Land Use – Enviro Updates

SuzanneJanuary 16, 2025January 18, 2025Climate Change & Energy, Forests, Land Usefire, fire warning, wildfire evacuation

How Santa Rosa-based app Watch Duty became an indispensable tool during Los Angeles’ wildfires

Martin Espinoza, PRESS DEMOCRAT

It combines updates from authorities, some gleaned from their own internal dispatches, with fire maps, photos, live video from fire lookout cameras, notices of evacuation orders and weather warnings, road and school closures.

On a mid-August afternoon three and a half years ago, a handful of volunteers monitoring emergency radio traffic about a wildfire start in Lake County sent out their first coordinated public safety alert through a startup cellphone app.

That first message on Watch Duty reached about 6,000 enrolled users in the original three-county territory, including Sonoma, Napa and Mendocino counties.

Today, Watch Duty, based in Santa Rosa and powered by a network of wildfire monitors that stretches across the globe, covers 1,476 counties in 22 U.S. states.

It has about 16 million active users, more than half of whom have downloaded the app since the start of the devastating wildfires a week ago in Los Angeles.

SuzanneJanuary 13, 2025January 13, 2025Land Use, WaterFEMA, flood zones, flooding, insurance, Russian River, Russian River estuary

Russian River communities feel blindsided by recent changes to flood zones

Marisa Endicott, PRESS DEMOCRAT

☛ Permit Sonoma webpage with FEMA Flood Hazard & Zoning Update Map

A change to federal flood zones could affect insurance rates, property values and building, especially along the lower Russian River.

Nick Schwanz went to a Sonoma County Board of Supervisors meeting in November to weigh in on a particular agenda item.

He was surprised to learn, however, that another item, which appeared to be a routine and technical set of zoning adjustments, actually carried huge implications for his community.

Schwanz, a board member of the Russian River Chamber of Commerce, quickly pivoted and became one of the few to comment on an apparent change to the federal flood zones that could affect insurance rates, property values and building especially along the lower Russian River.

“As far I know this isn’t on anybody’s map,” Schwanz said.

Supervisors, too, seemed taken by surprise.

“This was sort of framed to me as technical corrections, and honestly the way the data was presented made it impossible to see the bigger picture,” said Fifth District Supervisor Lynda Hopkins, who represents much of the affected area. “When we have constituents coming to us who received a notice in the mail yesterday and have no idea what it means, that’s a failure of community engagement. That’s a failure of communication, and we need to do better. I can’t in good conscience vote on this.”

At issue was a new study by the Federal Emergency Management Agency of flood hazards in the Russian River Watershed, the first update in 30 years. The maps are used to determine flood risks and insurance requirements and must be adopted by counties to participate in the National Flood Insurance Program.

SuzanneJanuary 8, 2025January 15, 2025Agriculture/Food System, Habitats, Land Use, Wildlifedairy ranches, Point Reyes National Seashore, tule elk

Deal announced to end most ranching in Point Reyes National Seashore

John Beck, NORTH BAY BUSINESS JOURNAL

Nearly three years after environmental groups sued the National Park Service, most of the ranches in Point Reyes National Seashore have agreed to shut down and stop farming as part of a landmark settlement, the park announced late Wednesday.

The park will phase out farming at 12 out of 14 ranches operating within the seashore over a period of 15 months, said park spokesperson Melanie Gunn. Two other ranches are seeking to continue under new long-term lease extensions, she said.

The deal was brokered by The Nature Conservancy in closed-door talks involving the ranches, the environmental groups and the park service.

SuzanneDecember 20, 2024December 25, 2024Land Usecasinos, Graton Rancheria, Koi Nation

Judge grants temporary restraining order, delaying federal decision on Koi Nation casino near Windsor

Phil Barber, PRESS DEMOCRAT

A federal judge granted a temporary restraining order to the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria on Friday, indefinitely delaying any decision by the U.S. Department of the Interior on the casino proposed by the Koi Nation just outside Windsor.

The order by Judge Rita F. Lin in the Northern District of California muddies the timeline for federal approval or rejection of taking the land into trust for an Indian casino.

The ruling is significant, considering Interior Secretary Deb Haaland will leave the position after Donald Trump is sworn in as president Jan. 20.

Haaland’s department has generally supported speeding up the land-to-trust process. There’s no assurance her successor will do the same.

The injunction is certain to please neighbors in the unincorporated Shiloh neighborhood surrounding the Koi’s 68-acre parcel, as well as the elected officials who have lined up to support their concerns. And of course, Graton Rancheria, which has opposed the project.

SuzanneDecember 10, 2024Land Usebike trails, community gardens, parks, Southeast Greenway

Southeast Greenway celebration honors decade-plus work to acquire Santa Rosa’s newest park

Paulina Pineda, PRESS DEMOCRAT

With Santa Rosa’s purchase of the property, supporters shift focus to planning for the city’s newest park.

A late autumn sun warmed a small group of government officials and community members Tuesday afternoon as they set off to cross the length of a 2.2-mile-long, 300-foot-wide expanse in eastern Santa Rosa.

Leading the tour aboard Rosie the Trolley was Thea Hensel, who listed off ideas for what the property, known as the Southeast Greenway, could one day become.

As the group cut through neighborhood streets, up Hoen Avenue and toward Spring Lake Regional Park, Hensel pointed toward the flat lands where play equipment and picnic areas could one day stand.

