As I write my column today about the Sonoma Developmental Center (SDC), I am aware that Permit Sonoma plans to publish a Notice of Preparation (NOP) for responsible agencies and interested parties to provide comments on what should be included in the Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the project.
The NOP was scheduled for August 15, and is intended describe the project that will be analyzed in the EIR. I assume that those of us who live and work in the Sonoma Valley are “interested parties”, which I will refer to as “we”.
We will have 30 days to submit our comments. Any comments submitted in the past are going in the waste basket. We must read this document and comment on what is in it, in a very specific manner. Keep in mind, we have the very same developer, Eldridge Renewal LLC, run by Keith Rogal, and the very same consulting firm, Dyett and Bhatia, that gave us the now-discredited and dumped original EIR. We are back at square one, we are starting over.
A small group of concerned community members attended a presentation by Keith Rogal at the Santa Rosa East West Rotary Club. Mr. Rogal gave a glowing presentation of his plan for SDC. When asked why he submitted a Builder’s Remedy application for 1,000 housing units, rather than the 620 (plus density bonus) approved by County Supervisors, it was reported that he said something to the effect of, “county staff urged him to, so that he would have the right to build 1,000 units.”
It appears that Mr. Rogal likes to tout his project to groups outside of the Sonoma Valley, to give the appearance that he is engaging with the community. It also appears that we should all be asking him, who at the county urged him to go after the Builder’s Remedy. I wish this Rotary Club meeting had been recorded.
So where do we go from here? I wrote my first column about SDC in 2021. I have attended sham meetings conducted by Dyett and Bhatia for years. I have filled out questionnaires where we were not given the choice of “none of the above.” I have written dozens of e-mails to the County that are now in the SDC waste basket.
So how do we in the Sonoma Valley get our voices heard? This should not be about dollars, it should be about what is best for the environment and the future of those who live and work in this valley. It seems we are starting over, with the cards stacked against us.
We have a new supervisor, Rebecca Hermosillo. It is my hope that she will see that SDC is the most critical part of our valley’s future. She must hear us. And we need the rest of the Board of Supervisors to hear us this time around.
In many ways the cards are still stacked against us. When I asked supervisor Hermosillo about what we can expect in community engagement, her response was, “We can’t have many town halls due to Builders’ Remedy limiting our public meetings to five. But we will have one town hall, it will be tied to a joint Springs and North Sonoma Valley MAC (Municipal Advisory Council) and the Sonoma Valley Citizens Advisory Council meeting. I have asked that as many of the meetings as we can be are held in the valley. That includes our board meetings, planning commission, historic design etc.”
Well August 15 has come and gone and we are still waiting for the 30 day scoping period to begin for us to weigh in. Be sure to sign up for Eldridge for All’s news letters so you can stay informed.
At present this is what they have and will update us when it finally happens:
“The County re-hired consultant Dyett & Bhatia, and environmental review will soon begin on the “Specific Plan with a Builder’s Remedy overlay.” Stay tuned for information on opportunities for public input during the EIR 30-day Public Scoping Period anticipated to begin in mid-August. Detailed instructions will soon be posted here on the ALERTS page.”
30 day public scoping begins now, September 29.. For all info go to https://eldridgeforall.org/ and click on the link to the latest news letter. Be sure to read, be sure to get you comments in.