Sonoma County supervisors tap funds to buy Springs property and expand future public plaza

The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors has answered calls for an expanded future public plaza in the Springs area north of Sonoma with new real estate spending to enlarge the property it owns in the area.

On Dec. 5, the board authorized using $708,000 from a capital projects budget to purchase 15 Boyes Blvd. The 13,174 square foot commercial property will join adjacent county property to form the footprint of the eventual Springs Plaza, a long-sought community goal for Boyes Hot Springs and surrounding neighborhoods off Highway 12.

It was priority more than a decade ago when Gorin, now serving out her third and final term on the county board, was first elected in 2012.

“It was always in the back of my mind to think about how we might enlarge the footprint of a plaza going forward,” she said.

The plaza is a component of the Springs Specific Plan, which envisions a centrally located community plaza as part of a unified corridor for the unincorporated Springs area, encompassing Boyes Hot Springs, Fetters Hot Springs and Agua Caliente.

The Boyes Boulevard site being purchased by the county is the former location of Uncle Patty’s Bar and Grille. After numerous ideas to reinvent the property failed to come to fruition, owner Karen Waikiki chose to demolish the building in May 2019.

Last year, Gorin discussed a partnership with controversial Sonoma Valley real estate investor Ken Mattson to buy Waikiki’s property to create a plaza and underground parking garage. Permit Sonoma, the county planning agency, and Mattson held a pair of public meetings to consider a collaboration, but many Springs residents opposed any partnership with Mattson and the lot has since sat vacant.

Maite Iturri, chair of the Springs Municipal Advisory Council, said there can sometimes be a disconnect between what the county believes is good and what the Springs community wants for itself.

“It’s my hope … that the Springs is heavily involved with whatever happens moving forward, that there’s a lot of opportunity for input, that there's greater collaboration,” Iturri said.

Iturri said the expansion of the Springs Plaza footprint is good for the community, adding that anything that can be done to add more open space in the Springs is a good thing. Gorin said securing a larger footprint was a crucial step to forge a more vital public space.

The acquisition adds to about 22,000 square feet of county property in the area, including about 45 parking spaces.

“When I was thinking about expanding the site, the undeveloped lot was the obvious first step,” Gorin said. “We need to thank Karen Waikiki for her willingness to see a broader vision of the springs, and be willing to sell her land to the county to increase the size of a future Springs Plaza.”

Gorin said the funding for the purchase comes from $2 million first secured in 2016 for the community redevelopment of the Springs.

While using $708,000 to purchase 15 Boyes Blvd. will eat into the plaza’s budget, Gorin said she plans to seek grant funds from the county’s Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District to make the most of what remains.

“We may have maybe $1 million left, which is not even close to the amount that we need to construct the plaza,” Gorin said. “We will have to add funding and resources to a future project, but Ag and Open Space’s matching grant program is perfect.”

Iturri said she would like the Springs advisory council to support community outreach and collaboration for the future endeavor. She also hopes the advisory council will have more knowledge in the future about negotiations to add additional space for the plaza.

While other purchases to expand the final site will be considered, Gorin said, the decision to expand the footprint now advances a priority she inherited from her predecessor in District 1, Valerie Brown.

“We really need to thank the previous supervisors for that, especially Supervisor Valerie Brown,” Gorin said. “But really the credit is going to go to the next supervisor who will have the creativity to help the businesses and form an organization, and really make that dream come true.”

Contact Chase Hunter at chase.hunter@sonomanews.com and follow @Chase_HunterB on Twitter.