Page 37 - Sonoma County Gazette November 2018

OUR COUNTY cont’d from page 36
For those who have questions or concerns about the use permit application, please contact the project planner, Steven Rosen at srosen@migcom.com. If you email Steven, your feedback and concerns will be considered by staff as they review the application, and your concerns must be addressed as the use permit process moves forward.
River Road rage...
Graton Green Group Tanner and Wyatt Boy Scout Troop 150
The Graton Green Group would like to thank everyone who came to the September 30th Graton Green Gathering. Thank you to Supervisor Lynda Hopkins, Sarah Emerson of the Stone Creek Zin Center and the children of Graton who cut the ribbon around the old water tower which will become the Graton Green Amphitheater (naming rights are still available). Graton Fire Protection District provided fire hats and other treats for the children.
If you’re like me and have been stuck in traffic on River Road, there’s good reason. PG&E has been very active on the west county connector, working
a five-mile stretch for vegetation management. The stretch parallels PG&E’s high voltage transmission line that runs from the Fulton substation westward to the Monte Rio substation. The traffic snarls began in late September when contract tree crews working for PG&E started pruning and removing trees, beginning at the Fulton substation and moving westward.
helping keep it clean at the Graton Green Group Gathering
The work is being done along PG&E’s entire 15-mile, 60,000-volt line, which has been identified as a critical project for improving reliability performance and safety based on records of historical tree-caused outages.
It was wonderful to have Orrin and Terri Thiessen along with Susan Ballinger, Chair of the GGG Design Committee to answer questions about the new Graton Green and The Green Valley Village. Bohemian Creamery and Mexico Linda, along with local baker provided wonderful food and desserts. Local troubadour Chris Riebli with local bands The Rogers, New Skye and the Hubbub Club provided the perfect music for the day. Bowman and Purple Wines donated wines and Lagunitas Brewery provided their distinctive beers.
According to PG&E’s Brian Bottari, the line has been out nine times since 2007 due to vegetation. The utility’s vegetation management reliability improvement project will minimize the risk of vegetation or fire caused outages by increasing vegetation clearance distances along the line. The project on River Road includes reducing fuels, cutting trees, portions of trees and brush that are hazardous to the facilities that are determined to be incompatible vegetation.
There were so many wonderful volunteers who worked to make the event happen that it’s not possible to list them all, but that’s Graton for you—an involved community shaped by volunteerism since its inception in the early 1900’s. Thank you to all of you who have worked since 2007 to create a park for Graton. HolLynn D’Lil, on behalf of the Graton Green Group, a non-profit whose sole purpose is the creation of a park in Graton
The work is expected to last another three or four weeks.
Speaking of PG&E...
If you’ve been on Trenton Road and noticed a large, metal power pole -- what the neighborhood kindly refers to as the “Godzilla pole,” PG&E has notified us that work to remove the pole was set to begin on Monday, Oct. 29.
“Just say No” to commercial cannabis cultivation in Graton.
The 60-foot pole supports the mechanics required for automatic power switches, an effort PG&E is undertaking to modernize and add resilience to its power grid. The utility is working on replacing manual switches with automated ones that allow for remote de-energizing and re-energizing of power lines.
I am writing this portion in response to Freeman Young’s (Jackalope Gardens) letter to the residents of Graton stating his intentions. Jackalope Gardens submitted a permit to develop a 13 acre parcel adjacent to the West County Trail for an industrial cannabis project. While, it is a well written letter it reminds me of the old saying that you can’t put lipstick on a pig. In the letter he states that he is “attempting to create the best medicine for people”.
The Godzilla pole is being removed after neighbors complained to the county that they had not received any notice of the work. Permit Sonoma determined that PG&E had not filed for the right use permit application for the installation, so it is being relocated to an area adjacent to the neighborhood and away from residences
My “best medicine” is serenity and peace of mind and your project conflicts. Not just for me, but for 100s of Graton residents. This is in inappropriate location and the village of Graton is making it clear that it isn’t welcome here. We want to distinguish that this isn’t a dispute regarding the legalization or use of cannabis, but a question of safety and neighborhood compatibility.
TOT for West County! We need you on Tuesday, Dec. 11 to attend the regularly scheduled Board of Supervisors meeting to rally for coveted transient occupancy tax funds, also known as TOT dollars or bed tax.
TOT funds are a tax assessed on hotel rooms within the county. Two budget cycles ago, I advocated for a tourism impact mitigation fund that secures a portion of the county-generated TOT dollars proportionate to the amount
of TOT collected in the previous fiscal year. The idea is to make sure the communities most impacted my tourism receive proportionate funding back directly into their communities. West County, which generated 48.55 percent of the TOT funds in the 2017-18 fiscal year, will receive 48.55 percent of the funds this year to invest in community improvement projects.
It’s important for our west county community to come out in
strong numbers to tell the Board of Supervisors how important
this program is for the Fifth District.
Without these funds, we wouldn’t have been able to provide new radios and other emergency equipment for our local fire departments. We wouldn’t have been able to improve the sidewalk connection to downtown in Occidental. And we wouldn’t have been able to help the City of Sebastopol fund a much desired crosswalk improvement on Bodega Avenue. These funds are vital to our community’s safety, livelihood and overall happiness. Without the funding, West County will continue to be negatively impacted by tourism which, while bringing revenue into our small hamlets and towns, also drains and stresses our roads, parks, and fire and emergency service personnel.
This program is vital in leveling the field for our local communities.
On Saturday Oct 20th, Jackalope was supposed to hold a public meeting where they would “answer all questions” but they were a no show. Instead they posted a note stating that out of respect of civil discourse they would be rescheduling, but as Graton resident Natalia Chamaki states “canceling a meeting that people changed their schedules to attend and delaying people’s right to information actually makes civil discourse more aggressive”.
Since the cancellation was posted sometime after midnight, the gathering still had a large turnout. Many people brought their children to show Jackalope that this location along the trail is a place for families’ not industrial cannabis production. How do we have our children and families within feet of a guarded facility? Evelyn let us know that a group of children from 1st -5th grade walk to Oak Grove School - will they still be able to walk to school safely?
Tax payers are paying for “the quite enjoyment of the West County Trail” and that this project isn’t compatible with the existing use. This is not “farming” this is industrial application that requires processing of product and 24 hour security. They are trying to put manufacturing on a parcel of land zoned agricultural, next to a public park, in proximately to an elementary school.
Please voice your concerns by e-mailing your Supervisors.
Subject Line: UPC18-0044/2595 Railroad St. Address it to: lynda.hopkins@ sonoma-county.org James.Gore@sonoma-county.org and cc it to: shirlee.zane@ sonoma-county.org David.Rabbitt@sonoma-county.org Susan.Gorin@sonoma- county.org scottd@migcom.com
As Graton resident Joe Howard wrote “If you are a neighbor, or if you are concerned about your quality of life being downgraded, speak up. This kind of development belongs in commercial areas along transportation corridors where security gates and lights are a regular occurrence, not on the edge of a village adjacent to wetlands, a creek and a walking/biking trail. Ask your to protect neighborhoods from cannabis operations”.
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