It’s a tailor-made example of a terrible tale about getting
remodeling or construction plans through the Santa Clara County
planning process.
It’s a tailor-made example of a terrible tale about getting remodeling or construction plans through the Santa Clara County planning process. For three years, the Vanni family has tried to pierce the armor of bureacracy that is Santa Clara County, and for three years they have been turned away, broken down bit by bit to the point that they’ve stuffed the beautiful architectural model of the new tasting room they hoped to build in a warehouse at Solis Vineyards on the Hecker Pass corridor in west Gilroy.
The spot is that sore.
The architectural model of the new tasting room they hoped to build in a warehouse at Solis Vineyards.
The spot is indeed that sore.
The architectural model, exhibiting their dreams, is no longer a subject for pleasant conversation. That is a shame, and a sham.
The county planning department is about as customer friendly as a CHP officer writing his last ticket before quitting time.
The culture is awful. The point, apparently, is to throw up obstacle after obstacle to discourage people who want to improve property.
The Vannis have wanted to build a 4,000-square-foot combination tasting room, reception area and office. In the world of wineries, that’s a very modest proposal.
At first, the county fire department said a 250,000-gallon water tank would be required. Then, there were issues with the roadways, and now there’s an issue of style. One county planner doesn’t think the architecture blends in properly. That’s at least another 60-day delay.
And the drama continues. A Shakespearean farce perhaps, laced with sarcasm and rife with stupidity … ah, were it not so serious for the simple applicants.
The culture at the county planning department needs a complete overhaul keeping the question ever in mind, “How do we best serve the customer?”
Nobody wants planners to roll over; it’s important to have high construction and design standards.
But it’s important to serve the needs of residents efficiently with a process that’s clear and receptive to property improvement.
People should be able to submit plans. At that point, they should be given a meeting date. In the interim their plans should be reviewed. On the meeting date they should have a series of face-to-face meetings with every department that oversees the projects so that they understand almost exactly what’s going to be involved. They should also be given a timeline.
County Supervisor Don Gage should use the Vanni/Solis Winery example to undertake a formal review of the planning process in concert with Interim Director Mike Lopez.
As a private sector employee for many years, surely Gage can identify with the frustration of the current process. Changing it should be a top priority in his office.
After all, the Vannis should be showing off their new tasting room now and hosting events instead of wasting time on a ridiculous process.
