Along with Lois Battuello (SH Star 10-18) I would like to also praise the
Napa Farm Bureau for successfully defending agricultural lands from being
converted to commercial use at the South County Montalcino Hotel. But the
Farm Bureau, along with other citizen groups, has done much more for this
valley than just this one instance. It helped create Measure J years ago
which has kept Napa County ag. and rural and protected it from rampant
housing sprawl so common in other Bay Area Counties.
The Farm Bureau has been a consistent defender of agriculture and open
spaces; in opposed creeping commercialization at the Pumpkin Patch, the
Southern Crossing 894 unit Stanly Ranch Resort, and the Pope Valley Aetna
Springs development. It has campaigned for a "Living River" flood control
project that benefits our citizens and our wildlife. It has opposed the
northward expansion of American Canyon in face of its 40 % vacant lands
within its city limits and most recently worked for a win-win solution
resulting in the Viewshed ordinance.
We are fortunate to have an active and concerned Bureau. We should
appreciate our farmer / neighbors for what they have helped create.
Sincerely,
John Stephens, Chair