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Editor’s note: This is the second of a three-part series examining the future of Suisun Valley. BY BARRY EBERLING - Daily Republic |
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 Gary Goldsmith/Daily Republic
Doreen Lum stands in front of The Vegetable Patch on Rockville Road.
Farmers, property owners, environmentalists and public officials are searching for the elusive plan. If they fail, an area long prized for open space vistas and its bucolic atmosphere could in coming decades become subdivisions. The 10,000-acre valley’s reputation as untouchable to development has grown shakier. Farmers say they’re hurting financially. Nearby Interstate 80 makes the valley a potential spot to help meet the Bay Area’s housing demands. “Right now is a real creative time in the valley. It has to be creative to survive as agriculture,” lifelong valley resident Phillip Glashoff told members of the Greenbelt Alliance when they stopped there on a recent bicycle tour. Some say the winning plan is to turn Suisun Valley into a mom-and-pop version of Napa, with 10 or so wineries, plus such things as spas and bedand- breakfasts. If Napa is the wine country behemoth, then Suisun Valley would be a more down-to-earth counterpart. Others say the plan should allow homes on five-acre or 10- acre lots. Commercial agricultural would fade. The valley would become a paradise for weekend farmers, a place where commuters could keep horses or grow some grapes to make their own wine. Or maybe the winning plan is something no one has thought of yet, a masterstroke waiting for the right people to bring it to life. But time for creativity is here. The county is about to revise its General Plan and is adding a special section on... click here to continue |
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