Goals and proposed actions available for discussion
On Sept. 25 the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors received the Draft Sonoma County Recovery and Resiliency Framework prepared by the Office of Recovery and Resiliency in collaboration with other county departments and agencies, cities and other jurisdictions, nonprofits and other community stakeholders.
“This framework is far more than a document — it’s a vision for recovery and resiliency,” said James Gore, Chairman of the Board of Supervisors and 4th District supervisor in a statement.
This framework was created in response to the 2017 firestorm and is now available for a 30-day comment period.
The draft was created with feedback and input from community members and stakeholders from July through September of 2018. The county hosted seven community meetings and collected 1,500 comments from more than 300 community members who attended.
In addition, two meetings were held in Spanish and the county conducted an online survey (collecting 115 responses) and met with more than 75 stakeholders and community organizations to gather input into the draft.
According to the draft’s overview, it, “represents the (board of supervisors’) call to action. The framework is a foundation for integration of public, private and non-governmental recovery efforts countywide, and is informed by community partners, county departments, cities and other jurisdictions in the county, and by engagement with the residents of Sonoma County.”
“The framework is structured around recovery efforts in five critical functional areas – community preparedness and infrastructure, housing, economy, safety net services and natural resources. Each area has its own vision statement, goals and proposed actions. The full set of proposed actions for all areas is part of the county’s comprehensive vision for reaching recovery and resiliency goals.”
Infrastructure and preparedness
Stated goals for community preparedness and infrastructure improvements include establishing a first class comprehensive warning program, redesigning the county emergency management program, training community members to create neighborhood preparedness (especially for vulnerable populations like seniors, non-English speakers and people with disabilities) and to create the ability for local government to respond to disaster events for 72 hours without external support.
Housing fixes
Housing is cited as a huge issue in the report, as it was before the fires, and there are a lengthy set of goals for this area. The county hopes to attract additional sources of capital to increase housing creation at all income levels and increase regulatory certainty to encourage construction.
The county also wants to make rebuilding fire-destroyed homes a priority, but also wants to support building and development standards for improved “disaster-proofing” and reduced climate impacts. Finally, the board of supervisors wants to use county-owned property to create developments that align with these goals.
Supporting local business
Damage to the local business economy will be felt long after the fires, and the county wants to, “develop and support a variety of workforce development efforts that contribute to rebuild efforts, resiliency and long-term economic vitality in Sonoma County and support local businesses to thrive by ensuring access to resources, developing partnerships and providing entrepreneurial support.”
Improving the safety net
In order to ensure good recovery for all citizens, the county must be prepared to enhance core county services to address long term recovery needs and prepare for future disasters, ensure the post-fire mental health and resiliency needs of the community are met and improve coordination and communication to understand and address inequities of vulnerable populations. These safety net services goals have the most extensive list of proposed actions in the document.
Preventing forest fires
According to the draft, “The diverse ecosystems of our landscape continue to attract and shape resident and visitor experiences and support the local economy. The variety of natural assets and the outstanding scenic beauty of our natural environment have motivated settlement, provided sustenance and resource values and prompted tourism over the decades, even while posing challenges and hazards. Recent trends in hydrology, soil moisture, drought and flood, as well as fire occurrence and patterns, have identified vulnerabilities to our natural resources and communities and have highlighted the importance of wildfire mitigation, flood prediction and surface and groundwater supply reliability.”
To achieve that vision, the county has set goals to reduce forest fuel loads strategically to lower wildfire hazards to communities and sensitive habitats, improve delivery of resources and amenities people need and move forests towards increased resistance to drought, disease and insects.
The county also wants to protect and enhance stream systems to lessen wildfire danger to communities, support water supply and drought tolerance and provide flood attenuation while sustaining ecological functions and biological diversity.
The plan also attempts to build on prior and continuing investments in natural resources acquisitions, monitoring, technical studies and partnerships to integrate best available science into outreach efforts, policy development, regulations, incentives and land use planning decisions.
Vision behind the change
“(This framework) provides Sonoma County residents with the opportunity to help shape the future of their beautiful county as we rebuild and recover from last year’s devastating fires,” said Gore. “The board and county staff encourage community members to continue to offer their vital feedback and input over the next month.”
5th District supervisor Lynda Hopkins hopes that this plan can solve what she calls the “Saturday problem.”
“We had problems on Saturday, October 7, before anything that happened on October 8,” she said. “It is really critical that we address these Saturday problems, rather than just look at post-fire liabilities. I’m really pleased with how the plan has come together and I think it charts a pathway forward for recovery and provides a way to come back stronger than ever before.”
Hopkins said she and Gore worked particularly hard on the natural resources portion of the plan, since the 4th and 5th districts contain 85 percent of the forested land in the county — an inherent risk that must be addressed.
“The forests right now are not healthy,” she said. “We are seeing rampant tree mortality on the north coast and the impacts of clear cutting. The forest actually comes back overstocked with trees (after clear cutting), it becomes very dense, which is bad for fire, bad for carbon sequestration and bad for biodiversity.
“We put a lot of thinking into how we can improve forest health. I think it’s critical to address those concerns,” she finished, adding that as a Forestville resident, she knows the area is overdue for a fire.
The draft is now available for public comment. It can be found in English and Spanish at https://sonomacounty.ca.gov/Office-of-Recovery-and-Resiliency/. Members of the public can submit feedback now through Oct. 26. Public input can be submitted via email to re**********@so***********.org.
