90.1 FM San Luis Obispo | 91.7 FM Paso Robles | 91.1 FM Cayucos | 95.1 FM Lompoc | 90.9 FM Avila
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Justin Vineyards owners apologize for expansion project and promise to donate land

Still from Dronesey YouTube video
Land cleared of oaks on property owned by Justin Vineyards

The owners of Justin Vineyards and Winery are apologizing for a controversial expansion effort that involved clear-cutting an oak woodland in the Paso Robles area, and creating a massive retention pond to be filled with groundwater.

Lynda and Stewart Resnick issued a statement (see below) Friday afternoon that expressed apologizes on behalf of the Wonderful Company owners and outlined what their plans are moving forward.

The Resnicks say they will donate the 380-acre site to San Luis Obispo County for future land conservation. Jim Bergman, the County’s planning and building director, says the intention of the Wonderful Company is to work with a local land conservancy organization. He says the company will “donate [the land] to that group so that they could use it for purposes of education or training for restoration of oak trees.”

The Resnicks also say they will implement erosion and sedimentation control measures and eliminate the water retention pond.

  Neal Heaton owns a ranch adjacent to the Justin Vineyards expansion project and was vocally opposed to both the clear-cutting and the water retention pond. “It’s certainly a start in the right direction and everything we were very fearful for our livelihood and our long term stewardship of the land. We’ve been here 130 years, the Heaton family, and it really threatened our residential water supply. So I commend their effort to apologize and make amends to the community.”

Credit The Wonderful Company
Statement of apology from Lynda and Stewart Resnick

As director of programming and content, Marisa Waddell coordinates the radio programming on KCBX and KCBX HD2 and leads efforts to develop content on the KCBX website and other digital platforms. She manages the KCBX on-air and newsroom staff, volunteer program hosts, and contributors. Marisa also hosts the Americana music program The Road Home, (Thurs. 6:30-8:00 p.m.) and contributes interviews and stories to the weekly KCBX radio magazine Issues and Ideas and to KCBX News.