A Fourth Iteration of an SDC Development Proposal Was Submitted to Permit Sonoma on February 4th

Without fanfare, on February 4, 2025, Eldridge Renewal, LLC, the company formed by Rogal Development to develop the lands of the Sonoma Developmental Center (SDC), submitted it Fourth proposal. The submission starts the clock on a 30-day period for public response.

A link to their proposal can be found here. The material is extensive, and covers their entire development plan for what amounts to a new, small city with over 3,000 parking spaces.

In their cover letter, the Applicant proposes to redevelop the site with residential, commercial, and institutional uses, as well as public gathering and recreational spaces. In sum, the project includes:

990 residential units with a diverse array of styles of attached and detached residential homes, apartments, cohousing, and independent living residences. The apartments and homes will range from 500 sf to 3,200 sf per unit and 200 of the 990 total units on-site will be affordable to lower income households;

• Approximately 130,000 sf of commercial uses, including office, retail, research and development, micro-manufacturing and other uses that form an active jobs center for the broader Sonoma Valley;
• A 150-room hotel and associated amenities (approximately 120,000 sf in total) with a parking structure;
• Approximately 67 acres of outdoor public parks, active recreational areas, and open space areas including walking trails, sports fields, children’s playgrounds, dog parks, a community center and gym, and riparian corridors;
• Various public infrastructure and utility network improvements;
• Approximately 3,030 parking spaces for automobiles (on-street and off-street) and commensurate outdoor parking spaces for bicycles distributed throughout the site; and
• A designated area for a new fire station and evacuation command center.

The SDC project has been subject to court rulings that invalidated an EIR and portions of the County’s Specific Plan, and the community organization Sonoma Valley Next 100 recently filed a lawsuit asserting that both the State and County exceeded their legal authority in the approval process. A fire evacuation study released by VOTMA indicates that the Valley’s roads are inadequate for the population currently living here, and that the development of SDC will exacerbate the problem. This is developing story, and additional information will be provided as it becomes available.