Santa Clara County is considering sweeping changes to its rural zoning ordinances that would impose new building limits and require mitigation when farmland is converted to non-agricultural uses.

If approved by county supervisors, the new rules could significantly affect wineries and other agricultural operations that conduct a variety of on-site business. 

The proposed Rural Zoning Amendments, presented to the Planning Commission Aug. 28, would establish a maximum building coverage parameter for non-ag uses across all four rural zoning districts in Santa Clara County. The exact value of the parameter is still a matter of discussion, but staff are considering possible values ranging from 7,500 to 12,500 square feet.

The changes would also require property owners to preserve farmland elsewhere when converting five or more acres of important local farmland to other uses through mitigation strategies such as the creation of a conservation easement, an in-lieu fee or other equivalent. A specific mitigation plan will be developed in Phase Two of the project.

“We’re trying to facilitate the development of new agricultural uses and clarify where non-agriculture projects can be built in the rural areas, and at what scale,” Charu Ahluwalia, senior planner for Santa Clara County, said in her presentation to the Planning Commission. “This is to benefit applicants as well as the surrounding community by setting clear expectations for development in the rural areas.”

The amendments stem in part from recent California Environmental Quality Act court cases that brought attention to farmland being converted to non-agricultural development. Previously, projects such as construction of an estate home on an existing farmland parcel could be exempt from environmental review, resulting in unmitigated losses of viable farmland.

The county aims to replace subjective “local-serving” provisions with objective development standards, including the cumulative building site coverage limits that would apply to all non-agricultural uses in rural zones.

“The purpose of ‘local-serving’ provisions, which are a part of our general plan and zoning ordinance, is to make the size, scale and intensity of development compatible with the rural setting,” Ahluwalia said. “However, the subjectivity related to these provisions has led to varying interpretations and criticism that the county has not been applying them equitably.”

No More ‘Winery’ Zoning?

The four zones affected by the ordinance amendments are Agricultural Ranchlands, Hillsides, Rural Residential and Exclusive Agriculture. The proposed amendments would also simplify the number of agricultural use classifications down to two, with all ag-supportive uses falling under either “Ag Processing” or “Ag Sales and Events.” This removes the “Winery” use classification entirely, replacing its operations with individual use classifications.

“Currently, wineries contain several ag-related activities,” Ahluwalia explained. “For instance, a project could be producing grapes, could have a tasting room, onsite wine sales, ag processing, tours and events. Staff is proposing to parse out these as independent uses. 

“Specifically, pulling out the sales and events component as a stand-alone use would extend activities that currently are permitted as ancillary to wineries to other types of agriculture operation.”

In Exclusive Agriculture zoning districts, only agricultural uses and activities that “clearly enhance long-term agricultural viability” would be permitted. Non-agricultural uses currently allowed in those areas would be restricted. It is not clear whether non-agricultural uses currently operating in the affected zones would be grandfathered in.

Local winery operators expressed significant concerns about the proposed changes and perceived lack of transparency during the public feedback period. Kim Engelhardt, president of Wineries of Santa Clara Valley, said the industry attracts more than 500,000 visitors annually and employs nearly 600 residents.

“We’re concerned about the lack of transparency of the proposed zoning ordinance amendments and how they may impact our winery businesses,” Engelhardt said. “If we’re required to pay tens of thousands of dollars in new permits, there are many wineries that would be forced to close.”

Paul and Vicki Kermoyan, who own a small winery where they live on-site and produce about 400 gallons of wine annually, submitted extensive written comments to the commission in which they warn that the new rules could force businesses to close if they require existing wineries to make extensive retrofits.

“Most wineries will not be able to financially provide such improvements,” they wrote. “If the project’s goal is to reduce the number of wineries in Santa Clara Valley, the proposal will succeed.”

Stacy Giannini, executive director of the Wineries of Santa Clara Valley Association, questioned whether existing wineries would be grandfathered under current zoning or face costly compliance requirements, and urged commissioners and county staff to conduct public outreach to settle burning questions in the winery community.

“Has the county assessed the economic consequences of new rules for small family wineries?” she asked commissioners.

Concerns Raised Over ‘Takings’

Religious organizations have also objected to the proposed changes. More than 500 comments submitted by supporters of the Hindu American Foundation urged commissioners to consider the impacts to religious organizations operating on agricultural land in Santa Clara County.

“Currently, religious non-profits have the most applications pending with the planning commission to expand their developed spaces,” they wrote. “If the land surrounding these facilities are limited by the proposed zoning amendments, religious organizations and faith-based community centers will be unable to expand their community-oriented services, including food relief, youth programs, cultural education, senior support and spaces for prayer, reflection and community service.”

Planning Commissioner Marc Rauser also raised concerns about potential impacts on property rights, particularly for owners of exclusively agricultural land who might lose development options that are currently permitted.

“If I owned [property on] Exclusive Agriculture, I would feel this is a taking,” he warned. “There are so many things that on my property I can currently do now, it sounds like a lot of those options are going to be taken away.”

