Preserving the Sonoma Developmental Center

The Sonoma Developmental Center is a special place for many of us in Sonoma Valley.  For over 100 years, it has cared for the most vulnerable members of our community.  The SDC is still home to 419 residents, for some, the only home they have known.  The Center remains our largest Valley employer with over 1,200 employees.  The landscape of the SDC is the keystone of a string of land preservation in the Valley.  And now the future of the Center is in doubt with members of the California Legislature calling for its immediate closure.

In order to protect the assets of the Sonoma Developmental Center (SDC) and insure locally-based decision making, a broad-based coalition of stakeholders has come together over the past three years to discuss the future of the SDC. The Coalition is working to retain care services on the property and explore other complementary and appropriate uses within the footprint of the facilities; advocate for the permanent protection of the open land on the SDC property and the essential services it provides, such as habitat and movement corridors for wildlife, clean and ample drinking water, and a place of beauty for us to enjoy.

The loss of the SDC facilities and open space to incompatible development would have far-reaching consequences, affecting hundreds of patients and their families, dedicated and skilled employees, support services in the local community, critical habitat for fish and wildlife, and the potential for recreation and public access.

The Coalition is comprised of partners including the County of Sonoma, Audubon Canyon Ranch, California State Parks, Parent Hospital Association, Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District, Regional Parks, Sonoma Ecology Center Sonoma Land Trust, Sonoma Mountain Preservation, Valley of the Moon National History Association, as well as individuals who bring a wealth of information on a number of concerns related to SDC.

Legislative Action

The Coalition’s most immediate concern is working to defeat Senate Bill 639 (Stone, R-Riverside) which calls for the closure of SDC and a similar developmental center, Fairview, within three years.  Without a clear pathway of addressing the needs of the profoundly developmentally disabled clients who live in these two centers, a closure plan is simply premature.  Senators Mike McGuire and Lois Wolk, and Assemblymembers Bill Dodd, Marc Levine and Jim Wood agree with us, and support our work.  Even the Legislative Analyst’s Office acknowledges that those individuals who remain in developmental centers are more likely to have behaviors or medical needs that can be more challenging to serve outside of the developmental centers.

Looking to the Future

To effectively develop ideas for the future and advocate for the protection of the Developmental Center, the Coalition has divided into four subcommittees:

Legislative Team works with our legislative advocates and allies to help with policy decisions related to SDC.  We have testified at Senate and Assembly hearings, met with the Director of Developmental Services and others in Sacramento, lobbied for the passage or defeat of legislation, and analyzed the State Budget looking for clues on where the State may be headed in its decision-making.

Services Model Team, with representatives from the County, Parent Hospital Association, health community, and Regional Center, is exploring the concept of “A Hub of Excellence” at the SDC  to provide financially-sustainable services for current residents as well as the much larger Regional Center clients throughout the North Bay.

Site Reuse Team has been looking at models where other State or Federally owned facilities have been re-imagined and preserved for the community.  One excellent example of site reuse is the National Parks Service – San Francisco Presidio – the once active military base that has been transformed into a public park site within the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA). The Presidio, a National Historic Landmark, is renowned for its remarkable history, architecture, and archaeology; its nature and wildlife; its trails; and its unique management model. The Site Reuse Team and the Coalition see a similarity – don’t you?

Open Space Strategy Team is identifying options for the property that preserve the land for wildlife, resource management and recreational use. At almost 1,000 acres, the SDC property is the largest and most significant unprotected land in the Sonoma Valley. Situated at the heart of the Sonoma Valley Wildlife Corridor, it is a crucial passage for wildlife that extends over five miles from Sonoma Mountain to the Mayacamas Mountains.  An important watershed, it provides clean and ample drinking water.  Currently SDC is home to fishing, 12+ miles of scenic and diverse hiking, biking, and equestrian trails including trails that connect to Jack London State Historic Park and Sonoma Valley Regional Park.

With generous grant funding, The Sonoma Land Trust retained the Center for Collaborative Policy (CCP) to create and implement a community planning process for the Transform SDC project.  CCP is planning four community workshops over the next 18 months.  These workshops are forums for the general public who want to have a voice in the future of SDC, or an idea to share with others.

Please join us on from 9 a.m. to Noon on May 2 at Vintage House, 264 First St. E. Sonoma as we embark, together, as a community united, on a plan to preserve this property so deeply loved and valued by all of us who live here.