Springs update: historic preservation, roads tax

The Sonoma League for Historic Preservation is turning its sights on the Springs and is in the process of establishing a Springs Advocacy Committee.

About a year ago I was recruited to join the League’s Board of Directors, as board members thought the League needed to do more to follow its mission outside the city limits. The League’s mission is to educate, promote interest in and advocate for the preservation of historic buildings, neighborhoods, and landscapes in the City of Sonoma and Sonoma Valley.

Incoming 2015 League president Robert Demler asked me last month if I would chair a new Springs Advocacy Committee to identify properties of historic significance and then outreach to owners encouraging them to maintain their properties’ historic integrity. My goal is to get the committee and its work started, then eventually pass the torch.

I have been gathering up the historic resources surveys that were done for the Highway 12 project and for the creation of the former Springs Redevelopment Area. A historic resources survey conducted in 1984 identified a number of properties that at that time potentially qualified for the National Register of Historic Places. Sadly, most of those structures have been so significantly altered or worse, they’re gone altogether, that they no longer qualify for historic status. That is why work to educate property owners, and the broader community, about the value of maintaining historic structures is needed in order to save what we have left.

If you are interested in participating on the League’s Springs Advocacy Committee please contact me. My e-mail is at the end of this column. For more information about the Sonoma League for Historic Preservation and to download a membership form, visit sonomaleague.org. You must become a member to serve on a League committee.

Will roads tax benefit the Springs?

In my August column I said neighborhood roads throughout the Springs would benefit from the proposed 1/4 cent sales tax slated to go before the voters next year. My assessment was based on a tax that would last 20 years.

However, the Board of Supervisors last month decided to start with a tax measure that would last only five years. Apparently, polling done by business groups that organize and fund the campaigns for transportation tax measures, found that voters don’t trust local government to spend the money as intended. So the supervisors decided it was necessary to start with a short-term tax to prove they and other local officials can be trusted. At the end of five years, they’ll return to the voters to seek reauthorization of the tax for a longer period. The tax is estimated to raise $20 million a year with $8.7 million going to the county and the rest to the nine cities.

The proposed sales tax is a general tax, meaning it technically could be used for any local government purpose. Therein lies the issue with trust. The supervisors prefer a general tax ballot measure, because it only takes a simple majority to pass. A specific tax, which specifies what the revenue will be spent on, requires a two-thirds majority to pass.

The supervisors also pushed the road taxes’ special election to June 2, instead of March 4, and dropped the companion advisory measure that would have outlined how the tax revenue was to be spent. The dual measure process was deemed to be too confusing to voters, based on information from the polling.

While I believe we’ll see some neighborhood road repairs in the Springs over that five years, I think the improvements will be modest. Which individual roads will get fixed is unknown, as the supervisors said they would make those decisions annually. They plan to use a yet-to-be-determined framework to guide their decisions. However, I’ve watched the Board of Supervisors enough to know that politics often trumps policy. Neighborhood roads occupied by residents who know how to organize to lobby county supervisors will likely have the best chance of getting fixed.

I will write more about the tax measure, and my position on it, as the election gets closer.

Gina Cuclis has been a resident and community activist in Boyes Hot Springs since 1990. She also represents Sonoma Valley on the Sonoma County Board of Education. Reach her at [email protected].