Under The Sun: Kathy Pons, president of Valley of the Moon Alliance

What is the Valley of the Moon Alliance, Kathy?

VOTMA started in 2002 in response to two large, proposed resorts in the Valley. Only one, the Graywood Ranch, has ended up in development. VOTMA challenged the adequacy of their EIR in court, but the court decided in favor of the developments plan to place structures high on the hillside. Nowadays, VOTMA seeks to preserve and protect Sonoma Valley’s rural character and to educate residents about development issues.

And in VOTMA’s opinion, what are the major development issues?

Well, many stem from Sonoma County’s definition of agriculture and what it means. It seems to have become a sub-category of commercial development on agricultural land, and now allows all sorts of commercial activities. So we see a proliferation of wineries that have event centers, gift shops and of course tasting rooms. Vacation rentals have also emerged as a big issue.

A big issue in what way?

Owning a vacation rental can be very lucrative. Renting a spare bedroom when the owner is present is not a problem, but whole houses can and do become “party houses” that can be intrusive on neighbor’s while removing available rentals for local residents. The money is a great temptation. Hopefully, the 10 newly enacted exclusion zones in the valley will help.

What policies is VOTMA recommending?

Were not sure Sonoma County is monitoring the present use of Highway 12 as well as it should. The traffic counts need updating and recalculating. Cumulative impacts of multiple projects are not being well enough examined. Essentially, we recommend guidelines be created for visitor-serving activities on agricultural land that go beyond evaluating individual project impacts. Right now there are twenty tasting rooms in a 1.5 mile segment of Highway 12 in Kenwood, and many residents feel the town is being “used” inappropriately.

How did you get involved?

I grew up in Iowa, but I’ve lived in Sonoma Valley now for 38 years. I’m retired now, but in the past I’ve worked as a teacher’s aide, as a cabinet maker, in a hardware store and in an industrial glass-blowing shop. My personal interest, however, is groundwater. I joined the Sonoma Valley Basin Advisory Panel in 2006, but I’ve been monitoring well use since 2003. By now I’ve monitored at least 35 wells twice a year to collect data and determine trends.

And what are the trends you see with groundwater?

It’s interesting. Wells 200-feet and under seem to recharge just fine during normal years of rainfall, but wells deeper than that are recharging much more slowly. Overall I’d say the water table is descending, but that’s also a factor of types of soil. But I would say it’s a general trend. Monitoring is voluntary at this point, not mandatory.

What’s it like to live in the upper part of the Valley?

There’s a political difference, of course, from living in the City; we turn to the supervisors, not a city council. We need to get the attention and support of at least three supervisors, only one of whom lives in our part of the county. Getting the vacation rental exclusion zones established, for example, required getting outside supervisor support. I hope VOTMA can continue to get the supervisors to understand the feelings of our area’s residents.

— Interview by Larry Barnett