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Residents press Sonoma council on Sebastiani land‑use changes and mobile‑home conversions
Summary
Multiple residents urged the City Council Oct. 15 to respond to long‑running concerns about planned land‑use changes on the Sebastiani parcels and to strengthen the closure and conversion ordinance after a 2009 conversion of a local mobile‑home park reduced affordable units.
Several residents used the public‑comment period at the Oct. 15 Sonoma City Council meeting to urge clearer engagement from the city on planned land‑use changes for the Sebastiani parcels and to press for stronger protections against conversion of mobile‑home parks.
Janet Boyle, who said she has addressed the council repeatedly over the past eight months and represents hundreds of petition signers, asked whether the concerns raised by residents have actually been heard and whether community input will meaningfully affect proposed land‑use changes. "After all these months, do you believe that the concerns I have raised repeatedly have actually been heard?" Boyle asked, adding that participation should not feel "like speaking into a void."
Lynn Marie de Vincent, coordinator for the Tri Park mobile‑home committee, described the 2009 conversion of a roughly 100‑unit park (formerly Rancho De Sonoma, now Sonoma Oaks) and said the change eliminated about 50 owner‑occupied, affordable senior homes over time as park owners converted lots to market‑rate rentals. She urged the council to treat updating the city's closure and conversion ordinance as urgent and noted the item is scheduled for Nov. 5 discussion.
Resident Kerrie Gerster said the draft mixed‑use language proposed for the Sebastiani property allows densities of 7 to 25 units per acre across more than 20 acres, which she called inconsistent with the city's draft general plan goals to maintain small‑town character, conserve agricultural land and protect evacuation routes in a high‑fire‑risk area. Gerster suggested lower‑intensity agricultural mixed‑use alternatives that preserve open space.
The council did not respond substantively during public comment, consistent with its stated rule that off‑agenda items cannot be acted on the same evening; the mayoral‑acting official noted the council would not take action on items not on the agenda that night.
Next steps: commenters pointed to Nov. 5 as a date when the council and staff will address closure and conversion ordinance updates and land‑use language for the Sebastiani parcels.
