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.rifleryata itself no favors I Recordnet.com -- Page 1 of 2 Michael Fitzgerald WINERY DID ITSELF NO FAVORS By Michael Fitzgerald October 11,2013 Record Columnist Build it and they will come, it is said ... unless you have to tear it down.Which St.Jorge Winery of Acampo may have to do to an entire amphitheater. St. Jorge,a small winery, expanded by ignoring the law and blowing off repeated warnings with a baffling disregard for inevitable consequences. It's as if they hung a giant"Kick me"sign on their business. On Tuesday, the County of San Joaquin obliged. The Board of Supervisors unanimously shot down a Planning Commission decision to allow-or to OK after the fact- St. Jorge's expansion. Meaning the amphitheater is illegal. It may not satisfy the law merely to cease operating it; crazy as it sounds,the amphitheater may have to be demolished. "The board did discuss that they need to remove the amphitheater,"said Kerry Sullivan, San Joaquin County Director Of Community Development.And, by golly, "They ... expect the amphitheater to be removed,"Sullivan said. This is a highly unusual decision. Especially from the business-friendly Board of Supervisors. But then the way St. Jorge expanded was unusual. As you probably know,you can farm on land zoned for agriculture, raise farm animals, or build your house on it. If you want to stray into other uses, you have to get a permit. On July 22, 2005, the county gave a permit to Verne and Jenise Vierra to build a small winery. St.Jorge was named for a Portuguese island in the Azores. "They really do make excellent wine,"said Nancy Beckman, president and CEO of the Lodi Conference and Visitors Bureau. "Spectacular.And the facility has tremendous ambiance." The permit allowed the winery to have only four"marketing events"(weddings, parties)a year. The size of these events was limited to 25 people. Tastings and wine club events were permitted. At some point, according to county records,the Vierras began to host more events than permitted and more people than permitted, at expanded facilities that had not been approved but which they built anyway. This ticked off most of St.Jorge's neighbors. Romano and Judy Isola live next door to the winery. "First off,"they wrote in a June 5 letter to the county, "we have counted St. Jorge having at least six non- community sponsored events in the last 90-days, almost all of which have involved far in excess of 25 people so the idea that St. Jorge is abiding by its current event-related requirements is a joke. "We have witnessed numerous events where alcohol-fueled participants were very loud and boisterous,"the letter went on, "... weddings, class reunions, high school prom dinners and quinceaneras ... we can feel the percussion from the music inside our home" The letter also mentioned"a sea of cars." http://www,recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20131011/A_NEW S0803/3 1 0 1 1 03... 10/11/2013