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132 years serving the community Published weekly since 1879

Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2011 Volume CXXXII, Issue Number 44 50 CentsCloverdale, Sonoma County, CA

SIXTEEN YEAR OLD CloverdaleHigh School student Jacob Torreswas the only Cloverdale runner inthe full marathon, a distance of26.2 miles. He finished seventhoverall. Photo by Steve Tice.

River Park is out fordog park location

By Roberta LyonsMembers of the group looking for a dog park location are still struggling

to find a location for the facility. Dog owners have been striving to build adog park for several years now and leader, Stephanie Krusze, is disap-pointed that the Sonoma County Open Space District has ruled that thecounty’s Cloverdale River Park, is not an appropriate location for the dogpark.

“The River Park is no longer an option for the dog park,” Krusze said,and also noted that the group is getting pretty discouraged. They aren’tgiving up though and are looking at two other possible locations, she said.They will have a presence at the Citrus Fair too, to remind people of theircause and continue trying to get support.

The Cloverdale River Park is a county park jointly managed by theSonoma County Regional Parks Department and the City of Cloverdale.The city owns the southern end of the park near the First Street Bridge, butthe dog park was proposed for the northern end that is accessed byMcCray Road and owned by the county. The dog park was planned for agrassland area, encompassing at least an acre, about 150 yards south of theparking lot on the right side of the walking trail at the park.

Mike McGuire, Cloverdale’s county supervisor took the proposal to theParks Department, which needed permission from the Sonoma CountyAgricultural Preservation and Open Space District since they provided themoney to purchase the park and transferred it to the county with aconservation easement. A conservation easement restricts certain types ofdevelopment on properties and is part of the deed when a property is sold.

According to Peggy Flynn, a spokesperson for the open space district,they hold two conservation easements on the park property. The easementheld by the district states that the purpose of the easement is to “preservethe open space and the natural scenic values of the property and uses ofthe property are restricted to management and conservation of naturalresources as well as low-intensity public recreation.”

One of the questions the open space district had to answer was: what is“low-intensity,” public recreation? explained Jake Newell, a stewardshipplanner for the district. According to Newell, they asked the county attor-ney to look at case law to find a legal definition, and there isn’t one; so,

Feds approve new name for PineMountain grape growing region

After five long years, the grape growers onPine Mountain, northeast of downtownCloverdale, have learned that the Alcohol

and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) haveapproved their petition for an American Viticul-tural Area (AVA) named Pine Mountain–Cloverdale Peak. Growers on Pine Mountainhave long tried to get their grapes distinguishedfrom those grown on the valley floor of theAlexander Valley. Pine Mountain grapes aregrown at higher elevations in rocky soil above thefog line resulting in longer sunlight hours duringthe growing season. The vineyard plots aresmaller and somewhat mountainous. The fruit issmaller in size than valley fruit and the yields aresmaller. The rugged terrain and steep Pine

Mountain hillsides also require different farmingtechniques with many procedures done by handincluding shoot positioning and harvesting.

Originally the Pine Mountain growers askedfor the AVA to be named Pine Mountain–Mayacmas, but because some portions of theMayacamas Mountains are located in Napa,Lake, Sonoma and Mendocino Counties, regionalgrowers felt that the name could lead to consum-er confusion, so the AVA name was changed toPine Mountain–Cloverdale Peak, which washeralded by regional and local growers alike.

The growers and wineries on Pine Mountainare Mike and Carol Foster’s Tin Cross Vineyards,

�“Pine Mountain �– Cloverdale Peak�”

Public chats up councilParticipants speak up on a variety of issues

Planning Commission meets Nov. 2The regular monthly meeting of

the Cloverdale Planning Commis-sion is set for this evening at 6:30p.m. at the Cloverdale PerformingArts Center. At that meeting com-missioners will examine City ofCloverdale Zoning Ordinance revi-sions in advance of a public hear-ing on the revisions.

