What is stewardship? Over the past eight months, we have seen numerous articles and letters regarding the preservation of lands and the allotment of water resources in the Napa Valley.
We are currently in the middle of an ongoing drought caused by climate change. This fact requires immediate action by our governing bodies in response to potentially dangerous outcomes. It seems obvious that staff, the boards and commissions, should have been tuned into how these changing environmental outcomes could impact the Napa Valley. Those who are responsible to protect our county’s precious resources are the “stewards” of Napa’s continued wellbeing and success.
A definition of this process is stated under Napa County’s logo and reads: “A Tradition of Stewardship,” “A Commitment to Service.” Stewardship is a concept that has centuries of history. There are definitions from classical Greek and Biblical literature, describing the responsibilities and processes related to a society or nation. Good stewardship is careful and responsible management of something.
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The present understanding of stewardship in the valley seems to be economic. This seems to involve the primary protection of our economic engine, wine production which is primarily owned by corporations. It is not geared toward the protection of our resources which affects our common economic future.
What does a responsible steward do to manage essential resources?
It appears our county has been managed by the granting of exceptions (reviewing two-and-a-half years of planning commission minutes). Every proposal is granted an exception whether it is for water consumption (additional wine production), modifications to roads, merging lanes, more parking, additional hotel rooms or winery event centers.
Every time additional visitations or events are approved it seems to be based on an exception exceeding the initial county guidance for numbers of visitors allowed for a site permit. Is this not governing by exception rather than by rules which were put in place to provide better stewardship of our valley?
What have we done to upgrade the quality of jobs provided by our monolithic monoculture wine tourism economy? A cellar worker or tasting room person averages just over $18 per hour. How does this allow them to live where they work and participate in our schools, let alone enjoy restaurants and shopping here?
They do add to the traffic congestion and amplify the lack of affordable housing. Take a look at the early morning traffic jam coming into Napa at 6 a.m. every morning. These are not highly paid executives heading to work.
We are approaching the end of a three-year drought and the start of a fourth. An article published in the Napa Valley Register stated that our county planners have been calling this a five-year drought. In the last two-and-a-half years our county planning staff, the Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors have given away an additional 30 million gallons of water (UC Davis data on wine production) usage per year from our reserves. These allocations were driven by the continued approval of new wineries, expanded wine production and event tourism which all need increased water to exist.
What have our “stewards” done to help reduce the overall water demands in this Valley? What are their plans to protect our watershed and diminish the depletion of that finite space? These necessary, long-term goals are what our leaders should be working to achieve, to protect jobs, homes, schools and our very existence. No one knows if or when we might return to a normal environment, but it doesn’t look like it will be anytime soon.
It is too late for the board to reverse most of their approvals. It is not too late to place a moratorium on expansions and new permits. Such a move will halt the current vineyard sprawl so dangerous to Napa’s future. It will restore appropriate “stewardship” in which our county officials are entrusted to adopt and maintain.
Gary Woodruff
Napa
