In a unanimous 4 – 0 vote, a luxury resort and event center was denied in a voter-protected community separator greenbelt by the Sonoma County Board of Zoning Adjustments (BZA) on Thursday, July 9. The vote came after a lengthy public hearing with 25 community leaders voicing opposition and more than 300 emails and letters sent in against the proposed luxury resort.
The Commissioners chose to uphold longstanding county policies to protect community separators and deny the intensified commercial land proposed use on the rural property at 3890 Old Redwood Highway in the heart of the key Windsor-Larkfield-Santa Rosa Community Separator.
By upholding legacy greenbelt protections that are so popular with voters the Commissioners have shown that they will stand by community leaders and members who care so much for our rural lands and keeping sprawl at bay.
The vote will be finalized on July 23 through an administrative step as the public hearing is closed. Until the vote is made final, no ex-parte communications on the vote or the development is allowed between the BZA, public, or developer.
While we are pleased, and believe the BZA made the right decision, we will closely monitor the future of this proposed project to ensure the will of the voters is upheld.
