March 13, 2014!

! ! ! Dear Supervisor Carrillo,! ! !

The Board of Directors of the Rural Alliance urges you to recommend denying the application by Ratna Ling Retreat Center and Dharma Press for Master Use Permit application PLP 08-0021. They seek to continue and expand an already oversized industrial book factory in the coastal hills.! The Sonoma County Plan permits a religious retreat in this zone ( RRD) but not a large scale factory. The printing operation is already in violation of its 2004 Use Permit conditions. Since the operation pays no taxes due to a religious exemption, it brings no benet to the county yet heavily uses public roads and other infrastructure. Furthermore, these books can be and have been printed in an urban industrial area much closer to an international distribution point. Now materials are trucked in from urban areas and the nished products transported out again to the port of Oakland at great environmental cost.!

! !

Sonoma County's zoning regulations are to protect, enhance and sustain its resources. This large scale, industrial printing factory at Ratna Ling, currently 60,234 square feet and attempting to grow, is clearly not compatible,desirable, nor appropriate for a rural agricultural area.! Please protect coastal Sonoma County by upholding the zoning regulations and denying application PLP08-0021.!

! Sincerely,! ! ! !

Catherine Sharp for the Board of Directors! Western Sonoma County Rural Alliance! 319 S. Brush St! Graton CA 95444!