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Hanna, Carriger plan back to SVCAC

A public review of plans by Hanna Boys Center to develop home sites on land adjacent to Carriger Road will be on the agenda of the Sonoma Valley Citizens Advisory Commission (SVCAC) Wednesday night.

Current plans for development on the 57-acre site call for three new homes, scaled down from six homes following an outpouring of opposition from neighbors living along Carriger Road.

The land in question includes a 27-acre parcel historically owned by Hanna, and an adjacent 30-acre parcel the center bought two years ago that is currently zoned for five homes.

Hanna has proposed to request a General Plan amendment that would join the parcels but restrict any future development past three new homes.

Hanna’s development plans are driven by a desire to increase the center’s capital fund in order to serve a larger number of residential students.

Hanna officials have been in regular discussions with some of the Carriger Road neighbors in hopes of arriving at a development solution that addresses their concerns while meeting the center’s hope for a $3 million return on the property.

The latest version of the plan was reviewed at an informational meeting Hanna held on campus Oct. 11. The SVCAC meeting will also be informational, but Hanna representatives are hoping that the commission, which plays an advisory role in reviewing projects that will eventually reach the Board of Supervisors, will bestow its approval.

Carriger Road residents who have opposed the project voiced fears of traffic congestion, heavy construction vehicles on the flimsy, one-lane road and, according to some opponents, the loss of a pristine “ecological jewel.” Other concerns include fears that a General Plan amendment will create a dangerous precedent for the area and that groundwater supplies are already stretched.

Those concerns were expressed at an earlier SVCAC meeting on July 25 and the commission responded by voting to table the issue until some of the issues could be further explored by both parties. Hanna officials expressed confidence Monday that most of the remaining issues have been addressed.

The Wednesday meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. in the Community Meeting Room, 177 First St. W. The public is invited.