SCROLL DOWN the page to read updates, calendar items, important announcements and documents, etc. Items are posted from top to bottom in chronological order.
This fight is not over!
Planning Commission Approves SDC Specific Plan and EIR. What’s Next?
The County Planning Commission, on a vote of 4 - 1, recommended approval of the proposed SDC Specific Plan on Monday, November 7. Commissioner Greg Carr, representing Sonoma Valley, was the only “no” vote. Commissioner Carr noted practically unanimous public opposition and a highly flawed Final Environmental Impact Report as reasons influencing his vote.
While a few changes were made to the plan, the buildout numbers remain the same - 1,000 homes and 900+ jobs. The Board of Supervisors will consider the Planning Commission recommendations at a hearing on Friday, Dec. 16 (details and links to follow as the date approaches).
WHAT’S NEXT?
The recommendations from the Planning Commission now go to the Board of Supervisors for final adoption/approval. There are 3 possible outcomes at the BOS:
Note: The Board of Supervisors has an agreement with the State to complete the Specific Plan process by the end of the year. Given the timeline, which of the 3 outcomes below do you see as most likely?
1. The BOS certifies the final EIR as being “adequate” and approves the SDC Specific Plan as recommended by 4 of the Planning Commissioners. (likely)
2. The BOS makes changes to the scale of the SDC Specific Plan and/or the policies in the plan, based on public comments. This action would not require changes to the EIR, since the EIR included evaluation of a scaled-down alternative. (possible but not likely, given the Planning Commission recommendation)
3. The BOS requests staff to make changes to the EIR (and possibly changes to the SDC Specific Plan), in which case the BOS would have to wait for those changes to be made before approving the plan. (highly unlikely)
Once the BOS certifies the EIR and adopts/approves the SDC Specific Plan, there is a 30-day time limit for someone or some entity to file a law suit with the County on the inadequacy of the Final EIR. In order to file a lawsuit, the entity or person must have submitted comments on the EIR.
Submit comments to the BOS in advance of the 12/16 hearing, which will be a ZOOM meeting. As mentioned above, details and links will be available on eldridgeforall.org as the date approaches!
10/26/22: SVCAC rEjects FEIR!
A bit of good news...
On 10/26, the Sonoma Valley Citizens Advisory Commission (SVCAC) unanimously rejected Permit Sonoma's proposed plan of 1000 homes and 900+ jobs and recommended approval of the scaled-down/environmentally superior Historic Preservation Alternative (HPA). Commissioners rejected the plan on the basis of a faulty Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR), citing concerns regarding impacts on wildlife, traffic, evacuation times, and water usage. Commissioners also questioned Permit Sonoma's assertion that the preferred plan is the only economically feasible option.
The SVCAC's unanimous recommendations shine a glimmer of hope on what has, thus far, been a demoralizing and depressing process; Commissioners deserve a big THANK YOU for acknowledging widespread community concerns. HOWEVER, the SVCAC is advisory only. The Planning Commission will be making a recommendation on the Specific Plan to the Board of Supervisors and is NOT required to follow the SVCAC recommendation. This is why it's critical to continue to participate in the process. The Board of Supervisors is the ultimate decision-maker on the proposed plan.
The next Planning Commission meeting on the SDC is scheduled for Thursday, Nov. at 1:00. Click HERE to join the zoom meeting.
Alert! SDC Final Environmental Impact Report
SDC Final Environmental Impact Report
10/18/22: Permit Sonoma releases the SDC FEIR. Despite hundreds of comments and concerns expressed about the size of the proposed SDC Specific Plan, the size and scale remain unchanged. The FEIR remains inadequate. The County has been unyielding in addressing the myriad of public concerns.
Click on the button below to read changes made to the Draft EIR.
DGS moves ahead with RFP despite county delays
Why people protested at the SDC on June 6
Read about the June 6 protest in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat: https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/news/protest-in-glen-ellen-over-sdc-redevelopment/
June 7: Reasons for Protest
Seeing that 1) the Specific Plan Draft EIR (Environmental Impact Report) hasn’t been released (coming out sometime in late July); and 2) consequently, the public has not had an opportunity to provide input on it (two steps necessary to finalizing the SDC Specific Plan), it is truly shocking that on May 17 the CA Department of General Services (DGS) released its Request For Proposal (RFP). Why? Because DGS is now asking developers to prepare bids to purchase the 180-acre core campus with no concrete project description, no comprehensive site plan (which should have been part of the Notice of Preparation for the required environmental impact report per CEQA), no public comment on the Draft EIR, and no real guarantees that SDC open space will remain in the public trust or even open to the public.
