ATTACHMENT C NOTICE OF EXEMPTION TO: Santa Barbara County Clerk of the Board of Supervisors FROM: Dana Eady, Santa Barbara County Planning and Development Department The project or activity identified below is determined to be exempt from the environmental review requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) of 1970, as defined in the State and County Guidelines for the implementation of CEQA. APN: 099-170-046 Case Nos.: 17LUP-00000-00270 Location: 6615 Hwy 246, Lompoc, CA 93436 Project Title: Suput Winery Project Applicant: Marko and Sarah Suput, Owners Project Description: The proposed project would establish a new winery to be located within an existing 6,000 square foot (sq. ft.) agricultural barn. The winery would occupy 3,200 sq. ft. of the agricultural barn with the remaining area (2,800 sq. ft.) to be utilized for administrative use and storage associated with the existing agricultural operations on the subject parcel. The winery would produce a maximum of 850 cases of spirits (brandy and vodka) annually in years 1 and 2, a maximum of 1,000 cases in years 3-5 and a maximum of 2,000 cases after that. The spirits would be produced from 5-acres of fruit (apples, apricots, grapes) grown on the subject parcel (2.2-acres existing, 2.8-acres planned for future installation), and from other properties located within Santa Barbara County. All winery activities would occur inside the winery building. Winery operations would include mashing, fermentation, distillation, aging in oak barrels, dilution, and bottling. Any hazardous materials used in winery operations would be stored inside the winery. Hours of operation for the winery would occur daily between the hours of 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Two full-time employees currently living on the property would work at the winery. No winery special events, organized gatherings, or public tasting is proposed. The proposed project includes a 500 sq. ft. private tasting area within the winery building for use in the wholesale marketing of winery products. This area would be used for private visitation by appointment only. The winery would not be open to the public. Production wastewater from the winery would be directed to a proposed California Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB) approved waste discharge system. Domestic wastewater would be directed to an existing septic system built in conformance with Environmental Health Services requirements. Water would be provided by an existing onsite private water well. A winery solid waste management plan would be reviewed and approved by Environmental Health Services (EHS) prior to permit issuance.
Page 2 Access to the project site would continue to be provided by an existing driveway from Hwy 246. Eleven permanent parking spaces would be provided adjacent to the winery. The winery parking area is screened from public view by the existing mature landscaping and oak trees located along the southern property line adjacent to Hwy 246. Proposed landscaping would consist of primarily native, drought tolerant trees and shrubs including two pittosporum (pittosporum tenufolium) trees, eight dwarf citrus trees (citrum limon Meyer, citrium latifolia, citrus paradise), and 12-15 bushes of Huntington carpet rosemary (rosmarinus officinalis) ground cover. Also proposed is the removal of small areas of sod (approximately 3,000 sq. ft.), two non-native palm trees and four Euonymus bushes (Eunoymus japonicas), Spineless Yucca (Yucca Gingantea), and Parsons Juniper (Juniperus squmata expansa pasonii ). No native trees or would be removed. No grading activities exceeding 50 cu. yd. is proposed. All exterior lighting would be low intensity, low glare design and would be fully shielded (full cut-off) and directed downward to prevent spill over onto adjacent lots under separate ownership. The applicant is requesting a modification to allow for a 35-foot reduction in the required 100 foot setback to the adjacent property line to the east pursuant to Section 35.42.280.D.2.c(3) of the LUDC. Name of Public Agency Approving Project: County of Santa Barbara Name of Person or Agency Carrying Out Project: Planning & Development Exempt Status: (Check one) Ministerial Statutory Exemption X Categorical Exemption Emergency Project Declared Emergency Cite specific CEQA and/or CEQA Guideline Section: 15303 [New Construction or Conversion of Small Structures] Reasons to support exemption findings: Reasons to support exemption findings: The proposed project is categorically exempt from environmental review pursuant to Section 15303 [New Construction or Conversion of Small Structures] of the Guidelines for Implementation of the California Environmental Quality Act. Section 15303 (Class 3) exempts the construction and location of limited numbers of new, small facilities or structures; installation of small new equipment and facilities in small structures; and the conversion of existing small structures from one use to another where only minor modifications are made in the exterior of the structure. This exemption includes structures which are accessory to the primary use of the property which is agricultural cultivation (fruit orchards). The proposed project would allow for the conversion of an existing agricultural barn to a winery. At the January 31, 2018, hearing, the Planning Commission determined that the production of spirits such as brandy and vodka is consistent with the LUDC definition of winery which includes the commercial processing of grapes or other fruit products to produce wine or similar
