you can make a difference!

1. Comments need to be directed to the current Board item at hand – the draft “project description” and staff report. 
2. It's is critical to point out why the current alternative (Eldridge Renewal application) does NOT meet the needs of the community, is NOT responsive to overall Sonoma Valley community input, and is not acceptable.
3. Identify clearly what needs to change in the project description – for one, the overall numbers need to be reduced.  The vast majority of community members and local organizations asked for a substantial reduction in numbers because those numbers result in significant unavoidable impacts.
4. Using a template is not really the way to go.  Form letters don’t usually get any attention from the reviewers. Speak honestly and make a few points clearly.  Several board members have rural communities in their districts.  If you can figure out ways that they can relate to our plight, that would help.  In some sectors, there is a general feeling that Glen Ellen and Kenwood are rich white communities, which is not entirely the case.  The fact that Glen Ellen already houses over 200 apartments on the south side of SDC should count for something, and those residents will be directly impacted by traffic, noise, etc.
5. Comments should be submitted to Permit Sonoma staff working on the campus redevelopment: Project Planner: SDC@sonomacounty.gov
6. Other important links, such as County Supervisors and State Legislators (tough not necessarily for the purposes of Scoping) can be found by clicking on the link below.

This link will take you to the many documents that comprise the most current  version of the Eldridge Renewal application.

Click on the button below for information on the EIR process we posted for the first NOP back in 2022 (a huge thanks to land-use planner Vicki Hill). Seeing that we're now dealing with a "Specific Plan with a Builder's Remedy overlay" - whatever that means, no one really knows as this is a novel concept - there could be some changes, but this is more or less how the process unfolds.

 Scoping comments need to identify specific issues that should be

studied in the EIR. Click on the button below for talking points to get you started. 

The purpose of Scoping is to identify issues that must be addressed in the revised EIR. The Court's final ruling in the SCALE/SCT CEQA lawsuit identifies many of these issues as related to the now decertified first EIR.  Click on the button below to read the final ruling.

For those of you willing to take the deep dive, please read pre-scoping comments recently provided by the Sonoma Land Trust  (in partnership with Sonoma Ecology Center, Audubon Canyon Ranch, and Jack London Park Partners). Note: This letter was prepared by professionals. Seeing that most of us aren't able to generate anything remotely as comprehensive, please know that this document is included here to provide an overview of the many different issues that must be addressed in the EIR.