The Sonoma Valley Wildlife Corridor Needs Your Help

For the past decade, Sonoma Land Trust has been instrumental in securing the transition of the Sonoma Developmental Center (SDC) to public ownership and ensuring the protection of the crucial natural resources within it. We’ve been working with stakeholders to develop a vision for the property that could become an urgently needed model for how to grow our communities in an era of climate change.

Last week’s release of the proposed alternatives for SDC redevelopment is unfortunately a stark demonstration of how much needs to change in public planning processes to meet today’s realities. Each alternative is predicated on the idea of how much development can be squeezed in at SDC within various rules (often built on outdated concepts and information), rather than beginning with the values we want SDC to embody in the future. What’s at stake is ground zero for one of the most important wildlife corridors in the region.

Tune in tonight for our (Sonoma Land Trust) online presentation about SDC and the Sonoma Valley Wildlife Corridor with land acquisition director John McCaull and myself (Eamon O’Byrne, Executive Director) as host. Questions are welcome. Register here.

In an era of catastrophic wildfire, megadrought, species extinction and climate change, we can no longer pretend that nature is merely “an asset” instead of the vital resource that sustains life, health and a functional society. Clearly, our current planning models and processes are inadequate to the task of fostering the conditions for badly needed housing within the framework of protecting the systems that provide clean water, clean air, healthier (less fire-prone) forests and the wildlife that keeps it all in balance.

Now is the time to rethink how we build for the future — how we create vibrant, equitable communities that embrace the stewardship of the essential natural systems that we need to ensure the health and well-being of all communities within Sonoma Valley. We urge our community to attend the public meetings on November 13 and 17 and share your perspectives on the future of SDC and the wildlife corridor that sits within it.

Register for the November 13, 10am workshop here.

Here’s the Zoom link for the November 17, 6:30pm meeting (no registration necessary for this one):
https://sonomacounty.zoom.us/j/96931443054?pwd=UFAxc2o1bHRTRW9waWxSR2NCdDZqZz09

If you’re unable to attend one of the meetings, please leave a comment on the County's official SDC website.

Below are specific points that you may use during these meetings if you wish:

1. It is critically important that any development proposal for the Sonoma Developmental Center property protects the wildlife corridor located there.

2. Carefully planned (avoiding the northern portion of the SDC property along Sonoma Creek) and equitable redevelopment of the SDC property, that includes protecting the wildlife corridor and affordable housing, is possible.

3. None of the currently proposed SDC development alternatives describes in any detail how the wildlife corridor will be protected, nor do they support the SDC Specific Plan’s guiding principles.

4. It’s clear that, at this point in time, the public planning processes are inadequate to address today’s challenges. We need to start over and create a new model for how we plan SDC’s future. This can serve as a go-forward model for the County. We seek a new development plan that focuses on the wildlife corridor and meets the vision for creating a community in partnership with that corridor.

For the land,
Eamon O’Byrne
Executive Director
Sonoma Land Trust