Fatal accident
Saturday night on Highway 116
Juan de Dios Gonzales Canche, 18, of Sonoma was arrested Saturday night after he rolled his 1996 Honda on Highway 116, causing an 18-year-old passenger to be ejected, which resulted in the young woman’s death.
Gonzales Canche was driving at 50 mph eastbound on Highway 116 east of Arnold Drive at 9:30 p.m. when he began to pass a car, said a California Highway Patrol report.
Gonzales Canche swerved to avoid an oncoming car in the westbound lane, drove onto the eastbound shoulder and lost control of his Honda, which began rolling.
The 18-year-old woman was ejected; she wasn’t wearing a seatbelt because it was inoperable, the CHP report said.
Another passenger, who only received bumps and bruises in the crash, tried to revive the woman, identified as Victoria Chin, a senior at Sonoma Valley High School, but was unsuccessful, the CHP report said. She was pronounced dead at the accident scene.
Three other male passengers, Roberto Salazar, 16, Oscar Zarate, 17 and Carlos Gomez, 17, were transported to area hospitals, where they were treated for major injuries.
The crash happened after the five teenagers had attended a 15th birthday party for a girl in Sonoma. They had left the quinceañera for another party in the Sonoma Valley, according to the CHP.
More Sonoma
subdividing
In a 4 to 2 vote, the City of Sonoma Planning Commission on May 10 approved the subdivision of a 1.01-acre parcel into two parcels at 400 La Quinta Lane.
This particular subdividing of land did not come before the commission without a bit of controversy from both the public and two members of the commission.
“Our biggest fear is it’s getting too close – I see it like a big two-story monster house out of our control,” neighboring resident Jean Murphy said. “We don’t want to lose any more of our open space here in Sonoma – it would just be too invasive unless a significant set-back from our fence-line is imposed.”
Murphy is a resident at the Buena Vista Gardens Planned Development, which shares access to the subdivided parcel proposal from La Quinta Lane by a 30-foot-wide easement. Murphy expressed further concerns that subdividing the property would create privacy impacts for residents using the Buena Vista Gardens swimming pool facility along with increased street traffic that would in turn negatively impact the properties and residents in the vicinity.
Bringing forth, among other things, water and sanitation concerns, planning commissioner Michael George sided with the opposition conclusively.
“I guess I’m becoming an anarchist,” George said. “Our biggest duty on this commission is to preserve the public health, safety and welfare and this incremental development is just not doing that.”
When property within the City of Sonoma is subdivided, it is regulated by the Subdivision Map Act and Article VI of the city’s development code and this newly approved parcel subdivision is consistent with the intent of the low density residential land use designation along with the policies and the goals of the City of Sonoma’s 2020 General Plan, which encourages infill development.
Both parcels exceed the minimum 7,500-square-foot requirement; parcel one has an area of 10,000 square feet and parcel two has an area of 34,000 square feet.
“To me – the thing about Sonoma is the esthetics,” commissioner Jean Barnier said. “I don’t see that there is any compelling reason to go forward with this subdividing of land – you need to have a give-and-take with the esthetics of this town.”
Commissioner Randy Cook said, “ Well, I just can’t see slamming down the gate when this property meets all of the legal requirements.”
After hearing from the property owners that all they wanted was to maximize their investment – the commission determined that this subdivision of property would create only a minimal traffic volume increase on La Quinta Lane and to the network of the surrounding streets, then exercised the commission’s judicial discretion by increasing the one-story residence minimum setback of five feet to 10 feet in this specific situation so as to address any privacy concerns of the neighbors and approved the subdivision of the property.
Phillip Garcia picked as Sonoma’s fire chief
Phillip Garcia, who has more than 30 years’ experience in the fire-fighting service and who currently holds the position of fire chief in the city of Santa Ana, has been chosen as the new fire chief for the Sonoma Valley Fire and Rescue Authority.
“Phil Garcia comes to Sonoma Valley with a wealth of experience, with unsurpassed technical knowledge of fire and ambulance issues, and with a reputation as an excellent communicator and manager,” said city manager Mike Fuson in a statement.
The selection process for the new chief included advertising throughout the West Coast, the screening of applications through an executive recruiter (Bob Murray and Associates of Roseville), interviews by several panels and “extensive reference checking,” the statement said.
Garcia takes over leadership of the fire department on June 11, replacing former fire chief John Keane, who retired on March 1.
Garcia said, “I take this responsibility seriously and am excited about working with the Sonoma Valley Fire and Rescue Authority.”
Garcia was born in Los Angeles and is a life-long Californian. He lives with his wife and three sons in Laguna Niguel. Garcia has a master’s degree in public administration from California State University, Long Beach. He currently serves as a team leader and assessor for the Commission on Fire Accreditation International, in which capacity he travels to cities around the country with a team of fire chiefs that certifies fire departments.
Prior to joining the Santa Ana Fire Department, Garcia served for more than 25 years with the Culver City Fire Department.
In his spare time, Garcia enjoys many activities with his family, which he characterizes as a “football family.” Garcia coached youth football for years as a line coach and defensive coordinator. The Garcias also enjoy outdoor activities, such as skiing, snowboarding and bicycling.
