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Open letter to Supervisors: Sonoma County Environmental Priorities

A letter spelling out environmental priorities from several key organizations in advance of Supervisor Hopkins’ environmental listening session on Monday, Nov. 9.

Summary Points with Detailed Discussion Document link

Thank you for the opportunity to provide comments on environmental priorities from organizations and individuals signed on to this letter (logos above and names below) for the Environmental Listening Session scheduled for Nov. 9. 2020. Please see a summary of our priorities below and a detailed discussion to follow. We are also attaching a very similar letter sent to the supervisors in January 2020 about environmental priorities, most of which remain relevant.

Please realize that this letter does not represent every and all environmental and related issues, due to the many diverse organizations and complex range of interlinked and overlapping challenges that we face with climate change, wildfire, loss of diversity and habitat, environmental justice and equity, water and groundwater, public health, transportation, tourism, pesticides, housing crisis and homelessness, and economic imbalances.

We compiled this letter in an effort to lay the groundwork for partnering with the county to develop new environmentally just and climate resiliency policies for the next generation and beyond. There is much to be done in the short-and-long term!

Summary of Environmental Priorities

Uphold and Enforce Protective Land Use Policies in General Plan and Development Code

Fully uphold and enforce existing protective land use policies in the General Plan and Development Codes.

Put on hold all new General Plan Amendments and Development Code Changes until General Plan is updated through a robust public process.

Prioritize update of General Plan as soon as possible to add Climate Action, Environmental Justice, and Wildfire Resiliency and strengthen and revise policies in relevant elements for environmental protection and public health and safety.

Direct Permit Sonoma to stop advancing projects and policies that don’t fully and clearly comply with existing General Plan and Development Code, which require environmentalists to spend precious time and resources to educate elected and appointed officials to deny.

Fully Uphold Voter Approved Community Separators and City Urban Growth Boundaries to Protect Natural and Working Lands and Prevent Sprawl

Affirm policy commitment to legacy land-use policies mandated by the voters to protect community separators, uphold urban growth boundaries and focus new development in city centers and existing urban service areas.

Fully uphold and enhance protective land use policies to preserve natural and working lands for clean air and water, biodiversity, and for production of food and fiber and low carbon farming.

Prioritize and provide incentives for the creation of a "food belt" around urban areas to increase local food security, help diversify our agricultural sector and encourage managed grazing to reduce fire hazards.

Consider putting a county urban limit line to voters to concentrate growth in unincorporated areas in developed areas for the next 20 years.

Halt the ongoing destruction of Sonoma County’s iconic oak woodlands and immediately enact an urgency temporary ordinance prohibiting destruction of oak woodlands, pending study of climate, fire, watershed, habitat and related impacts.

Take Climate Action

Consider a 2022 Climate Measure developed with RCPA, stakeholders and community.

Prioritize, adopt and implement measures from the county Climate Emergency Mobilization Strategy Ten-Year Emergency Policy Package that includes:

•Achieve carbon neutrality in Sonoma County no later than 2030

•All Electric Buildings Campaign

•Carbon-Free Electricity

•Drive Less Sonoma County Campaign

•EV Access for All Partnership

•Sonoma County Vehicles Miles Traveled (VMT) Bank Zero Waste by 2030

•Carbon Sequestration

•Decarbonization

•Green Communities for All

•Energy Grid for the Future Equity and Community Engagement

•Zero waste and prioritize composting facility in the county

Accelerate Climate-smart City Centered Growth and Affordable Housing

Collaborate with cities and stakeholders from housing, environment, social justice and neighborhood groups to preserve and increase available affordable and middle-missing housing that is energy efficient and powered primarily by renewables.

Utilize multiple tools including through preservation of existing homes, more efficient use of land through innovative rezoning and production of climate smart construction in infill areas as above; and outside of high wildfire risk areas.

Partner with government, non-profit and private sector to create funding streams for preservation, protection and production of homes.

Fully Uphold Voter Approved Ag + Open Space District and adopt Vital Lands

Conduct a transparent national search for a new General Manager for the Ag + Open Space District without existing political or special interest ties.

Adopt the Vital Lands Initiative that was developed over several years of extensive public outreach. Ensure that all districts of Sonoma County receive equitable share of open space protections.

Uphold the will of the voters and the legislation that established the District and seek voter approval for any revisions.

Establish New Wildfire Risk Reduction Policies, Mitigation and Zoning

Develop and implement specific and actionable wildfire risk reduction measures for all new development in the wildland urban interface and high fire risk lands.

Develop both a wildfire zoning overlay and parcel-based risk maps.

Revise county Fire Ordinance to meet and exceed state SRA regulations for new development and fire-safe roads.

Identify and protect greenbelt lands that serve as wildfire buffers and provide conservation benefits.

Prioritize Water and Coastal Protections

The Board of Supervisors need to support:

•a state resource/water/hazard bond for 2022.

•restoration of the Petaluma River and wetland complex

•increased coastal and river access and keeping our beaches free.

•Strong sustainable groundwater policies and develop relevant land use policies

•restore the Russian River, Laguna de Santa Rosa, and county waterways.

•Prioritize watershed health and resilience.

Commit Fully to the California Environmental Quality Act

Prioritize full implementation of CEQA to protect environment and residents of Sonoma County from negative environmental impacts due to new development of all types.

Reject development that increases Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Vehicle Miles Traveled or require strong and enforceable mitigations as required in CEQA.

Do not routinely rely on Negative Declarations, Categorical Exemptions or Overriding Considerations to push through development or avoid robust public process.

Prioritize Transparency and Public Outreach

Fully implement the Brown Act for all county decision making, but particularly for environmental, social justice and public health issues, policies and major projects such as land transactions.

Avoid Closed Sessions and secrecy as much as possible as allowed by the Brown Act.

DETAILED DISCUSSION in DOCUMENT Form

( Please open and/or download to print)

SONOMA COUNTY-Enviro-Priority-DETAILED DISSCUSION.pdf

NEXT STEPS

As next steps, we urge you to share with us your environmental and other policy priorities in the coming year and beyond and how it aligns with ours. We’d like to meet with you on a regular basis so that we can partner on developing strong new environmental, climate action, social equity and other policies to create a more healthy, equitable and diverse Sonoma County.

Thank you for your consideration of our views.

Teri Shore, Greenbelt Alliance, Greenbelt.org

Michael Allen, Sonoma County Conservation Action, conservationaction.org

Padi Selwyn and Judith Olney, Preserve Rural Sonoma County, preserveruralsonomacounty.org

Janus Matthes, Wine and Water Watch, winewaterwatch.org

Meg Beeler, Sonoma Mountain Preservation, sonomamountain.org

Caitlin Cornwall, Sonoma Ecology Center, sonomaecologycenter.org

Dee Swanhuyser, Western Sonoma County Rural Alliance

David Keller, Petaluma River Council

Jenny Blaker, Environmental and community activist

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