Posted on Categories Land Use, Local OrganizationsTags , , , Leave a comment on New county park on Sonoma Mountain offers miles of trails

New county park on Sonoma Mountain offers miles of trails

Derek Moore, THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Sonoma County’s latest gem of a park opens Saturday on the north face of Sonoma Mountain, affording visitors miles of new trails and stunning views rarely seen by the general public.
PDF map of North Sonoma Mountain
About 2 miles along the park’s new main trail, the forest thins to reveal a 180-degree view of northern Sonoma Valley and the Santa Rosa Plain. On a clear morning this week, a number of prominent landmarks were visible in the distance, including Sugarloaf Ridge State Park, Hood Mountain and Mount St. Helena.North Sonoma Mountain’s New Park
Almost as astounding, reaching this vantage point at an elevation of about 2,000 feet did not require strenuous effort, thanks to the cleverly designed trail, which weaves across the diverse landscape at a relatively modest incline.
Planners of what officially is known as the North Sonoma Mountain Regional Park and Open Space Preserve hail the 820-acre site as a model of ingenuity and collaboration among public and private entities. The preserve, located about 3 miles up Sonoma Mountain Road from Bennett Valley Road, abuts Jack London State Historic Park in Glen Ellen, offering hikers, runners and equestrians unfettered access to both outdoor settings.
Connecting parks in such seamless fashion is considered the “holy grail” of park planning, said Bill Keene, general manager of the Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District.
via New county park on Sonoma Mountain offers miles | The Press Democrat.

Posted on Categories Land UseTags Leave a comment on Legislation introduced to make Berryessa-Snow Mountain into national monument

Legislation introduced to make Berryessa-Snow Mountain into national monument

Guy Kovner, THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, and California Sens. Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein introduced legislation in the House and Senate on Thursday to designate the 360,100-acre Berryessa-Snow Mountain region — all federally owned land — as a national monument.
The move represents a slight shift for Thompson and Boxer, who tried in 2013 to get the sprawling area, which runs for 100 miles south-to-north through Napa, Lake, Mendocino, Solano and Yolo counties, placed in a national conservation area.
Neither of those bills came to a vote in either chamber, and now both the Senate and House are under Republican control.
Thompson said in an interview Thursday that he will “work with the leadership in the House” to advance the new bill, noting that he has succeeded in the past with the House Committee on Natural Resources, where his bill was sent.
Thompson helped secure passage of a bill that established permanent protection of 273,000 acres of publicly owned land in Del Norte, Humboldt, Mendocino, Lake and Napa counties in 2006, when former Rep. Richard Pombo, a conservative Republican from Tracy, chaired the committee.
The current chairman, Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, has a 4 percent lifetime score from the League of Conservation Voters, an environmental nonprofit group that rates federal lawmakers on a zero to 100 scale based on their votes on key issues. Thompson has a 91 percent lifetime score.
At the same time, Thompson said he is working with the Interior Department on the possibility of getting President Barack Obama to declare the area a national monument.
Read more via Legislation introduced to make Berryessa-Snow Mountain into national | The Press Democrat.

Posted on Categories Agriculture/Food System, Land UseTags , , , , Leave a comment on Sebastopol City Council urges denial of large proposed winery off Highway 12

