“The luxury resort and event center conflicts with critical and longstanding greenbelt protections and overrides the will of the voters,” said Teri Shore, North Bay Regional Director for Greenbelt Alliance. “It must be denied or let the voters decide.”
The County of Sonoma is accepting public comments on the luxury resort and event center and environmental review until July 5, 2020. A public hearing by the Board of Zoning Adjustments is tentatively set for 1 pm July 9 for a vote on the environmental review and the project.”
Media Advisory – Luxury Resort Threatens Protected Greenbelt
MEDIA ADVISORY – SANTA ROSA, CA
June 18, 2020
Contact Teri Shore, Greenbelt Alliance 707 934 7081
VOTER-PROTECTED GREENBELT THREATENED BY
NEW LUXURY RESORT AND EVENT CENTER
The County of Sonoma intends to bypass voters and flout open space protections to push forward a new luxury resort and major event center at 3890 Old Redwood Highway in the heart of the key voter-protected Windsor-Larkfield-Santa Rosa Community Separator greenbelt.
The proposed luxury development creates a new commercial use of the rural separator land protected from increased development with 81 percent of a countywide vote in 2016 (Measure K).
“The luxury resort and event center conflicts with critical and longstanding greenbelt protections and overrides the will of the voters,” said Teri Shore, North Bay Regional Director for Greenbelt Alliance. “It must be denied or let the voters decide.”
The County of Sonoma is accepting public comments on the luxury resort and event center and environmental review until July 5, 2020. A public hearing by the Board of Zoning Adjustments is tentatively set for 1 pm July 9 for a vote on the environmental review and the project.
Greenbelt Alliance is holding a public town hall meeting via Zoom on June 24 https://www.greenbelt.org/events/community-separator-town-hall/
LUXURY RESORT AND EVENT CENTER IN COMMUNITY SEPARATOR
County planners want to allow construction of a dozen luxury 1, 2, and 3-bedroom wine country party houses, a warehouse-sized event building, commercial kitchen, pool bar, and huge party tents for hundreds of events serving a total of 10,000 people per year open daily for drinking, dining, weddings and music until 10 pm.
The luxury resort and event center will intensify development and increase density in the community separator in conflict with voter-approved protections, Sonoma County General Plan policies and the Zoning Code. The current zoning (Resource and Rural Development) does not allow for multi-unit dwellings or large event centers.
The property has been a single-family residence and open space since 1987 when the property was split off from Cloverleaf Ranch next door. Decrepit old buildings from an abandoned and long inactive youth camp from the 1960s and 1970s burned down in 2017 Tubbs fires.
The luxury project is also on the edge of the Santa Rosa Urban Growth Boundary where urban development has twice been determined by voters to end.
If allowed to proceed, the luxury resort should go to vote of the people, or be offset with new community separator lands of equal or greater acreage per provisions in Measure K and the General Plan. Due to its location in a community separator, the public hearing should be delayed until the public can fully participate after COVID restrictions are eased.
Background here: https://www.greenbelt.org/blog/solstice-sonoma-luxury-resort-slated-for-burned-zone-in-greenbelt/