Sonoma Developmental Center pictures are worth 1,000 words
Following the back-and-forth, up-and-down fortunes of plans for the Sonoma Developmental Center, on Arnold Drive in Glen Ellen, requires patience, time and a long attention span. Sometimes it’s easier to look at pictures.
Above is a map of the existing buildings on the SDC campus. Below is the Rogal plan for the removal of existing buildings and replacement of them with new construction.
At present a Sonoma County Superior Court judge has thrown out the Environmental Impact Report drafted by county consultants as woefully inadequate, along with the County’s Specific Plan. Meanwhile, the chosen developer has employed a legal loophole, called a Builder’s Remedy, to raise the number of housing units on the 180-acre site, from 620 to 930 or more.
Glen Ellen’s 2020 population is listed as 714, in 526 households, with an estimated 1,785 cars. SDC, if the developers’ plans are built out, will have 930 households, a population of 2,232, with 5,580 vehicles. The first image is the SDC campus as it is now, with Sonoma Creek the thin blue line on the right half. The second image is what 930 housing units will look like in the same space. The entire property is a critically sensitive wildlife corridor.
story by David Bolling
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Who is the local cohort at stake?
Glen Ellen stats from 2020 Census, Tract 1505.01, Block Group 3, downtown Glen Ellen:
1,214 people
80% between 50 and 70 years old
93% white, 0% Black, 2% Latino
Per capita income $166,134.
Median household income $250,000; 63% over $200,000
528 households, 631 units
86% owner-occupied, 14% renters
Median home value $1,133,400. 67% over $1 million
100% HS grad, 71.2% Bachelor’s or higher
The local “cohort” will change if SDC is built out as planned. But, it may not change by ratio, in fact it could even make the ratio more tipped toward wealth, it will change only by numbers. If we want the “cohort” ratio to change, then think about Next 100 Years Plan. If the existing buildings were repurposed and used for low to moderate income housing, local businesses, local non profits, education and services we would have a totally different Glen Ellen “cohort” ratio than we do today. And it will be done without ruining our environment and creating a bunch of second homes and a luxury hotel playground for the wealthy.