Save Sonoma
The City of Sonoma is in the process of revising the General Plan which establishes land use designations that govern how a property in the city may be developed and used. The Sebastiani Site, owned by Foley Family Wines, is 22 acres in total, running along the north side of East Spain St, divided by 4th St East, and continuing on the south side of Lovall Valley Rd. Land use for this entire area is designated as “Agriculture†or “Wine Production”. The surrounding neighborhood today is mostly low density residential.
City planners are proposing to change all 22 acres of the Sebastiani Site to a newly created land use designation called “Sonoma Mixed use†which would REQUIRE extreme increases in housing density. Specifically, a minimum density of 7 units/acre (which is ABOVE the current maximum of ~6.5 units/acre) and a maximum density of 25 units/acre (nearly 4x the current maximum). The proposed new land use designation also allows for broad, undefined commercial use.
Such a dramatic change poses unacceptable safety risks to the residents of Sonoma in a high fire-risk zone. It will also severely impact water use, city services, the environment, the character of the historic neighborhood, and more.
While we support the idea of finding better uses for this land, including more housing options, we are adamantly against this “blanket†change across such a large area. We are also against the minimum density of 7 housing units an acre, the maximum density of 25 units per acre, and the broad, undefined commercial use.Â
We are asking the Planning Commission and City Council to stop any further investigation of the currently proposed land use designation and work with residents to identify other more reasonable options.Â
