|
Winter Oak Near Crane Creek Park
|
|
|
The Bennett Valley VOICE
In this issue of the VOICE, we ask you to join the BVCA for calendar year 2019. We also have a summary of the status of commercial marijuana projects in Bennett Valley, a report on continuing efforts to improve our county roads in Bennett Valley, and an introduction to our new board member Robert Stephens.
We need an editor-in-chief for the VOICE, and if you are interested please contact any board member.
|
|
The Sonoma County Department of Transportation and Public Works has recently added two of these signs on Bennett Valley Road. We hope these warning signs will reduce the number of serious accidents on this road.
|
|
|
Please Join the BVCA or Renew Your Membership
by BVCA Board of Directors
We wish you a happy, healthy, and successful 2019 and look forward to a robust year of involvement and action among members of the Bennett Valley Community Association (BVCA). Your involvement can help us to preserve and enhance our unique Bennett Valley community.
The BVCA is a non-profit organization whose purpose includes protecting the rural beauty of Bennett Valley, building a sense of community, providing preparation for natural emergencies and serving as a unified voice with government agencies. Together, we can strengthen our corner of the world.
Specifically, the mission of the BVCA is to:
- Promote and preserve the residential rural character and natural environment of Bennett Valley
- Educate, instruct, train and inform the local residents on disaster preparedness and emergency response as well as local land use and environmental issues
- Serve as an open forum for active Bennett Valley community participation
- Provide a bridge for communication between county agencies and the Bennett Valley community
During 2018 the BVCA held or helped organize community meetings concerning the October 2017 wildland fires, mountain lions, safety issues on Bennett Valley and Grange roads, a fire management workshop, and cannabis cultivation.
We wrote letters to public officials asking to fund better warning systems for disasters (including sirens) and to improve our local roads. We have tried to keep you informed of proposed commercial cannabis projects in our area, the reorganization of our local fire protection district, and which roads were to be improved during the 2018 construction season.
We're asking each of you to add your voice to the Bennett Valley community by renewing your membership in the BVCA or joining for the first time. Our dues are only $20 per year plus any additional contribution you may choose to make. You will help fund the many activities in which we are involved and stay informed via the VOICE newsletter which is sent to members six times per year.
These newsletters can keep you informed about a broad range of issues affecting Bennett Valley, provide updates on the status of our local fire department and Guild activities and enable sharing of community information. We need your participation to achieve our mission as a community association.
Send checks to BVCA, P.O. Box 2666, Santa Rosa, CA 95405 or pay online at www.bennettvalley.org by choosing “Join/Renew: BVCA Membership." For questions about dues contact Larissa Goliti at lgoliti@hotmail.com or 578-3453. For questions about paying online, contact Bill Finkelstein at bill@bennettvalley.org or 536-1026.
Thanks so much for your support!
|
|
Status of Commercial Marijuana Projects in Bennett Valley
by Craig S. Harrison
It is difficult to obtain information from the County concerning the location or status of proposed and potential grows, so thirteen is the minimum. The County could easily maintain a web site to provide information, but the only way to remain current is to file periodic Public Record Act requests.
| APN |
Address |
Permit Application Status |
| 049-130-015 |
4944 Bennett Valley Road |
Inactive; now ineligible because parcel is under 10 acres? |
| 055-010-031 |
2274 Wellspring Road |
Ministerial permit issued |
| 049-150-005 |
4050 Grange Road |
Awaiting Planning Commission hearing |
| 049-130-005 |
4065 Grange Road |
Awaiting Planning Commission hearing |
| 049-071-054 |
4265 Sonoma Mtn Rd |
Terminated Dec. 31, 2017; fined for growing Oct. 2018 |
| 049-030-090 |
5365 Sonoma Mtn Rd |
Inactive; now ineligible because parcel is under 10 acres? |
| 136-201-004 |
6480 Eagle Ridge Road |
Apparently terminated; another grower could apply |
| 055-150-018 |
3141 Matanzas Creek Ln |
Awaiting public comment |
| 055-150-011 |
3220 Matanzas Creek Ln |
Public comments due February 8, 2019 |
| 055-150-010 |
3400 Matanzas Creek Ln |
Apparently inactive |
| 055-140-015 |
3575 Matanzas Creek Ln |
Inactive; now ineligible because parcel is under 10 acres? |
| 055-140-006 |
3700 Matanzas Creek Ln |
Awaiting Planning Commission hearing |
| 055-140-024 |
3803 Matanzas Creek Ln |
Awaiting Planning Commission hearing |
Bennett Valley comprises about 1.3 percent of the land in Sonoma County, and the thirteen prospective commercial grows constitute about six percent of the proposed cultivation permits in the entire County. Bennett Valley, especially Matanzas Creek Lane, may have the densest concentration of proposed marijuana cultivation in Sonoma County. Investors and operators have flocked to our area from other states and the 49 counties in California where commercial marijuana cultivation is banned, including the Sierra foothills, Chicago, San Mateo, Tiburon, and San Francisco. Few of the investors have deep roots here.
Four cultivation sites are already operating. The Agriculture Department issued a ministerial permit for Wellspring Road without any opportunity for public involvement. The Cannabis Program has allowed the two projects on Grange Road and the project at 3803 Matanzas Creek Lane to grow without a permit since 2017 under the County’s “Penalty Relief Program.”
