County planners, stakeholders gear up for round two of SDC planning process
Permit Sonoma expected to issue notice of preparation for new environmental report
By Tracy Salcedo, originally published in Kenwood Press, June 15th, 2024
For many of the folks who’ve been involved in the redevelopment process for the Sonoma Developmental Center (SDC) over the past decade, this juncture feels like déjà vu all over again.
But the planning process for the 180-acre Glen Ellen campus has entered a new phase, and all parties are gearing up to meet the challenge. The goal: To formalize a specific plan and accompanying environmental impact report (EIR) that adheres to environmental law, pencils out for the prospective developer, and addresses the many concerns about public safety and overdevelopment that have galvanized community advocates.
Setting the stage
Once again, Sonoma County’s planning agency, Permit Sonoma, has engaged Dyett & Bhatia, an urban planning firm, to prepare the new specific plan and EIR for the beleaguered site. The consultants have been hired to reconcile the SDC Specific Plan approved by Sonoma County’s Board of Supervisors in December 2022 with a more intensive plan submitted by Eldridge Renewal, the developer chosen by California’s Department of General Services to purchase the campus of the shuttered institution for the developmentally disabled. Dyett & Bhatia is also tasked with bringing the proposed development’s EIR into compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
In the first go-around, the EIR prepared by Permit Sonoma and Dyett & Bhatia was memorably and vigorously rejected by Sonoma County Superior Court Judge Bradford DeMeo. Following the court’s direction, county supervisors decertified both the 2022 specific plan and its EIR, but kept the planning process in place.
Permit Sonoma and Dyett & Bhatia have drafted a scope of work that will serve as a basis for a new EIR and plan — one that meshes the previously approved plan, which called for construction of up to 750 dwelling units (plus commercial space and a hotel), with the Eldridge Renewal plan, which calls for construction of 990 units (plus commercial space and a hotel). The developer’s plan was submitted under SB 330, the Builder’s Remedy legislation, which fast-tracks projects that include a certain percentage of affordable housing.
“The SDC Specific Plan will be updated to reflect changes in circumstances since December 2022,” the scope of work states. “A new EIR will be prepared to address the findings of the Superior Court ruling and to assess the environmental impacts of both the SDC Specific Plan Update and the Eldridge Renewal Project.”
The final environmental document will combine a programmatic EIR, covering the SDC Specific Plan, and a project EIR, covering the Eldridge Renewal plan. The budget for the new plan and EIR is $913,997, comprised of unspent state-allocated funds supplemented funds from the developer.
A preview
Permit Sonoma is set to issue a Notice of Preparation (NOP) for the new EIR on June 20, which initiate a 30-day public scoping period,during which comments from public agencies, nonprofits, and community stakeholders will be accepted.
Dyett & Bhatia’s scope of work provides some insights into the issues to be addressed in preparation of the environmental report. The urban planners are the lead consultants, but a number of subcontractors with expertise in specific aspects of the EIR report, such as traffic and historic preservation, have been engaged.
Tasks outlined in the scope of work correspond to requirements for a CEQA-compliant EIR. Analysis of alternative development scenarios is among CEQA’s requirements and four scenarios have been identified: a “no project” plan; the Eldridge Renewal plan; the existing SDC Specific Plan; and an “Enhanced Building Preservation Alternative, which would build on the Specific Plan’s previous Historic Preservation Alternative.” The Historic Preservation Alternative, which called for development of 450 dwelling units, was determined to be “environmentally preferrable” the first time around, but was ultimately rejected by the county as not economically feasible. The court ruling called that decision “arbitrary, groundless, and even in conflict with the evidence in the record,” and requires the county to provide “data, analysis, fiscal comparisons, or other data” to demonstrate whether the alternative is feasible or not.
The court also determined Permit Sonoma and Dyett & Bhatia missed the mark of CEQA compliance in other areas, including adequate responses to community stakeholders, developing clear and enforceable mitigations for environmental impacts, including a mitigation monitoring and reporting program, analysis of traffic impacts in an emergency or wildfire evacuation, and more. Dyett & Bhatia is charged with updating the specific plan and EIR “to respond to the court ruling and the County’s feedback.”
CEQA categories that must be addressed include aesthetics, air quality, biological resources, cultural and historical resources, hydrology and water quality, housing, public utilities, transportation and traffic, and more.
The contract sets forth an ambitious timeline. Once the scoping period is complete, a draft EIR incorporating all new information is expected to be ready for administrative review by late September. The public review period is tentatively scheduled to start in early November. The county’s planning commission is slated to consider the final plan and EIR in March 2026. A hearing before the board of supervisors, which has the final say, is set for April 2026.
What’s next
Once the NOP is broadcast, a 30-day public scoping period begins, and comments on what should be considered as part of the environmental report may be submitted by stakeholders to county planners.
Community advocates are already gearing up for the next round of comment and input. Glen Ellen’s Alice Horowitz, curator of the Eldridge for All (EFA) website (www.eldridgeforall.org), posted this on the EFA Alerts page, reflecting the déjà vu of the moment: “Your feedback during Scoping is essential! Even if you’ve already submitted comments regarding SDC environmental issues a gazillion times, you need to do it again because the County is not required to consider them unless sent in as scoping comments during the Public Scoping Period. Really? Yes!”
To submit comments when the scoping period commences, email planner Wil Lyons at wil.lyons@sonoma-county.org and Permit Sonoma Director Tennis Wick at tennis.wick@sonoma-county.org.
