After almost a decade spent bringing the winery up to code, House Family Vineyards in Saratoga will be allowed to continue operating pending numerous conditions, including the construction of two fire roads and an open space exchange.
The winery has managed to stay open thanks to a series of temporary compliance permits after it was discovered in 2017 that the city hadn’t approved its tasting deck and winery operations.
The Saratoga City Council approved the winery’s conditional use permit on May 7 in a 3-1 vote, with Councilmember Tina Walia dissenting and Councilmember Yan Zhao absent.
“I can say with confidence and assure you that this is thorough. This has been going on for 10-plus years,” House Family Vineyards winemaker Jim Cargill said at the meeting. “We can’t change the beginning of the story but we can change the ending, and that’s what we intend to do with this project.”
The council’s approval allows the winery to operate its 6,000-square-foot tasting area, which includes a tasting room, office, two bathrooms, an open space seating area and a 2,600-square-foot private underground wine cave for storage. To operate the existing deck area, House Family Vineyard is swapping out 11,000 square feet of vineyards with native vegetation per staff’s suggestion that a vineyard does not make an adequate firebreak. Two roads leading to Garrod Road and Old Oak Way will be modified to allow for fire and emergency vehicle access.
The winery can host up to 120 guests for public tastings, while private tastings are restricted to 25 guests. The city council’s vote affirmed that the winery can hold events and tastings on the same day, just not at the same time.
Cargill encouraged the council to approve the conditional use permit, highlighting support from residents of Saratoga and the Bay Area as well as the vineyard’s history of cultivation. He said the winery is a community asset where people can gather and a destination business that attracts visitors from other cities.
“We’re not developers. We’re not in this for a quick buck,” Cargill said. “In fact, we hope to be profitable one day and to be able to preserve this legacy business for future generations.”
Over a dozen residents and employees of the vineyard spoke favorably of the project, expressing gratitude that the emergency roads would be built in case they need to evacuate during a wildfire.
Councilmember Kookie Fitzsimmons said the winery would benefit Saratoga, which is why she voted to approve its conditional use permit.
The emergency access roads, open space easement exchange and capacity restrictions are among 85 conditions for approval that House Family Vineyards has to meet before opening to mitigate adverse impacts to the neighborhood, mostly related to increased traffic. Cargill assured the council that these conditions would be met.
However, several hillside residents expressed concern over safety. They cited existing traffic issues on nearby roads and the fact that the vineyard would be used as an event venue when it is near a hillside conservation area.
“Let me say this clearly for everyone in the room and those that are hearing online: They are granting fire safety exceptions for a commercial event venue in a high fire-prone hillside, and they’re doing it on the watch of Mayor (Belal) Aftab and this council,” said a resident named Mona.
Councilmember Walia echoed the worries about safety, saying she couldn’t support the project for that reason.