corp · Sonoma County Coalition for the Outdoor Recreation Plan
To Advocate for an extensive, diverse and sensible system of trails in Sonoma County.
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1. Adobe to Adobe Trail

The trail would begin at the Vallejo Adobe in the Sonoma State Historic Park in downtown Sonoma, then proceed via the existing Sonoma Bike Path to the Vallejo Home State Historic Park. From there, it would proceed south, partially along the existing Fryer Creek Class I bikeway to Leveroni Road and continue west on Leveroni to its intersection with Arnold Drive, then south on Arnold Drive. Before Highway 116/Stage Gulch Road, the trail would turn west up Sonoma Mountain to join the Petaluma to Sonoma Mountain Trail (designated AL in the June 2000 draft Plan), as it comes south from Jack London State Park. The western trailhead would be at the Petaluma Adobe State Historic Park.

The draft Plan shows no connecting trails between south Sonoma Valley and the Petaluma area, although mid- and north- Sonoma Valley do have such east-west connectors. Such a southern connector is needed to serve the most heavily-populated area of Sonoma Valley, namely the City of Sonoma, and the Verano-Springs unincorporated areas.

Further, this trail would serve a historical-interpretive purpose, to link the two principle sections of Mariano Vallejo’s territorial enterprise, both State Parks. Linking together thematically the Sonoma Plaza complex and Lachryma Montis home with the comprehensive restoration and interpretive programs of the Petaluma Adobe which will add dimensions visits to them as isolated sites cannot match. As just one example, a hike between the two complexes will display both the breadth of territory and the ecological variety of Vallejo’s historic rancho. This trail is supported by Policies 1.1b and 1.2c in the draft Plan.

2. The Mark West Trail

This trail would link Santa Rosa, Windsor and Healdsburg (via the Foothills Trail) to the Stevenson Trail. The western trailhead of the Mark West Trail would start at Shiloh Regional Park and go easterly generally along the path of Mark West Creek, providing a connection to the proposed Mark West Regional Park (OS5 in the draft Plan)and Porter Creek Regional Park (OS7 in the draft Plan) with the easterly end connecting to Stevenson Trail (E in the draft Plan). There are no other proposed trails to connect these communities with existing and proposed parks and trails in this portion of the County. This trail is supported by Policies 1.1b and 1.2c in the draft Plan.

3. Foothills Trail

The trail would link City of Santa Rosa with Larkfield Wikiup, Shiloh Regional Park, the Town of Windsor (at Foothills Regional Park), and the City of Healdsburg (utilizing Healdsburg Veterans Memorial Beach County Park as a trailhead). The trail would generally follow the foothills on the east side of the Santa Rosa Plain providing a north-south connection between major population centers and three existing County Parks. As there are currently no off-pavement trails identified in the draft Plan available to connect existing and proposed parks and recreation areas to the north of Santa Rosa, this trail would provide an essential link of the regional trail network to the largest population center in the County. This trail is supported by Policies 1.1b and 1.2c in the draft Plan.

4. McCray Ridge Trail

This trail would connect Healdsburg, via the Russian River Trail (AD in the draft Plan) or West Side Road as a temporary route, to the Austin Creek State Recreation Area. The eastern trailhead could be established at the proposed Windsor Waterfront Park (R4 in the draft Plan). The route of the McCray Ridge Trail would parallel and be north of Sweetwater Springs Road and south of Mill Creek Road. This trail would provide an important regional link (when continued along The Cedars Trail) between north Sonoma County urban areas with state and federal recreation areas in northwest Sonoma County. This trail is supported by Policies 1.1b, 1.2c, and 3.3 in the draft Plan.

5. The Cedars Trail

This trail would connect the Austin Creek State Recreation Area to The Cedars BLM land (P6 in the draft Plan) with Lake Sonoma. This trail is especially important as there are no other public access routes to BLM’s 1,500 acre Cedars Preserve and would offer a unique opportunity for a wilderness experience in Sonoma County with the opportunity to backpack into The Cedars for camping without any motorized intrusion or impacts. It would provide an important regional link (when continued along the McCray Ridge Trail) between north Sonoma County urban areas with state and federal recreation areas in northwest Sonoma County. A trail easement would cost substantially less than purchase of the land necessary to access this site. This trail is supported by Policies 1.2c and 3.3 in the draft Plan.

6. Salmon Creek Trail

This trail would generally follow the Salmon Creek corridor, starting at the Salmon Creek State Beach (or the proposed Bodega Bay Community Park - C1 in the draft Plan), linking the Sonoma Coast Trail and protected lands such as the Finley Creek Preserve and the proposed Salmon Creek Preserve (P5 in the draft Plan) with the proposed Coleman Valley-Willow Creek Trail (AV in the draft Plan), the Bodega Bay-Sebastopol Trail (AA in the draft Plan) and the community of Occidental. The Occidental Community Park (C2 in the draft Plan) would make an ideal trailhead at the headwaters of Salmon Creek. This trail is supported by Policies 1.2c and 3.3 in the draft Plan.

