Wineries and San Diego County Supervisors

The county has efforts to allow wineries to open up commercial facilities offering wholesale or retail products, wine tasting and serve food “by right” seven days a week along with special events throughout the year in residential neighborhoods. Did you buy your home near A70 (limited agriculture) and A72 (general agriculture) land believing that it is “intended for crop or animal agriculture. Number of animals allowed are specified by neighborhood regulations,” as the Use Regulation described? Well, surprise!

Routing commercial traffic through residential neighborhoods and on privately maintained roads is not a problem to the supervisors. According to them, the neighbors can maintain their substandard road for the vintner to make a profit. If your gated community has a winery, the public will be given access to your neighborhood, totally defeating the purpose of a locked gate.

Facilitating the ease and encouraging the consumption of alcohol to drivers visiting wineries is not a problem to the supervisors either. The jovial atmosphere and praise leading up to the February 28 decision to add this devastating drinking/driving combination to our public and private roads corresponds to a drunk driver showing absolutely no remorse for killing or maiming innocent victim(s).

To the decision-makers, this is an excellent revenue generator. It will produce the needed increased numbers of accidents, fatalities and injuries on our roads which the county will use as justification when lobbying for road improvement funding for the back country.

The downfall to this type of planning is that it treats us as insignificant and disposable people. I not aware of a study that concluded the loss of a person’s life should be classified as less than significant. But not to worry: the Negative Declaration will deal with those insignificant impacts including the cumulative wine tasting impacts of the winery-hopping drivers.

If the county’s decision bothers you, I suggest writing to Supervisor Ron Roberts at [email protected]. There is a possibility that you may be heard. Or, get a savvy lawyer; preferably before your loved one(s) get killed or maimed in an alcohol-related traffic incident.

Carolyn Dorroh

(permanently disabled by a drunk driver)

Member, Ramona Community Planning Group