Sonoma County Government: Permit Sonoma Releases New Sonoma Development Center Project Description For Board Of Supervisors Input

Healdsburg CA

15 January, 2022

2:41 PM

Description

Press release from the Sonoma County Government: January 14, 2022 Santa Rosa, CA  –  January 14, 2022  –  Permit Sonoma, Sonoma County's planning agency, released a proposed project description to guide redevelopment of the more than 900-acre Sonoma Developmental Center campus in Sonoma Valley. The agency will seek feedback from the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors and the public at the upcoming Jan. 25 board meeting. The project description incorporates feedback from community workshops, public surveys and stakeholder meetings on three alternatives published on Nov. 1, 2021. As currently proposed, the project description calls for: Sonoma Developmental Center provided services to people with developmental disabilities for more than 120 years and at one time was the county's largest employer. The State of California closed the facility in 2018 and relocated clients to smaller, community-based care facilities. The property includes a large historic campus, agricultural lands to the east and vast ecological and open space resources. It will require an estimated $100 million to pay for rehabilitation and infrastructure costs. The State of California, which owns the site, has forged a unique partnership with Sonoma County to allow local input in charting the future of the property. This opportunity represents the first time the California Legislature has delegated land use planning responsibility to a local agency for the redevelopment of a state psychiatric facility. Permit Sonoma has worked with stakeholders to develop alternatives that meet state goals and community needs. State law requires the redevelopment to prioritize housing, especially affordable housing and housing for people with developmental disabilities, and be economically feasible. Comments on the draft plan are welcome during the public comment period of the board meeting. To join the board meeting or to obtain staff reports on the development project, please visit https://sonoma-county.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx.  For more information about site plans, visit www.sdcspecificplan.com This press release was produced by the Sonoma County Government. The views expressed here are the author's own.