Sebastopol City Council urges denial of large proposed winery off Highway 12

Mary Callahan, THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
The Sebastopol City Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to urge Sonoma County officials to deny approval for a large-scale winery and distillery being proposed on former dairyland off Highway 12 about 2 miles east of town.
The application for the proposed Dairyman Winery and Distillery is still months away from formal consideration by county planning bodies, but the plan already is generating opposition among conservationists and Sebastopol-area residents concerned about potential impacts on wildlife, traffic, water supply and the area’s status as a community separator. Many feel the project is more industrial than agricultural; the property is zoned for farming.
Among the issues is the project’s location in the middle of protected habitat for the California tiger salamander, which is federally listed as an endangered species. There also are seasonal wetland areas on the site associated with Gravenstein Creek, which runs through the property and is a tributary to the Laguna de Santa Rosa.
Opponents also fear gridlock on an already congested two-lane stretch of Highway 12, given estimates for event attendance at the winery and trucking of up to 1,000 tons of grapes per year to the site, some of which would be held in cold storage for later processing.
There are about 40 acres of vineyards on the property that would stay in production, said Napa Valley vintner Joe Wagner, who owns the 68-acre property and is proposing the project.
Wagner, whose Belle Glos winery is among several labels owned by his family — the same clan behind Caymus Vineyards — envisions a full-scale winemaking and bottling operation large enough to eventually make 500,000 cases of wine a year, as well as 250,000 gallons of distilled spirits.
Read more via Sebastopol City Council urges denial of large proposed | The Press Democrat.

Posted on Categories Land Use, TransportationTags , , Leave a comment on Chinese developer’s purchase of Sonoma Valley property could revive resort project

Chinese developer’s purchase of Sonoma Valley property could revive resort project

Eloísa Ruano González, THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
A large undeveloped property near Kenwood that was at the center of a bruising land-use fight a decade ago has been purchased by a Chinese real estate firm, raising both eyebrows and questions about the future of the picturesque community in the heart of Sonoma Valley.
The $41 million purchase, of a 186-acre site off Highway 12 near Lawndale Road, includes rights to develop a luxury resort and winery, along with a restaurant and almost a dozen high-end homes.
It remained unclear this week what the new owner, Tohigh Property Investment, a subsidiary of Chinese developer Oceanwide Holdings, intends to do with the property.
Read more via Chinese developer’s purchase of Sonoma Valley property could | The Press Democrat.

Posted on Categories Forests, Land Use, WaterTags , , , Leave a comment on State seeks water quality rules for pot growers

State seeks water quality rules for pot growers

Mary Callahan, THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
State officials have begun rolling out a new environmental initiative designed to win the cooperation of marijuana growers in protecting Northern California waterways and fisheries from the kinds of degradation that commonly result from pot cultivation.
A team of state and local agency representatives conducted a series of unannounced inspections last week of gardens in the Eel River watershed near Garberville, visiting 14 properties over three days along Sproul Creek. The creek went dry last summer for the first time in many years from what environmental officials believe was the combined effects of drought and unregulated water withdrawals for marijuana irrigation.
Part of a larger effort to address watershed damage, environmental contamination and illegal water diversions that have continued unregulated for decades in remote forests up and down the state, the undertaking includes a plan to develop water quality standards to which growers can be held accountable or face fines and other penalties.
The multi-agency endeavor targets those who cultivate pot on private lands, with landowner permission, and is aimed at creating a system of regulation designed to help growers farm in an environmentally friendly manner while authorizing enforcement action where necessary.
Read more via State seeks water rules for pot growers | The Press Democrat.

Posted on Categories Land UseTags Leave a comment on Report on state parks urges fundamental changes

Report on state parks urges fundamental changes

Derek Moore, THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
A report on the future of California’s state parks recommends fundamental change to overcome chronic budget and management problems that threaten the long-term sustainability of these pantheons to nature.
Key recommendations include upgrading technology and fee-collection systems at parks, diversifying park leadership and creating a dedicated source of public funding to support an integrated network of state, regional and local parks.
But as noted in the 56-page Parks Forward report, underscoring funding challenges is a dearth of data on how much park services currently cost. The report calls on the California Department of Parks and Recreation to “promptly identify” those costs in order to determine what additional funding is needed to ensure the system’s viability.
Read more via Report on state parks urges fundamental changes | The Press Democrat.

