Saint Helena council upholds temporary permit for private Andrea Bocelli dinner at Monte Olivos Estate

The Saint Helena City Council on June 10 voted unanimously to uphold the Planning Commission's May 20 approval of a temporary use permit allowing a private Andrea Bocelli dinner and entertainment event at the Monte Olivos Estate, 2500 Spring Mountain Road.

Senior Planner Jackie O'Neil told the council the permit would allow up to 600 guests on June 20, with guests arriving beginning about 4:30 p.m. and a hard stop at 10 p.m.; live entertainment is scheduled to end at 9:30 p.m. O'Neil said the applicants revised their operations plan to have staff and vendors on-site from Wednesday through the Monday after the event and that parking for guests will be staged at Charles Krug winery with shuttle transport to the estate.

The planning staff recommended the council find the project exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act under the minor temporary use exemption and uphold the Planning Commission's conditional approval. O'Neil said the applicants submitted a traffic management plan, a peer-reviewed noise study and a staged safety and emergency plan; staff and planning commissioners also asked for on-site police and fire staging to confirm vehicles can safely access the private driveway.

Andrew Clements, representing 100x Hospitality, the event producer, said the event is presented in partnership with the Andrea Bocelli Foundation and outlined the run-of-show, food program and logistics. Clements described a shuttle plan using minibuses and sprinter vans, on-site EMT coverage from RockMed with ambulance support from AMR, on-site security, and a professional meteorologist on call during the event. He added that the musical portions are planned as short, low-volume sections performed by a string quartet and vocalist rather than a loud amplified band.

Saint Helena Police and Fire staff reported on site visits and staging. Fire Chief Mark Sorensen said crews and the property owner completed weed abatement and road pullouts, and Lieutenant Tharp and police described turnouts and flagger plans to allow single-direction shuttle operation on the narrow private driveway (Beaver Road). A police official said two Saint Helena officers will be on-site during the event.

Neighbors and other residents submitted written comments and several spoke at the hearing. Some objectors cited concerns about ingress and egress on the narrow private driveway, noise, and the potential for future events on the property. The property owner's attorney stated on the record that future events beyond family or philanthropic uses will not be held at the property.

Councilmember Aaron Barrick moved to adopt the staff recommendation to uphold the Planning Commission's decision. The motion passed on a roll-call vote: Barrick, Spatarotto, Deasy and Mayor Doreen voted yes.

The council's approval included the conditions and safety measures adopted by the Planning Commission and reflected in the staff report: use of off-site parking at Charles Krug with shuttle transport, a traffic management plan with flaggers and pullover areas on Beaver Road, on-site medical and ambulance coverage, on-site security, sound monitoring at the property perimeter consistent with the city's noise standards and the submitted peer review, and pre-event inspections by fire and building officials. The permit also contained the planning commission's additional conditions, including staging with police and fire present during vendor and shuttle movement to verify vehicle access.

The resolution upheld the Planning Commission permit for the June 20 event; the staff report cited CEQA Guidelines section 15304(e) (temporary use exemption).

Copies of the staff report, the updated traffic plan and the peer-reviewed noise study were filed with the city and are reflected in the packet.

The council did not adopt new policy changes to the city's temporary use permit ordinance at the hearing; staff said a separate zoning amendment to strengthen the TUP code will be brought forward for future consideration.