The 45-day public comment period for the draft environmental impact report ended Sept. 4. The draft zoning ordinance will be released and then followed by public outreach meetings through October.

Amendments are expected to reach the Board of Supervisors for approval by December 2025.

In her new novel, Fallout, local author Jordan Rosenfeld weaves a narrative of environmental activism, maternal grief and moral complexity through the interconnected stories of two women navigating a world threatened by corporate pollution and climate change.

The “eco-thriller,” which Rosenfeld has spent nearly a decade crafting, follows journalist Justine Goodman as she becomes entangled with Project Nemesis, an all-women “eco-anarchist” group determined to dismantle environmentally destructive energy companies.

“It is a book about loss, not just the loss of a child but also our loss of the natural world,” Rosenfeld says. “The characters are fighting against these big corporations that pollute the world, pollute the earth.”

Set in 2016, the novel begins with Justine feeling stifled by new motherhood while pursuing a journalistic investigation into Project Nemesis. Her growing obsession with these radical environmental activists leads to tragedy when her child dies during her absence.

“She becomes obsessed with these eco-anarchist women, because they’re doing something purposeful, something powerful, and they’re all these very powerful women,” Rosenfeld said. “That is partly what leads to her child’s death—not directly, but it is partly responsible for her not being there when something happens to her child.”

She explains, “What I’m trying to do is show that sometimes, to go up against powerful forces, you have to get a little dirty yourself. Every character in the story has a moral gray area.”

The novel also highlights environmental justice issues, examining how pollution and climate change disproportionately impact vulnerable populations.

“Who is the most harmed? The poor, the working class, and often people of color, because their communities have often been built in places where there is not a lot of great infrastructure because of things like systemic racism,” Rosenfeld says.

The author hopes readers will take away a message about collective responsibility in the face of environmental threats.

“When you have these powerful oppressive forces, a lot of people just stand by and wait for someone to save them, and maybe the message is we have to save ourselves,” she says. “We need to care about more than just our own experience. We need to care about the planet, we need to care about people who are suffering, we need to care about mothers having to make choices between their jobs and their children.”

Published by Running Wild Press, Fallout has already received praise from literary voices, including New York Times bestselling author Caroline Leavitt, who described it as “achingly real and totally unforgettable.”

Born in Marin County, Rosenfeld moved to Morgan Hill two decades ago when her husband took a job in San Jose. The couple chose Morgan Hill seeking the small-town feel reminiscent of Petaluma, where they had previously lived.

“Morgan Hill is an incredible community, and there are good people here doing really important work and caring for each other,” she says. “It’s why we’re still here, 20 years later.”

The book launch takes place at Margarita’s Bar and Grill, located at 411 Vineyard Blvd. in Morgan Hill from 2:30-4:30pm on April 26. Sponsored by BookSmart of Morgan Hill, the event coincides with Independent Bookstore Day and will feature conversation with the author, book signings and complimentary hors d’oeuvres, with drinks available for purchase.

Rosenfeld encourages community members to support local bookstores rather than purchasing through online giants like Amazon. 

“Cinda and Brad [at BookSmart] are amazing. They really champion local writers and ideas and education,” she said. “If you have to buy online, there is something called bookshop.org, and you can select an independent bookstore that you want to get a proceed from the sale.”

Rosenfeld emphasizes the importance of the urgent themes in the story of Fallout and encourages everyone to read the cautionary tale, regardless of their political persuasion.

“If we don’t have this beautiful planet, and drinkable water, and people don’t have places to live because wildfires are taking them out and sea levels are eroding their homes, then what is the point?”

The book party for “Fallout” will take place at 2:30pm on April 26 at Margarita’s Bar and Grill, 411 Vineyard Blvd, Morgan Hill.

When the Poppy Jasper International Film Festival rolls into the South Valley—with screenings taking place in Gilroy, Morgan Hill, Hollister and San Juan Bautista—audiences will be treated to a diverse lineup of films, many created by local talent with deep roots in the host communities.

Named one of the “25 Coolest Film Festivals in the World” by MovieMaker magazine last year, the festival has become a launching pad for filmmakers from all walks of life. This year’s lineup features an unprecedented number of submissions from local creators—so many that festival organizers had to make difficult choices about which films to include.

“We got an incredible amount, this year, of films from local filmmakers,” says Mattie Scariot, the festival’s director. “It was the first time we’ve had to actually turn away quite a few films, and I was really sad about that. I really try to focus on local films from our communities.”

A Dog’s Tale

The festival divides screenings geographically, with Morgan Hill hosting Northern California films and Gilroy showcasing Southern California selections. Filmmakers then come together for panel discussions and networking opportunities.

“The idea is to get all of these filmmakers that are close enough to meet and share resources and work together,” Scariot says. “It is a way of encouraging them to make more films.”

Among this year’s standout local offerings is “The Chihuahua Shake,” an animated musical created by Morgan Hill–raised Chase Olivera. The movie features anthropomorphic dogs standing in for humans.

