Bennett Valley Voice

BENNETT VALLEY VOICE

Volume 8 No. 3

Bennett Valley Homeowners Association

JULY 1985

Memo From The Board

A half-year or so ago the VOICE ran an article, written by Marilyn Franc, based on an interview with old-timer Phil Guenza, who talked about the various farm commodities his family raised on their ranch at the end of what is now Guenza Road. We note now with some interest that jack witt, current owner of the 190-acre heart of the Guenza Ranch, received a County Use Permit to re-open the Grade-A Dairy that has sat idle on the property for many years.

One doubts that Jack represents the vanguard of any mass re-entry of the commercial dairy industry into Bennett Valley, but it is gratifying to note that, given a degree of stability in land use policy, a farmer can still see his way clear to make a buck The Homeowners Association Board unanimously supported the Use Permit application.

Good news/bad news department. First the good news? The City of Santa Rosa is proposing to rebuild Bennett Valley Road between Yulupa and Bethards. The lumpy, baseless, narrow stretch that threatens to pitch dump trucks and school buses to perdition is finally going to be torn up, widened, and rebuilt on a base of something stronger than gumbo.

Hallelujah, right? The bad news is that the proposal includes plans to put a stop sign on Bennett Valley Road at Yulupa. This is bad news NOT simply because of the inconvenience it represents for traffic on Bennett Valley Road. The problem is that the new stop sign will create an unsafe situation that the City's traffic engineers have chosen to overlook.

is a considerable amount of heavy truck traffic on Bennett Valley Road - witness the condition of the pavement. Currently outbound trucks on BV Road are able to approach the grade south of the "y" at Yulupa with some momentum - say in third gear at 25 MPH.

can't accelerate because of the grade, so by the time they get to the Matanzas Creek Bridge, there are a few cards stacked up behind, but everything is moving right along and the situation is tolerable. If those trucks have to start the grade from a dead stop, they will be lucky to get into second gear. We're talking 15 MPH. We're talking maybe 30 cars stacked up behind, and some of them are going to pass into oncoming traffic.

Will be even more dangerous once the County carries out its plans to widen the Matanzas Creek Bridge and straighten that curve, making the oncoming traffic that much faster. city seems to have made up its mind on this proposal, though we hope we're wrong, as the public hearings at the planning Commission and City Council were scheduled only five days apart. Unfortunately those hearings will both have taken place as you read this/ be assured, for what it's worth, that the above concerns will have been voiced.

David A. Steiner

Bha Board Of Directors

DAVID A. STEINER, President BILL MACIVER, Vice President TAMARA BOULTBEE, Secretary NANCY BATSON, Treasurer Paul Mowbray Dona Moberly Warren Watkins David Zedrick

Public Meeting For Plans On A New Bridge

At Matanzas Creek - August 15, 7:30 P.M.

The Public Works Dept. is holding a public meeting at the Grange Hall on August 15, 7:30 P.M., open to residents. they are proposing a new straight bridge to the east of the existing bridge. The old bridge would stay in place while the new bridge is being built.

The approach to the new bridge would also be straightened and different from existing one.

Official Results Of The Recall Election

These results are on file at the Sonoma County Ilections Department and were official Friday A.M. July 18, 1985. The unofficial results were the same on the day following the election. Bruce Benson 580 votes YES Recall 401 votes No Reca I1 Tom Horgan James Fatland was elected with 589 votes 585 votes YES Recall 392 votes NO Reca l1 Cathy Emerick was elected with 566 votes

Congern About Spraying Along Roadsides

The BHA has received concerned remarks about thespraying done along Sonoma Mountain Road this spring. At the June meeting board members and residents discussed some of the questions. A letter has been to the Public Works Dept. airing some of the following concerns. -- Esthetic damage - the appearance of dead and deformed vegetation up to a height of 12 feet and more and several yards back of the pavement where the flail mower cannot reach for trimming.

- Invironmental Risk - Was Round-Up used, as we were informed? What this spray hits it will kill and vineyard growers were concerned although no damage has been reported. - Would signs put up by residents along the roadsides to not spray in certain areas be honored by work crews?

-- Can residents be notified in advance of spraying? - Are work crews sufficiently trained to stop spraying when the wind comes up? - Is the use of an herbicide cost effective if mowing and pruning are done following the spraying. Reports are that cutting is harder done after the spraying.

Changes For The "Y" Intersection At

Sonoma Min Rd And Pressley Road

The following plans have been received from Public Works as the final plans for the adjustments to this intersection. It will become a "T " Intersection with Pressley Road coming to a Stop and Sonoma Mtn Road having the right of way. The bus stop remaining in its present location.

The survey work has been done and the Preliminary Alignment O.K.'d by the property owners. A date for the work to begin we hope will be in the near future. They could not give us a detinite date. ADDITIONS

To Membership List

All addresses are in santa Rosa with the zip 95404. Bruce Benson 2775 Bridy Road Richard Calou 4629 Grange Road Duncan & Helga Gillies 2944 Bardy Rd. Eric P. Jacobson 6094 Bennett Valley Rd. Norman F. Jacobson 6550 Bennett Valley Rd. Nilliam & Pat Jordan 4976 Ponderosa Jim Leth 4334 Sonoma Mtn. Rd Mr. & Mrs. Roy D. Mallory 5090 Sonoma Mtn. Rd.

T. McCarthy 2801 Rollo Rd. Keith & Betty McDoniel 7755 Sonoma Mtn. Rd. Roy & Carol Michelis 6070 Bennett Valley Rd. Philip & Linda Sebier 2811 Bardy Road Kent & Nancy Sibbald 5225 Burnham Ranch Rd. J.E. Walcave 6578 Birch Drive Many apologies to Phillip Tay Stevenson for having misapelled his name on the previous list.

Sonoma Nines

•Sonoma Min To.

Pressley Road

BULK RATE

U.S. Postage

PAID

Permit No. 488

Santa Rosa, Ca

Bennett Valley

Homeowners Association

P.O. Box 2666 Santa Rosa, CA 95405