Defender of Agriculture, Advocate for Open Spaces
Supervisor Mark Luce is a proven leader
who will continue to protect our County!
Photograph by Gene Piscia
Mark a preservationist and as County Supervisor for the last 20 years he has protected and preserved agriculture and open space. He supports an agricultural economy. Tourism is a by-product that developers, like his opponent, and the City of Napa are embracing but it should not be the priority for a Supervisor. It is our agricultural economy that makes us special and it must not be compromised.
Mark Luce has been involved in setting land use policy to protect agriculture since joining the Napa County Planning Commision in 1985. It was then that the original winery definition was initiated. As a Napa City Council member in 1990 to 1994 and as a County Supervisor since 1997, he has worked with the complex relationship between the environment, the economy, social needs, and political expectations to find the balance necessary to protect our resource while allowing the economy to thrive to the benefit of our citizens. He understands that our most important resource is people and has worked collaboratively with people from all political spectrums to the benefit of our community.
The County's mission statement follows:
The County of Napa is dedicated to preserving agriculture and the environment and to providing leadership and services to advance the health, safety and economic well-being of current and future generations.
Supervisor Luce helped write this statement which guides all of our County efforts. He is a proven leader who can be trusted to continue to protect our County.
AGRICULTURAL PROTECTION ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Recently, the Board provided direction on changes needed to assure we protect our agricultural areas from over development. The long standing requirement that new wineries process 75% Napa Valley grapes has been seen as limiting development. Enhanced enforcement of production, sourcing, and permit requirements will help assure this to be true. See our APAC recommendations for more detail.
Enforcement
A critical element of protecting our natural resources is strong consistent enforcement. Without it, our policies don't have the effect that is required. We will be making major improvements to our enforcement efforts to ensure every winery is in compliance with its use permit including grape sourcing and capacity. This will include annual reporting and certification.
For instance, one winery which had seriously violated its production limits recently paid a million dollar fine and will be moving most of their production out of county at a cost of $25 million. This gets little press as it is the product of legal settlements which is generally how more serious violations are settled. More minor violators are asked to come into compliance through the use permit process. But it will be more costly to violate and ask for forgiveness in the future.
A critical element of protecting our natural resources is strong consistent enforcement. Without it, our policies don't have the effect that is required. We will be making major improvements to our enforcement efforts to ensure every winery is in compliance with its use permit including grape sourcing and capacity. This will include annual reporting and certification.
For instance, one winery which had seriously violated its production limits recently paid a million dollar fine and will be moving most of their production out of county at a cost of $25 million. This gets little press as it is the product of legal settlements which is generally how more serious violations are settled. More minor violators are asked to come into compliance through the use permit process. But it will be more costly to violate and ask for forgiveness in the future.
I will continue to protect agriculture and open space.
My only political agenda is the welfare of the citizens of Napa."
--Supervisor Mark Luce