ on the corner of Ross and Graton Road at Purple Wine. Below is a truncated version of the application for Knuckle Junction submitted by Purple Wine to the Sonoma County Permit and Resource Management Dept. This is a public application so you can request the full application.
File Number: UPE17-0056
Site Address: 9119 Graton Road, Graton
Owner Name: Purple Wine Real Estate LLC www.Purplewine.com
Project Description: Request a Use Permit for the addition of seasonal Crush to an existing Winery and Distillery of up to 10% of the existing Winery Production, and the conversion of an existing 7,394 sft office space into a Brewery, Tap Room and Beer Garden open to the public. Total amount of combined cases produced would not exceed the existing permitted production.
If you have comments regarding this proposal you should send them to attention of: UPE17-0056 traci.tesconi@sonoma-county.org You can send comments at any time during the process.
Please note that I have not talked to a representative from Purple Wine as of yet but I will.It is my understanding that Purple Wine is privately owned and with 3 million cases a year the 2nd largest bottling plant in Sonoma County. It is also a vodka distillery. The application is to:
1. Expand existing wine production activities to include an annual crush of 5000 additional tons.
2. Convert their existing office spaces into brewery production of 70 thousand cases per year and
3. Re-purpose their existing parking lot into a publicly served taproom and beer garden with food and live music. They propose to operate 6 days a week.
Purple Wine is currently zoned as manufacturing. I have heard that they will potentially move their administrative offices out of town. They share the south side of Ross Road with the new Green Valley Village development of 10 homes. They will be eliminating their parking and while Green Valley Village will have residential parking provisions, I can imagine future issues of available parking being a problem. We should also anticipate visitors needing parking for a visit to Graton Green Park. Even today parking in downtown can be a challenge. On busy weekends people park in front of resident’s homes for events at the Community Center and restaurants.
With downtown Graton being less than two blocks long, I have heard a lot of concern about how this project would affect the culture and quality of life in Graton. Graton has changed its identity more than once, but for the last 20 years it’s been a sweet, quiet and primarily a residential little village.
Currently, in our one block we have one bar, two wine tasting rooms, and a fully licensed liquor store. With the restaurants; 5 of the 7 front facing main street businesses are serving alcohol. And of course, an art gallery and antique store, as well as two real estate offices that need parking for their customers. We also have the Community Center which is available to rent for parties. It’s a great thing to have a healthy downtown, but the pros and cons of the proposal need to be weighed carefully and we need the input of the entire community. We should be asking what our vision is for Graton…. today and in 10 years.
If you didn’t know, Graton is unincorporated and it looks like we will be that way for a while because it doesn’t pencil out financially to become incorporated. Therefore the 5th District relies on the General Plan for Sonoma County. Luckily we have a strong plan and the highlight of the General Plan is a restriction on all development. Residents in the 1970’s didn’t want us to become like LA so they put limitations on development in place. The General Plan is reviewed every 10 years. and is up for review again.
There will be many opinions on this proposed project but already the one that I hear most is the objection of intense use that isn’t confined to business hours and days. It will impact the community greatest on nights and weekends when many residents are home to enjoy their downtime, which is already impacted by the existing businesses. Also, of concern is the increase of large tonnage commercial traffic with trucks delivering for the additional 5000 tons in wine production and 70,000 cases of beer.