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Sonoma voters approve urban growth boundaries
On Nov. 2, 2010, Santa Rosa, Petaluma, and Cloverdale voters approved urban growth boundaries for their communities, curbing sprawl and protecting Sonoma's green space for 15-25 years.
In Santa Rosa, Measure O passed by 66.9%, renewing the city’s urban growth boundary until 2035. Measure T won with 64.5%, renewing Petaluma's urban growth boundary through 2025. And in Cloverdale, Measure Q, which establishes the city's first urban growth boundary, passed by 56.7%.
Boundaries are on the ballot in Santa Rosa and Cloverdale
This November, Santa Rosa and Cloverdale can protect the green space around their cities.
City councils in both of these Sonoma County communities voted in June to put urban growth boundary measures on the November 2010 ballot. If Cloverdale passes its line, it will no longer be the only city in the county without a voter-approved urban growth boundary, the best tool to curb sprawl. In Santa Rosa, renewing the urban growth boundary will make it match the city's updated General Plan. Read more on our Grow Smart Bay Area blog.
Petaluma residents will vote on urban growth boundary
On Dec. 21, the Petaluma City Council unanimously voted to put extending the urban growth boundary on the Nov. 2 ballot. If the voters approve it, the sprawl-busting line will be extended until 2025.
Santa Rosa updates its housing element
On November 3, 2009, Santa Rosa's City Council voted 5-2 to make the much-needed revisions to the inclusionary ordinance, which is a tool to provide homes people can afford! Greenbelt Alliance, as part of the Accountable Development Coalition, has been advocating for changes in Santa Rosa’s inclusionary ordinance and other policies in the Housing Allocation Plan.
Campaigns
Santa Rosa Urban Growth Boundary
Santa Rosa voters first approved an Urban Growth Boundary in 1990 and passed a 20-year UGB
measure in 1996. The City is currently working on its 2035 General Plan
Update. Greenbelt Alliance, along with a coalition of local nonprofits and
community members, is exploring the possibility of renewing the Urban
Growth Boundary in 2010 through 2035 to bring the policy in line with the
goals of the General Plan. The UGB helps protect important open space and
farmlands, helps prevent urban sprawl, and promotes growth in Santa
Rosa's urban center.
Cloverdale Urban Growth Boundary
In its most recent General Plan, the Cloverdale City Council includes plans to implement an urban growth boundary to protect hills and farmland. The City hopes to adopt the the boundary as a General Plan amendment in the next few months. The line still needs to be tightened, as it stretches two miles south to Asti, despite a petition signed by more than one hundred local residents asking for a tighter line. Though we still have work to do on the line, this is great progress for Sonoma County.
Petaluma Urban Growth Boundary
In 1998 Petaluma residents voted yes on Measure I to create a 20-year
urban growth boundary. The policy, which expires in 2018, limits the
location of urban development and helps protect the green spaces that ring
the city. After a unanimous vote from both Petaluma's Planning Commission
and City Council, the City has decided to ask voters to renew the urban
growth boundary through 2035 by putting a measure on the November 2, 2010
ballot.
North Santa Rosa Station
In June 2010, the SMART board voted to place the North Santa Rosa station at Guerneville Road. With funding from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, the City will soon start to host community workshops to get input on the vision for this neighborhood. Please get involved and let the City know what you would like to see in your community.
Santa Rosa Downtown Station Area Plan
With funding from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, Santa Rosa
created a vision for the next 25 years of development around the
anticipated downtown SMART train station. This plan has the potential to
create a vibrant downtown core for the city with more residents, a mix of
uses, and bike- and pedestrian-friendly streets, and to stimulate more ridership
for the anticipated SMART train.
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