Please Volunteer, Donate, and Join the BVCA Proposed Marijuana Ordinance Could Change Bennett Valley Forever North Sonoma Mountain Regional Park Update Will Santa Rosa Jettison the Bennett Valley Golf Course? Arthur Dawson Zoom Talk: Sonoma Mountain Stories (April 22) Bennett Valley Guild Loses Good Things Come in Threes Matanzas Creek Dam Rehabilitation Bennett Valley Roads Update
BVCA Meeting Schedule and Contact Information
The BVCA and YOU! Join. Engage. Support.
Please Volunteer, Donate, and Join the BVCA by BVCA Board of Directors
Bennett Valley has a fascinating history, and is a bucolic oasis. The Bennett Valley Community Association (BVCA) was established to keep residents abreast of proposed zoning, development, and other changes that would affect our community. We hope to resume holding events and hosting live speakers later this year. As we celebrate our fiftieth anniversary, your participation can help us to preserve and enhance our unique Bennett Valley community.
The BVCA is a non-profit organization. All board members volunteer their time for quarterly meetings and fundraising events. We currently are looking for a new editor of the VOICE to take over after an apprenticeship. We will also need a new treasurer by the end of 2021. Please contact President Robert Stephens or any board member if you are interested in volunteering.
Please help our efforts by donating to the BVCA. In 2020 the board decided to transition to a donation model from a paid membership model, and we are amending the bylaws to do so. We would welcome donations of any amount. You will help fund our many activities and stay informed via the VOICE newsletter which is issued at least four times per year. Together, we can protect and strengthen our corner of the world.
Send checks to BVCA, P.O. Box 2666, Santa Rosa, CA 95405 or pay online. For questions about payments, just reply to this email. For questions about paying online, contact Bill Finkelstein at bill@williamfinkelstein.com.
Thanks so much for your support!
Hoop house marijuana plantation in Santa Barbara County.
Proposed Marijuana Ordinance Could Change Bennett Valley Forever
by Craig S. Harrison, VOICE Editor
The board of supervisors’ proposed cannabis ordinance was apparently drafted by the cannabis industry. The accompanying environmental analysis, required by the California Environmental Quality Act, fails to analyze the cumulative effects of odor, traffic on narrow rural roads, water use, fire risk, and many other issues. The board will consider adopting the proposal, or a revised version of it, on Tuesday, May 18.
The proposal would allow cultivation on parcels 10 acres or more that are zoned agriculture or resources and rural development. As much as 65,733 acres of outdoor cannabis cultivation projects could receive ministerial permits—a backroom process without public knowledge or participation. Today about 50 acres of cannabis are being cultivated in Sonoma County.
The amount of outdoor cultivation would increase from one acre per parcel to 10% of the parcel’s size. A 60-acre parcel that a limited liability corporation just purchased on Bennett Valley Road could cultivate 6 acres. In addition, it allows up to one acre per parcel of greenhouse cultivation, and no limit on cultivation in existing structures. The increased water usage (six times that of vineyards) will further stress our limited supplies, especially as we experience more droughts.
The supervisors propose to eliminate health, safety, and nuisance protections for neighbors who are subjected to noxious terpene pollution. I emailed Supervisor Gorin and asked if she agrees with forcing neighbors who need breathing tubes or have asthma to just live with the stench. She replied that she hadn’t decided.
Hoop houses on Adobe Road near Petaluma (2018).
In Bennett Valley, 138 parcels comprising 4,702 acres are 10 or more acres and have the requisite zoning. The proposal would allow 470 acres of outdoor cultivation and at least 138 acres of indoor cultivation. Currently about 2.5 acres are cultivated in Bennett Valley. Outdoor cultivation could be located in hideous hoop houses covered with white plastic that would ruin our scenic landscapes and stuff our landfills with vast mounds of torn plastic. Good thing we banned plastic bags in stores. Indoor cultivation could be in greenhouses that resemble industrial self-storage units. The visual blight would violate the Bennett Valley Area Plan, an issue the environmental analysis neglects to mention.
Using Sonoma County’s own employment projections, the proposal could employ over 12,000 workers in Bennett Valley, who could generate 24,000-48,000 daily vehicle trips. Bennett Valley has under 3,000 residents. This would overwhelm our marginal road system, make emergency evacuation problematic, and violate the Bennett Valley Area Plan.
