Leal Vineyards has been an asset to San Benito County, but
supervisors must require compliance with the law and have no right
to give favorable treatment to individual businesses and residents.
The recent quarreling also signals a problem in that San Benito
County has implemented rules
– which most residents follow – that it either cannot or will
not enforce.
Leal Vineyards has been an asset to San Benito County, but supervisors must require compliance with the law and have no right to give favorable treatment to individual businesses and residents. The recent quarreling also signals a problem in that San Benito County has implemented rules – which most residents follow – that it either cannot or will not enforce.
The county and Leal Vineyards have hit a crossroad six years after an agreement stipulating an array of conditions, many of which have not been followed adequately and some of which have been ignored altogether. There has been one violation after another at Leal Vineyards over the years, such as a “temporary” tent that remains in operation year-round and does not abide by fire-code restrictions; a wine cave that is non-permitted; the use of a public road for parking, even though it is prohibited; and two residential buildings that were “red-tagged” after he renovated them without permits.
County planners and a neighbor at last week’s meeting contended the vineyards, under owner Frank Leal, has neglected to follow various rules with noise, the fire code and traffic issues. Neighbor Bill Lee’s biggest complaint is the noise, which often surpasses an agreed-upon 10 p.m. curfew and goes unmonitored even though decibel levels are supposed to be controlled.
It is a reasonable, privacy-driven complaint, especially for a rural area and considering the extremity of the violations at times. As Lee has noted, Leal Vineyards events have been scheduled – as promoted – to last until as late as 1 a.m.
It did not serve Leal well when his representatives at Tuesday’s meeting told supervisors that vineyards staff members always cut off events at 10 p.m., when it simply is not true. It also did not serve him well when the vineyards manager had egg on his face as supervisors queried him about a noise-measuring tool that he presented while speaking. Their questioning revealed he did not know how to use the equipment and that he was unaware of the number for a required decibel limit.
From the county’s perspective, meanwhile, the discussion begged the question: What is the point of having regulations for noise levels when the agency enforcing the rule does not own the equipment to measure decibels? If San Benito County is going to maintain a noise ordinance, then it should own the proper measurement tool. Officials cannot count on the business to police itself at all times. Obviously, that does not always work.
Leal’s own volatile and relentless approach to talks with county officials – he threatened to leave the county without an immediate approval and slammed the door on his way out during the proceeding when a delay had been imminent – has left him in a bigger hole than he started with and puts supervisors in a position where they have no choice but to take a hard-line approach from this point on. The public is watching closely. Supervisors must give equitable treatment to all businesses, and that means Leal will have to comply and compromise, especially with the noise. Board members, meanwhile, must protect against the perception of being bullied into a decision.
If Leal merely had cooperated with the noise matters, the disagreement probably never would have escalated this far. Some of the original agreement’s conditions are, perhaps, unreasonable and should be re-negotiated. One that comes to mind is the requirement for Leal to install a left-turn lane on Fairview Road. Time has proven traffic from his business does not necessitate the need for the upgrade.
In a sense, Leal does have a valid argument in that there are too many stringent regulations on businesses. He pointed out, for instance, the enormous costs incurred by his business for requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act. He has a right to be frustrated. But those are arguments for another day, for a higher level of government. And as long as the county has rules in place that others are forced to follow, then Leal is going to have to play by the same rules, too.
Supervisors cannot bend. They are elected, after all, to uphold the law.
