E-Malt.com News article: US, CA: Lost Coast Brewery expansion project postponed

The Eureka Planning Commission has postponed discussion on the Lost Coast Brewery expansion project until concerns from local tribes are addressed, Times-Standard reported on June, 11.

The commission was scheduled to discuss the project on June, 13, but concerns over potential impacts to cultural resources has put the permit discussion on hold until a future date, according to the city's planning department.

”We are still in the process of identifying what level of cultural resource impacts we may or may not have on the site,” said interim Eureka Community Development Director Lisa Shikany, adding that additional field work, consultations with three local tribes and information from the applicant is needed before the matter can come back before the Planning Commission. “We still feel we need more information. ... We're just trying to do our due diligence.”

Senior Planner Rob Wall said staff is working on responding to the concerns surrounding the project's initial study. The city released an initial study and mitigated negative declaration in April, reviewing what they deemed “less than significant” impacts with measures to address those issues.

At the commission's last meeting, commissioners requested the brewery look into issues brought up by its potential neighbors.

Lost Coast Brewery hopes to relocate its brewery to the site located east of South Broadway between Sunset Drive and Ocean View Cemetery. According to the initial study, the site consists of 9.3 acres of vacant pastureland currently owned by the Roman Catholic Bishop of Santa Rosa and a 1.9-acre parcel developed with a single-family home, which would be converted into a visitor or administrative center.

The project also requires a zoning change to allow for limited industrial use.

The initial impact study recognized that the project area lies within the traditional territory of the Wiyot Tribe. The report said past agricultural uses - plowing - and additional filling of the property “reduces the potential for uncovering cultural resources during project construction.”

Additionally, no cultural or historical artifacts have been found in the past, but the report states that “there is potential” for resources to be found below the surface of the project site.

According to city planning, at least four residents who live across from the site have submitted comments against the project, saying that the project would obstruct their views as well as create noise, odor, glare from lighting and traffic impacts.

The proposal included a number of steps to mitigate impacts to neighbors, including landscaping and a soundwall to block truck sight and sounds from residents, providing access intended to reduce traffic impacts, and air filters and other measures to reduce odors.

One resident, Dean Slone, wrote multiple letters to the city and suggested the city look at other ways to address concerns besides the measures outlined in the document. He said the proposed mitigation is not enough, and a full environmental impact report - which is reserved for projects that have a significant impact on the environment - should be done on the project.

Another resident, Lea Lamb, wrote that she will move if the brewery is built.

”I am not against the brewery itself, just where Lost Coast proposes to put it,” she wrote. “I have owned my house and property on Weiler Road for almost 35 years, but I'd rather live somewhere else than have to live in back of a brewery.”


15 June, 2011