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Cloverdale Urban Growth Boundary
With slightly over 7,000 residents, Cloverdale is still a bucolic community,
bordered to the north by Mendocino County redwood forests and to the
south by the
breathtaking Alexander Valley. This may change in the coming years though.
With land prices that are relatively low compared to the rest of Sonoma
County, and a lack of growth management policies, sprawl development
threatens
to destroy the rural character of the Cloverdale area. Cloverdale is
the only City in Sonoma County that does not have an Urban Growth Boundary
(UGB)
that
clearly states where development should and should not go.
The City began
an update of their General Plan in early 2005. The updated plan will
act
as the blueprint for growth for the next 20 years. This update presents
a critical opportunity for the City's leaders to adopt a UGB that will
protect the community's rural character and surrounding hillsides from
sprawl development. Greenbelt Alliance is working actively
with residents to urge their elected officials to adopt a UGB.
What You Can Do
Campaign Update
June 2008
Since the Council’s decision on a line for the urban growth boundary in February, the City’s emphasis has shifted to updating the General Plan. The updated General Plan will include an urban growth boundary line and language laying out allowable uses inside and outside the line. Greenbelt Alliance is working with local residents to ensure that the language outlining the boundary is strong enough to prevent sprawling development far from Cloverdale’s core.
March 2008
In February, thanks to the hard work of local citizens, the Council voted to approve a line for the urban growth boundary that would protect vineyards to the south of town from development, preserve hillsides from development, and allow for new homes and jobs. After the Council originally supported a line that would have allowed sprawl to pave over farmlands to the south of town, local residents spoke out against the Council’s decision. Due to this opposition by local residents, the Council reversed their position, and chose the preferable line. Greenbelt Alliance will continue to follow the Council’s process to ensure that the final language and line for the urban growth boundary will truly plan for a vibrant community and a protected greenbelt.
November/December 2007
On October 9, Greenbelt Alliance and allies held a forum in Cloverdale
to educate the public on urban growth boundaries and what a UGB would
mean for Cloverdale. Attended by over 120 people, the event served to
build support in the community for a boundary and to begin discussion
on where that boundary should be. To continue the discussion, the City
Council
is holding two meetings early in the 2008 to determine where and what
the boundary should be. On Monday, January 14, at 7pm at the Citrus Fair,
the Council and the public
will
discuss what should be allowed
inside and outside the boundary. On Saturday, January 19, from 2-4pm
at the Veterans' Hall, the Council and the public will discuss where
the boundary should be. There are several entities who would like to
create a boundary which would more than double the size of Cloverdale.
However, many local residents do not feel that this is good for Cloverdale's
future and are speaking out against this huge expansion.
September 2007
The urban growth boundary in Cloverdale is finally moving
forward. Two important meetings will be held in October to talk about
the UGB.
First,
Greenbelt Alliance, Sonoma County Conservation Action, and the Cloverdale
UGB committee will be jointly hosting a forum on urban growth boundaries.
The forum will be held Tuesday, October 9 from 6:30-8:30pm at the
Tea Room of the Citrus Fair. Speakers will address how an urban growth
boundary works, what challenges Cloverdale is currently facing, and how
urban growth boundaries have worked in other cities in Sonoma County.
Then, on Wednesday, October 17 at 6:30pm in the Senior Center, the
City Council will hold a study session on the urban growth boundary.
There, residents will have the opportunity to speak up in support of
adopting an urban growth boundary.
August 2007
The urban growth boundary campaign is gaining momentum. Local residents
are preparing to hold an informational forum for Cloverdale residents
on
Tuesday, October
9 from 6:30-9:30pm at the Tea Room in the Citrus Fair. This will be
a chance for local residents to learn more about what an urban growth
boundary is important for Cloverdale, what it can do for the town, and
how the process of its adoption will run.
Likewise, through input from local residents, the City Council has directed
city staff to move forward with identifying the location for the UGB’s
boundary line at a quicker pace than before. The City Council will be
holding a special meeting on Wednesday, October 17 at 6:30pm at the
Senior Center to discuss plans for the process of adoption of an urban
growth boundary.
July 2007
The City is considering expanding its jurisdiction far south,
to include land all the way to the Asti winery. Many citizens have expressed
strong
concerns over this far-reaching land grab, and the detrimental impacts
that it could have on the city’s already-stretched budget. Development
far to the south does not serve downtown businesses and creates demand
for expensive infrastructure (water, sewer, electrical lines) that will
cost the City greatly.
Despite strong support in the community for an urban growth boundary,
the current General Plan process will not give Cloverdale an urban growth
boundary until 2010. With projects and annexations looming to the north,
east, and south, Cloverdale
needs
an urban growth boundary now more than ever. Residents are encouraged
to get involved and to write their City Council to demand an urban growth
boundary.
