Archives



Protecting a legacy of open space

Posted on July 3, 2016 by Sonoma Valley Sun

This year we have the chance to advance the most important greenbelt policy protections in Sonoma County in decades.

On July 19 the Board of Supervisors will vote on renewing voter protections for community separators with a ballot measure on November 8, 2016. They will also decide whether to designate additional lands as community separators. The goal is to protect rural lands, farms and green buffers from potential conversion to housing tracts and strip malls.

Longstanding voter protections for community separators are set to expire this year, so the County of Sonoma is proposing to renew them for another 30 years and to add designations to lands that remain at risk of inappropriate development.

The proposed Community Separator additions will protect as many as 41,000 additional acres of green buffers and farm lands from subdivision and sprawl, including important areas of Sonoma Valley.

In Sonoma Valley, this includes land proposed by the Sonoma Ecology Center in the Sonoma Valley wildlife corridor, the hills above Sonoma, and farm lands along Arnold Drive southwest of town. The “little” Valley of the Moon between Glen Ellen and Kenwood are also in line for community separator designation.

The existing Glen-Ellen-Agua Caliente Community Separator contains 1,400 acres of oak woodlands, vineyards, organic farms, parks and nature preserves along scenic Highway 12 – including Sonoma Valley Regional Park.

The purpose of community separators is three-fold: they serve as green buffers between cities and towns; contain urban development; and preserve the rural charm of our landscape. The county’s eight existing community separators cover 17,000 acres of natural and agricultural lands. These policies complement the cities’ urban growth boundaries by safeguarding adjacent unincorporated lands.

Community separators are not a land use designation but a zoning overlay. The designation does not restrict property owners or stop development, whether it is for a vineyard, winery, stables or dairy. So farmers can still build a barn and family can build a house or add a granny unit as currently allowed, with design review.

But what it does is very important: this zoning overlay prevents land speculation and the conversion of rural and ag lands into housing subdivisions and shopping malls.

Community separators have prevented Sonoma County from looking like Santa Clara and Silicon Valley.

When it comes to the housing crisis, we don’t need to build in our greenbelts or farm lands. It is far better for people and the environment for most of us to live and work within the boundaries of our cities, towns and priority development areas. In fact, Sonoma County more than 10,000 units of housing have been approved but never built, due to a number of market factors – not because of greenbelt protection.

Allowing housing on the urban edge away from services such as sewer and water not to mention shopping, schools and businesses is a costly and unhealthy option. The fact is that sprawl has never been a solution for affordable housing in Sonoma County or anywhere in the Bay Area or California where sprawl has run rampant. The real solution is to build thriving communities in our towns and cities with access to public transit and make the lifestyle changes necessary for the long term. .

Now is the time to speak out for maintaining what we have and preserving our legacy of open space protection by renewing and adding to community separators.

We need to tell the Board of Supervisors know that we strongly support the community separators renewal and additions on or before the July 19 public hearing with a letter or Letter to the Editor. Details here http://www.greenbelt.org/actions/sonoma-county-community-separator-support-letters-needed/

Then we will all get the chance to vote yes on community separators on November 8, 2016 General Election.

Greenbelts are goldmines for Sonoma County. People live here and visit mainly because of our rural lands and open space.

Teri Shore, Regional Director, Greenbelt Alliance

 

 

 

 

Read more here about community separators http://www.sonoma-county.org/prmd/docs/community_separators/index.htm




Sonoma Sun | Sonoma, CA