July 8, 2025. After various approvals today by the Board of Supervisors, Sonoma County is poised to launch a second round of public hearings and regulatory review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) for a proposal to redevelop the shuttered campus of the state-owned Sonoma Developmental Center (SDC) property.  The last attempt by the County to approve a Specific Plan for SDC development in December 2022 was subsequently voided by an October 2024 Superior Court ruling (SCALE v. The County of Sonoma). The Court ordered the Board of Supervisors to de-certify all land-use approvals for SDC and prohibited “approval of any entitlements” based on the Specific Plan and discredited Environmental Impact Report (EIR).

The application under consideration by the County this time around was submitted by a consortium of developers in August 2023 (Keith Rogal and Grupe Homes via “Eldridge Renewal LLC”) in cooperation with the California Department of General Services (DGS) who still own and manage the SDC property. Promises of early community engagement were never realized as Rogal-Grupe filed a surprise “builder’s remedy” application that far exceeds the 630 homes contemplated in the 2022 Specific Plan. According to the Permit Sonoma “SDC Housing Development Project” website, the Rogal-Grupe proposal for a Major Subdivision, Design Review, and Density Bonus includes:

• 990 residential units ranging from 500-3,200 sf with 200 “affordable to lower income households.”
• 130,000 square feet of commercial uses, including office, retail, research and development, micro-manufacturing and other uses
• A 150- room hotel (approximately 120,000 square feet in total) with a parking structure

Sonoma Land Trust (SLT), many of our local partners, and hundreds of individuals provided extensive public comment on the SDC Specific Plan EIR from 2020-2022. These comments formed the basis of the public record that Judge DeMeo relied on in the SCALE case to overturn the County’s approval of the Plan. The main concern for SLT and many in the community has always been the same: how much housing and associated development is reasonable at SDC while fulfilling the Specific Plan’s Vision and Guiding Principle to “Promote a sustainable, climate-resilient community surrounded by preserved open space and parkland that protects natural resources, fosters environmental stewardship, and maintains and enhances the permeability of the Sonoma Valley Wildlife Corridor for safe wildlife movement throughout the site [and] supports the responsible use of open space as a recreation resource for the community.

Coupled with the procedural and substantive advantages of the “builder’s remedy” application, the much larger development footprint proposed by Eldridge Renewal LLC creates a more difficult path for meaningful public participation and engagement. Here are next steps in the County’s review process for 2025-2026:

Notice of Preparation

Permit Sonoma will publish a Notice of Preparation (NOP) for responsible agencies and interested parties to provide comments on what should be included in the Draft Environmental Impact Report for the project.  The NOP is scheduled for August 15, 2025 which describes the project that will be analyzed in the EIR and identifies areas of probable environmental effects. Sonoma Land Trust will be filing comments in response to the NOP which we will post on the transformsdc.com site along with suggestions for public comments.

Scoping Period and Public Meeting

The scoping period for the NOP is 30 days, and sometime during this period the County will hold a scoping meeting “to provide an additional opportunity for agency staff and interested members of the public to submit comments, either written or verbal, on the scope of the environmental issues to be addressed in the EIR”. The tentative date for the scoping meeting is September 11, 2025, and we will post confirmation and more information when the date is finalized.

Release of Draft Environmental Impact Report

Once the consultant preparing the EIR (Dyett & Bhatia) have completed all necessary studies and received input and direction from local, state and federal regulatory agencies through the NOP process, the County will release the Draft EIR. Dyett & Bhatia’s scope of work indicates the Draft will be released on January 5, 2026 with public comment through February 19, 2026. The “builder’s remedy” statute limits the County to only five public hearings/workshops in total, so this will be a very truncated process with a Planning Commission and Sonoma Valley Citizen’s Advisory Committee hearing set for February 4, 2026.

Consideration of Final EIR and Revised Specific Plan

Once all public comments have been reviewed and responded to, the Final EIR will be released on April 29, 2026. The Planning Commission will consider approval on May 21, 2026 with the final vote by the Board of Supervisors scheduled for June 9, 2026.

Sonoma Land Trust will use this blog, our e-news and website, and public workshops later this fall to make sure that everyone has the information you need to submit effective and compelling comments and testimony through the CEQA process.

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On August 4, 2019 the Sebastiani Theater will screen the release of True Humans—a new film directed and produced by Sonoma County-based filmmaker Malinalli  López and XQL Media—which tells the story of the lives of the last residents of the Sonoma Developmental Center and the closure of the facility in 2018. Tickets are available  through the Sebastiani Theater website.

