Our Mission

Our mission is to raise awareness and support groups and individuals who are working to preserve and protect Sonoma County’s rural agricultural heritage.

Current Initiatives:

Out of control Rohnert Park development
Commercial production of Pot in rural neighborhoods
Gas stations on our country corners – Sprawl
Our historic Ag legacy is melting to the ground – Preservation

Urgent Cal to Action- RP Council to Discuss new Northeast Development at meeting on Tuesday 9/10/19

September 6, 2019Written by rs-admin@braccos.netLeave a Comment Say hello to 14340 new road trips per day feeding Petaluma Hill Road and other arteries. Rohnert Park City Council to act on proposed changes to allow more units and less buffer to Snyder Lane and to G Section and move forward with development of their signature sardine can development model over a beautiful oak meadow along a scenic corridor. 4 packs, Small lot homes, Zero lot lines, Apartments, Townhouses… Rohnert Park’s tagline should be “Building the ghettos of tomorrow, today”. If you have had enough with the traffic and congestion and are fed up with corrupt officials trying to bring the South Bay to the North Bay – show up and get your opposition on the record. Make sure to include water, traffic, scenic corridors, CEQA, Tiger Salamanders, Aquifer… Why is it always about packing in more units, reducing parks, reducing buffers and reducing separation between homes in Rohnert Park? Here is the agenda: https://legistarweb-production.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/attachment/pdf/423677/7A_NESP.pdfStaff recommends that the City Council specifically discuss and provide recommendations regarding the following project components: • A request for increased maximum density within the Specific Plan Area from 1,085 units to 1,434 units. • A reduced buffer width along Snyder Lane from 200 foot wide buffer to 32 foot wide buffer. • A reduction of the buffer between G Section and the project from 100 foot wide buffer to the minimum width necessary to achieve a visual corridor. • Modify the park and open space configurations in the general plan which provides for an 8 acre park and linear trails to a proposed 5.8 acre park with three smaller parks (for a total of 10.8 acres of active parks) and linear trails. Rohnert Park already has 4 major development projects in the pipeline with 5000 units in the works. Time for a moratorium and let’s see how those play out before we add any more. Tell RP to give their development agency, that you pay for to help developers get these massive build-outs approved, a sabbatical. Since the fires the traffic in Sonoma County has become unbearable and the quality of life that we came here for is going to be gone forever if we don’t put the brakes on this mindless development juggernaut. When: Tuesday September 10 6:30 PM

Sonoma County Residents
DID YOU KNOW?

Due to missteps in the original planning, and permitting process. Sonoma County is now in the position of having large scale commercial cannabis cultivation operations in residential neighborhoods.

When formulating the new rules, Sonoma County specifically intended to exclude cannabis operations from residential areas. Guess what, they didn’t, oops Do over needed.

How would you like a Pot Farm smack in the middle of your neighborhood, where your kids play and ride their bikes and where you walk your dog and where you enjoy the quiet peaceful rural lifestyle you likely worked your whole life to have?

Before you answer, keep in mind that 8 out of the last 10 murders in Sonoma County took place at pot operations…

Problems cited with Cannabis Operations in residential areas:

  • Lowered property values
  • Safety. the fear of parents for their children and restricted outdoor play for children because of vicious dogs being used to protect grows
  • Noise due to massive amounts of air conditioning and generators and cooling systems for lighting
  • Massive amounts of water and electricity required, transformer blow outs, infrastructure load
  • Heavy vehicle traffic on residential streets
  • Response considerations for fire fighters
  • Occupational hazards
  • Taxing police and fire departments, sometimes rural volunteer departments
  • The lack of right to be notified before a grower moves next door
  • The destruction of health and quality of life by pesticides and chemical fertilizers used in a residential neighborhood.

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Sonoma County Residents
DID YOU KNOW?

Most residents of Rohnert Park and affected area residents are not aware that the Rohnert Park city council has approved plans to build 5118 new housing units directly along the Petaluma Hill Road designated scenic corridor:

1893 new housing units in Sonoma Mountain Village 1114 Units North of SSU 1645 Units next to SSU 499 Units South of SSU

Each area includes commercial space – strip malls 75000 new vehicle trips

Recommended scaled-back plans were rejected by the council.

These plans put more than a 20% increase to Rohnert Park’s population directly on the Petaluma Hill Road corridor.

These plans are in violation of the Sonoma County General Plan, Visual Resource Guidelines, Penngrove Area Plan, Sonoma Mountain Plan.

A common theme for these recent approvals was the complete lack of participation by affected homeowners. At least 1 council member indicated that this was their motivation to approve the developer plans. Could it be not a single homeowner is opposed??? Or is it poor communication by the city?

Are you concerned about the impact these projects will have on the quality of life for communities on the Petaluma Hill Road corridor?

IE: Traffic on Petaluma Hill Road, Adobe Road, Main Street…

Impacts on water, infrastructure? Drought???

Make your voice heard in the planning process as it affects this vital part of Sonoma County before it becomes another Expressway, with congestion, sound walls, passing lanes, over-passes…. If you share our concerns about the impact of these projects on our area, Please join Rural Sonoma.

If we fail, enjoy your 3 hour commute through downtown Penngrove.

Nothing else stands in the way