Support the Sonoma Area Fire Evacuation Study
SDC PROJECT APPLICATION CONFIRMS COMMUNITY CONCERNS
SDC PROJECT APPLICATION CONFIRMS COMMUNITY CONCERNS
The Valley of the Moon Alliance (VOTMA) has commissioned KLD Associates, an internationally recognized engineering firm with extensive experience in evacuation analysis, to conduct the Sonoma Area Fire Evacuation Study of a large portion of Sonoma Valley.
An important component of the SAFE Study is an anonymous survey (one per household, also available in Spanish) that will help KLD understand what your needs and responses will be during a wildfire evacuation. If you live in the study area bordered to the north by Oakmont, south by Petaluma Ave, and the hills on either side of Highway 12, your help is needed. Please click on the button below to take the 5 minute survey. The SAFE Study is already under way and is scheduled to be completed by late September of this year. Your survey data is needed right now.
Survey data will be added to information about road conditions, census population, schools, and other facilities where evacuation assistance might be needed. The study area does not currently include the City of Sonoma, but Sonoma’s effect on evacuation in the study area will be incorporated.
The SAFE Study is not an evacuation plan; it’s a study of how much time residents will need to evacuate various neighborhoods in the Valley. In addition, it will model the inclusion of new development projects (the former Sonoma Developmental Center, the Hanna Center, and others) and their cumulative impact on evacuation times. Residents and officials need reliable information about the potential effects of these developments, especially when emergency evacuations are concerned.
The Valley of the Moon Alliance is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation. If you are able to contribute to the funds needed to complete the study, CLICK HERE.
SDC PROJECT APPLICATION CONFIRMS COMMUNITY CONCERNS
SDC PROJECT APPLICATION CONFIRMS COMMUNITY CONCERNS
SDC PROJECT APPLICATION CONFIRMS COMMUNITY CONCERNS
February 28, 2024. Sonoma County Tomorrow and SCALE, Sonoma County Advocates for a Liveable Environment, a coalition including Sonoma Mountain Preservation, Eldridge for All, the Glen Ellen Historical Society, and the Valley of the Moon Alliance, urge concerned Sonoma Valley and Sonoma County residents to participate in the upcoming County review of the February 20 application filed by the developer to redevelop the former Sonoma Development Center (SDC).
The public is encouraged to comment on the oversized development proposal for the SDC by developer Keith Rogal under the recently created Eldridge Renewal LLC. Sonoma County Tomorrow and SCALE urge Sonoma County residents to participate in the County review of the development application, which exceeds the out-of- scale project allowed by the County in its SDC Specific Plan.
The developer asks for approvals of a “major subdivision” and “design review” at the SDC site, currently owned by the State of California. He is proposing 400,000 square feet of commercial space — including a 150-room hotel and conference center — and 930 residential units, of which only 123 units (13%) are designated affordable rentals.
“The project is far beyond the capacity of the site and will create a host of unaddressed environmental problems, as well as seriously increase wildfire evacuation risk,” said SCALE spokesperson Alice Horowitz. “It will triple the size of Glen Ellen without providing adequate infrastructure for emergency evacuation and traffic. In addition, Eldridge Renewal proposes large-scale commercial uses, including a resort hotel, which will cause irreparable harm to the critical wildlife corridor.”
Key concerns cited by SCALE and Sonoma County Tomorrow include:
- The lack of a wildfire evacuation plan and flawed environmental analysis, which grossly underestimates emergency evacuation times, putting nearby communities at risk.
- The negative cumulative impacts on the entirety of Sonoma Valley caused by the SDC project, coupled with other large proposed development projects in the Valley, including a massive residential and commercial project at the Hanna Center; the Elnoka Project north of Oakmont at Melita; Kenwood Ranch, opposite Lawndale Road in Kenwood; the Verano Hotel and Housing Project at the junction of Highway 12 and Verano Avenue; the new Siesta Senior Housing Development in Boyes Hot Springs; and the Springs Specific Plan.
- The siting of a four-story hotel and conference center within and adjacent to the Sonoma Valley Wildlife Corridor in a hillside location that is not consistent with the Specific Plan and will require massive grading. The failure to conform to the Specific Plan, minimize construction impacts, and create a permeable site plan to allow for critical wildlife movement are major concerns.
- The absence of sufficient dedicated land in an appropriate location to meet Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities housing needs, as called for in the state legislation.
- There is no commitment or requirement to build housing before the hotel and commercial property.
- The lack of sufficient affordable housing, failing even to meet California minimum requirements that 25% of new housing units be affordable.
“Affordable housing is critical for our community, and the paltry number designated in the developer’s plan is completely unacceptable,” said Horowitz.
Last year, SCALE and Sonoma County Tomorrow filed a lawsuit in Sonoma County Superior Court challenging approval of the County environmental impact report associated with the SDC Specific Plan, which failed to address numerous environmental problems. The lawsuit is pending. Public comments on the application can be sent to Permit Sonoma, PlanningAgency@sonoma-county.org.
The application can be found here: https://parcelsearch.permitsonoma.org/parcelreport?APN=054-090-001&PN=PLP24-0005&RP=permitSearch.
SHARE YOUR COMMENTS WITH DECISION MAKERS
Read Comment Letter from Sonoma Mountain Preservation
Read Comment Letter from Sonoma Mountain Preservation
Sending Comments: Please send in your comments on the Rogal proposal to the County PRMD by March 20, if you want them to be considered as part of the County’s “completeness” review. These comments can be cc’d to the state but it would be even better to write separate letters to the state (especially to Jason Kenney, Chief Deputy Director at DGS - jason.kenney@dgs.ca.gov) regarding their support of a development proposal that is in direct conflict with the Specific Plan.
