Sonoma County General Plan Update
Sonoma County is currently in the process of updating its General Plan. The General Plan—updated about once every 15 years—will act as the blueprint for growth and development on county unincorporated land through the year 2020. The General Plan will determine how much growth will occur and whether it will occur on rural lands. This update presents a critical opportunity to advocate for protection of important open space in the county's 900,000 acres of unincorporated land.
Greenbelt Alliance has been closely monitoring and participating in the General Plan update process over the last five years. As the process has moved through the Citizen’s Advisory Committee and Planning Commission, we have focused on the issues of protecting for open space and wildlife habitat, preserving farmland, providing transportation options, and managing water and wastewater. In November 2004, Greenbelt Alliance released a report, Toward a Bright Future: Updating Sonoma County's General Plan, analyzing these critical issues in the plan. While the long timeline has made it difficult for some people to remain engaged in the process, we are continuing to work with partners to mobilize a grassroots coalition to affect these issues.
The Board of Supervisors will begin hearing the General Plan in the spring of 2007. This will be the last chance to ensure a better future for Sonoma County through the General Plan.
What's at Stake
The General Plan is updated only every 15 years. To guide growth and
development in the county, it is crucial to get involved now.
If development is done poorly, it will lead to lost open space, agriculture, and community character, and increased traffic. Done well, development can support the local economy while bringing a higher quality of life to all the county's residents.
It's important for local residents to be involved, to keep the Supervisors accountable to the desires of the community. The decisions that are made in the next year will affect Sonoma County's quality of life long into the future.
What You Can Do
Campaign Updates
January 2008
Deliberations by the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors have begun. With one meeting in December and one in January under their belts, the Supervisors are split about their support for the Greenbelt Alliance platform. Language on package treatment plants was tightened to ensure that these plants do not increase development unanticipated in the General Plan. Language on putting affordable housing close to jobs was weakened, but kept in the plan. The “75% Rule,” which would require that new agricultural processing facilities built on farmlands process at least 75% produce from the local area, failed. Unfortunately, agricultural areas will now be open to development of wineries processing grapes from distant locales. Before the next meeting of the Board, Greenbelt Alliance will apply more pressure to ensure that the remainder of the policies adopted – on energy and climate, water, and open space – are progressive policies that will protect the unincorporated areas from development. Adoption of the final General Plan and Environmental Impact Report is likely to occur in the spring.
November 2007
At an October 9 meeting, Sonoma County Supervisors identified issues that they would like to see revised before the adoption of the final County General Plan. Several of our coalition’s issues were raised, and Greenbelt Alliance continues to advocate for policies that will protect the areas outside the cities and towns from development. Together with urban planner Terry Watt, Greenbelt Alliance and Shute Mihaly and Weinberger submitted a legal letter on the General Plan, outlining the failings of the plan and Environmental Impact Report. The intent of the letter is to push the County toward adopting stronger policies than they seem currently willing to adopt. The Board of Supervisors will begin debating the County General Plan December 11.
November/December 2007
On December 11, the Board of Supervisors began their deliberations
on the County General Plan with non-controversial issue areas. On January
15 at 2:15pm in the Board of Supervisors Chambers in Santa Rosa, the
Board will meet again to being diving into the most important issues
facing our county in the next 20 years: climate change, water supply
availability and cleanliness, protection of farmlands and open space
from development, and many other issues. Greenbelt Alliance and our coalition
partners have actively petitioned the Board throughout the entire six-year
process in order to see strong policies put into place
to protect the quality of life in Sonoma County. On January 15, we
will have the chance to see whether the Board will make the right decisions
for our future.
September 2007
Public hearings before the Board of Supervisors took place in late August
and mid-September. Over the course of nine hearings, the Board took public
comment from a variety of groups. A large number of organizations, representing
diverse interests and geography around the county, spoke together to
support strong policies to protect the climate, water, and land of Sonoma
County, and residents’ quality of life. Written comments on the
General Plan are accepted until 5:00pm on September 28. The Board will
begin deliberations on the General Plan in late October.
August 2007
Crowds turned out in late August to tell the Board of Supervisors to
adopt policies that will limit development in rural areas, ensure clean
and plentiful water supply, and address our community’s contribution
to global climate change. Community members interested in a better future
for Sonoma County spoke in support of Greenbelt Alliance’s policy
platform to address these issues. This platform is now available online (pdf).
See the "What You Can Do" section above for information on
where to submit a letter in support of the platform.
Further meetings will held in mid-September (see below for remaining
schedule). Important issues are at stake that will determine what level
of development
the rural areas of Sonoma County will see over the next two decades.
Policies in the General Plan must be strengthened to ensure that car-dependent
facilities are kept in urban service boundaries, and that farmlands
and open space are protected far into the future.