Bennett Valley has many episodes of thermal inversions throughout the year when the air is still. During such episodes, the stench of heavy terpene molecules settling on the valley floor from 600 acres of cannabis could make many homes unlivable for days or weeks at a time. The county has not done anyair quality modeling for Bennett Valley to assess this issue. When a woman in Fulton complained about cannabis odor, a county official replied that if she didn’t like living with it she should move. Must residents who want fresh air have to move to Marin or Napa counties where outdoor cultivation is banned?
While all 600 acres of eligible land is unlikely to become cannabis plantations, even a small increase could change Bennett Valley forever. Despite the obvious problems, the county’s environmental analysis concluded that huge increases in employment and traffic, massive water demands on the Matanzas Creek watershed, and plaguing our homes with noxious terpene fumes constitutes no significant impacts. This is silly.
The county should recognize that the lives of ordinary residents are at least as important as the fantasies of large corporate cannabis enterprises. At a bare minimum, the county should prepare an environmental impact report and genuinely analyze what its proposal would do to Bennett Valley and Sonoma County. Most residents of Bennett Valley voted in favor of Proposition 64 (Adult Use of Marijuana Act) in 2016, but who thought they were voting to fundamentally change Bennett Valley and Sonoma County?
The Sonoma Mountain community voiced concerns regarding the North Sonoma Mountain Regional Park (NSMRP) expansion, overnight stays, campfires/barbecues, and road access issues to the Regional Parks Advisory Committee during its January meeting.
Regional Parks developed a draft Master Plan, and received extensive public comments last November. Comments will be taken into consideration when Regional Parks issues its draft proposed plan, which is expected this spring.
Park planner Karen Davis-Brown presented the following Overview of community feedback at the meeting, summarizing 285 responses containing 700 individual comments:
Prohibit fires and potential sources of ignition 86%
Prohibit overnight uses-camping 60%
Allow dogs on leash 61%
Road is too narrow/evacuation issues 52%
Trails - 40% want mixed use trails –45% wanted to see specific use trails (like hiking only)
Bicycling – evenly split to allow on all trails, prohibit, limit
Equestrian – prohibit access 40%, limit access 40%, allow on all trails 20%
No e-bikes 100%
Regional Parks compiled and sorted like-comments into a table format to concisely review input and better consider the range of support or concern for specific park plan elements. The Sonoma Mountain community group submitted a comprehensive comment summary (based on 150 survey responses) to Regional Parks but our summary was counted as a single letter as part of the 285 letters received. Regional Parks assumed individuals who took our survey had also submitted individual responses. A recording of the January meeting, a Summary Feedback Table, raw public comments, and the draft minutes are posted online.
There were 35 public attendees. Most of the 16 people who spoke opposed allowing overnight stays or fires of any sort. Robert Stephens, BVCA president, informed the committee that the board of BVCA voted to oppose the Park Commission’s proposed plans, asked for a full Environmental Impact Report, and opposed overnight stays or fires. He said that a vocal majority of BVCA’s 560 members has voiced their opposition to overnight stays and campfires and prefers to keep the park confined to day use.
Regional Parks expects the Board of Supervisors to adopt a Mitigated Negative Declaration and make a final decision in the fall. Staff projects new trails will be open by spring 2022. Regional Parks will be hiring a fire consultant expert to address new CEQA requirements related to wildfire safety and will evaluate the proposed plan.
The public will only have 30 days to provide comments on the proposed plan, and we will alert our community when it is expected to be issued. Public hearings before the Environmental Review Committee and the Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission will be held during the public comment period and offer other opportunities for the community to provide feedback.
The 820-acre NSMRP was created from a patchwork of existing parkland. It includes a four-mile segment of the Bay Area Ridge Trail as part of the 5.5 miles of existing trails, and nine new miles of trails could be added. The Ridge Trail aims to connect a 550-mile walking loop of the entire Bay Area from Gilroy in Santa Cruz County to Mount St. Helena in north Napa County, touching as many mountaintops, ridges, and parks as possible. Camping is an essential element of those long-range plans.
The Kenwood Press published an NSMRP Update in its March 15 issue.
If you want to receive public meeting updates directly from Regional Parks sign up here. If you have questions or would like to receive our updates on North Sonoma Mountain Regional Park developments, please email: smrbattalion@gmail.com
Google Earth image of Bennett Valley Golf Course.
