4 Local


Judge grants Protect Wine Country petition for a writ of mandate against County of Riverside, invalidating disputed zoning ordinance


TEMECULA – Law intended


to erode decades old land use protections by allowing schools, churches, and other incompatible uses in Temecula wine country was successfully challenged and struck down. At a hearing on Jan. 20, the Hon.


Gloria C. Trask, of the Riverside Superior Court, granted the petition of Protect Wine Country seeking a writ of mandate, which sought to invalidate Riverside County Or- dinance 348.4713 on grounds the ordinance was adopted in violation of CEQA. The ordinance at issue was adopted by the County Board of Supervisors on Nov. 9, 2010, and had revised 24 separate zoning ordinances by granting additional power to the Riverside County Planning Director to consider any development project within the affected zones that the direc- tor believed was substantially the same in character and intensity as allowed development projects. The ordinance also changed the defini- tion of “educational intuitions” to include private schools. At the hearing, the county was ordered to: 1. Rescind the finding that Ordi- nance 348.4713 was exempt from


CEQA and to prepare appropriate environmental review prior to any re-approval attempt; 2. Rescind the change to Ordi-


nance 348.4713 that would allow the Planning Director to determine that a use is an equivalent use; and, 3. Rescind the ordinance chang-


ing the definition of schools to include private schools. The court ordered the attorneys


to prepare a “Statement of Deci- sion,” and to present the same for approval by the court on Feb. 10. Upon learning of the court’s ruling, Jeffrey Kilpatrick, President of Protect Wine Country and resident, had the following comment: “We knew the county was wrong to change the rules and expectations of every land owner in the county, especially those of us in Temecula wine country, but to have the court validate as illegal the county’s secret passage of the ordinance by granting our petition is extremely gratifying.” John Kelliher, a founding mem-


ber of Protect Wine Country and owner of Grapeline Wine Country Shuttles, which provides local win- ery tours observed: “Visitors and local alike want to see vineyards in wine country, not huge buildings


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with massive asphalt parking lots. The court got it right; the county should have given its citizens an opportunity to comment on the proposed changes before pushing through a project that is completely at odds with the agricultural nature of wine country.” Ben Drake, operator of Drake Enterprises, a vineyard manage- ment company was especially troubled by the affect of the or- dinance. “I won’t touch a vineyard within


a 1/4 mile of a school given the strict Federal and State rules re- garding the use of certain pesti- cides, fumigants, and herbicides,” said Drake. “Hopefully, the court’s ruling will now invalidate Calvary Chapel application for a school so we avoid a 125-acre agricultural dead zone around the proposed school site.” Michael W. Newcomb, a local attorney and owner of 35 acres of area vineyard, stated, “The county owes Protect Wine Country a debt of gratitude in overturning the law. By giving discretion to the plan- ning director to consider just about any project, including a school in a protected agricultural area, the county inadvertently exposed itself to significant liability under


Opinion


Mental Health Intervention As a psychologist who studies


animal cruelty cases nationwide, even I was taken aback by the report of the Menifee man who reportedly fatally hit a Chihuahua with a golf club. That kind of ex- treme violence toward a defense- less animal indicates a serious psychological problem that should


be dealt with alongside whatever criminal charges apply. The rela- tionship between animal cruelty and other forms of violence is well established, and the safety of the community is at stake. A program called AniCare has been ordered at sentencing by judges in California and throughout the country to get to


Supporting the Liberty Quarry As a homeowner in Temecula


and as an employee of the construc- tion industry, I had to sit and take a good long look at this project from the very first time that I heard about the project. I was concerned about the pol-


lution that the trucks would create, the added traffic on the 15 freeway that is already bad, and the environ- mental aspects of the project site as well as the air quality that is already for our area. I went to the meetings to hear all


sides and read all of the literature. As my husband has a business near the El Sobrante Landfill in Corona, I also asked him about the pollut- ants and trucks as it would seem to


Editor’s Note: Opinions do not necessarily reflect the views of the Valley News staff. We invite opinions on all sides of an issue. If you have an opinion, please send it as e-mail to editor@myvalleynews. com, or fax us at (760) 723-9606. Maximum word count 250. All letters must include the author’s name, address, and phone number. The Valley News reserves the right to edit letters as necessary to fit the publication’s format.


the root of abusive behavior toward animals before the behavior repeats or escalates. Given the evidence in this case, mental health interven- tion (in addition to appropriate punishment) seems quite warranted if he is convicted.


