Wake up Sonoma

Editor, Index-Tribune:

Commissioner Robert Felder, who opposed the three-story element of the hotel, said, “Don’t try too hard to bring the big city to Sonoma. It still has a different feel than San Francisco.”

Yet “in other business” at this very meeting, these same commissioners voted to approve two new development projects that cram multiple housing units on to tiny lots – exactly like the big city:

Approved an 11-unit apartment complex at 840 W. Napa St. Where there was once a single family home there will now be 11 housing units.

Approved a seven-unit development of detached single family homes at 800 W. Spain St. Another single family home being replaced by seven single family homes (!!) crammed on a tiny .75 acre lot. Built on top of each other exactly like they are in San Francisco.

Certainly the big proposed projects like Gateway Commons are the ones that make headlines and bring attention. But while you’re distracted looking over there, these same double-talk commissioners are approving smaller project after project that in total bring about far more damage. The amount of unwanted stress on our already limited resources is not caused just by the large headline-grabbing developments, it’s also caused by the sum total of these smaller projects buried at the end of news articles.

Wake up, Sonoma.

Marie Taylor

Sonoma