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Letter: SDC future deserves community-driven fourth alternative

In the 1870s, Colonel Armstrong set aside an area for a natural park.  In 1917 Sonoma County purchased the property for $80,000.  The State of California opened Armstrong Redwoods State Park in 1936.  THANK GOODNESS.

Local activism in the 1960s stopped the Bodega Bay Nuclear Power Plant from being built two miles west of the San Andreas Fault.  THANK GOODNESS.

In the 1990s, a North Bay International Airport was proposed to be built on Highway 37.  Supervisor Mike Kerns believed the bayside area was best suited for restoration of wetlands habitat.  No airport was built and the wetlands are being restored.  THANK GOODNESS.

In the early 2000’s, Graton Rancheria proposed a casino on an ecological jewel at the gateway to the Sonoma Valley.  Local residents rallied with the “Cows Not Casinos” campaign.  Residents and land use organizations prevailed and saved the land.  THANK GOODNESS.

In 2021, Sonoma County residents, land use and ecology organizations rejected three proposed SDC redevelopment alternatives and created a community-driven fourth alternative to protect the wildlife corridor, character and safety of the Sonoma Valley, and ecological health of the North Bay.

This alternative became a model for visionary planning in the era of climate change.  THANK GOODNESS.

— Sharon Church, Glen Ellen

 

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