July 19: Hearing for Community Separators ballot measure

Right now, we have the chance to advance the most important greenbelt policy protections in Sonoma County in 20 years!
Now is the time to tell the Board of Supervisors that you support community separators before their vote on the ballot measure and community separator additions.

Come to the public hearing!

July 19 at 2:30 pm

Board of Supervisors Chambers, 575 Administration Drive in Santa Rosa..

http://www.sonoma-county.org/prmd/docs/community_separators/ORD15-0003_BOS_Legal_Notice_7-19-16_FINAL.pdf

 View of community separator

 

In June, the Planning Commission voted 5 – 0 to approve the community separators ballot measure and additions. Now the measure will be voted on by the Supervisors.

Our goal is twofold:

1. Ensure the passage of a November 2016 ballot measure that would keep voter protections for Sonoma County’s community separators in place as a key tool for protecting the county’s natural and agricultural landscapes.

2. Add priority lands to existing community separators to cover more natural and agricultural lands through an amendment to Sonoma County’s general plan.

The county’s eight community separators cover 17,000 acres of natural and agricultural lands. Sonoma County’s community separator renewal and expansion plan will extend voter protections for another 30 years and protect as many as 50,000 additional acres of green buffers and farm lands from subdivision and sprawl.

View the county’s community separator map here: http://sonomamap.maps.arcgis.com/apps/PublicInformation/index.html?appid=6241b2f429984ec79d0941ef9e977a53

TAKE ACTION

Without voter protections, community separators can be reduced and development can be intensified beyond allowable uses with a simple majority vote of the board of supervisors.

Urge Sonoma County's Board of Supervisors to support renewing and adding to Sonoma County’s community separators. http://www.greenbelt.org/sonoma-county-community-separators/

Show your support!

Please join us at the public hearing and get 50 people there to wear stickers and speak up for community separators! We may have opposition from the usual suspects, so we need to be seen and heard!

WRITE YOUR LETTER NOW!

Please, please write a letter, even a short email to let the Board of Supervisors know you are with them! Send to PRMD-CommunitySeparators@sonoma-county.org

Find a sample letter here http://www.greenbelt.org/actions/sonoma-county-community-separator-support-letters-needed/ or use it to write your own.

If approved on July 19, then the Board of Supervisors will finalize the community separators renewal and expansion on Aug. 2 or 9. Then we will vote on November 8, 2016.

Read more about community separators here: http://www.sonoma-county.org/prmd/docs/community_separators/index.htm.