The draft Northeast Area Specific Plan and draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) are now available. Copies of each document may be purchased for $10 at the Planning Department office and will also be available at the Sebastopol Branch Library, and are posted on the Planning Department page of the City web site. The draft Plan proposes a bold vision for the Northeast Area, including creation of a new pedestrian-oriented mixed-use area that is intended to expand the downtown, establishing enhanced vehicle and pedestrian connectivity, and strengthening the local economy in an environmentally-responsible form of development. The Northeast area would be transformed over the implementation period, expected to take 15-20 years. Development would be regulated by an innovative form-based SmartCode.

While in most areas, the EIR indicates there will not be significant environmental impacts, the draft EIR identifies significant traffic impacts. The Plan recommends revision of traffic standards for the downtown and Specific Plan areas to better recognize that downtown areas are expected to have traffic congestion as hubs of community and business activity. And in fact, the proposed Plan is a density-reduction mechanism. Existing zoning allows substantially more development than envisioned by the proposed Specific Plan.

The Plan also offers the opportunity to improve public spaces, such as Sebastopol Avenue, as well as the creation of a new public gathering place, and the possibility of new community facilities, such as a new Sebastopol branch library to better meet community needs. The Plan also makes significant recommendations for City-wide policy changes. These include amending the flood ordinance to require zero net fill in the 100-year floodplain; expanding the wastewater mitigation requirement to non-residential development; adoption of an urban runoff reduction ordinance; amendment of the Growth Management program for Northeast development; revision of parking regulations to create standards more appropriate to a downtown, mixed-use area; and possible consideration by the voters of a ‘carbon tax’ on electricity and natural gas to fund energy and water conservation programs.

The draft Plan has been developed following a lengthy public process. Work towards the Specific Plan began in 2003, and has included a number of community workshops as well as meetings of the City Council, Planning Commission, and Design Review Board. Many viewpoints were expressed in this process. The draft Plan is intended to synthesize the concepts and direction set in the community process. The review and adoption process will include the opportunity to comment on the EIR, a public workshop, discussion of the draft Plan by the Planning Commission, Design Review Board, and Business Outreach Committee, preparation of the Final EIR, and public hearings before the Planning Commission and City Council. The draft EIR is subject to a 45-day public review period. Comments will be due at the City Planning Department by or before 5:00 p.m. October 2, 2007.

This phase of the planning process will kick off with a public workshop to present the draft Plan and EIR will be conducted by the project consultants on September 6, 2007 from 7:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at the Veteran’s building, 282 High Street Sebastopol. There will be an opportunity for the public to comment on the draft EIR at a City Council meeting on September 18, 2007 at 7:00 p.m. at the Sebastopol Community Center, 390 Morris Street, Sebastopol.

After the close of the review period for the draft EIR, a Final EIR will be prepared, following which public hearings by the Planning Commission and City Council will occur, with the EIR and Plan ultimately subject to approval by the City Council. This process is expected to go into 2008. You may wish to periodically check the Planning Department page of the City web site for more information.

-Kenyon Webster, Planning Director