Sonoma County DRAFT Fire Recovery and Resiliency Plan
Public Comment Deadline is October 26, 2018
By Teri Shore of Greenbelt Alliance and Trathen Heckman, Kerry Fugett of Daily Acts
As we continue to recover and rebuild a year after the North Bay fires of October 2017, the DRAFT Recovery and Resiliency Framework just released by the Sonoma County Office of Recovery and Resiliency offers a pathway for starting to look forward.
When finalized by the Board of Supervisors in November, it will guide priority policies and actions for fire recovery and resiliency in five areas: Housing, Natural Resources, Economy, Community Preparedness Infrastructure & Safety Net Services.
The draft Recovery Framework is now available for public review and comment. DOWNLOAD @https://sonomacounty.ca.gov/Office-of-Recovery-and-Resiliency/
Greenbelt Alliance and Daily Acts were among the more than 60 community groups and stakeholders that provided expertise and recommendations that were incorporated into the framework. More than 300 people attended public workshops held around the county, whose comments are detailed in the fire recovery plan.
The comprehensive and robust fire recovery plan describes 270 proposed actions to ensure that Sonoma County is better prepared for the next disaster and to build toward a more resilient environment, community and economy.
It could be a model across the state and the nation for coordinating fire and other disaster response. The plan commits to longstanding policies to protect open space and natural lands while growing in our cities and towns.
The process and the plan is an unprecedented accomplishment by fire survivors, neighborhoods, emergency responders, community leaders, county agencies, non-profits, business people, farmers and ranchers, ecologists, environmentalists and just about everyone in Sonoma County.
We also believe that before it is finalized, the plan should go farther by spelling out broader, bolder visions and policies to be adopted and implemented to launch us into a truly climate-smart, sustainable world.
Our goal is to work with the Office of Recovery and Resiliency to make some final additions.
Daily Acts believes that the plan’s focus needs to broaden beyond recovery and preparing for the next disaster. To reflect the vision of our community, as is the report’s intent, we must think and act in accord with what the scientific mandate for survival says we must do to maintain a stable climate.
As Supervisor Gore reminded us at North Bay Climate Action Summit, in a five-year period from 2013 to 2017, locally we had record drought, record rains and flooding and record fires.
This plan is an opportunity to not just further sustainability goals as sited, but to inspire and drive them because this community consistently models and drives leadership on sustainability at all levels, and we know what we can expect more of if we don’t strongly prioritize more than recovery and preparedness.
Greenbelt Alliance is advocating for more specific fire-safe land use policies to be incorporated into the framework and to incorporate these and other proposed actions into the updated of the Sonoma County General Plan, set to launch within the next year.
Several of these were detailed in last month’s Gazette cover story (Fire Recovery and Resiliency – Looking Forward), such as adopting wildfire hazard or wildland-urban interface overlay districts with development regulations based on factors like housing density, slope hazard, structure hazard, and fuel hazard.
By placing sustainability at the center of recovery efforts, strengthening the social infrastructure of our community, and emphasizing practical action that residents can take to create healthier, just and resilient communities…
Together we can rise to this historic moment.
Please review the DRAFT Recovery and Resiliency Framework DOWNLOAD @https://sonomacounty.ca.gov/Office-of-Recovery-and-Resiliency/
The Draft Framework was informed by feedback and input provided by community members and stakeholders during an extensive community engagement period. From July through September, the County hosted seven community meetings throughout the County and collected almost 1,500 comments from more than 300 community members who attended. Two meetings were held in all Spanish. The County also conducted an online survey, collecting 115 responses, and met with over 75 stakeholders and community organizations to gather input into the Draft.
and make your voice heard.
via email to recoveryinfo@sonoma-county.org
by mail to:
Sonoma County Office of Recovery and Resiliency 575 Administration Drive, Suite 104A, Santa Rosa, CA 95401.
Teri Shore is Regional Director, North Bay, Greenbelt Alliance
Trathen Heckman, Executive Director, Daily Acts
Kerry Fugett, Leadership Institute and Resilient Hubs - Daily Acts