As with other major projects, the BVCA will attempt to alert the community about important milestones in these permit processes, including deadlines for comments on proposed permits and the scheduling of public hearings.
|
|
|
Continuing Improvements on Bennett Valley Roads
Residents Are Encouraged to Report Road Problems
by Craig S. Harrison, Save Our Sonoma Roads
In November 2018, the BVCA wrote [click to open] to Johannes Hoevertsz, Director, Sonoma County Transportation and Public Works Department (DTPW) and Supervisor Susan Gorin. We expressed our appreciation for the asphalt concrete overlays that were recently completed on Grange-Crane Canyon roads (about two miles) and Sonoma Mountain Road (about one mile). We noted that Bennett Valley residents use them daily, and their improvement contributes to the quality of our lives.
We also took the opportunity to request repairs on the remainder of Grange Road (part of the county’s primary road system) and the remainder of Sonoma Mountain Road (part of the county’s significant rural road network). Because they are both east-west roads which are rare in Sonoma County, they, like Bennett Valley Road, are experiencing increasing traffic.
Save Our Sonoma Roads (SOSroads.com) met with Director Hoevertsz and Deputy Director Janice Thompson in December 2018 to discuss county road repair issues. We learned that the criteria to decide which roads will be repaired in the future now include those roads that receive the most complaints because of chronic pothole or other road problems. While the roads to be repaired in 2018 and 2019 were decided a year ago, both Grange Road and Sonoma Mountain Road are being considered for inclusion on DTPW’s list of roads to be improved in 2020-2021. Work on that list of roads has already begun; the proposed list is expected to be presented to the board of supervisors for approval in March 2019
Please use DTPW’s app for smart phones to report potholes or other road problems. The app is called SoCo Report It and allows you to take a picture of a pothole and report it. You may also use the link on their website (https://sonomacounty.ca.gov/Services/SoCo-Report-It/Submit-a-Service-Request/) to report an issue or call DTPW at 561-5100. Both the app and the website have a brief “Video Demonstration” showing how to use Report It. Director Hoevertsz says that sending photos is especially helpful because sometimes the county crews are unable to find the problem that was reported.
|
|
|
Meet New Board Member Robert Stephens
A native of Chicago, Robert attended the Art Institute of Chicago before studying computer science at the University of Minnesota.
He dropped out in 1994 to start a business called The Geek Squad later selling it to Best Buy, and serving as their Chief Technology Officer for 10 years.
He and his wife, Jacalyn moved to San Francisco in 2012 and later to Bennett Valley in 2016. His next business will be based Sonoma County.
"Bennett Valley is one of the most beautiful places we've ever seen and we never want to live anywhere else."
|
|
Bennett Valley Community AssociationBoard of Directors
Craig S. Harrison, President craigspencerharrison@gmail.com 573-9990
Larissa Goliti, Vice-President and Membership Coordinator lgoliti@hotmail.com 578-3453
Gary Barner, Secretary gbarner@cds1.net 481-6196
Bill Finkelstein, Treasurer and Webmaster bill@williamfinkelstein.com 536-1026
Frank LaCombe, Director frankklacombe@gmail.com 585-3482
James Cobb, Director cobblaw@pacbell.net 586-9172
Jamie Burkart, Director bc3burkart@gmail.com 303-859-0489
Nate Belden, Director nate@beldenbarns.com 415-577-8552
Robert Stephens, Director rstephens1@gmail.com 612-234-5671
VOICE editorial team: Vacant
Minutes for the previous meeting of the BVCA Board of Directors are typically posted on its web site soon after they are approved. You can find them at: http://bennettvalley.org/index.php/meetings/33-meeting-minutes
The forthcoming meeting of the Bennett Valley Community Association Board of Directors will be held at the Bennett Valley Guild Hall on, Thursday, January 17, at 7 PM. The public is invited to attend. The Agenda for the board meeting opens with public discussion, with each presenter invited to address the Board for up to three minutes with name, address, and concern. Following public input, the board will receive a report from the Treasurer, and reports of any official notifications from the County. Additional topics of discussion will include county roads, VOICE, the BV Fire Protection District, and potential speakers for 2019.
|
|
|
|
Bennett Valley Guild
Go to http://bvguild.org to learn more about the Guild, including the most current Guild calendar or, for an article on the early history of the Bennett Valley Guild. The next business meeting is at 7 p.m. on Thursday, February 14.
Note: Ricardo's Bar & Grill, 2700 Yulupa, Santa Rosa, is donating 10% of all day sales on the fourth Tuesday of every month in 2018 to the Bennett Valley Guild Building Fund. If you have any questions, please email Bill or Patty Allen, paddybill@sbcglobal.net
|
|
|
|
Bennett Valley Community Calendar
Mark your calendars now!
Bennett Valley Community Association: Next meeting is Thursday, January 17, 7:00 PM, Bennett Valley Guild Hall at 4145 Grange Road.
Bennett Valley Guild: Business meeting is Thursday, February 14, at 7 PM, Bennett Valley Guild Hall at 4145 Grange Road.
Bennett Valley Fire Protection District: Board of Directors meets the second Tuesday of each month, 7:00 PM, at the Bennett Valley Fire Station. Please call 823-1084 to confirm meeting date ahead of time.
Sonoma County Board Of Supervisors: Meets most Tuesdays at varying times; 575 Administration Drive, Santa Rosa.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
