Time ripe to occupy Suisun Valley

Let me be clear from the start: I’m not talking about “occupy” as in “camping” or “closing down” like some places, but rather “occupy” more as in “take ownership.”

What got me thinking about this topic is a story I heard on a public radio station while traveling in New England last fall, during the height of the Occupy Wall Street movement and its spread around the country.

A farmer named Steph Larsen from rural Nebraska started up an Occupy protest of her own. She called it Occupy the Pasture. She said that her message was for people to do what they can to grow their own food; “and what you can’t grow yourself, support the locally owned businesses that can do it for you.”

That struck a chord. Here in Fairfield and Suisun City, we are blessed with our very own rich, historic, local agricultural area, Suisun Valley. Today it’s touted as “Rustic Wine Country” harkening back to the early days of places like Napa and Sonoma. And as that, it’s wonderful. But Suisun Valley is richer in its bounty. It’s a place for families, food and wine.

Solano County, in adopting its updated General Plan two years ago, acknowledged the public interest in agriculture like never before. Among many new agricultural policies and programs, the county made Suisun Valley a “special study area” to guide its future.

That focus and extra study culminated in this agricultural vision:

Suisun Valley is a unique farming region that supports profitable family farms and quality of life for all its residents. It is a destination for tourists seeking world-class wine, identifiable Suisun Valley farm products and a beautiful agricultural landscape with no fallow land. The Suisun Valley appellation is so famous that it creates new markets and increases demand for Suisun Valley wine and other farm products outside of the region.

It should be noted that this is a “vision for the future,” not necessarily what we have now. Will it come true? In large part that will be up to us occupiers.

We have a good start. The vision has been formally supported by the city of Fairfield, the city of Suisun City, Solano Irrigation District, the Suisun Valley Fruit Growers Association, the Suisun Valley Vintners and Growers Association, the Solano County Farm Bureau and the Solano Land Trust, as well as Solano County itself.

But there is no guarantee, yet, that an alternative, urbanization vision will not in the end prevail. Certainly if we don’t put action behind our words, that alternative vision will eventually gain traction.

Right now, because of the recession and temporary land use restrictions agreed to by the county (the Orderly Growth Initiative of 1984 and 1994 and Measure T of 2008) and the city of Fairfield (Measure L of 2003), urbanization pressures are at a low ebb.

The challenge during this moment in history is for us occupiers to get busy.

Land that follows the vision must be profitable. For this, those of us who are the interested public must show our interest in concrete ways.

How?

• Learn about Suisun Valley; read up on it (see SuisunValley.com).
• Visit Suisun Valley and patronize Suisun Valley businesses.
• Look for and buy Suisun Valley products in stores.
• Ask for and order food and wine from Suisun Valley in restaurants.
• Participate in Suisun Valley events.
• Take friends and visitors to Suisun Valley; find your favorite spots and show them with pride.
• Use Suisun Valley venues for personal or business events.
• If you or your business qualifies, join the Suisun Valley Vintners and Growers Association (see SVVGA.com).
• Encourage our political leaders to keep the vision for Suisun Valley on their front burner.

On this last point, over time, new public works will be needed in Suisun Valley — road improvements, flood management, water and sewer systems, streetscapes, off-street parking, undergrounding utilities — to make the vision come true. We should be sure there is a public contribution to the cost, because as occupiers, we know our whole community benefits. The vision is mostly for the public, in fact.

And if we can occupy Suisun Valley this way, we can lead the way for new expressions of public interest in agriculture in the rest of the county, the state and maybe even the nation.

It’s our choice. If we choose to occupy Suisun Valley, and do it right, it may be around to bless our lives and future generations for a long time to come.

Richard L. (Rick) Wood lives in Fairfield.

Short URL: http://www.dailyrepublic.com/?p=131603

Posted by Richard L. Wood on Jan 31 2012.

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