New Le Colline vineyard application led with Napa County
Dave DiCesaris has filed a revised erosion control plan application with the county to create vineyards. Once again, the project site is a portion of the 88 acres at 300 Cold Springs Road on the slopes of Howell Mountain.
The previous Le Colline application in its final form called for 21 acres of vineyards within a 28-acre total development footprint. The latest version calls for 10 acres of vineyards within a 13.4-acre footprint.
Whether the reborn Le Colline proposal proves to be a flashpoint in the Napa County debate over creating new vineyards in mountainous watershed areas remains to be seen. A ruling by the county may be some time in coming, given the application was filed only last month.
The Napa County Planning, Building and Environmental Services department issues erosion control plans for projects requiring grading on slopes steeper than 5%. Department decisions can be appealed to the Napa County Board of Supervisors.
In August 2023, the Board of Supervisors rejected the previous Le Colline erosion control plan on appeal by a 3-2 vote, agreeing to overturn a previous approval by county staff. People packed the board chambers and more than 30 spoke.
Proponents said Le Colline deserved approval because Dave and Kathleen DiCesaris had followed county rules and studies showed that potentially adverse impacts could be mitigated. The Napa County Farm Bureau said the project’s rejection was precedent-setting, based on emotion instead of science, and threatened the future of agriculture in the county.
Opponents said Le Colline vineyards would be too close to the Linda Falls nature preserve. Some, including three Napa City Council members in a letter, said vineyards could hurt water quality in Conn Creek, which feeds the city’s Lake Hennessey reservoir. Others objected to trees and shrubs being cleared to make way for grapevines.
The Center for Biological Diversity filed the 2023 appeal with the Board of Supervisors.