Help decide what’s next for Maxwell Farms Park

For reasons which often defy explanation, certain parcels of land repeatedly become focal points for community action, controversy and negotiation. Subject to land use decisions pertaining to development, preservation, access and ecology, such parcels demand attention, often over an extended period of time.

One such parcel of land is that now known as Maxwell Farms Park, a large parcel in which today sits the Boys and Girls Club, tennis courts, ball fields and wooded open space along a riparian corridor. For 150 years, this particular parcel of land has attracted the energy and concern of the surrounding community, and from all appearances is about to do so again.

The Maxwell Farm was purchased by John Maxwell in 1859. The story goes that Maxwell discovered gold on a Northern California beach and used his wealth to buy the farm in Sonoma Valley. Maxwell’s granddaughter Ruth Maxwell Denny, who considered the family farm to be sacred ground, unsuccessfully fought the County of Sonoma in an effort to prevent the County from taking her land to build a new road and bridge.

Later, as a result of a ballot measure, nine acres were annexed by the City of Sonoma and developed as Maxwell Village Shopping Center. Eastern corners of the property were sliced off and became commercial parcels where McDonald’s and Taco Bell now sit. All these changes were accompanied by controversy, public outcry and even special annexation elections.

The County of Sonoma has recently announced its interest in “upgrading” the park’s master plan, and is inviting the community to participate in its process. It appears we are about to begin yet another chapter in the history of this particular parcel of land, and the outcome is far from certain.

Stakeholders of all types make claims to Maxwell Farm Park. Soccer teams, Boys and Girls Club members and staff, tennis and soccer players, skate-boarders, environmentalists, baseball teams, business interests, people focused on parking and park use…the list goes on. Those who live nearby or were raised in the community also have their own feelings and experiences of the park. It all matters.

As the public process continues to unfold, we urge the community as individuals and as organizations to get involved and express their concerns about the use and care of the Park. Public meetings have been held and the opportunity for the public to participate in decision-making still exists.

The park sits in the center of the most densely populated urban area in Sonoma Valley. This area is now being redeveloped along Highway 12. No doubt the future will bring more population, increased demand for and pressure on existing open spaces such as Maxwell Farms Park.

Developing solutions that take all these and other matters into consideration won’t be easy, but in this day and age what is? And, when it comes to Maxwell Farm Park, nothing has ever been easy, but it has always been well worth the effort.