Sonoma City Council postpones appeal against Cooperage

The Sonoma City Council voted at its September 4 meeting to delay Leslie and Mac McQuown’s appeal of the Planning Commission’s decision to deny a change in use permit for the Cooperage Building.

The city council voted on October 2 to reopen the appeal after a detailed discussion and public hearing with representatives from both sides.

Vice Mayor Patricia Farrar-Rivas presided over the meeting because Mayor John Gurney was unable to attend. Farrar-Rivas said the council needs more information about how the city has handled similar incidents involving adaptive reuse ordinances to make a decision.

On April 18, the Planning Commission voted unanimously against the use permit amendment that would authorize a vacation rental and wine tasting facility on the property on First Street West. The appeal was initially adjourned on July 17 at the request of the appellant’s attorney.

The property owners had initially applied for an adaptive reuse ordinance to allow residential and limited retail use, as they planned to establish an ADU and lifestyle store in the historic building.

The McQuowns have since added a pool to the property and are applying for a change in the use permit to allow them to use it as a vacation rental on VRBO and for wine tasting.

“I see the big problem is that we’re trying to make a decision that would set a precedent. And the problem with that precedent is that we don’t know if this has been done before,” Farrar-Rivas said. “And there’s a lack of clarity about the ability to move away from an ARO, an adaptive reuse ordinance, at a later date after a property has been restored.”

The meeting included a presentation by project architect Michael Ross and a public hearing with McQuown’s attorney, Michael Woods, and several community members speaking for and against the appeal.

Residents of the 301 First St. West property expressed concerns about noise, parking and the expansion of retail into a residential area.

Since the McQuowns requested a change in the use permit, residents have objected to the changes at meetings of the Sonoma Planning Commission and City Council, as well as in letters to the editor of the Index-Tribune.

The historic building, formerly known as the Sonoma Valley Ice and Cold Storage Company, was one of the first in Sonoma to offer ice to the public.

The McQuowns own Stone Edge Farm Estate Vineyards and Winery. In 2018, the couple purchased the cooperage building, which was renovated over the next five years.

The Cooperage building was off the market for a time this summer, and the plan to open a vacation rental and wine tasting venue there is an attempt to increase the property’s value.

You can reach editor Emma Molloy at [email protected].