Will Santa Rosa Jettison
the Bennett Valley Golf Course?
by Craig S. Harrison, VOICE Editor
In early February, the Santa Rosa City Council held a 5-2 straw vote to spend $150,000 to hire a consultant to study options on whether the city should continue to operate the Bennett Valley Golf Course. Because the consultant has extensive development expertise, including on former golf courses, it seemed that the outcome was predetermined.
The number of rounds of golf that has been played has declined for 20 years, although it has rebounded during the Covid era. This year the Bennett Valley Golf Course had 60,000 rounds, and a further increase is projected for this year. The course is profitable although the restaurant and event center has $4.5 million in bond debt.
The 175-acre golf course complex and Galvin Park include an 18-hole course, driving range, restaurant and event center, tennis courts, baseball field, soccer fields, and a fly-casting pond. The in-depth study was proposed to assess the potential to redevelop portions of the property with ball fields, affordable housing, and other economic development. After the announcement, the public outcry was immediate. Save Bennett Valley Golf Course formed and has attracted over 4,000 members, and signs are posted on roadsides all over our community. Many concerned residents rarely, if ever, play golf. The golf course and Galvin Park are an excellent open space and green buffer between urban Santa Rosa and rural Bennett Valley.
Santa Rosa has decided to temporarily delay a contract with the consultant while a three-member city council committee headed by John Sawyer reconsider the scope of a study. Sawyer had initially supported the golf course study plan recommended by city staff, and has now changed his vote. Those who are following this issue closely think the golf course is now unlikely to be redeveloped. They are trying to get city officials to improve the golf course and park, and resurrect and improve restaurant/event center.
Bennett Valley residents who are concerned about this issue or want to follow the progress of decision making should contact Save Bennett Valley Golf Course.
Arthur Dawson Zoom Talk: Sonoma Mountain Stories April 22, 7 PM
Although we still cannot host in person events, we are continuing to sponsor events by zoom.
Please join us online for stories and Q & A with Arthur Dawson about Sonoma Mountain Stories. Free to all who register online here.
If you haven't read or obtained a copy of Arthur's incredible book, "Where the World Begins: Sonoma Mountain Stories and Images" - you can purchase here or at Copperfield's Books.
Arthur Dawson has lived in Glen Ellen since 1989. His wife, Jill, grew up here and their children attended Dunbar and Kenwood Schools. As a writer and historical ecologist, Arthur enjoys exploring and celebrating the local landscape. His books include three local bestsellers, most recently Where the World Begins: Sonoma Mountain Stories and Images, published by Sonoma Mountain Preservation.
Bill Allen, pit master, at one of the June picnics that were held for 147 consecutive years.
Photo credit: Bill Finkelstein
Bennett Valley Guild Loses
by Craig S. Harrison, VOICE Editor
In a message entitled Final Bennett Valley Guild Newsletter on April 6, Bill and Patty Allen announced to its members that the Bennett Valley Guild had lost its fight to remain independent of the Grange organization. On March 18th, Judge Arthur Wick, Sonoma County Superior Court, ordered that all personal and real property be delivered to the Grange. That was accomplished on April 9. The Allens have for decades been the heart, soul, and leaders of the 120-member Bennett Valley Grange (renamed the Bennett Valley Guild a few years ago).
The history of the Bennett Valley Grange and background to the disputes between the National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry and the California State Grange was discussed in the January 2021 VOICE. Built in 1873, the Bennett Valley Grange Hall is the oldest continuously operating grange hall in America. Sonoma County designated it a historical landmark in 1979. The hall has served as a pillar of the Bennett Valley community for almost 150 years, and was the site of an annual June picnic for 147 consecutive years until the COVID-19 pandemic. Bill and Patty Allen barbecued for the community at the June picnics, organized St. Patrick’s Day corned beef and cabbage feasts, and turkey banquets in November. Those were always outstanding community events.
Bennett Valley members are heart-broken at the turn of events. While insurance covered defending the suit, eventually the only remaining alternative was to appeal in federal court. This would involve many more years of litigation and require raising funds to pay for legal fees. There was no appetite among the members to continue.
Guild leaders in 2017.
The Allens were told that a new Bennett Valley Grange was organized shortly after our chapter was expelled in January 2017. They hope the new owners will continue to operate the hall for the benefit of the community and provide a meeting place for local groups.
