MATH hears ‘Huttopia’ proposal for Six Sigma Ranch and Winery, update on Guenoc Valley project
- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – The Middletown Area Town Hall on Thursday hosted an update from Six Sigma Ranch and Winery on plans to host an upscale camping site at its Lower Lake property, and also heard an update on plans for a large housing and resort development near Middletown.
Christian Ahlmann, whose family owns Six Sigma Ranch, made the presentation on “Huttopia” at the MATH meeting, held at the Middletown Community Center on Thursday evening. Ahlmann’s presentation begins at the 22-minute mark in the video above.
The Ahlmanns purchased the 4,300-acre property now known as Six Sigma Ranch in 2000, and have since built a respected winery, vineyard and cattle operation at the site, where they also host tours and events.
Ahlmann said his family has discussed for a long time the idea of offering accommodations at the ranch. It’s an expensive proposition, and while they have had a number of different companies propose various ideas, before now they’ve ultimately said no.
“It’s serious business,” he said.
Ahlmann explained, “We're very careful with the brand. We want to do it right,” and not have something “hokey” on the property.
Recently they were approached by a representative of Huttopia, a French company that specializes in offering “nature campsites” in 43 locations across France.
According to its Web site, Huttopia’s sites are located “in unspoilt natural environments, beautiful pitches for tents, caravans and campers, wood and canvas lodges that blend in harmoniously with the site, swimming pools, and a whole range of activities for you to enjoy a wonderful holiday.”
Ahlmann termed Huttopia’s offerings as “glamping” – the term to describe glamorous or luxury camping – with everything from small tents to more upscale, deluxe tents.
Huttopia opened its first North American site in 2015 in Sutton, Canada and followed up this June by opening in the first Huttopia in the United States in the White Mountains near Albany, New Hampshire. Ahlmann and his wife visited the Sutton location and he recounted his visit in a blog post here.
Ahlmann said the company purchases or leases land for its projects. In this case, it will lease land from Six Sigma Ranch for a small fee.
After visiting Huttopia himself, Ahlmann said he thought it would work well in Lake County.
He said his family has signed a letter of intent with Huttopia, but added, “We haven’t made a contract yet.”
Ahlmann said Six Sigma representatives have met with the county and, at first glance, a review of the basic project doesn’t appear to show big environmental impacts and is in line with the county’s interests.
He said they would love to have people from the Bay Area come up to stay at the ranch. “People who stay in nice tents like nice wine.”
In Ahlmann’s opinion, Huttopia fits with Lake County better than a Marriott.
If all goes well with the planning process, Huttopia would start building next year and have the site in place by the end of 2018, Ahlmann said.
Unlike other Huttopia sites, the one at Six Sigma Ranch would be able to operate year-round, which Ahlmann said is one reason why the company likes the site so much, although Huttopia officials have voiced concerns about California’s planning processes.
Ahlmann said the Huttopia at Six Sixma will have a range of offerings from simple tents to more upscale tents and cabins featuring bathrooms and camp stoves, a setup that he said will be similar to camping facilities in national parks. All of the tents will have decks.
He said Huttopia wants to build 150 tents in phases that will be spread out across an area of between 100 and 150 acres on the property. The tents will be accessed through the same entrance as the winery.
“When you drive into the property you won’t really see them,” Ahlmann said.
Community Development Director Bob Massarelli, who was on hand at the meeting to also give an update on the Guenoc Valley project, confirmed that his staff met with Six Sigma for a preapplication meeting.
He said an application for the project had yet to be submitted at that point, but that he didn’t see any issues.
During the discussion, Ahlmann also reported that the project will generate transient occupancy tax, also known as bed tax, which is an important tourism-related revenue stream for county government.
In response to a question, he also confirmed that fire safety and an evacuation plan will be part of the review process for the project.
In other south county project news, Massarelli gave the group a brief update on the latest regarding the Guenoc Valley project, located at Langtry Farms.
Chinese developer Yiming Xu and his firm, Lotusland Investment Holdings Inc. of San Francisco, are proposing to build the project on an area that encompasses 16,000 acres, with 1,200 residential units, 1,200 hotel units and as many as nine different resorts with their own themes and architecture. He said 14,000 acres will be preserved in a natural state.
He said his staff is still in the process of getting proposals from consultants to perform the project’s environmental impact report.
The request for proposals was sent out to 15 consulting firms around the state, with an original deadline of Sept. 11, Massarelli explained.
However, Massarelli said some of the consultants have asked for more time, so the deadline was extended to Sept. 25. He said he expects to get proposals from five to six consultants, which will be a good-sized pool from which to choose.
A consultant selection committee has been formed of department heads and outside individuals, and Massarelli said he would report back to MATH at its October meeting about that selection process.
Massarelli said the county has not yet received an application for the project or much new information on the developer’s plans.
“The design team is really focused on incorporating it into the environment,” he said.
Massarelli said the Aman resort chain is involved with the project. He referred to Aman’s Utah resort – Amangiri, located at Canyon Point, where rooms range from $2,000 to $4,600 a night – for how it blends into the environment.
He said Guenoc Valley’s project will have equestrian and outdoor facilities, with some of those amenities to be open to the community at large.
A village center proposal has been removed from the plans in order to show support for the community and not detract from downtown Middletown, he said.
He’s hired one staffer to handle the project’s environmental studies and is recruiting a senior planner to handle permitting.
Lotusland has given the county a $65,000 deposit to cover planning expenses, which will be raised to $100,000 once an application is submitted, Massarelli said.
The developer will have to deposit $250,000 with the county when the contract is signed with the consulting firm that will conduct the environmental impact report, according to Massarelli.
Massarelli said the amount of planning work on the project involved is expected to run into the high six figures and possibly the seven figures.
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