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Board upholds Viavanto farm permit with conditions after heated appeal
Summary
After a contested four‑hour hearing with dozens of public commenters, the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors denied an appeal of a Board of Zoning Adjustments approval for the Viavanto farm (farm retail, lavender processing) and upheld a time‑limited conditional use permit that allows up to 12 agricultural promotional events annually contingent on verified agricultural operations and monitoring.
The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors voted to deny an appeal and uphold a Board of Zoning Adjustments decision that approved a permit allowing farm retail, small‑scale lavender processing and up to 12 agricultural promotional events annually at the Viavanto property in southern unincorporated Sonoma County.
Permit Sonoma staff summarized the project as a 56.76‑acre site with roughly 49 acres proposed for agricultural production (lavender, olives and rotational sheep grazing) and an existing barn configured for processing, packaging and a limited retail area. Staff also reviewed the CEQA initial study and mitigated negative declaration and described BZA changes that reduced the original event proposal and added conditions intended to ensure the events remain secondary and incidental to on‑site agriculture.
Appellants, including Protect San Antonio Valley, argued the barn was built and promoted as a wedding and luxury events venue before sufficient agricultural operations were established and warned that approval would set a precedent for commercial event centers on Williamson Act land. Appellants highlighted the applicant’s past advertising and urged enforcement of Williamson Act restrictions against permanent event structures on contracted agricultural land.
Applicant Mario Gelati and members of the project team said the property will be a working diversified farm — with plans to plant nine acres of lavender, plant olive trees and run rotational grazing for sheep — and that modest, scheduled events are necessary to reach customers and sustain a modern small‑scale agricultural enterprise. The applicant and counsel stressed BZA conditions require ag operations to be verified before events may begin and included annual reporting and a five‑year review period (the BZA approved a time‑limited permit with monitoring).
After broad public comment (supporters said agritourism helps make small farms financially viable; opponents emphasized traffic, lighting, noise and Williamson Act risks), the board debated enforceability and precedent but ultimately voted to deny the appeal and uphold the BZA decision with the BZA’s conditions. The roll call recorded four votes in favor, one opposed (Supervisor Corsi). The outcome allows the farm retail and processing permits to proceed administratively, but events cannot start until staff has received evidence that the agricultural operations required under the permit are established and in compliance.
What the decision means: The permit stands with strict conditions, including (but not limited to) requirements to obtain all building and grading permits to cure code violations, demonstrate on‑site agricultural operations (first harvest and sheep grazing initiation) before events begin, annual reporting on events and a five‑year review to reassess compliance and impacts.