P25 getting his teeth examined.
Good Things Come in Threes byKate Remsen, Audubon Canyon Ranch
Tracking the movements of mountain lions using GPS collars is just one part of ACR’s Living with Lions project but it is essential to understanding the lion population as a whole. When a collaring opportunity arises, we have a short window for success. Recently we received three calls in rapid succession from residents who suspected mountain lions were responsible for deer and livestock kills on their property.
On February 22 Quinton Martins received a call about a dead deer found partially buried in leaf matter (called ‘caching’) in the front garden of a Sonoma Valley property. Upon investigation it was clear a mountain lion had made the kill, so with the landowner’s permission, Quinton set a trap to capture and collar this animal.
That night, the lion returned to investigate how its kill had moved into a cage and walked into the trap five minutes later! Sometimes we wait for hours and often the lion doesn’t return.
We were amazed to find that it was P1, a 14-year-old female affectionately referred to as “Sonoma’s Super Mama,” for the number of litters of kittens she’s reared. P1 was the first cat captured by the Living with Lions team in October 2016 but by late 2019 her collar had fallen off and she was literally ‘off our radar,’ only trackable through snapshots and video captured by a growing system of trail cameras hosted by residents in the Valley, her bent ear tip a recognizable sign.
Quinton fitted her with a new collar and monitored her recovery until 1:00 a.m. the next morning when he was satisfied with her ability to safely move along.
P1 successfully captured. .
Just two days later, we received a call about sheep depredation at a Healdsburg property where previous depredation events had occurred over the last two years. The male lion previously responsible evaded our cages when set.
This time we set the trap in the late afternoon using the dead sheep as bait and by 7:30 p.m. the lion was spotted approaching the cage—it was a male. He spent what seemed like hours trying to access his stolen meal from the outside of the cage, eventually leaving the scene and leaving us to wonder if we would ever get the chance to track this big cat.
Shortly after midnight the lion returned and triggered the cage! Named P24 (the 24th puma Living with Lions has captured and/or documented with biological samples), he weighed 132 pounds, albeit having at least 10 pounds of sheep in his tummy.
We wrapped up this successful collaring event at about 4:00 a.m. after helping the landowner determine additional safeguards for their remaining livestock.
P24 waiting outside of the cage.
Incredibly, just a few hours later, Quinton received a third call in as many days—this time reporting a mountain lion kill on a Cazadaro property! But opportunities like this cannot be passed up so the team, including veterinarian Dr. Graham Crawford and trail camera project coordinator Kate Remsen, reassembled again in the rugged terrain of western Sonoma County and set a trap in a gully near the kill site.
With no cellular service in this area, the team relied on VHF telemetry equipment to determine whether a lion had triggered the trap. Waiting in our cars, at 11:00 p.m. we got the signal and headed out to greet a big beautiful male mountain lion!
P25, a.k.a. “Thor,” is the largest cat the project has ever captured, surpassing P21, Goliath, captured in the same area just one year ago. He weighed in at a healthy 136 pounds! Quinton calls him the most pristine mountain lion he’s seen. Thor has nearly perfect teeth and is estimated to be 5-6 years old. We imagine him to be the alpha male in the area.
After a long year of being on hold due to the Coronavirus and having a couple of unsuccessful captures, the Living with Lions team is excited to have caught three mountain lions in the span of one week with the help of these quick-thinking residents. Now we can track and collect valuable data from lions in three different regions of Sonoma County.
A huge thanks to veterinarian Dr. Graham Crawford for being available and attending each of these captures.
The Sonoma County Water Agency (Sonoma Water), with the assistance of the federal Natural Resources Conservation Service, is considering bringing the Matanzas Creek Dam into compliance with current design criteria because it is considered to be a high hazard dam. The dam was constructed in 1963-64 as part of the 1958 Central Sonoma Watershed Work Plan. The alterations require a supplement to the plan. The Natural Resources Conservation Service will assist Sonoma Water in preparing a watershed project plan and environmental document, a draft of which is anticipated in spring 2022. Among the changes being considered are an increase in storage to improve flood protection, removing sediment and debris, raising the dam elevation, and modifying the earthen spillways.