The revisions attempt to bringthe ordinance into conformancewith the newly adopted GeneralPlan and Station Area/DowntownPlan. According to the publishedstaff report, “Through the course ofimplementation some organiza-tional issues, internal inconsisten-

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cies and policy questions have aris-en resulting in the need for revi-sions which staff believes willresult in a more straightforward or-dinance which is easier to use byboth the public and staff and willresult in better implementation ofGeneral Plan land use policies (ie:promotion of economic develop-ment in the downtown, develop-ments in the transit oriented zoningdistrict, etc.).

Prior to the study session, there isa public comment period at whichcitizens can address the commis-sion as long as the topic is not onthe agenda. The public is invited.

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By Paula WrennThere was considerable atten-

dance and participation by the pub-lic at the City Council meeting ofOctober 26. Here is what was onthe mind of your neighbors thatnight:

General Public Comment Ses-sion

• Chris Welsh, a disabled Veter-an who resides in his vehicle, sayshe is registered with the state as aconsumer. He asked the city to helphim sort out a variety of issues re-lated to free speech, parking, anduse of business restrooms. Mayor

Citizens speak their minds:Wolter said he would look into thematters with the Police Chief andCity Attorney, if necessary.

• Debbie White, a Cloverdaleteacher is working with KZST tocreate Cloverdoodle cookies, to bespecifically identified with our city.The radio station wants a grouptasting with members of City Coun-cil. Mayor Wolter loved the idea.Clearly an issue of great urgency,all council members were quick tosuggest dates but city manager Re-gor strongly suggested the tastingtake place at the Nov. 9 city council

By Paula WrennOn a night when several issues

were being reheard or finalized, thecity council meeting of Oct. 26 wasboth routine and productive. Mostnotable was the higher than usuallevel of public attendance and par-ticipation during comment ses-sions. The evening began with noreportable actions out of closed ses-sion, no councilmember conflicts,no agenda changes, no proclama-tions or presentations, and no pub-lic hearings. Councilmember MikeMaacks was not in attendance andwas excused.

Council members reported ontheir work since the last meeting.Among other activities, Carol Rus-sell’s schedule included an econom-ic development meeting withSupervisor Mike McGuire, meet-ings with Latino-based organiza-tions regarding publictransportation, and discussionsabout employment needs of indi-viduals with disabilities.

Councilmember Bob Cox volun-teered for Asti Tour de Vine. Heattended the county meeting re-garding community choice aggre-gation regarding power supply anda trade show for Cloverdale busi-nesses at the Citrus Fair.

The dog park and discussions re-garding the Veteran’s buildingwere among the activities of JoePalla. He also has been asked tochair the legislative council of theRedwood Council of League of Cit-ies.

Mayor Wolter has been a visiblevolunteer. He saw a preview of nextyear’s Performing Arts season.Along with Joe Palla, he is lookinginto how the city might acquire theVeterans Building.

Consent CalendarIn addition to the minutes of the

last meeting, Council approved aresolution in consideration ofadopting the 2011-2016 Economic

Development Plan, as presentedand revised in previous meetings.

Pulled from the Consent Calen-dar for separate consideration wasa resolution approving the profes-sional services agreement with

West Company for training andbusiness counseling services identi-fied with the CAFÉ Program. Coun-cil unanimously authorized the citymanager to execute the agreement

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THE OFFICIAL GROUND BREAKING for the renovation of Kleiser Park which took place last Thursday,Oct. 27, was well attended by the Cloverdale community. Pictured getting ready for the first shovels fullof dirt were Joan Tillman, Rotarian and project organizer; left, Ashley Glutch, ASB president at CHS; citycouncil member Joe Palla; CUSD Board of Trustees president Dianna MacDonald; CUSD SuperintendentClaudia Frandsen and Melissa Cox, who prepared the landscape plans for the park renovations. Workhas already started and weather permitting, should be completed within about eight weeks.