July 2007
The Planning Commission has finished hearings on the General Plan
and Final Environmental Impact Report. The Draft General Plan is
available
for review here.
Hearings before the Board of Supervisors will take place from August
20 through September 20.
The schedule is as follows:
Note: Hearing dates may change. The telephone hotline at
(707) 565-8354 will be updated as changes are made.
August 20 at the Board of Supervisors’ hearing room*, 1:30
pm – Five Smaller Elements (Noise, Public Safety, etc.)
August 22 at the Board of Supervisors’ hearing room, 1:30 pm – Five Elements, continued
August 27 at the Glaser Center**, 1:30 pm and 6:00 pm, Water Resources
Element
August 29 at the Glaser Center, 6:00 pm – Open Space and Resource
Conservation Element
August 30 at the Board of Supervisors’ hearing room, 1:30 pm – Open Space
and Resource Conservation Element, continued
September 13 at the Board of Supervisors’ hearing room, 6:00 pm - Land Use, Area and Specific Plans
September 19 at the Board of Supervisors’ hearing room, 6:00 pm – Individual Land Use Change Requests
September 20 at the Board of Supervisors’ hearing room, 1:30 pm – Individual Land Use Change Requests,
continued, and finish all other topics
* Board of Supervisors’ hearing room:
575 Administration Drive,
Room 100A
Santa Rosa, CA 95403
** Glaser Center:
547 Mendocino Avenue
Santa Rosa, CA 95401
(inside
the Unitarian Universalist Church)
June 2007
The County Planning Commission is in the final round of deliberations
on several of the elements of the General Plan. In mid-June, the County
will release the Preliminary Final Environmental Impact Report. With
this and the updated version of the Draft General Plan, Greenbelt Alliance
will be able to more accurately assess what policies still need to be
strengthened to mitigate environmental impacts of future development.
Greenbelt Alliance and partners are currently working to ensure that
the public has full opportunity to comment and be involved in the process
as the Board of Supervisors begins hearings and deliberations. Hearings
before the Board are likely to begin in mid-August.
March 2007
The County Planning Commission is in the final round of deliberations
on several of the Elements of the General Plan. Many contentious issues
around water have yet to be resolved, and the Commission is likely
to make recommendations for weak policies. The proposed policies will
not adequately address the degraded state of Sonoma County’s
waterways and the future uncertainty of a plentiful water supply. Local
residents and environmental organizations continue to call for strengthened
protections for the Sonoma County water supply. The Board of Supervisors
is expected to begin holding public hearings on the General Plan in
July. Greenbelt Alliance will be actively advocating for a General
Plan that will preserve the environment of Sonoma County for future
generations.
January 2007
The County Planning Commission is still holding deliberations on several
of the Elements of the General Plan. The Land Use, Open Space and Resource
Conservation, Water, Agricultural Resources, and Air Transportation
Elements still hold many unresolved issues. The Commission’s
deliberations are expected to end sometime in late winter, but the
results of their deliberations are not expected to bring positive outcomes.
Many of the General Plan polices, as proposed by the Commission, would
actually weaken land use regulations, allowing for more potential development
than is currently possible. Environmental and local resident organizations
continue to push for an improved General Plan, despite the discouraging
actions of the Planning Commission on many policies.
December 2006
The Planning Commission has finished receiving public spoken comment
on almost all Elements of the General Plan. Deliberations will continue
into the first few months of 2007, which opportunities for written
comment still possible. The Commission is continuing to consider important
issues such as community separators, urban development guidelines,
plant and animal habitat, and more.
The County’s response to public comments on the Draft Environmental Impact Report is due out in January 2007. The Board of Supervisors will begin hearing the General Plan update sometime in spring 2007.
October 2006
Public comment hearings for the Planning Commission have closed, with
final hearings on the Land Use Element taking place over the last weeks
of October. The Planning Commission will continue to deliberate over
several of the elements for the next couple of months before issuing
their updated version of the draft General Plan. After the Planning
Commission deliberations close, the County Planning and Resource Management
Department will finish their responses to public comments on the
Draft Environmental Impact Report for the draft plan. The Board of Supervisors
will begin hearings on the draft plan after the updated draft EIR is released.
September 2006
At the end of August, after a month of weekly hearings on the Open Space
and Resource Conservation element of the Sonoma County General Plan,
the County Planning Commission rejected (4-1) expanding the Community
Separator designation to more lands in the greenbelts around Sonoma
County’s cities. This proposed expansion would have protected many of the last tracts of farmlands and open space on the cities’ fringes. In the wake of the Planning Commission’s
decision, Greenbelt Alliance will be redoubling its effort to urge
the Board of Supervisors to adopt these protections. The Board will
hear the issue in early 2007. Additionally, public hearings on the
Water Resources Element took place in July. Greenbelt Alliance advocated
for the County to undergo a groundwater assessment and adopt a groundwater
management plan so that adequate water supplies are guaranteed for
new development.