June 2007
The Cloverdale City Council will begin deliberations on the General Plan
in the fall. The Council wants to include areas to the far south of town,
all the way to Asti, in the General Plan as possible future areas to
annex into the city. A number of citizens showed up to express their
concerns about the city’s continual southern expansion, saying
that the city was “putting the cart before the horse” by
approving the possible southern expansion without asking the community
where an urban growth boundary should go. They asked the Council to take
up the issue of adopting an urban growth boundary as soon as possible
to avoid this problem. The Council has responded by considering how to
begin the UGB adoption process more quickly than scheduled.
March 2007
The Cloverdale General Plan update process has been moving slowly, but
steadily. The City Council held their first hearing on the General
Plan in early March, before directing staff to begin preparing the
Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR). After the DEIR is produced,
citizens will have the opportunity to ask that the City Council keep
strong language about the urban growth boundary in the General Plan
when hearings begin in the spring.
January 2007
In mid-November, the Cloverdale Planning Commission voted to adopt language
calling for the creation of an Urban Growth Boundary (UGB). A number
of local citizens attended the Commission meeting to encourage adoption
of this planning tool. With the passage of this language into the draft
General Plan, the next step is ensuring that the City Council will
vote for language that is strong enough to make a good UGB happen.
November 2006
Strong local support for the urban growth boundary (UGB), among other
issues, swept in a UGB-supporting majority to the Cloverdale City Council
in this November’s election! The Planning Commission will vote
on November 15th whether or not to include language for adoption of a
UGB into the General Plan update. We are continuing to organize local residents
to ensure that the UGB is adopted.
October 2006
On
November 15th at 6:30pm at the Cloverdale Senior Center, the Cloverdale
Planning Commission will have a meeting to discuss adopting an urban
growth boundary, as part of the General Plan update. Local
residents interested
in ensuring that the City plan well for its future development are encouraged
to attend this meeting. The Urban Growth Boundary has emerged as a central
issue in the City Council races this November.
September 2006
The Cloverdale Planning Commission has begun a series of five monthly meetings during which they will deliberate over the draft General Plan. The Commission will take up the proposal to adopt an urban growth boundary on Wednesday, November 15 at 6:30 pm in the Cloverdale Senior Center, 311 N. Main Street.
A group of community members has formed to ensure that a boundary is adopted that will restrain sprawl from creeping the community further outward, and will encourage reinvestment in the existent town. Already, over 400 citizens have signed postcards stating their desire for the Commission and City Council to put a boundary into place as quickly as possible.
August 2006
After several months of delay, the Cloverdale General Plan process is
moving forward. The City will be hosting several education scoping meetings
to discuss environmental concerns about policies in the General Plan.
Many policies in the General Plan will affect how growth occurs in the
future of Cloverdale. The recent water shortage highlights the necessity
for good planning for future growth in the city. Many citizens of Cloverdale
see the adoption of an urban growth boundary in the General Plan update
as one key step toward better planning. The current draft General Plan
will include language that calls for an urban growth boundary to be adopted.
February 2006
The proposed Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) for Cloverdale is getting the
town buzzing. More than 380 - and counting - citizens of Cloverdale have
signed postcards asking the City Council and Planning Commission to adopt
a UGB during their General Plan update. The Cloverdale Draft General Plan
was passed off from the Citizen's Advisory Committee to the Planning Commission
and City Council in mid-January. At the joint meeting of these bodies
the Urban Growth Boundary was discussed, though members stayed mostly
silent about their positions. Letters to the editor in the town weekly,
the Cloverdale Reveille, have been flooding in, overwhelmingly supportive
of the issue.
January 2006
After many months of meetings, the Cloverdale Citizens' Advisory Committee
held their last session in mid-December. With the close of meetings, a
Draft General Plan (DGP) was created for the City to move forward with
the writing of an Environmental Impact Report (EIR). The DGP calls for
the adoption of an urban growth boundary (UGB) within 6 months of the
adoption of the updated General Plan. As the recommendation is written,
the UGB will go before voters to approve its adoption. But first, the
DGP will go before the Planning Commission and City Council. It is important
for local residents to speak up as voices for a UGB!
01/24/2006 Cloverdale
to consider setting urban growth limits, Santa Rosa Press Democrat
November 2005
At the October meeting of Cloverdale's Citizen's Advisory Committee (CAC),
the group voted to include an urban growth boundary (UGB) in the city's
Draft General Plan. Several local citizens attended this meeting and spoke
of the benefits that a UGB could bring to Cloverdale.
October 2005
A Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) is in its last months of deliberation
over Cloverdale's General Plan update. Greenbelt Alliance was asked to
speak at the CAC's September meeting about the benefits of an urban growth
boundary (UGB) in Cloverdale. Greenbelt Alliance made a presentation to
the committee that emphasized the role that a UGB could play in helping
to manage future growth in Cloverdale, and in shaping that growth in a
way that would better fulfill many of the community's key interests, such
as hillside protection, downtown-centered economic growth, clearly defined
entrances and exits for the city, and limits to growth east of the Russian
River. Greenbelt Alliance has offered our assistance to the CAC and Planning
Director Bruce Kibby in the process of adopting a UGB.
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