RUSSIAN RIVER TOWN HALL MEETING
When: Thursday, March 9th, 2000 at 7:00 p.m.
Where: Guerneville Veterans' Auditorium on First Street
Subject: The Proposed 30-year Russian River Redevelopment Plan
Sponsor: Russian River Community Forum
BACKGROUND
In 1998 the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors authorized a $300,000
Community Redevelopment Agency study which resulted in creation of the
Plan for
a Russian River Redevelopment Project. That Plan legislative process is
nearing completion and its adoption is expected to take place in May or
June of this
year. There is almost unanimous agreement among knowledgeable parties
that the Plan result, if it is adopted, will have significant impact
upon both the
infrastructure and inhabitants of the Russian River area.
Throughout the latter half of 1999 and continuing into the present, as details of the Redevelopment Plan began to unfold, a number of residents within the Russian River community realized there is cause for concern. There are no Federal fund subsidies involved here and the Plan's entire 35 million-dollar price tag will come off the top of the local property tax base. Its scope quite clearly affords "substantial" benefits to the local business and tourism-based establishments. The effort in designing the Plan has proceeded without significant residential community representation and with little publicity. A draft Environmental Impact Report candidly states the Plan will foster significant increases in population growth, number of lodging rooms, retail business square footage space, number of residential units and jobs, additional traffic congestion together with grid-lock, and vehicle-access infrastructure improvements. When one realizes the magnitude of change the Plan will facilitate and that the stated purpose of Redevelopment is urbanization, it raises questions the community needs to address in terms of an identity and possible affects upon perceived quality of life issues. The Plan and all its impacts needs examination in an open forum in which residents have an opportunity to learn what it represents and the role its impacts will play in the life of the community over the next 30 to 45 years.
RUSSIAN RIVER COMMUNITY FORUM
In January of this year a group of thirty area residents concerned over
the number of questionable issues associated with the Redevelopment
Plan, joined
together in a common group, which they named the Russian River Community
Forum. The group's purposes are to closely monitor the hearing and
legislative
processes supporting the Redevelopment Project and Plan; and to sponsor
one or more community Town Hall Meetings designed to publicize the Plan
and
it's many projected impacts; and to explore the option of gathering
petition signatures to force the Plan's placement on a ballot so
affected residents will have
an opportunity to vote for or against it.
RUSSIAN RIVER TOWN HALL MEETING
We invite your participation in the upcoming Russian River Town Hall
Meeting. The meeting is expected to last for a couple of hours. There
will be a panel
of four speakers followed by a period of time for Questions and Answers
from the floor. Information tables will be open throughout the evening
for the
gathering of signatures on related petitions and for additional answers
to questions. Please share this invitation with anyone whom you believe
would benefit
from learning more about the Russian River Redevelopment Project and
Plan.
Bond Shands