Page 28 - Sonoma County Gazette - May 2019

Doing something different at SDC
May 2019 – Citizens express their views from the streets
Dark visions of the “inevitable” conversion of the Sonoma Developmental Center to luxury development were banished April 5, when the Board of Supervisors approved an agreement hammered out by state and county to work together with community groups to determine the highest and best use for this special property.
and avenues in mid-April!
It’s a landmark agreement, to be funded largely by the state, representing the first time in state history that future use of what would otherwise have been thrown onto the market as surplus public property is to be guided by a shared vision of what is best for the community and for the land itself.
It’s springtime! The rain is nearly gone. What changes or conditions do you see needed in the Springs? What do you like in the Springs?
According to the blog site, Transform SDC, posted by the Sonoma Land Trust, on April 22—Earth Day!—the California Department of Finance (DOF) and the California Department of General Services (DGS) released budget documents requesting over $43 million over three years to “manage the Sonoma Developmental Center and begin decommissioning activities through a shutdown until the final disposition of the campus is complete...” in 2022.
I really like the repairing of houses. The Springs is much nicer with paint and maintenance that’s going on all over. –Chuck Palenchar
I like the improvement of the weather. Drink wine and water. There are many folks at the Mission Inn for Easter Week. In the twenty years I’ve lived here I’ve seen lots of changes for Latinos and appreciate the support. – Karina Catalan
Been here fifteen years. Seen Latinos grow up better and free. There’s improved high quality child care. I’m unhappy with the Mattsons buying up all the property in the area. – Kathy Page
I like the street improvements made. However, speed bumps are needed even though I don’t like them. The Agua Caliente pool is great. I enjoy the therapeutic waters. The new sidewalks and lighting are great, but there are still too many cars. More sidewalks are needed in Agua Caliente. – Carol Spicer
I like the protection of the local culture while making improvements. Many people are looking for housing. – Frank Kofsuske
I like swimming at the Sonoma Aquatic Club. – Sasha Kofsuske
The Springs are good. We are OK here. It’s been about one year. I’m fine. – Kim,
The Springs are improving and good. I like the colorful buildings like Plain Jane & La Michoacana. I want our landmarks to stand out. – Darlene Donigan
I’m excited to see the new restaurants, the Hamburger Place and Noodle Factory. I’m always excited about new places for families. I give a plus to the proposed Springs Specific Plan and the Highway 12 improvements. – Karen Johnson
The Maxwell Park ball field for kids is great. I also like the Aqua Caliente Swim Center. I’ll be able to go there in a year. – Logan Johnson
Sonoma is beautiful and welcoming. This is the second month (8 weeks) in my new house. It’s gorgeous, new, and I’m so pleased. – Geraldine MacKenzie
Everyone is happy right now. Business is always good in the spring. - Omar Homran, Fruit Basket
If you want a great easy dinner, slow cooking, BBQ pulled pork, go to www. slenderkitchen.com. One call does it all! – Jim Kenefick, General Contractor
We need more food restaurants, a mall, an “In and Out Burger,” restaurant where young people can hang out. I like the swim center. - Jamilee Olalde
SPRINGS cont’d on page 29
The budget proposal includes “provisions directing” that priority be given
to affordable housing...in the disposition of the [SDC] property” and that “all lands outside the core developed campus and its related infrastructure be preserved as public parkland and open space.”
The full post, with links to the actual budget proposal, may be found at transformsdc.com/
This is really a visionary achievement, one that honors and aims to fulfill the highest aspirations of our county, where dreams of creating a more balanced, holistic, earth-honoring way of life have long been cherished. Many people worked hard for its accomplishment, and doubtless will continue to do so through the months ahead, including our district supervisor Susan Gorin and State Representative Mike McGuire who never gave up fighting for a fair deal, as well as Richard Dale of the Sonoma Ecology Center and John McCaull of the Sonoma Land Trust, the dedicated members of the neighboring Glen Ellen community and housing advocates.
The Nail Place
All deserve to be congratulated in meeting the two most commanding goals for the property, once thought to be incompatible: protecting the open space and providing affordable housing for the community. In addition, it will honor SDC ‘s 128-year healthcare history by prioritizing deed-restricted, affordable housing for people with developmental disabilities.
Truly remarkable! Let it be the beginning of a new way of thinking for our county.
But wait...it’s not all wine and roses in our corner of the world. Now,
when the cry of build-build-build has risen to a deafening roar, with calls to expedite (or end) the environmental process which has often been used to keep development at bay, the powers of capital are busily creating a small-scale Davos—a regional body able to supersede the authority of local governments (covered in this space last month).
The following question was posed to residents on the sidewalk, in markets, at the Dollar Store, Barking Dog, and Post Offices....
It’s a microcosm of what Peter Phillips has outlined in his book, Giants.
Who Runs the World? There is now so much money at the top of the economic pyramid that has to be constantly invested and reinvested, “so they invest in each other,” said Phillips in a recent interview. Because capital requires growth.
What better place than real estate? Today’s Independent carries a front page story: Springs named an “opportunity zone.”
Dave Ransom, the chair of the Sonoma Valley Housing Group, earlier
this week published a story reporting the recent “big-biz” Bay Area Council Economic Institute that bussed 70 developers and investors to downtown Santa Rosa and the Springs to look over the prospects. KGO-TV reported that, “Santa Rosa now has drawings and proposals for high-rise housing as high as 15 stories,” writes Ransom.
Those are the same guys.
Opportunity zones provide tax relief to developers, just what they need, to fund new developments in low-income neighborhoods, and Trump is actually claiming the credit; opportunity zones were part of his 2017 tax package that bestowed so many blessings on the rich.
28 - www.sonomacountygazette.com - 5/19
Looks like the devil is at the door. We’d better keep our eyes on this.