Kenneth Shapiro, PhD


me to be the same thing. My conclusion after all of the thinking and reading is as fol- lows: The project would be a boost for


the economy of Riverside County, and as I looked at the pollution aspect, I found it to be so well- monitored by the Department of Transportation when it comes to the trucks and emissions. The Depart- ment of Transportation is on our freeways everyday pulling over trucks to monitor and check drivers and their rigs. The construction industry is at


such a slow pace of recovery, the employment opportunity for so many people offers such a variety


Opposing Liberty Quarry


To those who support the quarry because they think truck emissions will reduce, please folks, read the EIR and focus on the State of Cali- fornia regulations. Truck emissions will be reduced with or without the quarry. And please, focus on the silica


dust that cannot be prevented from covering Temecula homes and our fabulous wine country. I know that only a few of us in Temecula will


have our lives changed forever. So those of you who are not in the path of the winds may not care. Rick Kellogg wrote that oppo-


nents have no plans for cleaning our air. That is not correct.


Kurt Shafer Temecula


of professions to be hired. If the El Sobrante Landfill can be


so much a part of the community and such a necessary part of our lives, and can be kept so monitored and productive, the quarry will be the same situation. As a part of the construction industry, I know the credibility of Granite Construction and if any one company can come into our com- munity and offer to develop a site, maintain, and monitor the project, it is Granite Construction.


Helen McGlaughlin Temecula


RLUIPA.” It is unknown whether the Coun-


ty of Riverside will appeal Judge Trask’s ruling and what action the county intends to take with regard to the small number of Plot Plan applications accepted for review as a result of the illegal ordinance. Attorney, Michael W. Newcomb believes, “With regard to those projects that are under consider- ation because of the ordinance, the right thing for the county to do is acknowledge the illegality of reviewing the applications and simply refund to the affected proj- ect developers all monies paid to the county.” The members of Protect Wine Country first learned of the ordi- nance after discovering Calvary Chapel Bible Fellowship applied for a Plot Plan to build a 32,000 sq. ft. school, 50,000 square foot mega- church, and 442 space parking lot. Ray Falkner of Falkner Winery was “shocked that the Church was given permission to deviate from its original conditions of approval, which expressly forbade it from operating a school.” It was after this discovery in


March 2011, that the wineries, vineyard owners and residents learned that the County of River-


side Board of Supervisors had just five months prior, quietly passed Ordinance 348.4713, which gave the planning director her expanded powers. “What was especially disap- pointing is that the local wine and tourists industry had been actively opposing a similar ordinance at the Planning Commission that would have impacted just the Citrus Vine- yard Zone. We were told the issue was dead as of Nov. 3, 2010, only to discover five months later that the County pulled a fast one and passed a county-wide ordinance without notifying us and precluded any comment by placing the ordinance on the ‘policy calendar,’” said Ray Falkner. Under the “policy calendar,” the ordinance was approved along with 30 other matters in a single block vote. While the winegrowers may have been in the dark, Michael Naggar, a Temecula City council member and paid consultant to Cal- vary Chapel was not. Mr. Naggar apparently filed a letter in support of the ordinance. Copies of the legal documents


and ordinance that was challenged can be obtained at protectwinecoun- try.com/index.php/documents.


The Valley News • www.myvalleynews.com • February 3, 2012


Jacks


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