Fogg retires, Cornwall steps up to county Planning Commission

One of Sonoma County’s most influential planning review boards, the Planning Commission, is seeing a significant shift this month as longtime commissioner Dick Fogg retires. He will be replaced by Sonoma Valley environmentalist Caitlin Cornwall.

Fogg served on the first Sonoma Valley Citizens Advisory Commission as a commissioner starting in 1997, shortly after he moved to Sonoma after many years in business and community service in North Oaks, Minnesota, including terms on its City Council. He has continued to serve as an ex-officio commissioner until the present day, often imparting his valuable historical perspective to the SVCAC .

In 2002, then-1st District Supervisor Michael Cale appointed Fogg to the Sonoma County Planning Commission, which brings with it an alternate-year appointment to the Board of Zoning Adjustments (BZA). His appointment was reconfirmed by Valerie Brown and Susan Gorin as they succeeded to the supervisor’s seat.

“I’ve been 18 years there, that’s probably staying too long by any measure," Fogg told the Index-Tribune. Fogg said he will continue in one of his other public service roles, sitting on the board of the Partnership HealthPlan of California, a public agency.

Gorin applauded Fogg’s commitment to the 1st District, saying she “enjoyed immensely” working with both Fogg and Greg Carr, another longtime Planning Commission member appointed by Gorin.

“Their sage advice and understanding have helped me to understand the critical interplay of the general plan, history of the development of Sonoma Valley and emerging issues over the years,” said Gorin.

Fogg and Carr are Gorin’s appointments to both the Planning Commission and BZA. The roles and members of the two commissions overlap, and Fogg’s last meeting in the role was June 25, at a BZA hearing.

Fogg, in his “young 80s,” said he’s been thinking of leaving the commission for some time. “We’ve been looking for people for a couple months, I’m glad someone’s taking it,” he said.

“I enjoyed my 18 years on the job. I’ve offered them any help they want, and I’ve had couple people call me up already.”

Carr weighed in on his cohort’s departure as well. “I feel, like other members of the PC who have come on since Dick began, that he is a mentor both in substance and in style,” said Carr. “(He) has always brought a solid business background and perspective to the discussions. For me personally he is a valued friend and a fellow gym rat,” referring to their memberships at Parkpoint Healthclub in Sonoma.

“Dick Fogg will be missed tremendously. Replacing him with Caitlin Cornwall is the only solace I have in accepting his retirement,” said Gorin. “Caitlin is superbly qualified to serve on the Planning Commission.”

Cornwall has become a fixture in the Sonoma Valley environmental scene during her 21 years at the Sonoma Ecology Center, where she is currently senior projects manager. A biologist by education, her areas of expertise are land use ecology, watershed health indicators, communicating with nontechnical audiences and building diverse, successful partnerships.

Among those partnerships is Sustainable Sonoma, a cross-sector coalition addressing ongoing challenges to Sonoma Valley’s people, economy, and environment, such as housing affordability.

A Sonoma County native, she is the lead author of the “Biodiversity Action Plan for Sonoma County,” the Regional Climate Protection Agency’s climate vulnerability assessment. She also co-authored the “Climate Resilience Roadmap for Sonoma County,” and has led hundreds of people on “fire recovery walks” in the burned areas of Sonoma Valley since 2017.

“I believe that you can’t separate the economic, social and environmental threads of our lives here in Sonoma County,” Cornwall told the Index-Tribune. “All three need to rise and strengthen together, and they can. I hope that as a Planning Commissioner, I can help this happen.”

Email Christian at christian.kallen@sonomanews.com.