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SDC plan must address emergency evacuation

Posted on February 14, 2023 by Sonoma Valley Sun

My enthusiastic thank you to the community groups (collectively known as SCALE, Sonoma Community Advocates for a Liveable Environment) and Sonoma County Tomorrow, Inc. that have filed a legal challenge to the Environmental Impact Report for the SDC Specific Plan which was approved by the County Supervisors on December 16, 2022.

Our County Supervisors and Permit Sonoma have failed us by ignoring the fact that climate change is here and the devastating fire seasons make community evacuation a real and significant concern. We now keep go-bags ready throughout the fire season so we can evacuate quickly. ‘Quickly’ has proven to be a challenge in past evacuations due to the volume of traffic and the fact that our only routes are Highway 12 and Arnold Drive, both of which quickly became congested. 

 All cumulative impacts must be studied. The EIR focused only on the proposal to add approximately 2,400 residents and 1,000 workers to the SDC site and claimed the increase in evacuation time would be negligible. Are you kidding me?  If left unchecked, our County is creating conditions for another disaster of humans dying in an effort to evacuate ahead of an advancing wildfire. Is the 2018 Camp Fire in Paradise, CA, already forgotten?

Please lend your support to SCALE and visit scaledownsdc.org and Sonoma County Tomorrow, Inc at sonomacountytomorrow.org. The lives saved by their efforts may be yours.

— Sharon Church, Glen Ellen




Sonoma Sun | Sonoma, CA