Sierra Club
Redwood Chapter Newsletter
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Napa Group Report Elisabeth Frater | |
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Land use continues to be an active issue. The first vineyard development EIR was filed by RM Mondavi Corporation for its vineyard on Suscol Ridge southeast of the City of Napa. We visited the site with the Mondavi vineyard manager and later discussed a large number of proposed comments on the project. Our comments were intended not only to get the best environmental result from this project, but to encourage high standards for later vineyard developments around Napa County. The county Board of Supervisors refused to approve creation of a taxing authority, and so has most likely kept the half-cent transportation sales tax from the ballot this year. We are glad for this vote because it gives us more time for education (ourselves, officials and the public) and hopefully time to compose a more acceptable transportation work plan. We are working with our ally Get a Grip on Growth to fund an expert to write an alternative project for Jamieson Canyon Road (JCR). Widening of JCR was the most controversial project in the transportation debate this year, and the most intractable for compromise. Proponents had originally characterized the road as a "death trap", but had to cool that rhetoric when Caltrans reported it relatively safe. We proposed alternatives which seemed to improve safety without doubling capacity, but these compromises were rejected. |
The widening project is part of creating a freeway regime in south county, and is fervently supported by urbanizing groups like Napa Valley Economic Development Corporation. County Supervisor Dillon proposed a smaller work plan matched by a shorter taxing period (10 years). Dillon's plan would finance maintenance, safety improvements and some bus transit. It would have been superceded by a second, more complete tax and work plan in two years. The hope was that the delay would allow consensus to develop. Her suggestions were rejected by the tax proponents as mere political maneuvering. In fact, much of the Dillon plan had already been considered by our transportation coalition, especially cutting the taxing period from 30 to 10 years. In our many speeches before public bodies and lobbying since December, we have proposed many changes to the gigantic transportation work plan, seeing it not only as misdirected toward congestion relief by capacity increase, but also containing several over-engineered or unnecessary projects. The plan would throw big money at problems that really need big ideas. |