Wine Country goes green

A nonprofit land use group has commended the Temecula Wine Country’s eco-friendly efforts, accolades that come as the popular tourist and agricultural district prepares for a major burst of commercial development.

The regional chapter of the Urban Land Institute last week described the grape- and citrus-growing region as “leading the way” in sustainable development policies and practices. Those measures were explored during a crowded workshop that also gave a glimpse of ambitious growth plans that could alter the 7,577-acre agricultural area.

“We are very excited about Wine Country,” said John Petty, a 10-year veteran of the Riverside County Planning Commission. “We’re seeing people come in with projects that exceed our wildest expectations.”

Petty said steps must be taken to protect agriculture as a new wave of growth – which could quadruple the number of existing wineries – is poised to spill over the area.

“We are going to do everything we can do to not take the ‘country’ out of Wine Country,” said Petty, whose district includes the Wine Country. “Ag is number one. They were here first.”

The standing-room-only workshop attracted about 55 people to the barrel room of the Wiens Family Cellars winery, which flanks a portion of Rancho California Road. Petty was among the speakers and panelists who examined the ways local growers and wineries are limiting their environmental impacts while attracting tourists, producing goods and promoting agriculture.

“We looked all over the state and decided this was the place to be,” George Wiens, who built and is part owner of the winery that hosted the workshop. He said his family’s winery, which produces about 20,000 cases a year from grapes grown throughout the area, moved from Lodi in order to expand and hold weddings, workshops and other special events.

“This is the best place to start a winery in California,” he said.

Wiens and Nicholas Palumbo, a partner in Palumbo Family Wineries, talked about local efforts to conserve water, compost organic materials and use natural pest control measures, solar electricity panels and other low-impact farming practices.

“As you know, we have to balance everything with nature around us,” Wiens said. Palumbo and other speakers noted that many customers and restaurants are willing to pay higher prices for wines produced by good environmental stewards. Those environmentally-friendly practices also help ease neighboring homeowners’ concerns over noise, erosion and pesticide spraying, speakers said.

“If you’re farming as a good neighbor, you’ll have good neighbors in return,” Palumbo said.

The use of many environmental measures will be required when county planners review future Wine Country development proposals, Petty said.

“All of the elements you’ve heard about, that’s what we want to incorporate,” he said.

Denis Ferguson, a partner in a high-profile development plan, said the Rancon Group’s proposed cluster of wineries, restaurants and custom homes is seeking ways to blend into the area’s setting and reduce its environmental impacts.

But those efforts must be weighed against the costs that the projects’ investors will incur as they plant vineyards and build three wineries, 58 homes and other improvements on parcels that total nearly 250 acres along Rancho California Road.

Ferguson said there is a “big appetite” for custom homes sprinkled among vineyards where buyers can trade hectic Los Angeles and Orange County lifestyles for this area’s slower pace.

“We’re very serious about the vineyard country lifestyle being part of this high-end product,” Ferguson said in his remarks during the workshop. “It really hasn’t been done before. How it translates in dollars, I’ll let you know when we’ve done it.”

Earlier in the day, Ferguson noted that future Wine Country growth will hinge on the abilities of local agencies to bring sewer services to the area and increase the supply of water for crops and commercial uses.

At recent planning workshops, county officials have reported that six new wineries that are currently under construction and 11 others are in various stages of review. Two of the area’s 27 existing wineries are undergoing expansions and three of them are taking steps to comply with unmet county regulations, officials said.

Plans for eight of the proposed wineries also call for the construction of a total of 480 hotel rooms. Two existing wineries expect to together offer 98 rooms and two proposed bed and breakfast inns are seeking the construction of 20 rooms. Four approved subdivisions – which also must include vineyards or citrus groves – together total 315 homes, officials said.

To protect the area’s rural flavor, county officials plan to keep Rancho California Road its current width rather than expand it to four or six lanes. Instead, they plan to build three “roundabout” intersections on the busy thoroughfare at Calle Contento and Anza and Glenoaks roads.

Such roundabout intersections are prevalent in parts of Europe, but there are few in the Temecula area. Those intersections typically allow drivers to flow through intersections in a circular direction without stopping.

While the county would tap developer fees and other funding sources for roads, regional agencies would likely form assessment districts to extend sewer and water lines into the area.

Extensive infrastructure improvements would be needed to serve the area, said Ben Drake, a Rancho California Water District director who owns a company that manages area vineyards and groves. Drake alternated between audience member and speaker during last week’s Wine Country workshop.

To handle a major growth spurt, the Perris-based Eastern Municipal Water District would eventually need to increase the size of an existing sewer line that stretches from a regional treatment plant to the Wine Country’s western boundary, Drake said. That agency would also need to extend one or more new sewer lines into the area, he said.

A water supply plan could include greater use of reclaimed water for Wine Country crops, fire protection and other uses, Drake said.

Such a plan would require the installation of new lines and a higher level of water treatment in order to remove enough salts to make the flows suitable for crops. The costs would likely be high and legislation might be needed for funding help or to ease water quality standards set for irrigation releases.

“It’s an expensive challenge whatever we’re going to have to do,” Drake said after the session.