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Greenbelt Alliance In the News

May 31, 2004

Healdsburg Saggio Hills project under fire

Windsor fears wastewater runoff will affect its wells; activists urge more affordable housing

The planned Saggio Hills project just northeast of city limits includes sites for 48 estate homes, a 100-room resort, 21/2 acres for affordable housing that could include up to 50 apartments, 31 acres for a city park, and 45 acres reserved for vineyards and olive groves.

When the initial study was released in April, some Healdsburg citizens complained about a lack of affordable housing and inadequate wetlands preservation.

Now, Windsor's planning director has sent a sharply worded letter to Healdsburg, suggesting the environmental studies do not address possible effects on Windsor's water supply, downstream from Healdsburg's wastewater treatment pond.

The Greenbelt Alliance also has asked the city to consider a higher-density housing project for the last available acreage within Healdsburg's urban growth boundary.

The comments will be included in a final environmental impact report the City Council will examine later this summer.

Windsor's wells, which supply 25,000 people with drinking water, are 1 mile south of Healdsburg's Basalt Pond along the Russian River. Healdsburg has dumped about 430 million gallons of treated wastewater annually into the pond since 1978.

In a letter this month to Healdsburg officials, Windsor Planning Director Peter Chamberlin complained the draft environmental impact report does not adequately address potential wastewater problems for Healdsburg or its downstream neighbor.

Windsor wants several questions answered, including why no studies have been done on wastewater demands Saggio Hills might create and why the developer hasn't been required to implement conservation measures.

"How can the city of Healdsburg justify approving a project of this size and magnitude ... knowing it will add millions of gallons of secondary treated effluent each year into the Basalt Pond?" Chamberlin wrote. "The city of Healdsburg has yet to come up with a long-term plan or solution for its wastewater treatment, storage and disposal system to serve its existing customers. Why wouldn't Healdsburg postpone annexing such a large project as the Saggio Hills until a long-term solution can be developed?"

Healdsburg City Councilwoman Leah Gold said Windsor's complaints were unclear.

"It hardly seems like a relevant issue for them," she said. "A development of this magnitude doesn't seem like it's going to affect their water supply. On the face of it, it doesn't make a lot of sense."

Greenbelt Alliance spokeswoman Kelly Brown said Saggio Hills' current proposal is a "serious underutilization" of the last developable lands in Healdsburg.

"By proposing to use these 311 acres -- the last and largest remaining residentially designated area in your UGB (urban growth boundary) -- for primarily very low-density, upscale development, this project places premature pressure on the UGB and jeopardizes the city's ability to meet housing needs over the long term," she said.

Though much of the site is hilly and unsuitable for higher-density housing, Gold said more housing could be required as the project makes its way through the city approval process.

The developer is currently conducting environmental studies. Once the studies are complete, the project will go to the Planning Commission for review.

In the past few years, Healdsburg has had to defend itself from claims the discharge of wastewater into the 58-acre gravel pit threatens river or ground-water quality. City officials say the pond naturally filters wastewater from the city's nearby treatment facility before it seeps into the river.

Though it has prevailed in two suits, a judge ordered Healdsburg in January to get a federal permit to continue discharging into the pond. While the case is pending appeal, environmental studies are continuing for a new, state-of-the-art treatment plant.

You can reach Staff Writer Lori A. Carter at 521-5205 or lcarter@pressdemocrat.com.

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