Eldridge For All - Save Our Space
archived proposals
SCROLL DOWN to read Archived Proposals. Inclusion of any and all content on this page is for the sole purpose of making it available to the public. New proposals submitted to DGS will be posted as soon as 1) proposal authors submit them to Eldridge For All, or 2) they become part of the public record.
Click HERE to read The Next 100 Years at SDC proposal.
On 9/12/22, private citizens submitted to DGS a California Public Records Act Request for review copies of all documents and proposals submitted in response to the Request for Proposals (RFP No. AMB 2022-05-17) for purchase and redevelopment of the surplus Sonoma Developmental Center property in Eldridge, California. The right to review proposals submitted to DGS is specified on page 22 of the Request for Proposals released May 17, 2022.
September 23, 2022: DGS denies Public Records At Request. Read DGS response below.
9/18/22: The following proposals were submitted to Eldridge For All over the course of several years prior to release of the SDC Specific Plan and Draft EIR. They are the work product of individuals, nonprofits, and interested groups. They are being retained here for archival purposes.
SDC Campus Project
Local Citizens Propose Reuse of Existing SDC Buildings
- The SDC Campus Project proposes adaptive reuse of five of the existing residential buildings on the site as low income affordable housing as soon as possible and as the property is redeveloped. Minimum wage earners, many of our essential workers, do not qualify for current affordable housing projects. They are below the 30 to 60% of AMI that is required. This project supplies that housing.
- This plan calls for five of the former residential units on the south/east side of the campus to be converted to that use. The Cohen and Malone residences are representative of an H-style building that would be converted into co-housing. Fourteen large, separate apartments with private half-baths would be located in three wings, with an ADA shower room down the hall, which is shared by three apartments. The remaining wing includes a laundry room, kitchen, dining hall, and rooms for libraries and reading rooms, exercise, yoga, and music studios, etc.
- Outside, lawns surrounding the buildings would be converted into organic food and pollinator gardens.
- Sustainable agriculture is a major element with organic food crops grown in the SE corner of the east open space, which is historic SDC agriculture land. This incorporates job creation, community food security, and carbon sequestration and reduction among its goals. Regional Parks has incorporated agriculture into its parks before.
- Rent would be scaled based on income and managed by a non-profit agency. Funding for building conversion comes from state and federal agencies.
- Another benefit is preservation of the distinctive architecture of the buildings and respect for the historic legacy of SDC.
new town development
Victor Gonzalez is a developer and a member of the PAT.
- The New Town plan, as proposed by Victor Gonzalez, calls for development of 600 to 700 housing units, including affordable housing, and sets aside a pocket of the campus for a 100-room boutique hotel.
- The map below reveals a concentration of multifamily housing on the east side of Arnold Drive in duplex clusters and single family dwellings on medium-sized lots. On the west side, duplex clusters, housing in renovated buildings, and single family dwellings on small, medium, and large lots are mixed with other uses.
- New Town designates about ~315,000 square feet of existing and new buildings as commercial, hospitality, and institutional space, where the hotel, retail outlets, artists’ studios, and community services for residents would be accommodated.
- With a nod to open space and historical values, New Town sets aside ~50 acres within the campus as open space setbacks to minimize impacts on the wildlife corridor and Sonoma Creek.
- The plan includes a road connecting the campus to Highway 12 to help alleviate both traffic and emergency evacuation concerns.
- Gonzalez believes New Town represents a financially feasible plan that could be attractive to a savvy developer able to deal with the major expense of upgrading aging and failing infrastructure.
For a more detailed discussion of the New Town plan, read Tracy Salcedo's article, Focus on SDC: Three groups create proposals with housing front and center, published in the Kenwood Press on Oct. 1, 2021.
California Equestrian Park & Events Center
CEPEC
The original CEPEC proposal for use of Sonoma Developmental Center land was submitted to the State of California in 2015 and updated in 2017. Click on this button to read the 2019 amended proposal. It is too long to post here as a pdf.
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2/10/25: VOTMA releases SAFE Study
Click on the button below to read the Sonoma Area Fire Evacuation Study and accompanying materials.