Page 30 - Sonoma County Gazette - January 2020

Urban Developments Sonoma Democrats held a sweet Christmas Party at the Springs Community Hall in mid-December. Sonoma School Board member Cathy Coleman spoke up for the proposed new method of electing Board members to better ensure more balanced representation, as did Councilmember Logan Harvey, who has since become Sonoma’s new Mayor.
View The Saloons, Hotels, Swimming Pools, and Railroads!
The Dems has been hosting public viewings of the presidential debates at
the local Round Table Pizza. The most recent, on December 19, followed fast on the heels of the House Impeachment hearings. I found myself sitting next
to Jack Ding, a local accountant (he helped me with my taxes last year) who ran for city council in the last election, and Teri Shore, director of Greenbelt Alliance and a staunch proponent of Urban Growth Boundaries lately been under fire from the affordable housing community. UGBs contain the growth of cities so that they do not spread into the surrounding countryside, turning farms and open space into developments and accused of contributing to the high cost of real estate. Proponents argue that there is plenty of space to build within the cities, especially if we build up, instead of out, as I understand Santa Rosa is planning to do. Here in Sonoma, we have many longtime residents despairing about the possibility of changing the small-town flavor of our town. But heck, our town has already changed, as the steady flow of traffic on W. Napa Street attests. And where are the farms of yesteryear? Gone to grapes.
Michael Acker has created a magnificent online museum detailing the history of the Springs. It’s free online at www.springsmuseum.org. Michael has assembled a wealth of information from letters and photographs that will take you back at least one hundred years in Springs history.
In my little neighborhood, the once sleepy Fifth Street Marketplace
is sprouting new life with the arrival of two restaurants, the Vietnamese Pho shop, which appears to be enormously popular, and a second location for the busy Hacienda restaurant in the Springs. There are many other local businesses at the site, including the busy Yoga Community. And I must say, fan as I am of rural living, the liveliness of this little urban environment is quite appealing, bringing new life to the ‘hood.
In any event, once completed, Springs residents will welcome the relief from detours on Varano and Agua Caliente. A note, let’s hope the architects recognize the beauty of Sonoma Creek and allow passers-by to view it. It’s very frustrating when one drives over the Ig Vella Bridge to not be able to see the Creek. Long Term Solution – the County should create a park with a trail along the Creek that all may enjoy.
We’ll just have to get used to being city folk – and maybe that’s ok. But is the old Sonoma Developmental Center going to become a city too?
City of Sonoma Urban Growth Boundary Election! It’s hard to believe that its been twenty (20) years since the City voters approved an urban growth boundary (UGB) that limits growth into the surrounding hinterlands. However, it’s true. Twenty years have passed and in order for the UGB to remain in place, Sonoma citizens will need to vote to extend it.
The planning process for the reuse of the SDC is beginning. The Permit Department has selected a contractor (specialists in urban design) to lead
the development of a Site-Specific Plan for the 900-plus property in Glen Ellen, and 17 members of the new Planning Advisory Committee (the PAT) have been selected. Two are from Glen Ellen – Vicki Hill of the Glen Ellen Forum and Nick Brown. Two are from Sonoma, city planning commissioner Kelso Barnett, and Victor Gonzalez, a semi-retired planning consultant with experience in “urban in-fill & high density residential and commercial projects,” according to his page at LinkedIn. Richard Dale of the Sonoma Ecology Center and John McCaull of the Sonoma Land Trust are, of course, among them; but also a number of developers.
At the Glen Ellen annual Christmas party, held at the Lodge, I ran into Gregg Montgomery, who worked for years at the SDC. He and members of the Glen Ellen Forum’s SDC Committee have been active in the community planning process since 2015 when the state announced the closure of the old institution for the developmentally disabled. “There’s going to be lots and lots of housing,” he told me.
Time will tell. The state, having promised us community involvement, has funded the two-year planning process about to begin. But I was shocked to learn from Kyle Rabellino of the County Permit Department that is overseeing the project that the meetings will not be public. This is more than a little disheartening. The state had repeatedly promised a community process but that’s not exactly what this looks like.
Springs residents do not get to vote on this measure, but they will be affected one way or another. It will be important to listen to the voter arguments on
the UGB, pro, and con. Without a UGB would Sonoma be able to extend its boundaries into the Springs? What is the impact on housing, traffic, and water use for Springs residents if the UGB passes or fails. We don’t get to vote, but we will be affected.
What does this tell us about the future of the magnificent SDC property?
The new proposal would provide for the establishment of five electoral districts based on population. Since the 1960’s the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that legislative districts must be “as nearly equal as practicable.” In practice, this has generally meant each legislative district has to be within plus or minus (+/-) 15% of the district-wide average.
That’s good because we certainly need it, but will it be affordable? Will it be paved in cement? Will the open space be protected as promised?
Once a legislative body goes to district elections “the other handle of a pair of pliers” comes to bear as the Court has explained. It is a question of how the district boundaries are drawn. We must watch against “gerrymandering” the boundaries to favor the election of one candidate or another.
Pictorial History of The Springs Dazzles and Delights!
See the Fetters Hot Spring Hotel, the Boyes Springs railroad stations, El Verano stores and homes, and the fun-loving residents of Agua Caliente. Count the number of buildings still standing along Highway 12. See where the Pacific Coast League baseball teams, the San Francisco Seals and Oakland Acorns played. There is an excitement scrolling through the museum. Check out the names of many residents gone by whose offspring we know today!
Visit Michael Acker’s wonderful collection at www.springsmuseum.org.
A Few Things To Watch For In 2020....
Completion of the Boyes Blvd. Bridge...It doesn’t look like the Boyes Blvd. bridge over Sonoma Creek will be finished soon. The base of the walk/ cycle upstream road is in place, but the road surface hasn’t been placed yet. It doesn’t appear that work on the main roadway has begun.
School District Boundary Changes! The Sonoma Valley Unified School District (SVUSD) has hired consultants to recommend different plans for electing Board members. Currently, Board members are elected at large
by all voters. A Board majority feels this may result in underrepresentation of voters in the Springs who are more often Latino and theoretically vote less.
So, please attend school board meetings to watch this process unfold. The first meeting is January 7 at the District Office on Railroad Avenue.
North Sonomans – Read the Newspapers and E-Mail! The residents of the Donald Street area claim they were never notified of their inclusion in the Springs Specific Plan (SSP). Since 2012 the SSP information and meetings were noticed in local papers. Over 100 residents attended meetings at Verano School. The North Sonomans have issues of housing density and growth.
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