August 2006
Due to a high level of community interest, the Sonoma County Planning
Commission received four weeks of public comment on the Open Space and
Resource Conservation Element of the County General Plan update. Several
important issues were discussed. Private property activists showed up
in huge numbers to protest language in the Draft General Plan on riparian
setbacks to protect water quality. Fortunately, many local residents and
organizations spoke up for better protection of the Community Separators
- the greenbelt areas around cities. Greenbelt Alliance is advocating
for better protections of the Community Separators (Policy Option #3 in
the County staff's General Plan update materials), and also for an expansion
of these areas to include more of the lands on the outskirts of Sonoma
County's cities (Mapping Option #2 in the County staff's General Plan
update materials). The Planning Commission will deliberate on this topic
for the next month or more.
June 2006
The Sonoma County Planning Commission continues to move forward with the
General Plan 2020 update. At their meetings -- every Tuesday evening from
6-9pm at the County offices -- the Commission has heard public comment
on 6 elements: Public Safety, Public Facilities and Services, Noise, Air
Transportation, Circulation and Transit, and the Agricultural Resources
Element. They will be taking a break from mid-June to mid-July, and reopening
on July 18th for public comment on the Open Space and Resource Conservation
Element -- one of Greenbelt Alliance's top priority areas.
May 2006
The Sonoma County Planning Commission is quickly moving forward with their
review of the General Plan 2020 update. The Commission is currently continuing deliberations on the Circulation
& Transit and Agricultural Resources Elements. Greenbelt Alliance
gave testimony on the last two elements. While the stakes are high in
the update process, community involvement had been less than impressive
on the first five elements. However, on May 9, when the Commission took
comments on the Agricultural Resources Element, a large audience was present,
representing diverse sectors of the community. Many community members—from
farmers and rural residents to environmentalists and health advocates—spoke
about the need for policies that promote the preservation of agriculture
and curb residential intrusion into agricultural and rural areas. The
Planning Commission is expected to make decisions on these policies over
the next month.
April 2006
Public hearings on the Sonoma County General Plan kicked off before
the County Planning Commission on March 21. This begins a series of Tuesday
night meetings that will cover the many topics in the General Plan update
over the course of the next several months. The Planning Commission began
with hearings on the Public Safety, Public Services & Facilities,
Air Transportation, and Noise Elements. The elements of concern to Greenbelt
Alliance follow. Beginning on April 11, the Planning Commission had a
hearing on the Circulation and Transit Element. The Commission will be
making decisions on the future of Sonoma County traffic. They will decide
whether or not the General Plan will continue to promote development patterns
that create even more traffic, increased air and water pollution, and
longer commutes in a car-dominated environment. Starting in May, the Commission
will address Agricultural Resources, and Open Space & Resource Conservation
will be heard in July. Together with a broad coalition of organizations
interested in conservation, agriculture, health, family services, and
transportation, Greenbelt Alliance is working to bring policies to the
Planning Commission that will make the General Plan a stronger blueprint
of intelligent planning and growth for the County's future.
April 11, 2006: Circulation and Transit Element
May 9, 2006: Agricultural Resources Element
July 18, 2006: Open Space and Resource Conservation Element
August 15, 2006:Water Resources Element
September 19, 2006: Land Use Element and related changes to zoning, area
plans and specific plans
March 2006
Local organizations and members of the community concerned about the future
welfare of Sonoma County have joined together to lobby for improvements
to the Sonoma County General Plan. Greenbelt Alliance is facilitating
communications among the members to promote solid policies within the
General Plan that will protect natural lands and critical habitats, protect
farmlands into the future, and create a working transportation network
that will provide viable alternatives to car travel on traffic-congested
roadways. In the recently-released Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR),
it is clear that the General Plan policies on land-use and development
need to be changed. The DEIR identifies 48 significant, unmitigated environmental
impacts - such as increased traffic, loss of farmlands, and decreased
water quality - and offers no solutions as to how to address these. Our
coalition is working to submit constructive input on policies that should
be adopted by the County to reduce these impacts, in order to improve
the quality of life of all citizens and enhance the natural beauty that
surrounds us. The DEIR can be viewed at http://www.sonoma-county.org/prmd/docs/eir/gp2020deir/index.htm.
