Written by: Marc Albert

Published: 02 February 2023

Another major public construction project will move forward, at least in concept, after county supervisors Tuesday unanimously agreed to further explore replacing the Sonoma County's mid-century office complex.

  

The two proposed options, costing an estimated $721 and $682 million respectively, would cover only part of the current site.

 

The rest could be sold and turned into a new neighborhood, offsetting a portion of the expense.

  

The initiative comes nearly a year after the board cancelled plans to move county offices to downtown Santa Rosa, mainly due to cost.

  

Board Chair Chris Coursey wasn't thrilled with the financial projections for the new plan.

 

"We went thorough a long, detailed process before and this is less money that we're talking about, but it's still a s***-load of money. I mean, it's a lot of money is what I meant to say. We need more information on this, and that is the only reason I can support this at this point."

 

Coursey wondered how much money selling part of the 40 acre campus would generate. The county has for years deferred maintenance on the current complex, saving some funds up front, but creating an expensive backlog should replacement plans founder. 

 

A redesigned campus would have considerably less parking. County officials outlined several initiatives to encourage people working or visiting, not to drive there.

  

Supervisor Susan Gorin told officials such habits take time to change, and should be started now.

"I would encourage you not to wait until the building is built before you start operating those services. We all have to get used to taking transit, riding bikes, taking the train, and the sooner we can get to that, the better," she said.

Read more: County to ponder costs, details as further study of new county office complex approved

Written by: Noah Abrams

Published: 01 February 2023

Sonoma County’s three groundwater sustainability agencies formed back in 2017. The state has now approved long-awaited plans to keep Sonoma County and Napa Valley's underground aquifers full far into the future.

 

Petaluma Valley GSP Cover
photo credit: Petaluma Valley GSA

The groundwater sustainability plans were prepared to be compliant with a state law that went into effect after the previous drought in 2015. The  Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, known as SGMA.

Marcus Trotta is a groundwater expert for Sonoma Water, who served as project manager for the recently approved Santa Rosa Plain and Petaluma Valley groundwater sustainability plans.

"So there's one agency in each basin that's required to submit the plans, implement the plans, and then achieve sustainability within the basin within 20 years after submitting those plans," Trotta said.

The plans have a specific goal, Trotta said.

"To provide sustainable groundwater conditions to make sure that there's water available in the aquifer for rural residents, agricultural users, municipal groundwater users within the basin, going forward, and that take into account future changes in land use to make sure that groundwater's considered in those decisions," Trotta said.

Basins the state designated as critically over drafted were required to submit their plans to the State’s Department of Water Resources in January of 2020, Trotta said.

"In Sonoma County, we don't have any basins that are considered critically over drafted, and so our plans were due to be completed in January of 2022," Trotta said.

Over 100 sub-basins in California have a groundwater sustainability agency due to a combination of factors, including the level of development and local hydrology within the sub basin.

Plans are now set to keep enough water in underground aquifers in the Santa Rosa Plain, Petaluma Valley, Sonoma Valley and Napa Valley.

As well as a year-long review, the planning process itself took over four years, including hundreds of meetings. Trotta said the plans take a variety of groundwater factors into account.

"Groundwater budgets for the basins, how much water is estimated to be being used and recharged in the basins," Trotta said. "What types of thresholds and considerations should be used for things like groundwater levels and depletion of surface waters in the basin?"

Paul Gosselin, a groundwater expert with the state water agency, said even with approval, the plans are meant to be adaptable.

"No plan’s going to be totally perfect," Gosselin said. "We're going to expect plans to adapt over time. Additionally, we will be reviewing for approved plans, their annual reports, and particularly the five year updates."

As Gosselin noted, SGMA requires sustainability within 20 years.

"For non critically over drafted basins we're expecting them to reach their sustainability goals by 2042," Gosselin said. "Some are advancing them a lot sooner than that."

50 year hydrology projections are also integrated into the plans. Something Gosselin said is needed, due to changing environmental factors, like drought or intense atmospheric rivers.

"The climate's changed a lot faster than we anticipated," Gosselin said. "Constant increased temperature is going to create, and has created its own water demand. So we're expecting that during plan implementation, as more data comes out as we evaluate water supply reliability, and if that obviously may change, plans are going to have to adjust to the reality of climate change."

Trotta said the plans include two major project categories.

"Groundwater sustainability agencies have a kind of a suite of projects that include both conservation as well as recharge type projects that can be used to improve our water supplies and increase our resiliency by doing a better job of capturing winter water and utilizing some of that water to recharge our groundwater basin so that water's available during the summer and dryer periods when it's needed," Trotta said.

Gosselin said recharge projects can take a variety of forms.

"Some from flood," Gosselin said. "Some are managed aquifer recharge projects on working lands, others are recharge basins and others, so they run the gamut."

"We've issued a lot of grants to groundwater sustainability agencies because it is foundational to a lot of basin plans to increase and improve, recharge, balanced against demand reduction," Gosselin said.

While Gosselin does say there are many existing recharge projects that have long gone under the radar, he said the increasing prominence and importance has prompted a number of moves in Sacramento to fast track and approve new groundwater recharge projects across the state.

While sustainability efforts like recharge and conservation are important aspects of the plans, carrots are not the only tool available to local GSA’s, Trotta said.

