What we've done since the 2017 fires

We have come a long way since forming the Sustainable Sonoma Council just after the 2017 wildfires.

We have produced great outcomes, such as the Voices of Sonoma Valley report on Valley residents' most important issues, Learning Labs, the Sonoma Valley Housing Declaration. Many people and organizations have committed their precious time to build an unprecedented forum for unified action to benefit the entire Sonoma Valley community.

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We formed. People from health, business, schools, emergency response, social justice, environment, housing, and viticulture came together as the Sustainable Sonoma Council for the first time two weeks after the October 2017 fires.

 

We listened. At 20 listening sessions in 2018, we recorded over 1,600 comments about what Sonoma Valley residents and workers want for the future of their community. The report, Voices of Sonoma Valley, showed that housing affordability is the #1 issue in Sonoma Valley.

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What's next?

We learned. After the Sustainable Sonoma Council selected housing affordability as its first focus area, we held a public Learning Lab to open the conversation with a diverse panel of Sonoma Valley community leaders.

We've listened and learned, and now it's time to focus. Over the next 6 to 9 months, Sustainable Sonoma will:

  • Hire 3 to 4 regional housing experts to inform a specific, actionable strategy for housing our Sonoma Valley community, built on the values expressed by the community in listening sessions and by the SuSo Council.

  • Produce public events, such as a panel on the City of Sonoma's Urban Growth Boundary and a forum on the housing strategy.

  • Re-direct SuSo Council and Work Group activities to these deliverables.

  • Continue building SuSo as an organizaton: fundraising, partnerships, and exploring governance options.

By early 2020, the Sustainable Sonoma Council will be able to:

  • review, revise, and approve the expert-informed housing strategy

  • decide which recommended strategies Sustainable Sonoma will take the lead on implementing, and which strategies to promote for other actors to take up

  • consider taking on a new topic, beyond housing

Please let us hear from you with your thoughts or suggestions about Sustainable Sonoma's next steps.

 
Kim JonesComment