February 2006
Local organizations and members of the community concerned about the future
welfare of Sonoma County have joined together to address the Sonoma County
General Plan update. Greenbelt Alliance is facilitating communications
of this coalition to promote solid policies within the General Plan that
will protect our natural lands and critical habitats, protect our farmlands
into the future, and create a working transportation network that will
provide viable alternatives to car travel on our traffic-congested roadways.
In the recently-released Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR), it
is made clear that the General Plan policies on land-use and development
need to be changed. The DEIR identifies 48 significant, unmitigated environmental
impacts - such as increased traffic and decreased water quality - and
offers no solutions as to how to address these. Our coalition is working
to submit constructive input on policies that should be adopted by the
County to address these impacts, in order to improve the quality of life
of all citizens and enhance the natural beauty that surrounds us.
January 2006
After years of waiting, the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) and
Draft General Plan were finally released by the Sonoma County Planning
and Resource Management Department (PRMD) on January 13. Greenbelt Alliance
is working to gather community support for firmer policies to protect
agricultural lands and open space from development. The DEIR is viewable
at www.sonoma-county.org/prmd/docs/eir/gp2020deir/index.htm.
In order to organize and educate the local community, Greenbelt Alliance
sponsored a training on how to comment on the DEIR for the General Plan
on Thursday, January 26th, from 6-9pm.
November 2005
The Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) and Draft General Plan are
set to be released by early December. Planning Commission hearings are
expected to begin 30 days after their release. The release will also signify
the beginning of a 60-day comment period for the DEIR.
October 2005
The Sonoma County General Plan update is moving along. The release of
the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) and Draft General Plan is
scheduled for early November. Greenbelt Alliance is working with a network
of allies who will respond to the information in these documents in a
thorough way, ensuring that progressive policies will be adopted that
protect our open spaces and make our cities better places to live. These
policies cover topics such as open space, agricultural production, water
resources, and transportation. Planning Commission hearings are expected
to begin 30 days after their release. The release will also signify the
beginning of a 60-day comment period for the DEIR.
September 2005
The County has confirmed release of the Draft Environmental Impact Report
(DEIR) and Draft General Plan (DGP) for early October. Planning Commission
hearings are expected to begin 30 days after their release. The release
will also signify the beginning of a 60-day comment period for the DEIR.
The public is encouraged to take part in this process by either submitting
written comments, or by attending the public comment workshop led by County
Planning.
July 2005
The County has confirmed the release the DEIR for September. Planning
Commission public hearings will begin 30 days after the release.
June 2005
The County process for adopting the new General Plan 2020 will pick up
significant speed in Fall 2005. The County Planning Commission will begin
review of the Draft General Plan (DGP) and Draft Environmental Impact
Report (DEIR) in September. Greenbelt Alliance has joined with several
other environmental allies to form a coalition to positively influence
the update.
06/05/2005 Battle
over expanding Sonoma County greenbelts is about to begin, Santa Rosa
Press Democrat
May 2005
The County process for adopting the new General Plan 2020 will pick up
significant speed in Summer 2005. The County Planning Commission expects
to begin reviewing the Draft General Plan (DGP) and Draft Environmental
Impact Report (DEIR) in July. Greenbelt Alliance has joined with several
other environmental allies to form a coalition to positively influence
the update.
March 2005
The County process for adopting the new General Plan 2020 will pick up
significant speed in Spring 2005. The County Planning Commission will
likely begin public hearings on the Draft General Plan (DGP) and Draft
Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) in June. Greenbelt Alliance has joined
with several other environmental allies to form a coalition to positively
influence the update. The coalition expects to release a joint policy
platform prior to the Planning Commission hearings.
January 2005
Sierra Club has organized an Environmental Forum on February 16th on the
update which will feature Kelly Brown, Greenbelt Alliance's Sonoma-Marin
Field Representative, as a central speaker. The County now predicts the
DEIR will be finished in April. It will likely circulate for 60 days,
at which point Planning Commission hearings will begin.
November 2004
Greenbelt Alliance has just released a new report outlining how Sonoma
County must take action now to manage future growth. The report, Toward
a Bright Future: Updating Sonoma County's General Plan, recommends
how to update the General Plan to deal with the county's projected growth
of 130,000 people by 2025—the equivalent of adding a city the size
of Santa Rosa. Since 2001, the County has been working on updating the
plan, which is its blueprint for growth for the next 15 years. This report
is the first comprehensive analysis of the update process since it began.
Some of the recommendations included in Toward a Bright Future
are ways to: keep cities from sprawling into one another; protect the
county's forests and watersheds; preserve farmland by keeping local agriculture
viable; build affordable housing throughout the county; and reduce traffic.
October 2004
County staff has completed a Draft General Plan, and the environmental
review process has begun in earnest. The Planning Commission will begin
public hearings once the DEIR is complete, now estimated for early 2005.
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