"The groundwater agencies also do have the authority to limit pumping in the future," Trotta said.

Trotta said Sonoma County’s three groundwater agencies have applied for state grants totaling around 20 million dollars. One of the main sticks the agencies have at their disposal are fees.

"Fees are based on the amount of estimated or measured groundwater use by different groundwater users," Trotta said. "The cities are required to meter and report how much groundwater they pumped, and so their fees are based on their reported amount of groundwater pumping."

Trotta noted that fees also are needed to cover operating costs.

"The groundwater sustainability agency is assessing fees to those cities that they would then pass onto their customers through their water bill," Trotta said. "And then for folks that are outside of cities and have their own well, those users are getting assessed based on estimated groundwater."

For rural users, fees will be assessed via property taxes; with the current rate for all three agencies in Sonoma County set at $40 per acre foot. An acre foot being equivalent to about 326 thousand gallons of water.

The groundwater usage of a rural residence with a home garden and landscaping is estimated to be a half acre foot, a yearly fee of 20 dollars.

Written by: Noah Abrams

Published: 30 January 2023

Last year Sebastopol adopted a climate action framework to help guide the city’s transition away from fossil fuels. To help with Sebastopol’s green transition the City's Climate Acton Committee set up a series of community meetings to spur public involvement, starting January 26th.

 

Flyers for Third Act, the nonprofit that helps organize Americans over 60 to fight for progressive change, sat alongside copies of Sebastopol’s Climate Action Framework as a mostly older crowd of about 50 people gathered at the Sebastopol Cultural Community Center for the meeting.

 

They shared pizza slices and talked about the varied contributors to the city’s greenhouse emission inventory.

 

Josho Simone, a climate action committee member and permaculturalist, led a breakout group focused on land use and carbon sequestration within the city.

 

He said Sebastopol has taken some common sense steps like installing solar panels on some city property and letting lawns go unwatered during the summer.

 

Simone said the city still runs up against a major issue facing local governments in their fight against climate change.

 

"It's a small town," Simone said. "There's not a lot of staff time, not a lot of extra money. So they're all looking for suggestions about what to do further."

 

Sara Camnasio is a Sebastopol resident and volunteer with the City's Climate Action Committee.

 

"We have to involve the community, and so can we set an example as Sebastopol for one way to do that?" Camnasio said "Can we get inspired by other towns?"

 

Camnasio said she sees community involvement as central to decarbonizing Sebastopol, and hopes to see the energy and ideas from the meeting, and from the community as a whole, push the city to take needed action.

 

"Because of the impact climate change has on everything, on every layer of society, it's going to be so important to involve community members," Camnasio said. "I think we're at a stage where in many places, plans are getting put together behind closed doors by experts and launched. If we are to address the urgency of this crisis in the timeliness it requires, we need to break those barriers down. We need to democratize."

Read more: Sebastopol's Climate Action Committee holds first climate action framework community meeting

Written by: Noah Abrams

Published: 30 January 2023

Efforts to knit a more inclusive, connected Healdsburg continue. That includes a series of community encuentros - meetings - on topics from housing to migrant labor to indigenous history.

 

A mixed crowd of around 60 people turned out for the year's first encuentro. That included residents and nonprofit workers, councilmembers and city employees, educators and the mayor. It's all part of the city's effort to write a new diversity, equity, and inclusion plan.

 

The group talked about community, indigenous voices, and whether the “land acknowledgements” that are becoming more common, are mere symbolism, or represent a historic shift in recognizing past injustice.

 

Healdsburg Mayor Ariel Kelley said the meetings are an important space for honesty.

 

"The indigenous community is vast and very diverse, and when we're looking at ways that the City of Healdsburg can learn and can listen, conversations like this are a really great starting point," Kelley said.

 

The encuentros are part of a partnership between the City and Corazon Healdsburg, a Latino-based community group. Kelley said their work has been instrumental.

 

"One of the things that was very apparent was just how much work we had to do to bring people together, set the table where people could then grab a seat at the table and then eventually feel comfortable speaking at the table," Kelley said. "And part of it was making people feel comfortable speaking. Another part of it was teaching people how to shut up and listen."

 

Also on hand, educators Brenda Flyswithhawks, Alma Diaz, and Clint McKay - a member of the Dry Creek Rancheria and cultural bearer of local Pomo and Wappo knowledge.

 

McKay said even small steps are progress, and making progress means starting somewhere.

 

"It's a good first step to have indigenous voices heard something that we have been denied far too long," McKay said. "We've been kind of put back in the shadows and made to be invisible. This was a good first step for getting us out, letting the community know that the City acknowledges that we are still here as a people."

 

As for the diverse crowd, which included English, Spanish, Mixteco, and Wappo speakers, McKay said it is a point of strength.

 

"Seeing multiple facets of our community come together and celebrate the strength that is found within our diversity, I think will carry us a long way," McKay said.

 

The next encuentro is planned for February 23. Titled, "Is the dream still alive in Healdsburg?" the focus will be on contemporary and historical experiences of the Black community in Healdsburg and Sonoma County.

 

More info can be found on the City of Healdsburg's website.

 

Read more: Residents, officials gather for conversation about honoring indigenous history and place in...