Comments Sought on Sonoma Valley Regional Park Study

Regional Parks is seeking public input on a proposed mitigated negative declaration/initial study for the Sonoma Valley Regional Park Expansion Master Plan. Comments on the adequacy of the study’s environmental analysis will be accepted through June 12, 2017.

Regional Parks is expanding the park’s master plan to include trails and natural resource management for two parcels added to the park over the past decade. The areas include a 29-acre parcel known as the Curreri addition on the park’s northern boundary and a 41-acre parcel known as the Sonoma Developmental Center addition along Highway 12 and the park’s southeast boundary.

The draft master plan was developed with community input and calls for approximately 3 miles of new trails. Most will be multi-use trails for hikers, mountain bikers, and equestrians. Natural resource management will include some trail decommission and realignment and plantings of oaks, native grasses, and other vegetation to improve wildlife habitat, prevent erosion and slow the spread of invasive species. The environmental study of the master plan finds no significant adverse impacts.

Public comments can be submitted in writing by 3 p.m. June 12 to Planner Karen Davis-Brown, 2300 County Center Drive, Suite 120A, Santa Rosa, CA 95403 or karen.davis-brown@sonoma-county.org. The Board of Supervisors’ final determination on the project is tentatively scheduled for July 2017.

The park expansion is the result of acquisitions made by Regional Parks’ partners. The Sonoma Land Trust led the Curreri acquisition, transferring title to Regional Parks in 2014. The Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District acquired the Developmental Center Property, which the state declared it surplus property, and transferred title to Regional Parks in 2007. Both parcels feature scenic views and protect crucial habitat in the Sonoma Valley wildlife corridor.

For more information, contact Planner Karen Davis-Brown at (707) 565-1359 or karen.davis-brown@sonoma-county.org.