City Council & Planning Commission General Plan Update and Study Session – June 5, 2024, 5p.m.
Sonoma’s City Council and Planning Commission will convene a special joint meeting on Wednesday, June 5, 2024 in the City Council Chambers, 177 First Street West, at 5:00 p.m. to discuss the General Plan update process, what has been accomplished so far and what steps remain to be addressed.
This is a public meeting and there will be an opportunity for the public to weigh-in on the topics covered.
Per the staff report for the meeting:
The City’s General Plan was last comprehensively updated in 2006. The Circulation Element was updated in 2017 and the Housing Element was adopted and certified by the Department of Housing and Community Development this year. Since 2006, a number of new state law requirements have been enacted that will be addressed in the Elements of the General Plan update including:
- Climate change and resiliency
- Environmental justice
- Wildfire risk
- ‘Urban/wildland interface
- Flooding
- Complete streets
- Transportation impact metrics (vehicle miles traveled).
Given changing economic conditions, climate change, housing conditions, and new State requirements, this General Plan update also provides an opportunity for the City to reaffirm and identify new goals to guide growth in the community through the year 2045.
On October 11, 2024 the City Council held a special meeting with the Planning Commission to kick-off the General Plan process. General Plan Update Process
The General Plan update process includes three phases:
- Phase 1: Establish Baseline Conditions and Community Priorities (Summer 2023 – Winter 2024) – This phase includes public engagement, visioning workshops and community survey; identification of key opportunities and challenges; and the completion of existing conditions report and a community outreach and vision report. COMPLETE
- Phase 2: Land Use Alternatives, Policy Options, General Plan Update (Winter 2024 – Fall 2024) – Includes preparation and evaluation of land use alternatives; update of General Plan Element goals and policies; public engagement; and City Council and Planning Commission meetings. CURRENT PHASE
- Phase 3: Environmental Review and Final General Plan (Fall 2024 – Spring 2025) – The last phase includes the development of the initial study, scoping meeting and drafting of the environmental impact report; public engagement; City Council and Planning Commission meetings for the adoption of the General Plan and implementation plan.
This General Plan process will update all existing elements (except the Housing Element recently adopted and certified by HCD), including the introduction of new topics including historic and archeological resources, equity, sustainability and climate change, and parks, open space and recreation.
Existing Conditions Report
The consultant, as part of Phase 1, prepared the draft existing conditions report. This document provides an overview of Sonoma’s physical, environmental, economic, and demographic setting, as of October 2023 and will provide the environmental baseline setting for the General Plan EIR. The report is separated into nine topic areas and is available on the project website: https://sonomacity.generalplan.org/documents-maps.
Community Engagement Summary
From November 2024 to February 2024 the City held or participated in 11 community engagement activities. In addition, Stakeholder Interviews were held with local and regional agencies and an online survey was circulated with 181 responses received. A full summary of the community workshops, stakeholder interviews, and online survey results are available in the Community Engagement Summary on the project website: https://sonomacity.generalplan.org/documents-maps.
Common themes included:
- Challenges related to housing affordability
- How to attract and retain a diverse array of businesses and jobs
- Importance of maintaining safe community Improve walkability and bikeability
- Emphasis on social equity and environmental stewardship
General Plan Update Task Force
On September 18, 2023, the City Council created a General Plan Update Task Force (Task Force) to ensure our diverse community needs and vision for the future are being heard and incorporated to the extent possible. The Task Force will act in an advisory capacity and meet on an as needed basis throughout the process to provide input to decision-making bodies such as the Planning Commission and the City Council. The Task Force will be meeting through out the three phases to review the information provided, participate in the community engagement activities, and review and review and comment on the goals, objectives and policies for each Element of the plan.
Since its creation, the Task Force has met four times and participated in many of the same activities as the public and have had opportunities for more specific discussions about general plans and city/individual needs.
City Council and Planning Commission Direction
At the study session Councilmembers and Commissioners will have an opportunity to provide direction on Land Use Map refinements. Here are the questions for discussion. Are there specific themes or strategies that should be explored as part of the General Plan Update.
- Increasing residential densities?
- Encouraging new jobs-generating uses in economic sectors beyond retail, wineries, hotels, and tourism?
- Is it safe to assume that all parcels designated Park and Hillside should be protected and maintained as-is?
- Are there areas of the City where the land use designations should be modified?
- Are there new, or revised, land use designations that should be considered?
- Other thoughts and input?
Next Steps
The project team will begin working on Land Use Map refinements with the General Plan Update Task Force and return to City Council and Planning Commission with a Draft Land Use Map for review that will be presented to the public to gather any additional input from the community. Environmental Review: This action is exempt from the environmental review under CEQA Guidelines Section 15306, which exempts data collection and research. The action before the City Council is to provide input or further direction, as appropriate, which may inform how future work will be conducted. Environmental review for the General Plan will be considered separately and for any resulting future pro
