Tri Valley Conservancy urges zoning changes to enable South Livermore agritourism, clustering

Stakeholders including the Tri Valley Conservancy, Visit Tri Valley and local wine‑industry representatives urged Alameda County to adopt targeted amendments to the East County Area Plan and the county zoning ordinance to support viticulture and agritourism in the South Livermore Valley.

Planning staff told the board the TVC proposals include changes to allow clustering (combining parcels to create larger building envelopes), an increased floor‑area ratio for agricultural buildings in the South Livermore area, and definitions to permit visitor‑serving uses — such as a resort hotel — that the current ECAP and Measure D language do not clearly allow. Albert Lopez, Planning Director, said some items overlap with an upcoming ballot measure on FAR and staff recommended waiting until the election outcome is known to bundle related amendments, while pursuing other low‑hanging technical fixes that do not depend on the ballot measure.

Speakers from Tri Valley Conservancy and the Livermore wine community outlined why the changes matter: Laurie Souza, TVC board chair, urged the board to adopt clustering and a larger FAR for ag buildings in the South Livermore plan to make a viable resort hotel feasible and to address groundwater and septic constraints that limit lodging on septic systems. David Epstein, TVC executive director, described the amendments as part of a vision for a sustainable wine‑country destination. Visit Tri Valley's CEO Tracy Farhad emphasized the tourism and local economic benefits.

Some speakers and supervisors recommended proceeding in parallel: pursue typographical corrections and straightforward code definitions immediately while aligning larger zoning and CEQA work with the ballot timetable. County counsel advised that any general‑plan amendments would require the standard planning commission and board process; a technical correction to implement Measure D language might be accomplished by ordinance without voter action if it is truly non‑substantive and consistent with the measure. Supervisors asked staff to prioritize the TVC items in the policy work program and to return with a schedule and CEQA needs.

Key speakers on the record: Albert Lopez (Planning Director), Laurie Souza (TVC chair), David Epstein (TVC executive director), Tracy Farhad (Visit Tri Valley).