 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
||||||
|
|||||||||||||
|
Home Resource Center In the News Home Greenbelt Alliance in the News |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|
|
Greenbelt Alliance In the News
May 12, 2007 Growth tempts city leaders Council weighs annexing dealership, Asti Winery to south Clark MasonCloverdale is considering extending its city boundaries farther south to include a car dealership and the old Italian Swiss Colony winery site. Stretching to nearby Asti could boost city tax revenues, but some critics say it's premature to consider annexation before considering an urban growth boundary. Cloverdale is the only city in Sonoma County without a voter-approved growth boundary, something City Council members are talking about putting on the ballot in November 2008. In the meantime, the City Council this week agreed to include the area south of the city for potential annexation as part of an environmental study updating Cloverdale's general plan. Mayor Gus Wolter acknowledged that sales taxes generated by McConnell Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge, the dealership on the unincorporated edge of Cloverdale, makes for an enticing addition. "The car dealership at the end of the city is generating probably a couple hundred thousand dollars (annually) in sales taxes that we want in our coffers. It only makes sense," he said. But Wolter said the catalyst for stretching south is a request from Asti Winery, located on the former Italian Swiss Colony site, which wants city sewer service in order to reopen its tasting room, build a new one and expand events at a historic villa. As far back as 1993 the city designated the land that includes the car dealership as part of its "sphere of influence," and thus a target for eventual annexation. Now it is eyeing a further expansion of its sphere of influence to include the Asti property. In asking to be part of Cloverdale, an Asti Winery official touched on the common history of the city and Italian Swiss Colony, which was founded in 1881. The winery in the 1930s rivaled Yosemite as a tourist attraction and continued to draw throngs in the ensuing decades, with as many as 400,000 visitors a year into the 1970s. Today, the facility is owned by Fosters Wine Group, which produces its Souverain and Cellar 8 brands there. In a letter to city planners, Lou Toninato, Asti Winery's director of operations, spoke of the possibility of excursion trains once again coming to Asti and the benefit that would provide Cloverdale. But the idea of a southern extension of city limits does not sit well with environmentalists concerned with sprawl. "The No. 1 concern from citizens is they don't want to see sprawl continued to the south or hillsides developed," Greenbelt Alliance spokeswoman Daisy Pistey-Lyhne told the City Council. She said even studying the possibility of annexing the land will likely make it an eventual reality and planners should instead focus on more city-centered development. Wolter noted that any extension of Cloverdale city limits would need to be approved by the Sonoma County Local Agency Formation Commission, the body that approves annexations. He said it could be three to four years before it's presented to LAFCO and he acknowledged the county could be reluctant to lose sales tax income from the car dealership. North county Supervisor Paul Kelley could not be reached Friday to comment on how the county views Cloverdale's expansion plan. Growing to the south is just one of the recommendations by the Cloverdale Planning Commission, which endorsed a number of other changes as part of Cloverdale's general plan update. Planners said land in the southwest part of the city -- approximately 65 undeveloped acres now designated for industrial use -- could instead be developed for residential use, something being requested by home builders. That would hinge on about 75 acres on the "far southeast," on the opposite side of Highway 101, becoming a new industrial area. If that swap happens and city services and infrastructure are extended to the southeast, Councilman Joe Palla said it is essential to ensure funding is available to allow for it. "I strongly believe we need to do everything we can to preserve industrial land," Palla said, adding that creating more jobs and adding light industry is critical. "The last thing I want to see is (Cloverdale) become a bedroom community," he added. A majority of council members indicated they support an urban growth boundary -- the geographical line signaling the city's maximum intended size -- but want more information on what it would look like before presenting a proposal to voters. You can reach Staff Writer Clark Mason at 521-5214 or clark.mason@pressdemocrat. com. ### |
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