“It’s about a dachshund who is a famous painter in Paris, and he paints all of these dogs, and there is this chihuahua who comes in, and he can’t paint him because he is just shaking too much,” Olivera says. “There is a big musical number at the end, where they sing about why the chihuahua shakes.”

The film has personal significance for Olivera, as it was inspired by the late Ellie Van Dyke, former owner of The Music Tree in Morgan Hill.

“It was inspired by her because she had a chihuahua, and she wanted to tell a story about a chihuahua who would shake,” Olivera says, noting that the film includes a nod to Van Dyke’s store. “It is also, in a way, about neurodiversity, as the dachshund is trying to figure out how to adapt to this chihuahua who has something analogous to ADHD.”

Scariot praises the film’s execution: “It is hysterical, and it’s great to have someone so talented from Morgan Hill come back home with such a great film.”

‘Amazing’ Milestone

Another featured selection is “She’s Mine,” directed by 21-year-old Gilroy native Ashton Acosta-Parson, who discovered his passion for filmmaking at Gavilan College under instructor Grant Richards.

“I really got into photography, originally, and then when I went into Gavilan I didn’t really know what I wanted to do,” Acosta-Parson says. “I saw what he and his class were doing, and I thought it was very cool. The next semester, I tried it, loved it, and was completely obsessed with film.”

His short film focuses on a violent confrontation between two men.

“My film is probably the shortest of all the films; it is just a brief fight scene between two guys,” he says. “I just really wanted to make a really good hand-to-hand combat sequence.”

For Acosta-Parson, having his directorial debut accepted to an international festival is a significant milestone.

“To be a part of something that is not only local here, but is an international film festival, really felt amazing,” he says. “It really means a lot and boosts my confidence.”

Christopher High School graduate Cole Davis, 23, will present “Scratch My Back, I’ll Scratch Yours (a critique of the passive bourgeois),” a film he produced for a friend’s USC application.

Davis, who discovered filmmaking in sixth grade, studied screenwriting at Cal State Northridge but found his true calling as a producer. His film takes on serious social issues with a lighthearted approach.

“It’s an entertaining commentary,” he says. “It’s a good way to look at an issue that has been raised in the past, about socialism or communism. We were able to take this charged concept and turn it into this lighthearted situation.”

Happenstance Hit

Perhaps one of the most anticipated local screenings is “The Mighty Oaks,” a documentary by Morgan Hill financial advisor Brad Ledwith chronicling the creation of a youth lacrosse program that eventually led to the sport being adopted at both Morgan Hill high schools.

Ledwith, who moved to Morgan Hill in 1998, had no filmmaking experience before undertaking this project.

“As far as filmmaking is concerned, that is by happenstance. This is my very first film,” he says. “It was truly one of those community efforts to get something from nothing, to start something big.”

When the COVID-19 pandemic cut the team’s inaugural season short after just 27 practices, Ledwith began sharing anecdotes online about his experience building the program from scratch despite knowing little about lacrosse.

“A couple of people said, ‘You have to write a book or something,’ and I thought, well, maybe we could do a movie,” Ledwith recalls.

After initial attempts to secure funding fell through, Ledwith persevered. “I said to myself, ‘this story really needs to be told.’ That is how I got into filmmaking.”

“I’m really proud of Brad,” Scariot says. “We don’t just put young filmmakers in this festival. He is a mature adult, and to decide to make a documentary on his own, and seeing what he has accomplished, it is a lot of hard work.”

Rounding out the local offerings is “Self-Loathing: Sobriety in the Multiverse,” created by longtime Hollister High School video production teacher Rob Campbell. The film follows a recovering alcoholic who finds himself adrift in “the multiverse,” reliving his choices over and over again.

“In the multiverse, we’re looking at different permutations of how things may turn out,” Campbell says. “The main character, Declan, we wind up exploring different avenues of how things would turn out for him and whether or not they collide.”

Although he’s been teaching video production since 1998, “Self-Loathing: Sobriety in the Multiverse” is Campbell’s first narrative film.

“I am a storyteller, and stories are a central piece of who I am,” he says. “But I never thought that filmmaking was something that I could do, because you have to know people, and people have to give their time to you, and I didn’t understand the nature of it. It’s a giving, collaborative thing. What’s in it for them? Well, what’s in it for them is that they love making films.”

The production was filmed with the help of students from Gavilan College, with film teacher Grant Richards receiving praise for raising a crop of highly professional young filmmakers.

“The students who worked on this production for Grant Richards’ film class were fabulous,” Campbell says. “And that told me a lot about his program. I never imagined until last spring that I would be able to enter something into the festival, and now I’m hooked.”

For Scariot, the festival’s growing reputation and increased local participation validate its purpose.

“It is to give local filmmakers an opportunity to showcase their films, that friends and family can come to,” she says. “That laurel that they get that says they are an official selection helps them a lot on their journey through the film festival circuit.”

The 2025 Poppy Jasper International Film Festival will take place April 9-16 at multiple venues in Morgan Hill, Gilroy, Hollister and San Juan Bautista. To see the full program for this year’s festival and to order tickets, visit pjiff.org.