Nicasio ranch owner Mark Pasternak filed a lawsuit this month against the county over restrictions on parking and fundraisers imposed by the Board of Supervisors in November. The complaint, filed in county court, is the latest in numerous disputes that have arisen as a result of neighbor complaints over the busy Devil’s Gulch Ranch, battles that have included two other lawsuits filed by neighbors in past years.
A use permit granted to Mr. Pasternak in 2003 and amended in 2010 regulates educational tours and a youth day camp; it does not regulate agricultural activities at the ranch, which include raising pigs and rabbits and tending a vineyard of pinot noir and chardonnay grapes. The permit has long limited educational tours and open houses to 12 a year, but Mr. Pasternak said he always believed he could host occasional fundraisers, too.
In his suit, Mr. Pasternak alleges that the county told him last year that a 2014 fundraiser raised no code enforcement issues, so he continued to host them occasionally. But following another investigation this year—which looked into numerous complaints involving gopher eradication, the youth camp and more—code enforcement staff determined that Mr. Pasternak had encouraged greater attendance at some events than was allowed, though the latter disputed that conclusion.
At a hearing on Nov. 15, supervisors made changes to the permit. Mr. Pasternak did not object to all of the changes, such as barring vehicles associated with the camp or other events that are longer than 36 feet. But supervisors also ruled that fundraisers open to the public were allowed only if they followed the rules of the educational tours, which prohibit serving food and wine and require a 4:30 p.m. closing time.
The idea of raising money through a fundraiser where guests can’t eat or imbibe and must leave before nightfall seems absurd to Mr. Pasternak. “It flies in the face of reason,” he told the Light.
Deputy county counsel David Zaltsman was out of the office this week, but he told the Marin Independent-Journal last week that the “amended requirements related to special events and on-site parking are both on sound legal grounds as well as based upon substantial evidence.”
The fundraisers support the nonprofit that Mr. Pasternak and his wife, Myriam, run, called DG Educational Services, which coordinates the youth summer camp, among other things. The restriction on them was the second major decision this year curtailing events at the ranch.
After a legal battle instigated by neighbors Joe and Kathy Jolson, a judge who otherwise ruled in Mr. Pasternak’s favor barred him for hosting his annual Outstanding in the Field fundraiser, an event that drew 175 people over two days.
Aside from the fundraiser issues, Mr. Pasternak’s suit also objects to the fact that supervisors said he could only park on his own property and not along the private road that leads to his ranch. That decision followed complaints from neighbors that vehicles associated with the ranch were parking on private property.
Mr. Pasternak said he has parked along the road for decades and that the easement he holds on the road gives him the right to park on it. His suit also contends that the restriction wasn’t fair because that particular issue was not publicly noticed on the agenda for the November hearing.