Page 10 - Sonoma County gazette September 2018

PLANNING cont’d from page 1
Private Planning Endeavors
Ultimately, the city’s low taxes and ideal location in between the Bay Area and the Emerald Triangle led to a rush on commercial spaces, spiking commercial real estate prices and sparking new jobs in the region.
Representatives of the business community have started their own planning efforts for the future of the North Bay.
Still, significant economic inequality lay just below the surface, according to a 2014 study of health, education and income disparities in the county.
Darius Anderson, CEO of Kenwood Investments, managing member of Sonoma Media Investments and CEO of Platinum Advisors, a Sacramento lobbying firm, announced the formation of the Rebuild Northbay Foundation on Oct. 11, 2017.
While the median white worker in Sonoma County earned $36,647, the median Latino worker earned only $21,965, a wage disparity that is common across California, according to Portrait of Sonoma County, a report commissioned by the Sonoma County Department of Health Services.
Rebuild, now led by executive director Jennifer Gray Thompson, is figuring out what it would take to for the five-county North Bay to “leap ahead into a new regional reality.”
Wide disparities in health, education and income exist within small distances of each other, according to the report. East Bennett Valley, the Census tract with the highest quality of living, is only five miles from Roseland Creek, the district with the lowest quality of living.
“We represent many people who are in the private sector and what they want to do is be supportive. The public sector cannot get through this on their own because they are already providing the services they were pre-fire
2040.planbayarea.org
In the past year, the county’s homeless population increased by nearly six percent, up to 2,996, according to the County’s 2018 Homeless Census. The homeless population reached a ten- year high in 2011, at 4,539.
while facing tax short falls,” Thompson said in a July interview with the Gazette. “This is our way of stepping up and being supportive.”
Median household incomes are expected to
rise from $66,783 in 2017 to $75,491 in 2022, a 13 percent increase, according to the Sonoma County Economic Development Board’s 2018 report.
Rebuild is “focused on understanding what went right and what went wrong, while developing a comprehensive plan for recovery and rebuilding,” in Sonoma, Napa, Mendocino, Marin and
However, the middle class will continue to shrink: “Looking into 2022, the largest income bracket expected to grow is $100,000-$150,000 by 1.8 percent, while the income bracket projected to shrink most is $50,000-$75,000 by 2.3 percent,” the report notes.
In addition to considering the region’s current housing needs, Rebuild hopes to anticipate what workers two generations in the future will find appealing by drawing inspiration from urban designs in Europe and new housing developers like StarCity, a San Francisco-based company that builds what the New York Times referred to as “dorm living for professionals.”
Housing, Jobs and
As with much of the Bay Area, housing remains
one of the most-discussed topics in Sonoma
County. As a result, the Board of Supervisors has
set a goal of building 30,000 new homes in the
county before 2023, a rate far above the county’s 2013-2017 average production of 716 new units per year.
Rebuild’s Board of Directors and Advisory Board, whose members include a range of business, non-profit and community leaders, will meet for the first time in September at a three-hour retreat, according to Thompson.
Transportation
While most residents may agree that Sonoma County needs more housing, the question of where to put the homes and what income brackets new housing should serve are the core subjects in the ongoing debate.
on a Post Disaster Assessment of the North Bay, which Rebuild will post to its website when the report is complete.
In theory, planning should be easy - consult some studies, listen to the people and draw up a plan that sort of pleases everyone. In practice, as seen by the recent failure of the Affordable Housing Bond for Sonoma County, it can be difficult to find a common vision.
Finally, the California Economic Summit will convene in Santa Rosa in November. While the conference isn’t entirely focused on the county, District 4 Supervisor James Gore, Assistant Director of the Sonoma County Department of Human Services Oscar Chavez and Santa Rosa Mayor Chris Coursey are scheduled to speak. Supervisor Gore serves as a co-chair of the Summit’s organizing committee.
While the County has not scheduled meetings or presentations to update the Sonoma County General Plan, a blueprint for land use on unincorporated county land, the plan is required to be updated periodically.
The resulting report is intended to act as “a blueprint that will address the
immediate and long-term recovery efforts needed to ensure the future safety, livelihoods and economic prosperity of all residents of Sonoma County,” according to the office’s website.
Because of the interrelated nature of jobs, housing, transportation and environmental concerns, some groups are studying the North Bay’s needs regionally and as part of the nine-county Bay Area.
10 - www.sonomacountygazette.com - 9/18
Lake counties, according to Rebuild’s website (rebuildnorthbay.org/the-rebuild).
The Bay Area Council (bayareacouncil.org), a business-funded think tank, is currently working
Schedule of Upcoming Events:
CAB is holding a series of five meetings in September and October
to provide residents with an opportunity to learn about city projects, programs and services. The first meeting will be held on Wednesday, September 12, 2018, 6:00 -7:30pm in the Finley Community Center Auditorium,2060 W. College Avenue, Santa Rosa. For information on later meetings visit www.srcity.org/cabopenhouse
Santa Rosa Community Advisor Board Open House series:
Sonoma County Office of Recovery and Resilience Meetings:
The department is hosting two Fire Recovery Community Listening Forums. The next one is on Wednesday, September 5, 6-8pm at La Luz Center,17560 Greger Street, Sonoma. For information on the meetings visit www.sonomacounty.ca.gov/Office-of-Recovery-and-Resiliency/
Metropolitan Transportation Commission/Association of Bay
Area Governments: MTC and ABAG are continuing to gather input
for its Horizon initiative through June 2019. At the moment, the groups are asking for proposals for Transformative transportation projects. Ideas can be submitted online at www.mtc.ca.gov/our-work/plans-projects/horizon/ request-transformative-projects until Thursday, September 6
California Economic Summit: Thursday, November 15 and Friday, November 16, Hyatt Regency Sonoma Wine Country,170 Railroad Street, Santa Rosa, CA 95401. Registration costs $250 per day after September 1. Details available at www.summit.caeconomy.org/logistics.
Sonoma County’s Office of Recovery and Resilience is holding meetings and gathering public input for use in its Recovery and Resilience Report.
When we plan for the future, what sort of future are we planning for?
Several cities, including
Santa Rosa and Healdsburg,
are holding their own
planning meetings Meetings to come and websites where you can find more information are listed below this article.
mtc.ca.gov/our-work/plans-projects/horizon
The Metropolitan Transportation Commission and Plan Bay Area are releasing the results of their Horizon Initiative, a report considering three possible futures for the nine-county Bay Area by the year 2050.