Page 3 spirits. Therefore, the term winery as used in this Notice of Exemption to describe the proposed project, specifically refers to the production of spirits (brandy and vodka) but not wine. The winery would produce a maximum of 2,000 cases of wine per year from 5-acres of fruit (apples, grapes, apricots) grown on the subject parcel and from other properties located within Santa Barbara County. The winery would not be open to the public. No winery special events, organized gatherings or public wine tasting would be allowed. No grading is proposed. Proposed landscaping would consist of primarily native, drought tolerant trees and shrubs including two pittosporum trees, eight dwarf citrus trees, and 12-15 bushes of Huntington carpet rosemary ground cover. Also proposed is removal of small areas of sod (approximately 3000 sf), two non-native palm trees and four Euonymus bushes. No native trees or bushes would be removed. The proposed project would not create any significant environmental impacts. The existing structure would be visible from neighboring properties but it would not affect public views and is not located within a designated open space area. The proposed project would support the agricultural operations on the project site by allowing the fruit grown onsite to be processed into spirits (brandy & vodka) within the winery. The proposed project would not create a significant amount of traffic on local roadways (10 Average Daily Trips and less than 1 Peak Hour Trip), and intersections would continue to operate at acceptable levels of service. Adequate public facilities including water, sewage disposal and emergency/fire response are available to serve the project. There is no substantial evidence that the proposed project involves unusual circumstances, including future activities, resulting in or which might reasonably result in significant impacts which threaten the environment. The exceptions to the categorical exemptions pursuant to Section 15300.2 of the State CEQA Guidelines are: (a) Location. Classes 3, 4, 5, 6, and 11 are qualified by consideration of where the project is to be located -- a project that is ordinarily insignificant in its impact on the environment may in a particularly sensitive environment be significant. Therefore, these classes are considered to apply all instances, except where the project may impact on an environmental resource of hazardous or critical concern where designated, precisely mapped, and officially adopted pursuant to law by federal, state, or local agencies. The project site is located within the range of the federally listed endangered California Tiger Salamander (Ambystoma californiense) and Red-legged frog (Rana draytonii). The proposed winery would be located within an existing agricultural barn which is in a developed area of the site adjacent to existing agricultural development (barns, corals), and approximately 210 ft. north of Hwy 246. Less than 50 cubic yards of grading is proposed and adequate services exist to serve the project. Access would continue to be provided by an existing driveway from Hwy 246. Due to the minimal amount of ground disturbance associated with the project, no impacts to California Tiger Salamander (Ambystoma californiense) and Red-legged frog (Rana draytonii) would be expected to occur. Therefore, this exception to the exemption does not apply.
Page 4 (b) Cumulative Impact. All exemptions for these classes are inapplicable when the cumulative impact of successive projects of the same type in the same place, over time is significant. The nearest existing winery to the project site is Spear winery which is located across Highway 246 to the south. Additional wineries located within approximately 5 miles of the site include Dierberg, Foley, Pence (approved but not yet constructed), and Williams (approved but not yet constructed). The project site is located entirely within the boundaries of the property, and does not encroach into a public right-of-way. In addition, the project is consistent with the development standards for wineries contained in the Santa Barbara County Land Use and Development Code and the Comprehensive Plan. Minimal additional traffic would result from the project since the winery would not be open to the public. Therefore, cumulative impacts would not be significant and this exception to the exemption would not apply. (c) Significant Effect. A categorical exemption shall not be used for an activity where there is a reasonable possibility that the activity will have a significant effect on the environment due to unusual circumstances. There are no unusual circumstances that would create a reasonable possibility that the project could have a significant effect on the environment. Therefore, this exception to the exemption would not apply. (d) Scenic Highways. A categorical exemption shall not be used for a project which may result in damage to scenic resources, including but not limited to, trees, historic buildings, rock outcroppings, or similar resources, within a highway officially designated as a state scenic highway. This does not apply to improvements which are required as mitigation by an adopted negative declaration or certified EIR. The project is not located near, or visible from, a designated or eligible scenic highway. Therefore, this exception to the exemption would not apply. (e) Hazardous Waste Sites. A categorical exemption shall not be used for a project located on a site which is included on any list compiled pursuant to Section 65962.5 of the Government Code. The project is not located on or near a site that is designated or listed as a hazardous waste site. Therefore, this exception to the exemption would not apply. (f) Historical Resources. A categorical exemption shall not be used for a project which may cause a substantial adverse change in the significance of a historical resource.
Page 5 The project site is not identified as a historic resource. The barn proposed for conversion to a winery was constructed in 1985 and is not eligible for consideration as a historical resource. Therefore, this exception to the exemption would not apply. Lead Agency Contact Person: Dana Eady Phone #: (805) 934-6266 Department/Division Representative: Date: February 15, 2018 Project Approval Date: Distribution: Hearing Support Staff Date Filed by County Clerk: