Page 34 - Sonoma County Gazette Oct. 2019

Rohnert Park to Vote on Protecting
Open Space and Preventing Sprawl Free Public Events on Rohnert Park Urban Growth Boundary Measure B
Rohnert Park voters established an urban growth boundary (UGB) in 2000 with a 71% “yes” vote.. The City of Rohnert Park will hold
“America is a monument to power and greed...A race for rent.” - Frank Lloyd Wright
I met people from Sonoma County Tenants Union (SCTU) at the Cotati Accordion Fest. Reading their five pages on social justice and the positive impact made by rent control, I wanted to run with this hot topic. Nineteen cities in CA have some form of rent control or just cause for eviction protections.
a special election on
Nov. 5, 2019 to renew the UGB by voting Yes on Measure B. The measure is endorsed
County rents have risen an average of 50% over five years. Those numbers represent the period prior to our county’s October 2017 fires. Rents SPIKED 36% after the fires. Many homeowners moved to other counties to find a place to. live. I know a family who lost their home in the fires, then were charged eight thousand dollars a month for rent. Unfortunately, post fire rent gouging gave great distress to those who had lost ALL. Unreasonable rental charges forced longtime residents to relocate to the South Bay and elsewhere. Others who were not so lucky to have homeowners fire insurance lived in their car or became homeless.
by Greenbelt Alliance, Sierra Club, Sonoma County Democratic Party, Rohnert Park Democratic Club.
The UGB is a line
around the city that
contains development.
It protects surrounding
open space and
farmland from
unhealthy sprawl. It has
safeguarded Rohnert
Park for 20 years and
needs to be renewed by the voters to avoid a lapse in protection.
Is Homelessness Our Legacy in Cotati or in Your City?
What the UGB Does
Rohnert Park’s Urban Growth Boundary has protected critical lands in the area for 20 years and must be renewed by the voters so it doesn’t expire.
Evidence suggests that homeless people are often fully employed. Often a household with two working people cannot afford current day rental costs. In fact, many “shelter-less people” once rented apartments or houses here. When a landlord imposes a substantial rent increase, the tenant has few options, pay a price they can’t sustain, share a rental or live in their vehicles. Does a three- hundred-and-fifty-dollar raise in rent sound terrifying? If not, you are most likely a homeowner, therefore somewhat isolated from landlord greed. People I know were slapped with that rental increase with only a single month’s notice. Could you find another rental and move within thirty days?
• Protects Rohnert Park’s open space and rural lands
• Protects the environment
• Preserves Rohnert Park’s family-oriented community • Prevents sprawl
• Costs taxpayers nothing
Watching local apartment buildings clear out all tenants due to sale
or remodeling, I wonder where in our county those hundreds of renters relocated. After all, we have SSU students who often prefer to rent and share apartments rather than live in a dorm.
Greenbelt Alliance is sponsoring three free public events in Rohnert Park to educate voters about renewing the city’s Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) with Measure B on the November 5, 2019 election ballot.
If you want to help prevent more homelessness, vote for rent control.
Rohnert Park’s UGB has protected critical lands in the area for 20 years and must be renewed by the voters so it doesn’t expire.
National Coffee with a Cop Day, October 2nd
Cotati Police Officers will greet you at Oliver’s Market and serve you free coffee. You are invited to chat on topics of local interest. Bring your own mug or be served in a to go cup.
OktoberFest in La Plaza Park, October 12th. Come at Noon
See Dachshund races. Get to know neighbors, sing harvest songs, buy a beer, and lift a glass to the bounty of local farms. Held in La Plaza Park at 60 W Cotati Ave., Cotati, CA.
Read more here: https://www.greenbelt.org/rohnert-park/
Sonoma County Tenants Union Rises
Ride and Roam Rohnert Park Bike Ride
Sunday, Oct. 6, 10 am to 12 noon
Ride with community leaders to tour the city and see how UGB works.
Special guest to talk about Copeland Creek!
FREE Sign up required: https:// www.greenbelt.org/events/north-bay- bicycle-ride-and-roam-in-rohnert-park/
Rohnert Park UGB Yes on Measure B Campaign Mixer
Sally Tomatoes, Sonoma Mountain Village, Rohnert Park
Thursday, October 10, 5 to 7 pm,
Appetizers donated; No- Host Bar, Donations welcome. Free.
The Trumpet Lesson - October 19th at The Sitting Room, Dianne Romain, SSU Professor Emerita, Sonoma State University,
has authored a book. A Kirkus Review deems The Trumpet Lesson as “An interesting novel about tightly wound secrets and the art of letting go of them.” Free from 4-6 p.m. at 2025 Curtis Drive, Penngrove, CA.
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Visit our website @ SonomaCountyGazette.com
for the rest of the story!!
Creepy Treats at City Hall on Thursday, Halloween
Bring the little ones in costume to gather treats at city hall at 201 W Sierra Ave., Cotati. Please call 707-792-4600 for event time.
Save the Date: The Annual Harvest Dinner - a Benefit for The Living Room Ffeaturing Karen Fitzgerald’s enchiladas plus a poetry reading from Rim and Rassan Zahra. They will read from their newly published translations from the Arabic of Ghada Samman. “Turning to poetry in order to follow the thread of her life, to seek light in chaos.” Copies of the book will be for sale. Held at The Sitting Room on Friday, November 8th at 6:00 p.m. RSVP to J.J., boxcar@sonic.net or phone 707-795-9028 to reserve your place at the table. See the address in The Trumpet Lesson section.
34-www.sonomacountygazette.com -10/19