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Moon Mountain poles; Kenwood plans; Plaza rents and other things astronomical

Posted on June 23, 2016 by Sonoma Valley Sun

What’s with the poles and flags in the hillside lot at Highway 12 and Moon Mountain Road? Called “story poles,” the temporary markers represent to County planners the location and various heights of the proposed construction on the site. Owner Ken Mattson wants to build two luxury homes — 4,929 sq. ft. and 5,374 sq ft., plus second units – and a huge landscaped berm to screen the projects from the highway. Vacation homes are now prohibited there, and the plans must pass County scrutiny. Still, neighbors are wary… Mattson, who bought the Sonoma’s Best shop and cottages not too long ago, has meanwhile acquired the Boyes Springs Food Center, and another nearby building. “Who does he think he is,” quips one insistently anonymous local, “Darius Anderson?”

Rents on Sonoma Plaza, at least in one courtyard just off the square, have tripled. Not many retail categories can generate the kind of sales-per-square-foot to cover that kind of outlay. More tasting rooms? Even they may think twice, particularly with the specter of something called the Estimated Sewer Discharge unit (ESD), which is mandatory when a retail space converts to a tasting room. Cost: $13,000 to install and another $1,000 a year to maintain. The thing is, inspectors don’t make the call until the space is completely outfitted – they want to gauge water use based on the exact layout of bar, seating and retail space. To risky for the landlord, so the fees fall to the tenant.

The Robert Ferguson Observatory at Sugarloaf State Park now has a 40″-diameter telescope, the largest publicly-accessible optical telescope in California. RFO volunteers worked long and hard to design and build the unit, including the tricky business of grinding the mirror. Favorite feature: no more ladder to climb to the eyepiece. The old telescope, a suddenly puny 24” job, is for sale. If you find the $10k price astronomical, they’ll be much cheaper stuff at RFO’s upcoming ‘yard sale’ (page 23)?

Kenwood Vineyards, now owned by Pernod Richard, has expansion plans. The first – the addition of a 3,800 sq, ft. tank building, moving receiving areas and driveways, a new fire protection tank – seemed reasonable. The application, according to The Valley of the Moon Alliance, indicated that no change to the number of employees or visitors was being proposed, nor a demand for more water. Now, seven months later, comes phase two, a plan that “drops like a lead shoe,” says the VOTMA. Plans call for a new tasting room facility, accompanied by a request for events (doubling anticipated visitors from 25k a year to 50k), more parking, and amplified outdoor music. “The probable impacts on the environment and on both Kenwood and the Sonoma Valley present precisely the types of issues the Winery Event Working Group is now wrestling with.” On Tuesday, June 28, 7 p.m. at the Kenwood Depot, reps from Kenwood Vineyards will discuss the project at a public meeting.

The coolest new app just might be a library card. The Sonoma County Library has launched a new service that allows library cardholders to stream movies, television shows, music, eBooks, audiobooks and comics. There are thousands of titles to choose from, all available to borrow 24/7. Plus, no late fees. Librarian Matt Conway is a fan. “I found the selection to be as good as Netflix.”

— Val Robichaud

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