Board agrees to begin process for Lodi Winery Business Improvement District after months of debate

The San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday adopted a resolution of intention to begin formal proceedings to form a Lodi Winery Business Improvement District, setting a public meeting for Oct. 7 and a public hearing for Nov. 18.

The action by the board follows a multi-year feasibility process run by the Lodi Wine Grape Commission and consultant Civitas and came after a lengthy public discussion at the Sept. 9 meeting in which winery owners, industry representatives and some small tasting-room operators disagreed over governance, assessment mechanics and disclosure of the sales data used to calculate a weighted petition threshold.

Proponents said the district will create a stable funding source for top-of-funnel marketing to bring more visitors to Lodi tasting rooms and to capture more of the value-added wine economy locally. “This program is an economic impact tool,” said Stuart Spencer, representing the Lodi Wine Grape Commission. “The more we can capture the value-added portion of that in San Joaquin County, the better our county will be.”