Save the SDC land
Reader Opinion by Bean Anderson —
The talk at the recent Glen Ellen Fair was all about the bold new proposal to transfer the lands of the Sonoma Developmental Center (SDC) to a new Community Services District, and for that district to control and manage projects and development at SDC for today and far into the future. The result would be that the land stays in public hands in perpetuity, and the local community would have a significant voice in deciding what projects to undertake.
Here’s how it will be done: The community’s proposal caps housing at 470 units, almost all of which will be truly affordable. That is: police officers, teachers, nurses, fire fighters, construction workers, and EMTs will all be able to afford the new housing. The open space will remain open and untouched. The wildlife and riparian corridors will be carefully protected. And the history of the SDC will be preserved and respected by creating a museum and by restoring and repurposing many of the existing buildings for housing, job training, health facilities, and shops. Finally, the district will provide services to all areas in the district outside of SDC such as parks, hiking trails, town centers, bike trails, etc.
Called “A Proposal for the Next 100 Years,” the community’s proposal creates the Sonoma Mountain Community Services District which would manage the land and all projects in the district. At the same time, the proposal creates a Community Trust that will be staffed by experts who will develop guidance and policies for the district in order to truly meet the diverse needs of the community and the environment while being respectful of the long history of SDC.
The California Department of General Services recently received three proposals. Two were from large developers who hope to make a significant profit with the site. But if the land is sold to private developers, the community would have no say in the projects, and the developers would have only the County’s zoning rules to contend with. Currently, the County’s plans include 1000+ homes, almost none of which would be affordable by essential workers in our community, and a hotel that will produce jobs that will likely not pay its workers enough to live in the area. In addition, an essential wildlife corridor which has a “pinch point” in the SDC would be further squeezed and disrupted by human activity, fencing, pets, and lighting.
Finally, while they say the open space will be protected, the actual regulations allow activities such as farming, fencing the land, and tasting rooms in the open space.
Permit Sonoma has created an Historic Alternative Plan which it recognized as the “superior environmental alternative” in its Draft EIR. That alternative was much more in line with the community’s vision, but eventually it was replaced in favor of its current Preferred Plan. Scale is the issue.
It is time for the County to adopt the Historic Alternative and make it their Preferred Plan.
And we urge the State to adopt the community’s “Next 100 Years Plan” as the best way to scale the future uses of the SDC to best serve the people of Sonoma Valley and to protect the wildlife and environment for now and long into the future. You can read the proposal on EldridgeForAll.org/proposals.
Bean Anderson is chair of the Sonoma Mountain Community Services District Organizing Committee
