Community meetings scheduled throughout March
A local organization seeks public input, as it maps out the future of agriculture and land preservation in Sonoma County.
“This is a real opportunity for folks to make sure their perspective is being heard,” said Karen Gaffney, Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation & Open Space District Conservation Planning Program Manager.
The Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation & Open Space District began work last year on the Vital Lands Initiative, a long-term strategic plan that will guide the work of the district for the next 15 years.
The group hosted a series of public scoping meetings in March 2017 and is now asking the community to weigh in on the plan’s draft goals, objectives and strategies before taking a full draft plan to its board of directors later this spring.
Gaffney said the first series of community meetings last March provided great feedback from the community. The organization took that information and created a 155-page draft plan available for review at sonomaopenspace.org/vital-lands.
“We are focused on really just listening,” she said. “What do people think is missing or needs to be amplified?”
The agency invites the community to provide input at the following public meetings:
Saturday, March 17 – Community Church of Sebastopol | 10 a.m. to noon
Monday, March 19 – Sonoma Veterans Memorial Building| 6 – 8 p.m.
Tuesday, March 20 – Bodega Bay Grange | 6 – 8 p.m.
Wednesday, March 21 – Petaluma Veterans Memorial Building | 6 – 8 p.m.
Thursday, March 22 – Finley Community Center, Person Senior Wing | 5 – 7 p.m.
Monday, March 26 – Sea Ranch Hall | 6 – 8 p.m.
Wednesday, March 28 – Healdsburg Villa Chanticleer | 6 – 8 p.m.
Thursday, March 29 – Santa Rosa Veterans Memorial Building | 6 – 8 p.m.
Saturday, March 31 – Cloverdale Veterans Memorial Building | 10 a.m. – noon
Gaffney said the organization created the draft goals, objectives, and strategies of the Vital Lands Initiative by using the best available science, data, and technical information in combination with community involvement.
For this series of meetings, the agency made a special effort to include as many communities as possible in the conversation.
“We take very seriously the input of the community and want to utilize taxpayer dollar investment,” Gaffney said.
The mission of the Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation & Open Space District is to permanently protect the diverse agricultural, natural resource and scenic open space lands of Sonoma County for future generations. The district is responsible for the perpetual protection of over 114,000 acres of land through a quarter-cent sales tax approved by voters in 1990 and reauthorized in 2006.
According to a press release, the district is one of the leading farmland and open space preservation programs in the nation with a diverse mission to preserve the best of Sonoma County’s unique agricultural and natural resources.
Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation & Open Space District General Manager Bill Keene said the road ahead will be full of challenges.
“While we are proud of our accomplishments to date, our most important successes are yet to come,” said Keene. “As we look ahead to the next 15 years, we face exceptional challenges – population growth; escalating land values; drought; increased pressure on farmland, open space, and wildlife habitat; and the growing impacts of climate change. The Vital Lands Initiative will provide the roadmap necessary to preserve a healthy, beautiful, and resilient Sonoma County now and for generations to come.”
