Residents press council on Sebastiani land-use proposal and mobile-home conversion ordinance update

At the public-comment period of the Oct. 15 Sonoma City Council meeting, multiple residents urged the council to reconsider draft land‑use language proposed for the Sebastiani property and to move quickly on updating the city’s closure and conversion ordinance for mobile‑home parks.

Janet Boyle, who identified herself as a Sonoma resident and petition organizer, said she has repeatedly asked for transparency and community engagement and asked whether residents’ concerns have been heard and would influence plans for the Sebastiani parcels. “I stand here tonight to remind you this process is not just procedure. It is about trust,” Boyle said.

Lynn Marie de Vincent, coordinator for the Tri‑Park mobile‑home committee, described the history of a local conversion: Rancho de Sonoma (now Sonoma Oaks) was a roughly 100‑unit mobile‑home park that she said was converted beginning in February 2009. She told council that over the years half the units became park‑owned rentals at market rates, leaving fewer owner‑occupied, affordable homes. De Vincent asked the council to “keep this in mind as you learn about the urgency of updating the closure and conversion ordinance on November 5.”

Kerrie Gerster, a Sonoma resident, said she is concerned about language in the city’s draft mixed‑use and general‑plan elements that she said would allow densities of “at least 7 units per acre and allows up to 25,” applied across more than 20 acres on the Sebastiani parcels. Gerster said that scale “is not appropriate for this historic residential and high fire risk area” and that she sees potential conflicts with several of the draft general‑plan goals, including conserving agricultural land and protecting safe evacuation routes. She said other California communities have adopted lower‑intensity agricultural mixed‑use approaches and urged the council to work with staff and the community on alternatives.

Speakers requested more community engagement and transparent responses from council and staff; no formal council action on the Sebastiani land‑use language or the mobile‑home conversion ordinance occurred at the Oct. 15 meeting. Staff previously scheduled a discussion of the closure and conversion ordinance for Nov. 5 in the agenda and public notices, and speakers emphasized the need for stronger protections in conversion rules.