Committees

Over the past five years the GAV-MAC has, in coordination with community volunteers and fiscal sponsorship and support from Sonoma County Public Infrastructure, pursued creation of a new community part located at the SPI maintained Park & Ride Lot in central Geyserville. As part of this effort, community outreach and input, engineering and design options have been completed and now a more precise master plan and environmental review is underway through a consultant contract administered by SPI. The proposed Plaza Park Ad Hoc Committee will oversee ongoing the consulting effort, providing linkage to the prior park planning efforts, offering policy guidance, and conducting review and providing community input as may be requested by the consultants and SPI. This phase of work will occur over the next year. Subsequent phases of the Plaza Park development will include the preparation of construction drawings followed by construction management.

The Streetscape Program was created by the GAV-MAC four years ago as a comprehensive effort to address planning, design, and construction of various public improvements related to the central Geyserville ‘streetscape’ including sidewalks and pedestrian paths, street lighting, vehicle parking, signage and wayfinding, traffic calming, pedestrian and bicycle facilities and safety, appurtenant hardscape and landscaping, electrical and telecommunications cable undergrounding, and drainage and flood control. At the present time, a consulting contract is underway with the firm W-Trans under contract to SPI, who is completing a Concept Plan for selected transportation aspects of the Streetscape Program.

The proposed Streetscape Program Ad Hoc Committee will oversee the ongoing Concept Plan consulting effort, provide policy guidance, review of consultant deliverables, and provide other community input as may be requested from the consultants and SPI. This phase of work is expected to occur over the next year during which the Concept Plan will be completed. Subsequent phases of the Streetscape Program will address other (non-transportation) aspects of the Program, proposed transportation facility design and engineering, and construction management

The Resources and Recreation Ad Hoc Committee will focus its attention on four General Plan Elements that have particular importance in the Alexander Valley deserving of area-specific policy and implementation measures. These elements include: 

• Agricultural Resources Element
• Open Space and Resource Conservation Element (includes recreation)
• Water Resources Element
• Environmental Justice & Public Safety Element

As part of their policy development efforts the Ad Hoc Committee will review the listed above General Plan 2020 Elements, coordinate with Permit Sonoma staff and consultants on their broader (Countywide) efforts and identify issues of local policy concern and opportunities. Threats to existing water supplies, wildfire hazards, land use implications of deteriorating market prospects for the wine grape and wine industry, flooding hazards, the need for greater recreation access to the Russian River, and the land use and public safety
implications of GeoZone development will likely be the focus of the Ad Hoc Committee’s work.

The deliverable from the Ad Hoc Committee, prepared during the next 12 months will be an ‘Issue and Policy Response’ paper that provides topical policy text and related implementation measures that may be in order. Subsequent phases of the Ad Hoc Committee efforts will include proposed integration and alignment with broader Countywide policy and preparation of the Area Plan text which would be included and adopted as a component of the General Plan Update

The Housing and Community Design Ad Hoc Committee will focus its attention on four General Plan Elements that have particular importance in central Geyserville and the Alexander Valley deserving of area-specific policy and implementation measures. These
elements include:

• Land Use Element
• Housing Element
• Circulation and Transit Element
• Public Facilities and Services Element

As part of their policy development efforts the Ad Hoc Committee will review the existing General Plan 2020 Elements, coordinate with Permit Sonoma staff and consultants on their broader (Countywide) efforts and identify issues of local policy concern and opportunities. Need for a range of public facilities in Geyserville (see Streetscape Program), preserving community design and character of Geyserville, assuring that new housing proposed pursuant to the Housing Element mitigates impacts and is consistent
with community character, and that public safety issues including flooding and seismic hazards are adequately addressed by the County.

The deliverable from the Ad Hoc Committee prepared during the next 12 months will be an ‘Issue and Policy Response’ paper that provides topical policy text and related implementation measures that may be in order. Subsequent phases of the Ad Hoc Committee efforts will include proposed integration and alignment with broader Countywide policy and preparation of the Area Plan text which would be included as a component of the General Plan along with the resource are recreation policy work.