On January 28, 2020, the Board of Supervisors held a public hearing to consider the adoption of an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the Field & Pond Use Permit, which had been prepared pursuant to court order to address the project's environmental impacts to the tricolored blackbird, valley elderberry longhorn beetle, and golden eagle. Attachment A contains the Minute Order and staff report from the January 28th agenda for reference.
During the hearing, concerns were raised regarding compliance with the Use Permit as well as other environmental issues that were not otherwise required to be analyzed in the EIR. After taking action to adopt the EIR, the Board requested that staff return to a future meeting with an update on compliance at the Field & Pond event center and to report on other environmental issues, as well as a discussion on whether additional changes to the County's event center regulations were warranted.
Field & Pond's Use Permit Compliance
Attachment B contains an overview of complaints received at the Field & Pond event center since 2015. A similar slide was briefly shared with the Board during the January 28th public hearing. Since 2015, two Courtesy Notices and one Notice of Violation have been issued for violations of the County Code or Field & Pond's conditions of approval. In cases where a complaint did not result in a violation, the applicant was nevertheless contacted and the issue addressed. Field & Pond currently has no outstanding code violations, and staff will continue to monitor events from time to time to assure compliance with conditions of approval. Staff believe the necessary tools are in place to assist in addressing compliance concerns.
It is important to note that not all complaints are valid or result in a code violation; however, most complaints are followed up for verification. Field & Pond has been receptive to corrective actions, which often avoids the need for formal code enforcement action. The County's procedures for addressing code violations are codified in Chapter 5, Administrative Citations, of Title 1 in the Yolo County Code of Ordinances. These procedures begin with issuance of a courtesy notice that identifies the violation(s) and steps required for compliance [Yolo County Code Section 1-5.04(a)]. Often, compliance issues are resolved at this first step; if not, a notice of violation is issued, followed by an administrative citation, which can result in fines if corrective measures are not taken. Similarly, a use permit may be revoked if conditions are not being complied with, which requires noticing the permitee prior to setting the matter before a public hearing with the Planning Commission, which acts on use permit revocations [Yolo County Code Section 8-2.217(f)].
Internal changes to the ownership and operations at Field & Pond have recently occurred, and the owner hired a new operator to oversee the event center. Since the January 28th meeting, staff have met with the new operator to discuss ongoing concerns and issues raised by community members, and to review the project's adopted conditions of approval. Staff is hopeful that the open line of communication will assist in further minimizing future complaints. The addition of a Code Enforcement Unit at the Department of Community Services also allows for better response to complaints and more immediate resolution of potential violations.
The other environmental concerns relate to the adequacy of the existing domestic wastewater (septic) system that serves the 5-bedroom bed & breakfast (main house). The system has been reviewed by the Environmental Health Division and found to be adequate to serve the 5-bedroom house so long as it is used solely for transient occupants of the bed & breakfast. Any future changes or expansion of use at the bed & breakfast could require a new site evaluation and potential system upgrade. The existing system is not used for other purposes, such as event guests, which are served by mobile bathroom facilities.
Given that the Field & Pond Use Permit is still in effect and currently in good standing, staff does not believe that immediate action is necessary. Instead, staff recommends that the Board of Supervisors direct staff to return to the Planning Commission within one year after the upcoming wedding season to evaluate the efficacy of the new management. If, during that time, complaints are received and verified to be violations, staff could always place the Use Permit on the Planning Commission's agenda for its review at an earlier date.
Event Center Regulations
During the Board's deliberations at the January 28th public hearing, it was suggested that staff review the regulations for permitting event centers and report to the Board whether any changes are needed. Attachment C includes the current regulatory process for considering rural event centers in the agricultural areas of the County, as codified in the Zoning Regulations (Article 3, Chapter 2, Title 8 of the Yolo County Code). In particular, Table 8-2.304(c) and Section 8-2.306(k) specifically address the permitting process and specific use requirements for large event centers in the agricultural zones.
In early 2016, two years after the Board of Supervisors adopted a comprehensive County Code update to the Zoning Regulations and largely in response to neighbor's concerns about the Field & Pond project, the Board directed staff to consider further changes to some of the agricultural commercial uses, such as large event centers, primarily to distinguish non-farming uses from those commercial uses that are ancillary to existing agricultural operations. This led to an extensive public process that included workshops with the Planning Commission and an identified ag working group that included stakeholders, farmers/ranchers, people engaged in agricultural commercial uses, and other interested parties. These series of workshops commenced in April 2016 and concluded in May 2016, and resulted in one additional workshop and three public hearings a year later with the Planning Commission during April, May, June, and July 2017.
During this time, new development standards for large event facilities were drafted in response to the public workshops, which would be added to Section 8-2.306(k) of the Zoning Regulations (Att. C). Notable changes to the Zoning Regulations included amending Table 8-2.304(c) to require a Minor Use Permit for small events centers and a Major Use Permit for large event centers. Previously, a small event center only required a Site Plan Review, a non-discretionary administrative review, and a large event center was subject to a Minor Use Permit. Most Minor Use Permits are heard by the Zoning Administrator, unless the Planning Director determines that a public hearing with the Planning Commission is warranted. For reference, a small event center is one that holds no more than 12 small events per year and each event draws no more than 150 people and/or 100 vehicle trips.
Other proposed changes to the regulations included various amendments throughout Article 3 (Agricultural Zones) to clarify and/or strengthen the agricultural use type definition for commercial uses [Section 8-2.303(c)] and the specific use requirements/performance standards for event centers [Section 8-2.306(k)(1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), and (8)], which also added subsections (9), (10), and (11) to 8-2.306(k). Lastly, changes were proposed to Section 8-2.307 to amend the definition of agri-tourism and add new definitions to better describe the meaning of incidental and special event.
On December 12, 2017, after meeting twice earlier in the year, the Board of Supervisors took final action to adopt the updated code sections. Attachment D (on file with Clerk of the Board) provides access to the minute order and staff material, which includes the final collection of changes, from the December 2017 public hearing. Since that time, no new applications for large (or small) event centers have been submitted, with the exception of one new application recently submitted earlier this year (2020).
Staff believes that the updated regulations for permitting large event centers in the agricultural zones do not require any significant changes at this time, particularly given the tremendous public outreach that occurred previously and the fact that no event center permit has been issued in the two-plus years since the regulations were last updated. Staff recommend that the updated regulations be allowed to remain in place as developed until the County has had adequate experience with them to determine whether additional changes are needed. |