Maybe the space could host educational programs in partnership with the six nearby schools. There could be room for a community garden, too. “Obviously it’s easy to envision lots of things because there’s nothing here,” she told the group.

For 15 years, Hensel and other residents who live around the greenway spearheaded efforts to preserve as parkland the former state property, once meant for the extension of Highway 12.

Their dedication culminated with Santa Rosa acquiring 49 acres of the former right of way in October.

Now the long-held vision for a future park — a sort of Central Park for Santa Rosa — is closer to becoming reality as the resident coalition, its partners and the city shift their focus to planning.

SuzanneDecember 6, 2024December 10, 2024Habitats, Land Use, Wildlifedairy ranches, National Park Service, Point Reyes National Seashore, tule elk

National Park Service agrees to halt removal of disputed Point Reyes seashore fence, but Tomales Point elk are already roaming freely

John Beck, PRESS DEMOCRAT

The National Park Service agreed in court Friday to stop taking down the fence in Point Reyes National Seashore that separates several hundred tule elk from adjacent dairy farms and ranches, bowing for now to a last-minute legal challenge from ranchers.

It’s the latest twist in the ongoing saga of an 8-foot-high fence that environmentalists are calling the “ungulate Berlin Wall” and ranchers see as the next step in an ongoing push to oust them from the park.

“It’s a win for what it’s worth,” seashore rancher Kevin Lunny said of Friday’s court proceeding.

In the hearing in U.S. District Court Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley’s San Francisco courtroom, attorneys for the federal government agreed to halt fence removal that started Tuesday morning, a day after park officials issued a decision to remove the nearly 50-year-old fence, culminating several years of public comment and environmental assessment.

SuzanneAugust 17, 2024August 29, 2024Climate Change & Energy, Forests, Land Usedevelopment, wildfire hazard, wildland urban interface

Controversial bill to abolish California fire hazard rankings dies in Legislature

Hayley Smith, LOS ANGELES TIMES

A bill that sought to overhaul California’s system for wildfire hazard mapping has died in the state Assembly.

A bill that sought to overhaul California’s system for wildfire hazard mapping has died in the state Assembly.

Senate Bill 610, introduced in June by Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), sparked heated debate over its plan to eliminate the decades-old system of ranking state and local lands as “moderate,” “high” or “very high” fire hazard severity zones — designations that influence development patterns and building safety standards based on an area’s probability of burning.

The plan instead would have empowered California’s state fire marshal, Daniel Berlant, to create a single “wildfire mitigation area” classification for California, which supporters said would simplify the system and create a uniform set of standards for wildfire preparation and mitigation.

SuzanneAugust 14, 2024August 29, 2024Climate Change & Energy, Forests, Land Usedevelopment, wildfire hazard, wildland urban interface

A Newsom-backed bill to change California’s wildfire hazard rankings is taking heat. Here’s why

Ari Plachta, SACRAMENTO BEE

The bill would overhaul California’s ranking system for wildfire hazards.

A bill backed by Gov. Gavin Newsom to overhaul California’s ranking system for wildfire hazards is taking heat from environmentalists and local governments, who argue the bill would lead to a dangerous increase in housing development in fire-prone areas.

Senate Bill 610 would replace the state’s existing, three-tiered, labeling system that rates communities based on their probability of burning with a single framework that would only identify whether or not an area requires “fire mitigation.”

The hazard ranking system is a key to local development processes, building safety standards and home defensible space requirements. Proponents say the reform would simplify a convoluted system and help expand compliance with those rules.

SuzanneJuly 26, 2024July 30, 2024Land Use, TransportationCloverdale, new community

Company affiliated with Edge Esmeralda ‘pop-up village’ enters into purchase agreement for huge site in Cloverdale

Amie Windsor, PRESS DEMOCRAT

A massive, vacant swath of land in southeast Cloverdale that once was to be transformed into a $200 million resort suddenly is slated for potential development by a surprise buyer: a company linked to Edge Esmeralda, the “pop-up village” that attracted visitors from around the world to Healdsburg in June.

Esmeralda Land Company, run by Devon Zuegel, a principal behind Edge Esmeralda, has entered into a purchase agreement for the 267-acre site, which has sat quietly on the real estate market for seven years.

Pending approval from Cloverdale city leaders and final signoff from Esmeralda investors, Zuegel told The Press Democrat on Friday she plans to transform the open space into a full-time neighborhood that includes a hotel.

The ethos of the community will mirror that of the month-long event Zuegel helped lead in Healdsburg in June, where people took part in a variety of lectures and day trips, harmonizing with nature and prioritizing health and wellness.

SuzanneJuly 3, 2024July 20, 2024Land Useconference center, tourism impacts, urban planning, urban residential

What could redevelopment at former Sears site mean for downtown Santa Rosa? Local officials weigh in

Sara Edwards & Paulina Pineda, PRESS DEMOCRAT

Government officials, business leaders and observers say two competing visions for the former Sears site at Santa Rosa Plaza could help inject new life in that corner of the mall and provide a boost to downtown merchants and restaurants.

Sonoma County Tourism has proposed building a convention center and 250-room hotel at First and A streets to rope more business tourism into the local economy.

Meanwhile, mall owner Simon Property Group is said to be in talks with an unnamed national housing developer to bring apartments and retail to the site.

The full picture of the economic impact of either proposal is still coming into view as public details of the proposals emerge.

But the discussion comes as Santa Rosa’s urban core grapples with an identity crisis fueled in part by boarded up shops and less foot traffic following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Environmental Center of Sonoma County

Category: Land Use