Sonoma County’s planning and development permitting agency, Permit Sonoma, has released three draft land-use alternatives to redevelopment the 900-acre Sonoma Developmental Center near Glen Ellen.
Each alternative plan would transform the shuttered campus, bringing, the County said Tuesday, “significant benefits including affordable housing and diverse living-wage jobs to the community.”
Permit Sonoma will seek community feedback on the alternatives at three upcoming public meetings, beginning with a virtual event on Saturday, Nov. 13 at 10 a.m.
A full list of upcoming meetings, locations and times can be found on at www.sdcspecificplan.com.
“SDC has enormous potential, a once-in-a-generation opportunity.” said Sonoma County Supervisor Susan Gorin, whose district includes the SDC site. “I look forward to a rigorous, constructive conversation about these visionary ideas for what will ultimately be transformative for our region.”
Plans call for between 990 to 1,290 units of housing, creating a walkable community with an emphasis on affordable housing and active transportation to lessen auto use.
Environmental preservation incorporated in the project will protect 700 acres of open space between Jack London State Historic Park and Sonoma Valley Regional Park, add a wildlife corridor and preserve Sonoma Creek and its tributaries. Commercial, recreational and civic spaces will be built for use by residents, employees and the greater Sonoma Valley.
“We are excited for this project to move on to the next phase,” said Sonoma County Supervisor Lynda Hopkins, Chair of the Board of Supervisors. “We are being presented with an opportunity to transform this historical campus into one of three options that would benefit our community as a whole.”
Developed after feedback from the community and technical experts, the plans break down like this:
- Alternative A – Conserve and Enhance: Preserves the most historic buildings while creating low-density housing and the second most jobs of any proposal;
- Alternative B – Core and Community: Creates the most housing units and a walkable mixed-use core;
- Alternative C- Renew: Creates a regional innovation hub bringing the most jobs of any proposal, neighborhood agriculture, open space preservation and housing units to support these uses.
Now empty and in disrepair, the SDC provided services to people with developmental disabilities for more than 120 years and at one time was the County’s largest employer.
The State of California closed the facility in 2018 and relocated clients to smaller, community-based care facilities. The 945-acre property includes a large historic campus, agricultural lands to the east, and vast ecological and open space resources.
The State of California owns the site and has charged Sonoma County with planning, and eventually paying for, future development on tyhe site.
The arrangement represents the first time the California State Legislature has delegated land use planning responsibility to a local agency for the redevelopment of a State psychiatric facility.
State law requires the redevelopment to prioritize housing, especially affordable housing and housing for people with developmental disabilities. The legislation also mandates open space dedication, employment and community engagement.
Now is the time to play hard ball with people who want to develop this once in a life time treasure. Affordable housing. Help the worker bees. No Luxurious housing. Be tough and negotiate hard. Hard ball all the way!
They could invest in our challenged citizens and rebuild the Development Center. Mental heath needs attention in our state.
Well here goes the plans for where I worked on and off for almost 50 years. Closed in 2018 after over 120 years of DD services. Everyone has an idea. One would hope DD services of some type would be included in these plans. The land was originally given to the State for that purpose, as I understand it.