by Franci Gallegos
Bodega Bay Navigator
Dec. 20, 1998
The Sonoma County District Attomey's office has filed criminal charges against
Peter Michael Winery, its subsidiary company, and Ken Parmeter, a well-known
Sonoma County logger, for clearcutting 30 acres on Seaview Road without a permit.
Peter Michael Winery is an upscale winery in Knights Valley, maker of expensive
wines. Sugarloaf Farming Corporation is its subsidiary farm company. The winery
intended to plant Chardonnay and Pinot Noir on 50 forested acres it owns on
Seaview Road and hired Kenneth Parmeter of Cazadero as its forester. Parmeter
logged 30 acres before he was stopped for logging without obtaining a required
conversion permit and timber harvest plan, according to Jeff Holtzman, Deputy
District Attorney.
David Cooper, attorney for the winery, claimed that the winery was misled by
Parmeter. Parmeter, who has done extensive logging for many years, allegedly
told the winery managers that a permit was only necessary for commercial sales
of logs. This was the rule until 1991, according to Cooper. "Parmeter was
behind in information. He gave the wrong advice and it caused distress to the
corporation," he said.
Parmeter's attorney, Chris Mazzia, would not explain how his client neglected
to comply with the Forest Practices Act. His only comment was that "it
was an unfortunate oversight, and Parmeter is working with the involved agencies
to resolve the situation."
Both the winery and Parmeter face fines of $1000 each if convicted. In addition,
Parameter's company could be placed on probation for a period to be determined
by the court. The DA's office is also considering recovering windfall profits
from the company. These are costs that should have been incurred but weren't.
Holtzman estimates that it costs about $15,000 to
prepare a THP for this type of logging operation and that the harvested timber
would have a $13,000 value.
"It is important to establish that if you don't abide by the rules of the
Forest Practices Act, you face criminal charges," Holtzman stated.
In addition to criminal charges, Forest Unlimited has filed a civil action against
the three companies. Under the California Unfair Competition Act, the environmental
group is seeking an injunction and restitution of profits, which would be given
to the state or be applied to remediation. Attorney Jack Silver also believes
that this case sets an important precedent in preventing other vineyards from
logging without permission.
The winery has stopped all its conversion operations and is working on obtaining
necessary permits. However, it is too late for Seaview Road neighbors and others
to oppose the logging.
Holtzman noted that "the failure to obtain permits deprived local citizens
of the right to contest the operation. Once the trees are taken down, they can't
be put back."
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