Daily Republic: Sunday, February 6, 2022

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House fire draws agencies from nearby cities A3

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DAILYREPUBLIC.COM | Well said. Well read.

Supervisors to consider sales tax measure for June ballot Todd R. Hansen

THANSEN@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

Robinson Kuntz/Daily Republic file (2021)

Cliff Howard, right, and Lisa Howard, center, pour their Tolenas Winery wine at the Passport Sunday event at

Tendbrink Vineyards & Tolenas Winery, Sunday, Aug. 8, 2021.

Agriculture interests want Solano to ‘slow down’ on ag zoning uses Todd R. Hansen

THANSEN@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

FAIRFIELD — The Nut Tree started as a fruit stand and became an international destination that helped put Vacaville and Solano County on the map – the touristspending map. Without some flexibility built into the agriculture industry, that progress may have never happened. Still, there has long been a noisy debate in Solano County about what defines agricultural tourism, and how to set the boundaries. “We already have pushback from people who live out there,” Lisa Howard, part of a winemaking family in Suisun Valley, told the Board of Supervisors at its Feb. 1 meeting. The reference is to often longtime residents who bought their homes to live in the country setting, and are now watching concert and special event facilities, tourist rental homes and what they see as business and commercial interests coming into their rural residential neighborhoods. And with that influx of “ag-tourism” comes more noise, more traffic and less of the lifestyle they covet. Ironically, it is now some of

SPERING

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those ag-tourism interests that are concerned that the door is being opened too wide. Howard and other members of the agriculture community want to make sure the county defines what ag-tourism is not – such as billiards, carnivals and amusement and water parks and general entertainment that does not promote ag producers like the concerts and other events do at the wineries of Suisun Valley. The Solano County Farm Bureau and other agricultural interests also want to make sure the proposed language for the amended zoning ordinance is precise enough so it cannot be interpreted in the future differently than how it is interpreted now because of the well-worn paths of the industry. Sean Favero, president of the Farm Bureau, said he believes the

proposed changes are significant enough to warrant a full environmental review. “The concerns and feedback we are getting is we are making more than technical changes,” Favero told the board. Those issues and others are why the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday will not vote on the text changes for agriculture zones, and instead deal only with the changes in the text related to the highwaycommercial zones. That public hearing is set for 2 p.m. The zoning issues were separated in part because there are things “we are looking at,” Supervisor Jim Spering said at the last meeting about the highway-commercial corridors. Spering, in a phone interview Friday, said there is not a specific project being touted, but rather the county wants to identify the areas in the unincorporated area that could be utilized for economic development, and paired with housing options that could serve that area’s workforce. He said there are some larger intersections that would be ideal to have collaborated county-city projects, and noted business parks that See Zoning, Page A9

Solano sees decline in Covid hospital numbers as surge diminishes Todd R. Hansen

THANSEN@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

FAIRFIELD — The Covid-19 data continues to show a decline in the Solano County disease rate, including a significant two-day drop in the number of residents who are hospitalized. The Public Health Division reported 99 residents were in the Aaron Rosenblatt/Daily Republic hospitals Friday, down A person sits in a rollator walker while wearing a face 40 from Wednesday’s mask in Fairfield, Friday. report. The number of patients in the inten- reported at 764, taking “So the numbers are sive care units, however, the pandemic total to still coming down,” Dr. increased from 23 to 26, 73,409. The number of Bela Matyas, the county the same as were in the active cases dropped by public health officer, ICUs Monday. The number of new 273 from 3,931 Wednes- said in a phone intercoronavirus cases day to 3,658 Friday, the view Friday. since Wednesday was county reported. There were no new

Covid-related deaths. The total remains at 385. Three cities crossed case milestone marks Friday after two others crosses similar milestones Wednesday. Fairfield added 193 new cases to take the city’s total to 19,008. Vallejo has a count of 23,250 cases after 249 reported cases since Wednesday. The 197 cases added to Vacaville’s total takes the number to 18,133, the county reported. Suisun City (5,051) added 51 new cases; Dixon (3,924) added 30; Benicia (2,849) added 27; and Rio Vista (1,008) added 17. See Covid, Page A9

FAIRFIELD — Solano County supervisors on Tuesday will consider placing a one-eighth cent sales tax increase on the June 7 ballot. The general transaction and use tax is expected to generate $9 million annually for wildfire safety needs. The measure includes a citizens’ oversight committee with annual independent audits. However, the draft ordinance also includes the phrasing, “Solano County can better meet the needs of its population with an additional local source of revenue to fund essential county services,” and Supervisor Erin Hannigan has raised the prospect of using a portion of the funds for improved public access to county parks and open spaces. The sales tax is the last item on the agenda,

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See Tax, Page A9

Police chiefs share virtual forum for talk on diversity in Solano County Susan Hiland

SHILAND@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

FAIRFIELD — Improving relationships with police and members of the community, specifically the African American community, was the topic of virtual discussion Saturday at the monthly Tri-City NAACP meeting. The online forum hosted about 45 members and visitors, drawing a bit of a crowd for the session. The police chiefs from Fairfield, Suisun City and Vacaville spoke about the topic – Community Policing and Diversying Our Law Enforcement Agencies, something that has been on the minds of many people in all three communities. Ian Schmutzler is the new police chief for the Vacaville Police Department. It will be his one-month anniversary at his new position in a couple of days. He had a lot of thoughts on the

topic of the day. As a Fairfield native and lifelong Solano County resident, he has seen a lot of changes over the years and believes more is still needed. “From the beginning, I wanted to focus on getting back to basic foundations of policing,” he said. “Like making the community feel safe and peaceful.” Schmutzler said he believes to achieve this, it is important to create relationships with the community by looking for opportunities to connect with people. He said he wants to see police officers engaging through different avenues other than just showing up for a call. “Showing up to community events even on their days off, because they want to do,” he said,”is coming from the heart.” Vacaville recently has See Chiefs, Page A9

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which is split between a morning session, which starts at 9 a.m., and an afternoon session that starts at 2 p.m. The board meets in the first-floor chamber of the government center, 675 Texas St., in Fairfield. In between the public sessions, the board is scheduled to meet in closed session to discuss the appointment of a new county administrator and to discuss compensation for the position. The board has selected its top finalist. The County Counsel’s Office reported that if the contract negotiations were completed, the person to be hired could be announced at Tuesday’s meeting. The morning session includes a public hearing on the proposed $212.94 million Solano County 5-Year Capital Facilities Improvement Plan through fiscal year 2025-26, as well as several

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