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I NEIGHBORS AGAINST ST. JORGE EXPANSION Mo Hatef, Senior Planner San Joaquin County CDD 1810 East Hazelton Avenue Stockton, CA 95205 Re: St. Jorge Winery, Acampo, CA Dear Ms. Hate£ I reside in the same Acampo, California neighborhood as the St. Jorge Winery. I am against St. Jorge's application to the County for a permit to expand its winery by adding a music amphitheatre, a commercial kitchen, additional public restrooms, and other structures. I am also against St. Jorge's application to the County for a permit to increase the number of private events it may host from 4/year to 25/year, and to increase the number of persons who may attend these events from 25 to 150. These are the reasons that I am against St. Jorge's applications: • The neighborhood is rural. The buildings and other improvements St. Jorge proposes will ruin the aesthetics of the neighborhood by concentrating too many buildings and other structures on a small parcel, and by eliminating what would otherwise be open, natural space. Also, the majority of St. Jorge's events are in the evening, meaning that artificial lights are used, including colored and flashing lights for entertainment. This disrupts the peace and quiet of the neighborhood. • Not too long ago the St. Jorge property was a mature productive walnut orchard. Now St. Jorge seeks permits for the structures and capacity to entertain an estimated 5,000 people on a yearly basis--(25 private events x 150 people is 3,750 people, plus of the hundreds of people St. Jorge already hosts for community-sponsored events such as the Wine and Chocolate Weekend). This massive influx of people into the neighborhood for entertainment purposes is inconsistent with local zoning, which is agricultural and residential. • All the houses in the neighborhood have their own wells and septic systems. The large crowds that St. Jorge is proposing to host will negatively affect