Suggested Items to Address
- Items missing in the application (i.e., housing for individuals with developmental disabilities - IDD).
- Elements inconsistent with the Specific Plan (i.e., the hotel).
- How is the water treatment plant going to be re-habbed?
- What is the phasing? Will the hotel be built first, with no housing?
- When will roadway improvements be implemented?
- How long will demolition and construction occur?
In addition to the items above, WILDFIRE EVACUATION, SAFETY CONCERNS, AND A LACK OF CONSIDERATION OF CUMULATIVE IMPACTS FROM HANNA AND OTHER PROJECTS THROUGHOUT SONOMA VALLEY ARE VERY IMPORTANT! Mentioning the omissions in the Specific Plan and flawed environmental analysis as above are critical elements to include in your comments.
Permit Sonoma
PlanningAgency@sonoma-county.org
Sonoma County Board of Supervisors
david.rabbitt@sonoma-county.org
Planning Commission
Gorin District 1 Diane Olmstead Diane.Olmstead@sonoma-county.org
Gorin District 1 Greg Carr Greg.Carr@sonoma-county.org
Rabbitt District 2 Patricia Gilardi Pat.Gilardi@sonoma-county.org
Rabbitt District 2 Lawrence Reed Larry.Reed@sonoma-county.org
Coursey District 3 Jacquelynne Ocana Jacquelynne.Ocana@sonoma-county.org
Coursey District 3 Evan Wiig Evan.Wiig@sonoma-county.org
Gore District 4 Shaun McCaffery Shaun.McCaffery@sonoma-county.org
Gore District 4 Kevin A Deas Kevin.Deas@sonoma-county.org
Hopkins District 5 Eric Koenigshofer Eric.Koenigshofer@sonoma-county.org
Hopkins District 5 Webster G Marquez Webster.Marquez@sonoma-county.org
State legislators and aides
Cecilia.Aguiar-Curry@asm.ca.gov
assemblymember.connolly@assembly.ca.gov
Rebecca.Hermosillo@mail.house.gov
DGS:
And a few mailing addresses:
Will Lyons, Planner: Permit Sonoma - 2550 Ventura Ave., Santa Rosa, CA 95403 Assemblymember Damon Connolly - 1021 O Street, Suite 5240, Sacramento, CA 95814 Senator Mike McGuire - 1021 O Street, Suite 8610, Sacramento, CA 95814
Senator Bill Dodd - 1021 O Street, Suite 7610,
Sacramento, CA 95814
Letters to the local press are very helpful too! Keep them to 200 words or less. Key media contacts are included below. Subject line should include “letter to the editor."
Press Democrat
Sonoma Index-Tribune
Reporter Chase Hunter: chase.hunter@sonomanews.com
Kenwood Press
Sonoma Valley Sun
Petaluma Argus-Courier
Sonoma County Gazette
Publisher Amie Windsor: amie@sonomacountygazette.com
North Bay Bohemian (also Healdsburg Tribune)
Rosemary Olsen: rolson@bohemian.com
Read Comment Letter from Sonoma Mountain Preservation
Read Comment Letter from Sonoma Mountain Preservation
Read Comment Letter from Sonoma Mountain Preservation
Click on the button below to read detailed comment letters from Sonoma Mountain Preservation.
Review Eldridge Renewal (Rogal/Grupe) Development Project Application
Review Eldridge Renewal (Rogal/Grupe) Development Project Application
Review Eldridge Renewal (Rogal/Grupe) Development Project Application
The map above is one of many you will find in the SDC Development Permit Application submitted to Permit Sonoma on February 18, 2024 by Keith Rogal on behalf of Eldridge Renewal, LLC.
Rogal & Partners and The Grupe Company were picked by the CA Department of General Services in 2023 as the development team to lead redevelopment of the former Sonoma Developmental Center. The deal is for Rogal/Grupe to buy the 180-acre SDC core campus from DGS and implement the SDC Specific Plan, which was mandated by the state and approved by the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors at the end of 2023. However, Rogal’s plan for the core campus deviates significantly from the final Specific Plan, and even Permit Sonoma is starting to push back. Rogal’s plan for the SDC core campus includes 930 residential units, roughly 400,000 square feet of mixed-use space including a 150-key four-story boutique hotel in the Sonoma Valley Wildlife Corridor, and 2,750 parking spaces. CLICK HERE to access all application documents. For a concise summary, be sure to read the SDC Development Permit Application Cover Letter.
Donate to the SDC Legal Fund
Review Eldridge Renewal (Rogal/Grupe) Development Project Application
Review Eldridge Renewal (Rogal/Grupe) Development Project Application
Every penny of every donation goes directly to paying for the lawsuit. challenging the SDC Specific Plan Environmental Impact Report (EIR). Co-Plaintiffs, SCALE and Sonoma County Tomorrow, Inc. rely entirely on hard working volunteers; no paid staff.
Read Next 100 Years Proposal documents
Review Eldridge Renewal (Rogal/Grupe) Development Project Application
Read Next 100 Years Proposal documents
The Next 100 Years Proposal envisions a future SDC that fits the rural character of Sonoma Valley, keeps the land in public ownership, provides an appropriate scale of affordable housing, and gives the community a voice in its future.
12/3/24: BOS decertifies EIR & sets aside SDC Specific Plan
Board of Supervisors chooses to NOT abandon the SDC Specific Plan comprehensive planning initiative, but there's a catch...