"Napa Valley Agriculture Must Be Protected"
As a public policy based organization, the Napa County Farm Bureau represents over 1,000 members in Napa County and routinely pays close attention to the effects that policy decisions have on our membership. As a matter of course, the Napa County Farm Bureau regularly vets policy issues through a number of subject matter experts, member committees and, ultimately, our board of directors to ensure that policy decisions made in Napa County soundly reflect the proper political, social, and economic climate for the continuation of a strong, viable, and sustainable agricultural economy.
Over the course of many years, our organization has paid close attention to the issues surrounding a number of projects seeking approval with the county, with a number of projects being decided this year. While we do not comment on specific projects, we do comment on the implications that decisions will have on the overall public policy landscape in Napa County.
Agriculture continues to be under threat in Napa County and it is critical that public policy decisions be made by agreed-upon scientific evidence and facts, rather than emotion and hyperbole. Rather, we are routinely told by select groups and individuals that myriad agricultural projects in Napa County must be stopped or severely curtailed due to unjustified reasoning. It is evident that many of these groups and individuals do not want any vineyard planted anywhere anymore in Napa County, a position that is absolutely contrary to not only the General Plan—which defines agriculture as “the best and highest use of the land”—but to a person’s right to have beneficial use of their land.
Since the inception of the Agricultural Preserve in 1968, Napa County chose to protect agriculture through policies and factual data that supported a strong and viable agricultural economy. However, recently, it has become apparent that these select groups and individuals are able to unduly influence public policy without justifiable reasoning or scientifically agreed-upon evidence.
Moreover, this has now created an atmosphere that has the potential to undeservedly put current and future projects into question when there is an absence of fact-based decision making.
Any individual or business that desires to plant a vineyard in Napa County is put through an extremely rigorous process and is required to comply with every mandated regulation in order to become successful. This often requires years of time, money and the involvement of a multitude of subject matter experts in order to attempt to become successful with the vineyard application while also ensuring proper environmental safeguards. Notably, Napa County has some of the most stringent environmental regulations in the country.
It will set an extremely dangerous precedent in Napa County, and throughout California, if we begin to chastise and penalize projects and applicants for simply following the rules laid out before them. When applicants follow every rule and regulation they’ve been asked to follow and fully comply with the process, it is inequitable to chastise the applicant instead of the process itself.
The current climate we find ourselves in does not bode well for the future of agriculture in Napa County or for future applicants who may have an absolute intention of complying with an extremely thorough regulatory process, but are rather now hesitant to contribute to the agricultural fabric of Napa County for fear of constant unjustified attacks on the applicant itself instead of the regulatory process.
There are a number of families in Napa County who have a storied history of contributing to Napa Valley communities through their agricultural businesses, and who now face the very real prospect of not being able to continue their businesses because they face the threat of lawsuits by a vocal minority—lawsuits which are designed to advance a political agenda and prop up individuals whose real intention is to create a favorable environment to run for political office.
Furthermore, over the last several years, our organization has noted multiple occasions where a small vocal minority have taken sound agricultural projects that have fully complied with stated county regulations and weaponized those projects to selfishly further their own political goals.
The Napa County Farm Bureau encourages the Board of Supervisors to continue a course of making fact-based decisions on agricultural projects who fully comply with specified regulations and not succumb to the continual groundless and unfounded attacks by a vocal minority that wants to interrupt an agreed upon regulatory process for the purposes of advancing their own political agenda.
Thank you for the opportunity to comment on this important matter.
Peter Nissen Ryan Klobas
President Chief Executive Officer