Page 32 - Sonoma County gazette September 2018

Springs Specific Plan Moving Forward!
Hot dawg! The ambitious proposal to spruce up the Springs and give it pizazz is moving forward.Evidence of the community’s interest can be seen by active citizen attendance at the Springs Community Alliance meeting in mid- August. Chair Rich Lee introduced County Representative Yolanda Solano who moderated the meeting.
Citizens raise many
questions:
To me you are beautiful
There were no old people in the Springs Community Hall the night Ken Brown, former longtime mayor, put on a Middle Eastern fusion event called “Jews, Blues and Sufis”, just a bunch of grey-heads and greybeards frolicking on the dance floor in joyful gyrations. It was a pleasure to see them, I was
too weary to join but watching from the sidelines, people I’ve seen in various progressive political circles now cavorting as if they were kids.
County Representative
Yolanda Solano hardly got
into her presentation of an
overview when questions
from the floor came fast and
furious. Citizens wanted to know answers to a number of pertinent questions:
Ben Boyce, perhaps our most serious political commentator, was transported with glee while dancing with his wife, his long arms stretched out to each
side like a pair of wings. And then there was Carol Vernal, herself a veteran host of numerous musical events called “Himalaya”, which she produced to raise money for the health clinic she created and supports in Nepal; Himalaya featured the same lead singer we were hearing this night, Sukhawat Ali Khan, who swept onto the floor to invite her to dance.
▪ Can we widen the sidewalks?
▪ Will there be pocket parks for kids?
▪ Are there plans for bicycle paths?
▪ Where will people park if a Plaza is built?
▪ Is there funding available for planned improvements?
▪ What happens to a business that doesn’t fit or is outmoded?
▪ If more affordable housing is built, how can we deal with extra traffic?
I’m sorry to say there wasn’t much Jewish music in the mix—I love Kletzmer music—except “Bei Mir Bistu Shein” (“By me, you are beautiful”) an old Yiddish melody from the borscht circuit, made famous by the Andrews Sisters. But since it was Sabbath eve, the Sabbath candles were lit, with a prayer by Rabbi Steve Finley and his wife Jaffa of Nir Shalom; and for a few moments the sacred Shekhina filled the room.
Opportunity for community involvement...
Aging, now so extended, is divided into three phases: the young old from 65 to 74; 75 to 84, just plain old; and 85 on up, the very old or god forbid (I don’t like this word) the elderly.
At each stage of the plan development residents have an opportunity to voice their views. Several months ago there were four community workshops beginning with a large turn out at El Verano School. Second, the Community Advisory Team (CAT) is developing design guidelines (see below). In mid- August planning meetings were held at the Springs Community Alliance (above) and later at the Sonoma Valley Citizens Advisory Commission (SVCAC). An environmental impact review is underway. When ready there will be a draft published in October.
Speaking of words...Since our local demographic is more than the national average of 25 percent older adults, we might well begin to talk about aging, although, like pot, it’s still a little hush-hush around here, another topic and quite a perplexing one to this recent returnee to the county where pot (now we call it cannabis, you know, it sounds more medicinal) was, well, was considered, back in the day a ticket to enlightenment...but that, dot-dot-dot, is for another day.
The plan will be available for public review. Then it will go to the County Planning Commission. After a final EIR the plan will return to the County Planning Commission for a recommendation. Assuming approval, the proposal will be sent to the full Board of Supervisors. Susan Gorin, Supervisor for District 1, has been a steady supporter of the Springs Specific Plan.
The August 9 issue of The Sonoma Sun launched an incisive editorial on
that closeted topic (if we don’t talk about it, maybe it will go away...like climate change?), describing quite accurately the plight a good many of us find ourselves in—“those on fixed incomes are on a terrible fix” —and noting that “America is not designed for the elderly. From pedestrian safety to
simple shelter from the elements at a bus stop, even our local Sonoma Valley infrastructure seems as if it were designed for the convenience of machines, not people—and most certainly not the elderly” (there’s that word again). We like to think “you’re only as old as you feel,” but when you don’t have enough money, you’re older.
Details and Directives—The Community Advisory Team!
A Community Advisory Team (CAT) appointed by Supervisor Gorin meets periodically with County planners to hammer out details and decisions that will become “Design Guidelines” for change. Some guidelines will carry mandatory rules, others may be permissive. Watch for announcements of the next meeting (at La Luz) and plan to attend.
If words can change reality, there’s something now in vogue in the realm of social change and that is the notion of changing the story, or using language
to reframe the issue. Social change advocates often find that certain words cause listeners to flare instead of respond. “Affordable housing” for example seems to summon images of the indigent and slovenly poor, evoking a NIMBY response instead of the enthusiastic support for public programs the speaker was hoping for.
Design Guidelines CAT members are charged with creating will bring
life and energy to the Springs plan. CAT is establishing rules and directives regarding the following subjects:
▪ Character of buildings, design of complimentary architecture
▪ Windows and doors, compliment the architecture, insure comfort and visual
interest for pedestrians
▪ Use of color and materials, for aesthetic value in keeping with Springs styles ▪ Site design: Building placement, orient towards streets, the Plaza,
With respect to aging, the American Society on Aging, and AARP, teamed up with some other organizations, secured a bunch of funding, and hired a company called Frameworks to help reframe aging. They discovered that most Americans, including old people, don’t like old people. That age is associated with decline and deterioration (well, duh) which the public perceives as being like children, dependent, needy, but unlike children, a little pathetic. This image supports ageism and interferes with the way older people are treated.
sidewalks
▪ Pedestrian circulation, make well defined walkways, sidewalks,parking,
bicycle paths
▪ Parking, minimize visual impact and number of driveways, add central
parking, include landscaping
▪ Service areas, be visually limited, screened, and incorporated into buildings ▪ Public Spaces, outdoor seating, vegetation, shade, parklets
▪ Sidewalk amenities, benches, art, furniture, landscaping, bicycle racks
▪ Landscaping and fences, ensure design for site beautification
▪ Signs, wall, window, and hanging - control clutter, insure compatibility with
This study produced a lot of interesting materials that you can find online
if you wish at frameworksinstitute.org/reframing-aging.html/ all clumped under the broad category of “Gaining Momentum”, re-framing aging as a time of culmination of life experience instead of decline.
environment and buildings
▪ Springs Plaza, create a center for community life in center of Springs
▪ Gateway Signs, distinguish the Springs from the remainder of Highway 12
When I introduced “gaining momentum” to my women’s group at Brookdale, everyone laughed, someone made a comment about canes and walkers, and well, the wisdom of life experience however you frame it may be “tell me no lies.”
when entering from either direction.
But, as the Sun’s editorial notes, “in sheer numbers” we old folks are powerful, and we vote. So while we are changing aging, let’s change the world.
32 - www.sonomacountygazette.com - 9/18
Isn’t that what we set out to do, many long years ago?