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Press Release

November 8, 2006

Contact:
Daisy Pistey-Lyhne, Sonoma-Marin Field Representative, (707) 575-3661
Elizabeth Stampe, Communications Director, (415) 543-6771 x307

Sonoma Voters Renew Protections for Farmland, Open Space

Measure F Passes; Similar Measures Pass Throughout Region, State

Sonoma County’s Measure F sailed into victory yesterday with 75% of the vote, renewing a 1/4-cent sales tax to purchase and maintain parklands and agricultural easements. Measure F’s passage will provide $17–30 million per year for the Sonoma Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District, which has protected over 68,000 acres since its establishment in 1990.

“Sonoma County voters strongly agree that we continue to grow, we need to continue our strong protections for working farms and natural areas,” said Daisy Pistey-Lyhne, Greenbelt Alliance’s Sonoma-Marin field representative.

Greenbelt Alliance, the Bay Area’s land conservation and urban planning non-profit, was a strong endorser of Measure F, as well as two similar initiatives that passed on Tuesday:

• Proposition 84, a statewide measure to provide over $5 billion in funding for water quality and open space protection. Prop 84 won 53.8% of the vote.

• Napa County’s Measure I, creating a new Parks and Open Space District to purchase and maintain parklands and provide access to the county’s 120,000 acres of existing public open space. The measure won 54.4% of the vote.

"The election results show that California voters believe in taking good care of our state’s watersheds, hills, and farmlands,” said Tom Steinbach, Greenbelt Alliance’s executive director. “Voters are investing in open space protection to ensure clean water and a healthy environment for generations to come.”

In its Bay Area Smart Growth Scorecard report released this summer, Greenbelt Alliance awarded Sonoma County the only perfect score any county received for open space protection. The report, the first-ever survey of growth-related policies in all 101 cities and 9 counties of the Bay Area, gave Sonoma County high marks for its strong funding commitment and for the district’s inclusion of farmland in its mandate—the only Bay Area district to do so.

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For 50 years, Greenbelt Alliance has been the San Francisco Bay Area's advocate for open spaces and vibrant places, with offices in San Francisco, San Jose, Walnut Creek, Fairfield, and Santa Rosa. www.greenbelt.org