The difference between a park and a white elephant was taken up Wednesday night by the Sonoma City Council – and may be decided in part by the Sonoma Ecology Center.
“The city gets gifts, and as bizarre as it sounds we can’t afford them,” said Mayor Joanne Sanders.
At issue was the six-acre Seventh Street East parcel known officially as the Bond Property and affectionately as the Sonoma Garden Park. Bequeathed to the city in 1977 by Pauline Bond on the condition that the property remain a public park, the land contains a 1920s-era house and detached garage. Since 1993, the property, now an educational garden, has been leased to the Sonoma Ecology Center for an annual fee of $1.
City employee Dave Chavoya rented the house for the past 30 years. He recently moved out, and a subsequent survey by the city’s Building Official said the house should remain unoccupied until the usual old-home problems – dry rot, cracked foundation, and mold – could be dealt with.
The council discussed various options – raze or rehabilitate the home, or sell it after subdividing the property. City Attorney Tom Curry pointed out that the terms of Bond’s will made the latter difficult.
“The conditions on the gift have to be addressed – we can’t ignore them,” Curry said. “…They could renovate the house, but it could not be a private residence.”
The Sonoma Ecology Center has long had an interest in renovating the house and making it an official part of the Garden Park. “We really need to know a lot before we can do anything, and we’re hoping this is an opening conversation,” said center director Richard Dale.
After some further discussion, the council unanimously passed Councilmember Steve Barbose’s motion to have a volunteer contractor from the Ecology Center conduct a full assessment and report back to the council at a future meeting