What does this mean? It means developers are left to come up with their own plans with NO PUBLIC INPUT. The state’s Request for Proposals (RFP) outlines expectations from potential buyers and overlapping timelines that undermine Sonoma County’s specific planning process, which remains incomplete. This means public comment received so far by Sonoma County — all of our input into what was touted as a community-driven process — won’t be finalized and incorporated into plans before a developer is chosen by the state prior to adoption of the specific plan. The RFP does not specify how the ~750 acres of open space that surround the core, which elected officials and bureaucrats have always promised would be preserved as public parkland, will be dealt with. The fate of the SDC’s precious natural resources - and public access to those resources - remains in limbo.
In light of this total breakdown in the SDC Specific Plan process, a small group of community activists called for a peaceful Protest In Support of Stopping the Eldridge Disaster! (PISSED!). Having advocated for years to preserve SDC open space and protect the wildlife corridor from being undermined by overdevelopment of the core campus, organizers of the PISSED! Protest have 4 critical demands of County and State officials:
- Keep our lands in public hands. Transfer SDC open space to State and/or Regional Parks now!
- Regain public trust by honoring promises and respecting the local community’s wishes to have a real say in the process.
- Schedule a community meeting - no more ZOOM - between the local public, stakeholders, State and County officials. It’s high time we gather in person to discuss the particulars.
- Slow the process down. Redevelopment of the SDC is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. We need to get this right!
Approximately 75 people attended the PISSED! Protest on Monday, June 6 at 12:30pm on the SDC campus at the main entrance to the SDC (intersection of Arnold Drive and Harney). Protesters gathered on the day DGS had invited interested developers to tour the SDC property.
HOT OFF THE PRESS. READ ALL ABOUT IT!
Tracy Salcedo has written an excellent article, Focus on the SDC: Open space and the public trust, explaining why the DGS Request For Proposal (RFP) constitutes a betrayal of the public trust and paves the way for all of the SDC land - core campus and open space - to forever be removed from public ownership. Christian Kallen further details problems with the RFP in his article, Sonoma Developmental Center up for sale. You'll find these two articles in the Kenwood Press (June 1, 2022). Read them!
BY THE WAY...
The official website for the SDC Specific Plan (www.sdcspecificplan.com) has a page where all official documents are supposed to be posted. According to the website, documents are routinely posted at the TOP of the Documents page in the order they are released to the public. Hence, the most recent docs can, in theory, be found at the top of page. HOWEVER, to date, the DGS RFP (May 17, 2022) has been buried at the very BOTTOM of the sdcspecificplan.com DOCUMENTS page as the last item in Background Documents, which date back to 2015. The RFP has been out for an entire two weeks. Hard to believe that burying it in such an unlikely location could be a simple mistake. Update: As of several days ago, the DGS RFP is now accessible on the sdcspecificplan.com HOME page.
WANT TO KNOW MORE? Listen to THE FATE OF SDC RADIO SHOW: https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/archives.ksvy.org/KSVY_2022-06-03__16_00_01.mp3
Summary of 11.14.20 Virtual community Workshop #1
Click on the link below to read a summary of the November 14, 2020 virtual community workshop hosted by Dyett and Bhatia and Sonoma County.
Important Developments 2019 - 2020
Eldridge Visioning Workshop Summary Report
Eldridge Visioning Workshop Summary Report
Eldridge Visioning Workshop Summary Report
Read the Summary Report from the June 15, 2019 Eldridge Visioning Workshop held at Hanna Boys Center and hosted by the SDC Coalition. You can find the full report on our "Downloads" page.
SDC PAT
Eldridge Visioning Workshop Summary Report
Eldridge Visioning Workshop Summary Report
The SDC Planning Advisory Team has been selected. Follow this link to read member bios:
SDC Specific Plan and Program EIR
Eldridge Visioning Workshop Summary Report
SDC Specific Plan and Program EIR
Dyett & Bhatia, a San Francisco-based urban and regional planning consulting firm, has been hired by Sonoma County to help prepare the SDC Specific Plan and Program Environmental Impact Report: http://dyettandbhatia.com
Reach out too the Board of Supervisors - NOW!
On Monday Nov. 7, the Planning Commission approved the SDC Specific Plan and Final EIR. The final decision on moving forward with this flawed plan that will undoubtedly have huge impacts throughout Sonoma Valley is in the hands of our Board of Supervisors. Please reach out to the entire BOS - even if you have done so already - and let them know you support the SCALED DOWN and environmentally superior Historical Preservation Alternative. What’s the point? We are building a record for the future. Hang in there. This fight is not over!!!