In a move intended to “push the pause button,” according to a city planning staff report, the council voted 4-0 to immediately freeze a roughly four-block area around Sonoma’s plaza that already has 26 wine tasting rooms and five more in the works, with the intent to develop tasting room standards by next September.
Five years ago, there were 17 tasting rooms around the plaza, the report said, noting a 35 percent increase in them while “traditional retail” shops declined by 14 percent, from 63 to 54 spaces over the same period.
The surge in wine sipping spots has driven up retail lease rates as tasting rooms can pay a premium for their place in the public eye, the report said. In 2010, commercial leases ranged from $2 to $2.50 per square foot and are now in the $6 per square foot range, it said.
Sonoma, the site of the Bear Flag Revolt against Mexican rule in 1846, has a history of concern about the Plaza, which surrounds a landmark city hall built in the early 20th century with four identical sides so it would not offend merchants on any one side of the plaza.