Sonoma Coast in the cross hairs.
The forces who would sacrifice our heritage for commercial gain are insidious. Please write to the BOS regarding the concerns below.
Timely, excellent letter to the PD today!
Coastal Plan Hearings
EDITOR: Thanks for covering the creation of the local coastal plan update, which was created behind closed doors at the county (“Hearings set to revise Sonoma coastal plan,” Thursday).
At the recent public meeting, Permit Sonoma’s planner acknowledged that numerous coastal and nonprofit stakeholders were never consulted about the plan. Thus, the department missed the opportunity for expert input from other knowledgeable sources.
Most worrisome, the new draft frequently uses loophole phraseology — “principally permitted use” — that allows ultimate discretion of the planners about what permits might be issued and what level of review is required. This language embeds a permanent opening for the planning department to do whatever it wants or is pressured to do by development interests. This is unacceptable.
All of us should be alarmed that the current concept of a principally permitted use, as specified on Permit Sonoma’s website, says that zoning designations won’t be appealable to the California Coastal Commission once approved at the county level. So the public will have no appeal to higher authorities.
This flawed document needs to go back to the drawing board with the goal of protection rather than development.
Public input is needed now. The county is hosting public workshops, and your voice is needed to protect our coast.
Please see Localcoastalplan.org for upcoming dates and places.
Reuben Weinzveg Treasurer, Preserve Rural Sonoma County