RP Council to Discuss new Northeast Development at meeting on Tuesday 9/10/19
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.pdf
Staff 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
RP subdivisions destroying scenic corridors
Residents of Sonoma County should be aware of development plans coming out of Rohnert Park that will impact scenic corridors enjoyed by all Sonoma County residents.
At recent council meetings the mayor and council put finishing touches on 4 “specific plans” along the Petaluma Hill Road corridor near Sonoma State. Having built out available space in town, the Rohnert Park Development machine annexed 3 rural parcels from Sonoma County and are pushing their failed development model eastward.
They seem driven to keep churning out these developments. Council members were practically high fiving each other for approving developments with 4 homes sharing a driveway and homes with 4 feet between them – all a stone’s throw from this rural corridor. Petaluma Hill Road (also Adobe Road) is a scenic corridor and should be maintained in its historical configuration and not be altered or improved. Rohnert Park development plans will over burden this corridor and force installation of sound walls, overpasses, lane additions, etc. which are in violation of Sonoma County Visual Resource protection guidelines. The area has been designated a “Community Separator” a “Greenbelt” a “Scenic Corridor” a “Scenic Landscape Unit” in the Sonoma County General Plan 2020 and a “Heritage Road” by multiple conservation groups.
No one came to Sonoma to get closer to hotels and strip malls and sound walls. The Green Music Center experience is enhanced by views of hills and open space. Adding a dry cleaners and hotel won’t improve its ambience. There are nice hotels by the freeway, where hotels belong.
Problems with current plans include: density, inclusion of commercial zones, traffic, pollution and lack of participation in the hearings.
Density – A total of 5151 units are planned along the Petaluma Hill Road scenic corridor:
- Northeast Specific Plan – 1114 Units
- University Specific Plan – 1645 Units. Commercial, mixed use, Strip Mall
- Southeast Specific Plan – 499 Units, 20,000 Square Feet commercial/retail
- Sonoma Mountain Village – 1893 Units, plus office, retail, grocery, theatre, hotel…
This represents a @20% population increase directly on the Petaluma Hill Road corridor
Inclusion of commercial zones – Each of the areas has commercial component, including strip malls and hotels. The Wolf Den Plaza across from SSU is nominally occupied and has had regular vacancies. At least 4 restaurants and 1 coffee shop and 1 ice cream shop have already gone out of business in that plaza in last 2-3 years. Downtown Cotati is a ghost town of empty strip malls as is Snyder Lane. What wisdom tells us that a dry cleaner, hotel, Bar/Nightclub in these new developments will be anything other than tomorrows blight?
Traffic – Currently it can take 20 minutes or more to get through the intersection of Adobe Road and Petaluma Hill Road in Penngrove. Current plans will increase that to an extent that road improvements will be required. Those improvements will destroy the rural character of this corridor to the detriment of all area residents.
Pollution – The plans will have severe negative impact on water tables and are in fact are directly on top of key aquifer recharge points. Light and noise pollution will also be an issue in the Scenic Landscape Unit.
Lack of participation in the planning – Although the area in question is within Rohnert Park, the planning impacts county resources – greenbelts, corridors and protected resources and there should be some opportunity for feedback from affected residents of Penngrove, Santa Rosa, Cotati. When they tried to build 2 or 3 homes in Rincon Valley there was a massive outcry from local homeowners. Sadly, when Rohnert Park planned to build 5151 units on Plum and Walnut orchards hardly anyone showed up at the meetings. Could it be no one cared? I think poor communication of the meetings is more likely.
Proposed Alternatives – The general and specific plans all predate the move of State Farm and inception of Smart Train and should be modified to reduce the density of all east side plans in favor of growth on the west side of town, where the infrastructure, including Smart Rail and Highway 101 and commercial districts are within walking distance. The council should remove or reduce the commercial components of all east side plans. Sonoma State has proven an unreliable customer base for businesses including restaurants and bars, etc. That population isn’t even there a good part of the year. Don’t create any more strip mall ghettos. These components compete with each other and with other established local businesses.
Interested parties are invited to unite and stay informed of these matters by joining Rural Sonoma mailing list: join@ruralsonoma.org
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