Sonoma Council upholds hotel EIR appeal

In a 5-0 vote Wednesday evening, Sonoma’s City Council upheld the appeal of the Planning Commission’s certification of the EIR for the West Napa Street hotel proposed by Kenwood Development.

The decision came on the heels of the recent receipt of a letter from Kenwood’s attorney Les Perry to the city, recommending additional work be done on the EIR relating to the development and analysis of project alternatives (including a housing component and smaller project) and deeper traffic study, both of which were the primary subjects forming the basis of the appeal. The appellants and their land-use attorney Rose Zoia had argued that the EIR was incomplete and legally insufficient in large part due to the absence of such project alternative analyses and incomplete traffic studies.

In accordance with the council vote, city staff will develop the precise scope of the work to be undertaken on a revised EIR based upon council deliberation, public comment and written submissions related to the appeal, and will return to the council at a future meeting to review that plan and present a formal resolution for passage by the council upholding the appeal. In addition, the council voted to have the updated EIR sent back to the Planning Commission, to be heard at a meeting at which the Use Permit would also be granted, denied or modified.

A housing waiver, requested by the applicant, will also be considered during that Use Permit hearing. Zoning of the parcel in question requires that 50% of any new buildings be devoted to housing, unless that Development Code requirement is waived by the Planning Commission. It’s likely that the decision of the Planning Commission on the Use Permit and housing waiver will be appealed to the council, either by the applicant or citizens, depending upon the outcome.

The appeal was brought by six citizens, including Fred Allebach, Patty Daffurn, Johanna Petri, Victor Conforti, David Eichar and Larry Barnett. Barnett and Allebach are members of the Editorial Board of the Sun. The council seemed inclined to refund the appeal fee of $400 to the group, noting that it seemed unfair to penalize the appellants for correctly determining that additional work would make the EIR more complete, legally sufficient and useful as an informational document.

Bill Hooper of Kenwood Development, in addressing the council, noted that it has always been their intention to listen to the community and respond to its concerns. He characterized their current request for additional work as further evidence of that effort. Barnett, in his remarks, noted that he was pleased at the applicant’s acknowledgement that additional work will make the EIR a better informational document for all concerned and that its revision serves the interests of the community and developer.

Given the summer break for vacations, the City Council will not meet again until August 21st. At that time, the matter will be formally codified with a resolution and vote. Given the projected timetable for the EIR revision, the revised EIR and Use Permit will not come before the Planning Commission until approximately February of 2018.

The Planning Commission is currently undergoing a review and reorganization plan initiated by the City Council that will potentially replace all current members of the commission. City Manager Cathy Capriola assured the council that the reorganization plan for the Planning Commission would be completed and a new commission seated under that plan by November of this year.

The appellants had asked that the EIR return to the council for certification due to their current familiarity with the project, as compared with a set of new Planning Commission members after the first of the year. Three members of the council, however, indicated support for returning the matter to the Planning Commission. “We have too much other work to do,” said council member David Cook.