A simple countywide majority vote on Measure K – the Community Separator Protection Ordinance – will renew longstanding voter protections for Sonoma County’s community separators for another 20 years.
Measure K sustains open space and the viability of family farms by maintaining agricultural and existing land use zoning. It will protect a total of 53,576 acres of natural and working farm lands from the threat of conversion to housing tracts, strip malls or resort hotels.
Measure K will cost the taxpayers absolutely nothing to protect and preserve our beautiful county for the next generation.
Measure K works by extending current requirements for countywide vote to reduce the size or change the land use zoning in lands designated by the county as community separators. These voter-backed protections were passed by more than 70% of the voters twenty years ago and are now up for renewal in 2016.
Community separators complement the cities’ urban growth boundaries by safeguarding adjacent unincorporated and undeveloped lands.
By inhibiting sprawl and inappropriate development, community separators also preserve waterways, drinking water, groundwater and recharge areas, wildlife corridors, hillsides, and woodlands. They also offer clean air, water, and climate resiliency.
Sonoma County has avoided the mistakes made by some Bay Area counties that have allowed for urban sprawl to spread into valuable open space and farm lands. Never again will they enjoy the important separation between cities, sense of community or scenic views.
By passing Measure K, Sonoma County can continue to avoid those same mistakes with the Community Separators Protection Ordinance.
Measure K is one of the most important greenbelt policy measures in Sonoma County in decades.
The Keep the Community Separators campaign committee is now working to secure endorsements, reach out to voters and raise funds to pass Measure K. Learn more here.
Mark your calendar for the Oct. 2 Celebrate the Separators fundraising event at the White Barn in Sonoma Valley.
This article was originally published in the Sonoma Gazette
