The green heart of Sonoma Valley is shielded from sprawl and subdivisions by the Glen Ellen-Agua Caliente Community Separator, which preserves the green spaces between Sonoma County’s cities and towns.
Its boundaries contain 1,400 acres of oak woodlands, vineyards, organic farms, parks and nature preserves along scenic Highway 12. The Glen-Ellen-Agua Caliente Community Separator [PDF map] is one of eight community separators designated in Sonoma County that can’t be turned into housing tracts or shopping malls. Even so, significant stretches of natural and agricultural lands remain at risk of development in the Valley of the Moon, as writer and adventurer Jack London called it.
Greenbelt Alliance will explain the need to renew and enhance Sonoma Valley’s greenbelts through county community separator policies at the Sonoma Valley Citizens Advisory Commission (SVCAC) on Wednesday. Public comment and participation are welcome.
Meeting Details
Date: Wednesday, August 26
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Place: City of Sonoma Community Meeting Room, 177 First St. W, Sonoma
“Our initial assessment has found that the largest missing link for community separators here is along Highway 12 to the south toward Sonoma and north to Kenwood and in the Arnold Drive corridors,” explained Norman Gilroy, a long-time resident of Sonoma Valley and former SVCAC commissioner, who now sits on the newly formed local groundwater advisory group and the policy committee for the Community Alliance of Family Farmers for the North Coast.
The Sonoma County Open Space and Agricultural Preservation District has identified several areas in Sonoma Valley and around the county as “priority greenbelts.” These include the rolling grasslands and farms between Sonoma and Petaluma along Highway 116. Such lands are identified in the 2020 General Plan as priorities for community separator designation.
The public process to renew, strengthen and consider additional community separator designations around Sonoma County is now getting underway. Now is the time to contact the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors to urge them to consider new designations in the Valley of the Moon and across Sonoma County.
Take Action
To learn more or get involved, contact Regional Director Teri Shore.
Photo: Teri Shore
