Lake Suttonfield

Public Comment Deadline on SDC Closure Plan Approaching: Your Comments Matter!

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August 21, 2015:

The Sonoma Developmental Center (SDC) is slated for closure by the end of 2018. Please take a moment and submit an electronic comment via the Department of Developmental Services website or through the mail by September 1.

Visit the Transform SDC website, and utilize our SDC Coalition letter to DDS so you can echo the issues we have raised with the State. For those of you especially concerned about protecting the SDC lands, Sonoma Land Trust has developed a sample comment letter and natural resources fact sheet to help craft your message.

Let us know if you have any questions or need help with your comments.

Thank you!

SDC Coalition Submits Comments on Closure Plan

/ Sonoma Land Trust / 1 Comment

August 11, 2015:

The attached document was provided to the Department of Developmental Services (DDS) at a meeting on August 7th  in response to the request from the Department to sit down and talk about what the SDC Coalition would like to see in the Center’s closure plan. This memo represents our best effort to summarize all the feedback we received from the community at our May 2nd “Transform SDC workshop” in Sonoma, and our technical analysis of what we need to see in the closure plan in order to meet our overall objectives for the future of SDC.

It remains to be seen how much of what we proposed will make it into the draft closure plan. The public comment deadline is September 1st, and we expect that a draft closure plan will be publicly released in mid-September.  DDS has indicated that they will also likely hold another public hearing to solicit feedback on the draft plan prior to the October 1st submittal deadline to the Legislature. If you or your organization are planning on submitting comments to DDS prior to September 1st, please feel free to use this memo as a basis for your comments.  The meeting on the 7th is also covered in today’s Index Tribune article by Christian Kallen, “Upcoming SDC meetings: public, private.”

Recommendations for the SDC Closure Plan, SDC Coalition

Another Announcement for the Developmental Center Hearing, July 18

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July 10, 2015:

The following excerpt is from the announcement posted on the Sonoma Valley Sun website, also available for viewing here.

The state’s Department of Developmental Services will hold a public meeting on the transformation of Sonoma Developmental Center on Saturday, July 18, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Sonoma Valley High School. The hearing is one of the steps required by Senate Bill 82, signed by the governor in June. It requires the DDS to come up with a plan to close the Eldridge campus by the end of 2018. As part of that process, the DDS is seeking public comment. Hence the upcoming meeting, where anybody who wants to speak has a five-minute opportunity, for the record… Don’t expect much from DDS officials, who are only there to hear testimony; they will not answer questions or make additional statements. Can’t make it? Participate by phone, live at 800.230.1059. You can also get your comments on the record (five minutes of words?) via e-mail to: Sonoma.closure@dds.ca.gov.

It won’t affect the closure timeline, but some good news for the SDC: money to help with the transition. The feds have come through with Medicaid funds that had been blocked by a decertification action. The center can now count on about $53 million (about one-third of its budget) as it makes plans to transfer patients and shut down. “The agreement aids in the efforts for a safe transition of residents from Sonoma to the community,” stated Santi Rogers of the DDS.

Provided courtesy of the Sonoma Valley Sun website, by Val Robichaud.

Transform SDC Community Workshop #1 Synthesis Report

/ Sonoma Land Trust / 2 Comments

July 2, 2015:

Transform SDC
Dream, Create, Transform.

Introduction
A diverse partnership comprised of the County of Sonoma, the Parent Hospital Association, the Sonoma Land Trust, the Sonoma Ecology Center and other local groups have come together to create a comprehensive and inclusive 18-month planning process to explore options for the future of the Sonoma Developmental Center (SDC) that preserve the unique human health, community and natural resources provided by SDC. On Saturday, May 2nd, more than 200 people participated in the first community workshop to kick-off the Transform SDC planning process. The theme of the workshop focused on empowering the community to begin to establish a vision to Dream, Create, Transform the site. This document synthesizes the community’s input which defined initial elements of a community vision for the future of SDC, explored possible re-use options, and identified areas for further inquiry and investigation.

Please click on the synthesis report provided below to explore the results from the first community workshop.

Transform SDC Community Workshop #1 Synthesis Report

As well, a more extensive list of re-use ideas is provided below for those who would like to see the full range of viewpoints that came out of the workshop.

Transform SDC Community Workshop #1 Re-use Ideas

Enjoy!