Posted on Categories Agriculture/Food System, Land Use, WaterTags , , , , Leave a comment on Paul Hobbs to pay Sonoma County $100K to settle vineyard projects suit

Paul Hobbs to pay Sonoma County $100K to settle vineyard projects suit

Jeff Quackenbush, NORTH BAY BUSINESS JOURNAL
Sebastopol-based Paul Hobbs Wines on Friday said it has agreed to pay $100,000 to settle a 2013 lawsuit in which the county of Sonoma sought millions of dollars in damages over three west county vineyard projects.
The civil court settlement, a couple of weeks in progress, between the wine company and the District Attorney’s Office was signed by judge Nancy Case Shaffer on Friday.
“We’re happy to be done with it,” said wine company spokesman Christopher O’Gorman.
The county accused the company of letting soil erode into a stream during a project last year on a property off Watertrough Road near Sebastopol, clearing Davis Tree Farm off Highway 116 near Graton without a permit in 2011 and running afoul of land-use rules while clearing trees on Hillick Ranch near Guerneville.
Read more via Paul Hobbs to pay Sonoma County $100K to settle vineyard projects suit – North Bay Business Journal – North San Francisco Bay Area, Sonoma, Marin, Napa counties – Archive.

Posted on Categories Land Use, Sustainable LivingTags , Leave a comment on Disagreement over new Rohnert Park park land

Disagreement over new Rohnert Park park land

Matt Brown, THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
The Rohnert Park City Council on Tuesday approved the development of a new park, with basketball courts, soccer fields and a baseball diamond, at no cost to the city. The move overturned an earlier Parks and Recreation Commission decision denying the development and exposed a rift between the council and the influential commission.
The park will be built by the developer of the 1,450-unit University District housing development, a project just north of the Green Music Center that will add the first new homes in Rohnert Park in 25 years.
A state law allows cities to require that developers dedicate parkland as part of new housing projects. Rohnert Park’s code calls for 5 acres of parkland for every 1,000 new residents, in this case amounting to 21.96 acres, but it also allows the developer to provide park improvements instead of land.
Brookfield Homes, the University District developer, proposed to dedicate 13.66 acres, spread out over two parks, and make up the difference by adding around $2.5 million worth of amenities including sports fields, playgrounds and lighting. The Parks and Recreation Commission in November, voted 4-1 against this proposal, preferring instead to require the full 21.96 acres of vacant land for a future park.
Read more via Rohnert Park council OKs plan for new parks | The Press Democrat.

Posted on Categories Land Use, Sonoma Coast, WildlifeTags , Leave a comment on Hitch in North Coast marine sanctuary plans delays unveiling

Hitch in North Coast marine sanctuary plans delays unveiling

Mary Callahan, THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Last-minute details related to expansion plans for two adjoining marine sanctuaries off the North Coast were still being hammered out between federal agencies Tuesday, delaying publication of a final rule, officials said.
There was no indication of a hitch significant enough to derail the expansion proposal, which was developed over the past two years under the direction of President Barack Obama.
It was unclear, however, just what was holding up the process, representatives with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said.
A spokesman for the National Marine Sanctuaries program said last week that the legal consultations underway between various agencies are typically privileged, though there have been reports that some of the delay, at least, relates to discussions over U.S. Coast Guard operations within sanctuary boundaries.
But most parties following developments said they doubted there was any cause for alarm.
Read more via Hitch in North Coast marine sanctuary plans delays | The Press Democrat.

Posted on Categories Land Use, Local Organizations, Sonoma CoastTags , , , , Leave a comment on Hundreds turn out to pay tribute to Sonoma County environmentalist Bill Kortum

Hundreds turn out to pay tribute to Sonoma County environmentalist Bill Kortum

Guy Kovner, THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Bill Kortum, Sonoma County’s premier environmental activist, was remembered Saturday as a family man, home winemaker, veterinarian, croquet enthusiast and a personal inspiration to others who joined him in defending the landscape here and along the entire California coast.
More than 700 people, representing a who’s who of the local environmental community, attended a celebration of Kortum’s life at the Sonoma Mountain Village Event Center in Rohnert Park, 4 miles north of the Kortum family home, known as Ely Hill, on the outskirts of Petaluma.
Kortum, who spent most of his life fighting to rein in urban sprawl and protect public access to the coast, died at home Dec. 20 after a three-year battle with prostate cancer. He was 87.
Read more via Hundreds turn out to pay tribute to Sonoma | The Press Democrat.