Ryan lely/Sonoma Valley Sun
City planner David Goodison explains the floor plan of the old fire station to citizens at last Thursday’s meeting.
On Thursday evening last week, a handful of Sonoma citizens gathered in Burlingame Hall at the First Congregational Church for a small roundtable discussion on the future of the city’s former first station on Patten Street.
The 6,600-square-foot building, built in 1948 (expanded and renovated in 1983), rests at the north end of Broadway, just south of the Sonoma Plaza. After the Fire Department relocated in 2002, the building became the temporary home of the Sonoma Police Department, which will remain there until it moves into permanent facilities in the summer of 2008.
But what will happen to the fire station after the police leave? The building’s size and central location prompted a bout of creative speculation during the meeting.
Some members of the community were taken with the notion of making downtown Sonoma less congested, suggesting that the old firehouse be used as a depot for daytime visitors to park their cars before taking a proposed “tram service” further into town.
However, were the entire station razed, the lot would provide space for only 36 more cars than it can accommodate now.
Other citizens were aligned with the outwardly simple concept of an open market, an option that could utilize the space at relatively low renovation and operating costs. Local vendors could lease space in the station’s 3,000-square-foot engine bay. The market could host an array of farmers and local vendors. While similar to the Sonoma Farmers Market, this venue would run year-round and possibly accommodate a more diverse range of services.
Still, even this idea had its critics.
Some attendees are hoping the space can be converted into a nonprofit resource center or even a shelter to aid dislodged members of the Sonoma community in their times of need.
However, with the city already affording abundant support for the success of many nonprofits here, there is one requirement: this adopted plan would absolutely have to generate cash flow.
Victor Conforti, long-time Sonoma resident and the architect responsible for the station’s 1983 renovation, had his own proposition. He suggested that the building and 18,375-square-foot property be used as a Green Resource Center. “This would involve securing tenants who offer green products and services and providing educational demonstrations for the public,” he stated in his proposal letter. “This could include ‘green’ builders, design professionals…solar lighting, energy efficient appliances…etc.”
These “green” businesses would share a commercial lease through the city. The idea seems well grounded in the environmental plight of a not so distant future.
Still, with the meeting a mere primer for more deliberation to follow, the city is sure to receive further ideas. Be it a parking lot or an open market, the logistics of any winning proposal will take root in a creative development phase, a stage the city hopes to have reached by August, when a meeting will be held to officially adopt a plan. At this early point, every idea has a fighting chance.