Ms. Lopez worked with the Parent Hospital Association/Family Advocates United to fund and produce this film about SDC, and XQL Media focuses on dramatic films, documentaries, music videos, and educational videos to create a positive social impact. Proceeds from the screening will support PHA/Family Advocates United in their work to advocate for the general welfare of people with developmental disabilities.

May 27, 2019.  The SDC Coalition invites the public to a free community workshop on June 15, 2019 from 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. at the Hanna Boys Center Auditorium. Over the next few months, Sonoma County will begin a three-year, $3.5 million land use and environmental planning effort for the the 900+ acre Sonoma Developmental Center (SDC) property, that is also known as Eldridge, CA. The purpose of the June 15th meeting is:

• Learn more about Sonoma County’s planning framework for developing allowable land uses, zoning designations, and environmental protections for Eldridge
• Share with the public and receive feedback on a proposed Eldridge Vision Statement and Guiding Principles
• Build support for cohesive community engagement

The SDC Coalition is a group of Sonoma County agencies and non-profit partners working together since 2013 on  issues related to the closure of SDC, and the reuse planning and disposition process for the land and developed campus. Since 2015, the SDC Coalition has hosted numerous public meetings to solicit ideas and feedback on different visions and possible futures for SDC.  The results and synthesis of this public engagement process are available on this blog site, and the Wallace, Roberts Todd (WRT) 2018 “Existing Conditions Assessment” for SDC contains an excellent summary of  “community voices” derived from stakeholder interviews and public comment on reuse priorities and concerns for the open space lands and developed campus.

In the Fall of 2019, Sonoma County will start a formalized process for community engagement pursuant to their authority under the Sonoma County General Plan and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).  The June 15th Workshop will educate participants about the upcoming planning process, and provide a structured and facilitated workshop setting to review and discuss a draft vision statement and set of guiding principles for Eldridge that has been developed by members of the SDC Coalition.

Speakers scheduled for the workshop include: Sonoma County Supervisor Susan Gorin,  Deputy Director Milan Nevajda of Permit Sonoma, Richard Dale of the Sonoma Ecology Center, and representatives from the Glen Ellen Forum and Sonoma Mountain Preservation. The meeting  is free and open to the public, and light refreshments will be served. The final agenda and a draft of the vision statement and guiding principles will be available on this blog site several days prior to the meeting.

The Transform SDC Blog site was launched in 2014 to provide the Sonoma Valley community — and those interested in the future of the Sonoma Developmental Center (SDC) — a forum and information source for news related to the closure of SDC and plans for the future of this remarkable property and historic place.  For more information, please post a response on the blog site, or email John McCaull  at   johnm@sonomalandtrust.org.

April 22, 2019. The California Department of Finance (DOF) and the California Department of General Services (DGS) released budget documents today requesting over $43 million over three years to “manage the Sonoma Developmental Center and begin decommissioning activities through a warm shutdown until the final disposition of the campus is complete…” in 2022. This budget request fulfills the state’s commitment expressed at the April 5th Sonoma County Board of Supervisors hearing  to bear the costs of managing SDC in “warm shutdown” mode,  and to provide the County funding support and time to prepare a specific reuse plan for the nearly 1000 acre property.

The budget request from the Governor’s Department of Finance is addressed to the Senate and Assembly Budget Committees, and asks for an initial appropriation of $21 million in FY 2019-2020 for staffing, decommissioning of antiquated facilities, and maintenance and stewardship of the property. Pending approval from the Legislature as part of the new state budget, this allocation also provides $3.5 million for Sonoma County to prepare a specific plan for SDC. The DGS “budget change proposal”  goes into much greater detail about the Department’s three year budget and timeline, and how the state intends to handle decommissioning of some of the property’s problematic infrastructure like the Central Utility Plant.

The Department of Finance letter includes draft budget language to appropriate the necessary funds and provides overall statutory guidance for reuse priorities for the property. The proposal also includes specific protections for the land, water, and natural resources of the property and requirements for managing and caring for the property in the public trust during the interim “warm shutdown” period. The draft text includes a series of “findings and declarations”  including provisions directing”that priority be given to affordable housing..in the disposition of the [SDC] property” and  that “all lands outside the core developed campus and its related infrastructure be preserved as public parkland and open space.”  These findings are backed up by more detailed direction and policy, including several sections that honor the 128 year health care legacy of SDC by including a priority for deed-restricted, affordable housing for people with developmental disabilities, and protection of the Eldridge Cemetery.