Restore and Extend Sonoma Mountain Parklands

Any objective observer looking at the data assembled in the ORP would expect Sonoma Mountain to be our county’s most obvious focal point for outdoor recreation. Our county’s namesake and dominant landform, Sonoma Mountain is also highly scenic, still largely undeveloped, and close to our largest cities which are most deficient in open space parklands. Workshops and CAC meetings have amply demonstrated the public’s enthusiasm for extensive public lands on the upper mountain. While the 2000 draft of the ORP made one welcome step, reinstating the 1989 General Plan’s proposed Copeland Creek Park, the following additional steps with respect to Sonoma Mountain are needed for this recreation plan to be considered complete:

• Add an open space park of at least 300 acres on this eastern slope of the mountain overlooking the Sonoma Valley, as shown in the 1989 General Plan‘s Land Use Map. True, the OSD and State Parks are working to implement a trail in that area, which we greatly appreciate, but a trail does not take the place of a park.

• Add an open space park of at least 300 acres on the upper mountain overlooking the Petaluma Valley, to replace the county park proposed at or near Lafferty Ranch since 1964. While Lafferty Park is being implemented by the City of Petaluma, which we also greatly appreciate, the county is not absolved of its 37-year promise to South County residents to implement a park in that area. We also note that county plans have always described this park as an open space park ("forest and wilderness park" in the 1964 terminology), which is a very different park experience that the Regional Recreation Area proposed for South Sonoma Mountain, presumably at a lower elevation.

• Expand the size of the North Sonoma Mountain Open Space Park, northeast of Jack London park, to at least 500 acres, as was called for in the 1964 park plan (then called "Cooper‘s Grove"). Currently the ORP proposes only 85 acres for this park, the size of a currently landbanked property. The category of open space park, however, is supposed to be several hundred acres at a minimum. We see no reason to limit to proposed park to the undersized parcel currently owned by the county. The ORP properly calls for expansion of several existing, undersized parks, such as Crane Creek and Helen Putnam. It should do no less for an undersized proposed park. There are several large parcels in the vicinity which make expansion quite feasible (arguably much more so than at Crane Creek, for example).

• Depict the Petaluma to Jack London Trail (AL) going northeast from the Petaluma Adobe toward its destination, not south along Adobe Road (a very busy road) in exactly the wrong direction. Trails shown on the map are not parcel specific, so they should be depicted more or less as the crow flies. The 1997 Trail Evaluations map in Appendix 2 of the ORP shows a reasonable map depiction for this trail.

• Expand the definition of the "other lands" category on page 51 to explicitly include city-managed open space parks, and describe Lafferty Ranch Park on page 119 as a city-managed open space park, not a "public access trail and preserve," as it currently reads. Both that city's and the county's planning documents have consistently described that project as a park, and the level of development and use in the city's management plan are substantially the same as an ORP open space park.

Identify the Bay Area Ridge Trail in the Plan

Although the County and various Cities have recognized and supported several portions of the Bay Area Ridge Trail in the past, it is not mapped in the draft Plan to illustrate its regional significance. The path of the Ridge Trail is already established by existing and proposed trail segments in the draft Plan and should be identified as such.

Correct Inconsistent Policy Language

Although Policy 3.2 was revised in the June 2000 draft Plan as directed by the Board at their October 1999 meeting to provide some flexibility in the use of sites prior to completion of management plans, the new Policy 1.2b contradicts this language. The new Policy 1.2b should be revised to be consistent with Policy 3.2 and indicate that public use may be restricted until management and other development documents are completed.

Impacts/Liability Issues regarding Parks and Trails

CORP commends the Plan for its comprehensive discussion of, and recommendations regarding landowner impact and liability issues in Chapter II D.

Concerns have been raised by the Sonoma County Farm Bureau and by opponents of specific trails regarding security and public safety, fencing, liability, fire, parking, hours of use, and danger of pesticide exposure. Those concerns are documented in the Plan, especially in its Appendices. But likewise documented in the Plan, we are pleased to note, are findings that clearly refute many exaggerated charges concerning the negative impacts of parks and trails. The Plan also lays out clear policies and procedures for mitigating demonstrated impacts, including Policy 2.3 which states that the County will "indemnify all grantors of trail easements and other owners of lands immediately adjoining County trails from liability for injuries suffered by users of the adjoining trails" such that the rights and safety of the public and of individual landowners are safeguarded. We find the Plan’s treatment of these issues thorough, responsible, and convincing. We believe they are more than sufficient to protect landowners and we support them.

On the other hand, we suspect that any further attempts to eliminate specific parks and trails from the Plan, citing these issues, or attempts to change the Plan’s recommendations in these areas, are motivated not by legitimate concerns over impact and liability but rather by anti-social sentiments. We urge you to resist these efforts.

Conclusion

With the addition of these missing regional trails and our other specified changes, the Coalition for the Outdoor Recreation Plan will endorse the County's Outdoor Recreation Plan, acknowledging that it is complete, balanced and identifies the recreational facilities needed to provide quality experiences that enhance the lives of all of Sonoma County's residents and visitors.

Sincerely,

Larry Modell

Larry Modell, Chair,
Coalition for the Outdoor Recreation Plan (CORP)