About Fitch Mountain
Preserving Fitch Mountain, forever, has been a goal of the community for decades. In 2014 it became a reality when the City of Healdsburg and the Sonoma County Agriculture Preservation and Open Space District entered into a purchase agreement for the property. This agreement, along with the property’s conservation easement and recreation covenant, established the property as a park and open space preserve that will be protected, forever.
The conservation easement for the property is restrictive and limits what activities could occur on the property. In addition, it requires that the city develop a management plan that assesses the current condition, guides future development and management of the property’s resources, and proposes recreational uses.
The city launched the management plan process in early 2016. This process included site assessments, developing design concepts for access improvements and studying proposed recreational uses. All of this work has been performed through a public process that involved focus groups, community meetings, public feedback, a robust project website and significant outreach. There have been numerous comments and suggestions that have been incorporated into the management plan as a result of the public process, including the allowance of mountain biking, a long-standing, low impact use on the property.
However, over the past two months the public conversation has turned from achieving common goals to divisiveness, fueled in part by misinformation and misconceptions about group activities. The management plan does not propose leveling the summit, paving roads, driving limousines or catering trucks to the top, or constructing a resort at the peak. These rumors are simply false.
What the management plan does propose is providing access to the mountain for all, as well as creative ways to help fund the city’s obligations to operate and maintain the property as a park and open space preserve, forever. These two criteria were established when the city entered into the purchase agreement and accepted the responsibilities in the conservation easement and recreation covenant in 2014. They are not new concepts.
The conservation easement mandates that the property be open to all and allows group activities to occur under very strict guidelines. The management plan proposes that group use follow the city’s special event process and receive a permit for the activity to occur. The city council would, by policy, adopt further requirements to ensure that no negative impact occurs, and that the operation be reviewed on a regular basis.
The management plan does not propose to turn the park and open space preserve into an event center. Instead, it proposes concepts like:
A group be allowed, under permit, to have a ceremonial hike up the mountain;
Participants at the Fitch Mountain fundraiser that occurred in October 2016 be allowed, under permit, to celebrate their financial contribution toward the long term stewardship of the property by gathering for a few moments at the summit for a photo opportunity;
Local Boy Scout Troop 21 be allowed, under permit, to hike up the mountain and have a close-to-home overnight camping experience.
It appears that much of the dissent related to the proposed concepts is the result of wording used in the conservation easement. For example, “Park Improvement Area” can easily be associated with a development of the summit, and “Special Event” creates a vision of large scale events at the summit with food and music. Neither of these concepts are being proposed.
The city’s goal is to develop a plan that protects the mountain while meeting the intent set forth in 2014 in the conservation easement of providing access in low-impact, unique and creative ways that are consistent with the conservation values of the property. While accomplishing this goal, we hope to establish a source of funding that will help the city operate and maintain the property, forever.
City staff is continuing our conversations with community members and officials regarding modifications to the management plan to address concerns and achieve common solutions. In order to accomplish this goal we must move beyond misinformation and misconceptions and work together as a community. Please visit the project website to learn more about what’s proposed for Fitch Mountain: www.ci.healdsburg.ca.us/742/Fitch-Mountain.
Mark Themig is the Community Services Director for the city of Healdsburg.
