Editorial: The promised land

Hanna Center land use comes down to - what's best for the boys|

“This land is your land, this land is my land” – Woody Guthrie

Oh, if that were true.

Woody Guthrie’s beloved paean to communal land use came to mind this week, when the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors considered a General Plan amendment that would pave the way for Hanna Boys Center to sell 57 acres of its land, a little-used parcel off Carriger Road.

Hanna officials say there are no plans to use the land for any programs put on by the 70-year-old center, which serves about 100 at-risk boys, on average, and the funds from selling it off would enable the organization to operate a currently unoccupied group home on its campus, which could house an additional 12 boys.

Not surprisingly, Carriger Road neighbors are concerned by the plan. They worry that the land, subdivided into three parcels, could be sold to bazillionaires who may then build stately mansions on their purchase – the old “changing the character of the community” argument. The neighbors have argued that expanding Hanna’s services is wonderful – but funding for that shouldn’t come from the sale of open space that was entrusted to Hanna for use by its youth.

On Tuesday, the Supes voted unanimously in favor of amending the General Plan, and allowing Hanna to move forward toward putting the land up for sale. The intimate details of the amendment essentially came down to rezoning the parcel from a “public facility” designation to a “rural residential” one – meaning someone can build houses on it.

The Supes made the right move. And it wasn’t a big surprise – the county Planning Commission, Project Review Advisory Committee and the Sonoma Valley Citizens Advisory Committee have all given their blessing.

To amend the General Plan, there has to be a demonstration of a “public benefit,” and that’s what Sonoma Valley Supervisor Susan Gorin says spurred her support. Gorin notes that the amendment not only rezoned the Carriger Road land to enable the sale and development of three houses, but it rezoned a section of Hanna land along Arnold Drive from “rural residential” to “public facility” – meaning that latter parcel, zoned for 13 lots, cannot be sold and developed into a baker’s dozen houses. That theoretical reduction of 10 homes that could be developed swung Gorin’s vote.

Of course, everyone agrees that the main consideration should be what’s best for the kids served by the center.

According to Hanna director Brian Farragher, the center receives about 600 inquiries a year from Bay Area families with at-risk teens.

He estimates it costs about $100,000 per year to house a single boy – so, to open up the group home for 12 more kids, the center needs a cool $1.2 million more a year.

Woody Guthrie’s famous folk song ends with the immortal refrain, “This land was made for you and me.” But in Hanna’s case, it was really “made” for at-risk boys. And now it might be made for 12 more of them.

I think Woody would approve.

– Jason Walsh

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