Officials: Tolay Park opening by end of year

Despite the failure of a park tax measure, county officials say Tolay could open by the end of 2017.|

Tolay Park Master Plan

The Sonoma County Regional Parks Department is seeking input on the Tolay Lake Regional Park Master Plan Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR). Public comments on the adequacy of the environmental analysis contained in the Draft EIR will be accepted from January 10, 2017 to February 23, 2017.

Submit email comments before February 23, 2017 @ 5:00pm to: karen.davis-brown@sonoma-county.org

Or in writing to:

Karen Davis-Brown

Sonoma County Regional Parks

2300 County Center Drive, Suite 120A

Santa Rosa, Ca. 95403

PDF fileNotice of Availability of an Environmental Impact Report PDF fileMaster PlanPDF fileMaster Plan AppendixPDF fileEnvironmental Impact ReportPDF fileEnvironmental Impact Report Appendix

It was billed partly as a way to expedite the opening of Tolay Lake Regional Park outside of Petaluma. But on election day, Sonoma County voters rejected Measure J, a sales tax that would have raised an estimated $95 million over 10 years for the Sonoma County Regional Parks system.

With that failure - by a mere 1,082 votes out of 69,800 - county officials are rethinking the scope of the Tolay project, but remain optimistic that it can fully open to the public in some capacity by the end of 2017. Meanwhile, parks officials say they will have another go at trying to pass a ballot measure, perhaps as soon as June.

“Measure J would have made opening Tolay much easier, obviously,” Supervisor David Rabbitt said. “I’m optimistic that we can open it on a limited basis this year.”

The Open Space District set aside 1,769 acres in 2005 for what was envisioned as a crown jewel in the county park system. An additional 1,657 acres on Sonoma Land Trust property will be added to the park next month.

But Tolay has remained only nominally open to the public, with access limited to the two-week Tolay Fall Festival and special permits granted to the public. Rabbitt said it has been one of the toughest park projects the county has undertaken, beset for many years by environmental challenges, state permitting, Native American sensitivities and a opposition from neighbors. The environmental document for the park was released on Tuesday.

“It’s been pretty complex, but we are working toward the end of it,” he said.

Rabbitt said that, without a dedicated funding source that Measure J would have provided, the county is looking at opening Tolay with limited amenities, including a gravel parking area, some outhouses, temporary signs and few trails.

The county last year dedicated funding to repave the Cannon Lane access road, which is expected to be completed this summer. The park could then open in the fall, Rabbitt said.

“There is still lots of opportunities to get people out on the property in a limited fashion,” he said.

Eventually, park planners would like to add features identified on the Tolay Park master plan, which will likely include hiking trails, camp sites, an interpretative center and restrooms. The Federated Indians of the Graton Rancheria tribe paid $500,000 to fund the master plan. Tolay Lake contains many Native American artifacts as the site was a traditional meeting ground for tribes in the region.

But there is no funding to execute the master plan, and park officials are now looking at asking voters again to pass a special tax.

“People learned a lot and saw what happened with Measure J,” said Caryl Hart, the county regional parks director. “They really need to get out and vote for this if they want to make it happen.”

This time around, Hart said she plans to ask that the measure apply countywide. Only residents living in unincorporated areas of the county voted on Measure J because the new tax would have applied only to purchases made outside cities.

Hart reiterated her belief that Measure J lost in part because of the perceived inequity of asking only some in Sonoma County to support raising taxes for parks that are enjoyed by all.

A countywide ballot measure would require approval from all of the cities, which likely would seek a share of the revenue for their own parks. It also would limit the proposed amount to an eighth-cent sales tax increase, unless county officials were to decide to seek legislative approval to raise the sales tax in Cotati above the state’s 10 percent cap.

Rabbitt said that officials in the next few weeks will consider the best time to place the measure on the ballot. He said he did not want a parks tax to conflict with the county’s effort to extend the Measure M sales tax for transportation projects, which will likely be on the Nov. 2018 ballot at the earliest.

“Next week, we’ll be looking at when to go forward (with a park tax),” he said. “We would rather go sooner than later if the numbers are good. We need to do some follow up polling.”

But Rabbitt said that officials should not wait to open Tolay until they can afford to build the park as envisioned in several community planning meetings.

“It may mean that the park is limited without additional resources,” he said. “I’m going to keep at it. People have been waiting a long time for it to open.”

(Press Democrat Staff Writer Derek Moore contributed to this report.)

Tolay Park Master Plan

The Sonoma County Regional Parks Department is seeking input on the Tolay Lake Regional Park Master Plan Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR). Public comments on the adequacy of the environmental analysis contained in the Draft EIR will be accepted from January 10, 2017 to February 23, 2017.

Submit email comments before February 23, 2017 @ 5:00pm to: karen.davis-brown@sonoma-county.org

Or in writing to:

Karen Davis-Brown

Sonoma County Regional Parks

2300 County Center Drive, Suite 120A

Santa Rosa, Ca. 95403

PDF fileNotice of Availability of an Environmental Impact Report PDF fileMaster PlanPDF fileMaster Plan AppendixPDF fileEnvironmental Impact ReportPDF fileEnvironmental Impact Report Appendix

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