Budget hearings on this item will occur in April and May, with a final vote on the state budget sometime in June, allowing the successful transfer of jurisdiction and operation of SDC to the Department of General Services effective July 1, 2019. This budget proposal is a very positive step forward, and another strong indication of the state’s commitment to partner with local interests to forge a solution for the future of SDC that meets the needs of our community, while also protecting the property’s invaluable open space and wildlife corridor lands.

Here are links to both of the relevant budget documents.

April 19, 2019 Letter to the Legislature from the Department of Finance regarding SDC Budget Amendments (Item 7760-001-0001)

Department of General Service Budget Change Proposal (Sonoma Developmental Center Transfer of Jurisdiction) (DF-46 (REV 08/17))

The Transform SDC Blog site was launched in 2014 to provide the Sonoma Valley community — and those interested in the future of the Sonoma Developmental Center (SDC) — a forum and information source for news related to the closure and reuse planning process for SDC.  For more information, please post a response on the blog site, or email John McCaull  at   johnm@sonomalandtrust.org.

April 3, 2019.   Sonoma County lawmakers have delivered on their promise to reach a deal with the State of California to fund a planning process for the future of the Sonoma Developmental Center (SDC) and to ensure that the property will be maintained by the State during the time it takes to develop the reuse plan. These negotiations date back to last summer, when the State offered to transfer SDC to Sonoma County, but the County declined due to concerns over the significant liability and infrastructure costs associated with taking on ownership of this nearly 1,000-acre property. Instead, the State and County crafted a framework that accomplishes two main goals:

• the State will fund a $3.5 million effort to create a “specific plan” for SDC pursuant to the Sonoma County General Plan, and
• the State will continue to take financial responsibility for the basic upkeep and maintenance of the property for three years while the specific plan is being developed. The total cost for this obligation is estimated near $40 million.

On Friday, April 5, the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors will hold a special meeting to approve the agreement with the State and to pass a series of resolutions initiating a specific planning process for SDC. As the February 2019 SDC Transition Proposal states:

“This proposal provides time for policymakers and the community to begin the land use planning process to determine appropriate future land uses and development potential for the SDC site, which is currently very limited by the existing County General Plan and zoning of the property only for public uses. The proposed planning process will facilitate the disposition of the property by amending the County General Plan and zoning, completing environmental review, and addressing the economic feasibility of replacing or repairing the site’s aging infrastructure.”

From a community perspective, this planning framework is exactly what we have been requesting since the closure of SDC was announced in 2015. The only way that SDC can be successfully “transformed” from a shuttered and mostly vacant institutional setting is to create a compelling vision for the land, and then use the County’s general plan and zoning powers to authorize a new mix of uses. California land use and zoning laws authorize cities and counties to develop a specific plan to:

“systematically implement the general plan for all or part of an area…by 1) acting as statements of planning policy that refine the general plan policies applicable to a defined area, 2) directly regulating land use, or 3) bringing together detailed policies and regulations into a focused development scheme.”

The State has very limited options for a surplus property sale or inter-agency transfer for SDC until the development ground-rules and land conservation goals are set for the property. Additional concerns have been how to pay for the development of the specific plan and how to cover approximately $10 million per year in “warm shutdown” costs to ensure that SDC does not fall into further disrepair. Thankfully, the State continues to be an excellent partner during the closure and transition of SDC, and this budgetary support gives the County the resources needed to make this planning process a success. The Legislature still needs to approve this funding proposal through the FY 2019−2020 State budget, but the collaboration with the California Department of General Services to reach this agreement has been essential in getting us to this point.

There are still a lot of details to be worked out and questions to be answered. For instance, we need a conservation and stewardship plan for the property’ s open space and wildlife corridor lands and there are many questions about what type of “interim uses” should be allowed on the property over the next few years while the specific plan is in the works. But for now, this is a time of celebrating a major achievement. This agreement is good for SDC and the entire Sonoma Valley, and we are fortunate to have an incredibly dedicated and talented team of elected officials and County staff who were able to get us to this milestone.

Here are links to important background documents for Friday’s Board of Supervisors’ hearing that provide more detail on the overall proposal, and the timeline and process for the SDC specific plan.

BOS SDC Agenda April 5, 2019

SDC Transition Plan Summary 4-5-19

Attachment A Budgetary Resolution 4-5-19

Attachment B Resolution Regarding Land Use Planning and Disposition of the SDC Site (1)

Attachment C SDC Transition Proposal 4-5-19

The Transform SDC Blog site was launched in 2014 to provide the Sonoma Valley community — and those interested in the future of the Sonoma Developmental Center (SDC) — a forum and information source for news related to the closure of SDC.  For more information, please post a response on the blog site, or email John McCaull  at   johnm@sonomalandtrust.org.