Sonoma Water is requesting comments on the project to identify issues and resource sensitivities. Written comments can be submitted until April 30, 2021. Questions and comments can be directed to: https://matanzascreekdamrehab.com/ Email: jenna.j@jonesanddemille.com
Bennett Valley Roads Update by Craig S. Harrison, President, Save Our Sonoma Roads
County crews recently undertook some major maintenance work on about half of Sonoma Mountain Road between Enterprise Road and Pressley Road. We have advocated for years that the county should address this road's surface and drainage problems. The board of supervisors this spring is expected to approve a list of roads to be repaired in the Pavement Preservation Programduring 2022 and 2023, and we hope that Sonoma Mountain Road is included. Pavement preservation is a proactive preventive maintenance approach that prolongs the life of the road, and lowers the cost of maintaining it. Sonoma County received last year a one-time payment of $149 million for settlement of its fire damage claims against Pacific Gas & Electric Company. The settlement amount was based on damages sustained to the county’s infrastructure due either directly to the 2017 fires or damages caused indirectly by debris removal and reconstruction when overloaded trucks ripped up many roads.
While the county was not legally obligated to spend the funds to repair those damages, many in our community hoped the lion’s share would be used to fix county roads. The Department of Transportation and Public Works asked for $84 million, and ultimately the board of supervisors allocated $59 million for road and infrastructure projects. This includes about $35 million for roads and $20 million for bridges.
Segments of 32 roads will be repaired with PG&E funds. In Bennett Valley, the list includes about $250,000 for Old Bennett Ridge Road, Rollo Road, and Bardy Road. We were disappointed that the half mile of Crane Canyon Road between Petaluma Hill Road and Inverness Avenue was omitted, which is part of the county’s primary road network and the only segment in poor condition between Petaluma Hill Road and Bennett Valley Road. It was damaged by trucks hauling debris from Bennett Ridge to the Sonoma County landfill.
BENNETT VALLEY COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION
MEETING SCHEDULE
The BVCA is sponsoring an event by zoom with Arthur Dawson entitled "Where the World Begins: Sonoma Mountain Stories and Images"at 7 pm on Thursday, April 22.
The forthcoming Bennett Valley Community Association (BVCA) Board meeting will be held Thursday, April 29, at 4:30 PM by Zoom conference call due to the covid situation. If you want to join this call, please contact President Robert Stephens. Prior to covid, the BVCA Board convened at the Bennett Valley Guild Hall located at 4145 Grange Road on the last Thursday of every third month (January, April, July, October). Until further notice, meetings will be held by video teleconference at 4:30 PM and are open to members and non-members alike by contacting the president for access. We normally invite and encourage public attendance. The current BVCA Board meeting schedule through calendar year 2021 is as follows:
Thursday, April 29, 2021
Thursday, July 29, 2021
Thursday, October 28, 2021
The Board meeting Agenda opens with public discussion, with each presenter invited to address the Board for up to three minutes with their 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, new directions for the BVCA that would encourage wider participation, and potential speakers for coming meetings.
Minutes from previous meetings of the BVCA Board are typically posted on the BVCA website soon after they are approved. You can find an archive of meeting minutes here. The January 2021 meeting was held by Zoom.
We anticipate vacancies on the board. If you are interested in being appointed, please contact any board member.
BENNETT VALLEY COMMUNITY EVENTS
Sonoma County Fire District Board meetings
The Fire District Board of Directors meets the third Tuesday of each month at 5 pm at Station 1, 8200 Old Redwood Highway, Windsor. For now the Board is holding its meetings there as they anticipate major remodel work at many of their other stations. They will revisit their meeting locations in a few months as their facility plan and schedule are developed.
To building a sense of community in Bennett Valley by serving as an open forum for community participation;
To providing information on local environmental and land use issues and encouraging communication between residents and government agencies with the goal of promoting and preserving the rural character and natural environment of Bennett Valley;
To educating and providing resources that encourage disaster and emergency preparedness
Your Support provides: The Bennett Valley VOICE delivered straight to your inbox! Four times a year, the BVCA will keep you up-to-date on a broad range of topics pertinent to your community.
Get access to exclusive events, speakers, discounts and plenty of opportunities to meet, greet and broaden your own Bennett Valley “family”.
Donate online here, or make checks payable to BVCA, a section 501(c)(3) organization, and send to P.O. Box 2666, Santa Rosa, CA 95405. Any questions? Contact Bill Finkelstein at bill@bennettvalley.org. The BVCA thanks you!
