Crossroads Forum Meeting: December 8, 9am - noon at the Elgin School
Dear Neighbors,
I would like to invite you all to attend a meeting of the Sonoita Crossroads Community Forum on SATURDAY, DECEMBER 8 at the ELGIN SCHOOL from 9am to 1130am. This community gathering will serve as the first of several meetings aimed at eliciting a shared vision for the future of the area surrounding the crossroads of SR 82 and 83.
During the past year, the Board of the Crossroads Forum has invested considerable time in discussing the possibility that over the next few decades the Crossroads could evolve to serve as the focus of a 'village' or ' town center'. Our discussions have been motivated both by trying to examine the practicalities of implementing the 'village concept' advanced in our "Comprehensive Plan for NE Santa Cruz County" published in 2002 (http://www.sonoitacrossroads.org/compplan/ours/P2Ch3.html#intro), and by the interest expressed by several landholders to initiate developments within a mile or so of the Crossroads. The SCCF Board is unanimous in our belief that it is now timely, and indeed critical to work with the community to re-examine the vision and concepts put forth in the 2002 plan, and through this process, develop a strong, shared vision of how we now wish the Crossroads to evolve. Such a shared vision is essential to (1) providing Santa Cruz County with an understanding of community consensus regarding guidelines for evolving a village/community center and the land use categories needed in order to achieve the community's vision; (2) providing potential developers with a clear understanding, via a clearly articulated set of principles, of how their plans can best match the community's vision and thus gain its support.
The main goal of our meeting on December 8 is to understand whether there is, in fact, strong consensus that over the next decades the community wishes to see development near the Crossroads that creates the feel of a small "village" or "town center" that might provide, among many possibilities: (i) a mix of housing (type and cost); (ii) a variety of businesses and services; (iii) pedestrian-friendly walkways; and (iv) a sense of community. Per the Forum’s policy statement developed by the Board and approved by the membership, such a village or center would ideally blend seamlessly into more sparsely populated residential areas and ultimately into broad open space and working ranches (http://www.sonoitacrossroads.org/issues/development/notices/).
If there is such a consensus, the Board would then plan to hold a series of workshops aimed at defining: (i) the character of the village or town center; (ii) the kinds of housing, services and amenities that would best serve the needs of the community both in the near term and on a twenty year horizon. The result of these workshops would be publication, describing our community’s vision for how the area within a mile of the Crossroads might develop, and a laying out set of principles to guide that development.
Meeting Outline
9am to 10am
(1) The meeting will start with a review of the 2002 Comprehensive Plan -- both its main conclusions and the process of community 'visioning' and consensus building that led to its adoption.
(2) The next step would be to summarize the 'village concept' incorporated as part of the plan and to explain the Forum Board’s belief that while the PRINCIPLES behind the concept may remain valid, the single model presented in the plan is both too limited and, in its specifics, not matched to current land use patterns.
(3) We would next hope to learn from Mary Dahl (Santa Cruz County Planning Office) her views regarding how our efforts to envision the evolution of the crossroads can best be structured to help her office, the Planning and Zoning Commission and the Board of Supervisors evaluate proposed developments near the Crossroads
(Mary's participation has yet to be confirmed). John Maynard (Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors member representing District 3) may also comment.
(4) Organizing Breakout Sessions to discuss the future of the Crossroads.
10am-noon
(5) Refreshments and pastries available to participants
(6) Break up into working groups (6-8) led by Forum Board members.
The working groups would be charged with developing independent summaries of:
(i) merits and liabilities of a village/town center
(ii) characteristics of the village/town center
(iii) the beginnings of a list of residential, business and service entities that best fit the village concept.
The output of the working groups will be a set of well-framed issues for discussion at subsequent workshops. The ultimate goal of the workshops should be to provide a vision (20 year horizon) for development within a mile of the Crossroads, as well as a list of specific characteristics of a town center/village that should be encouraged.
We very much hope that you will join us on December 8 to initiate a discussion which has the potential to shape the long-term future of our community. To be successful, we need to hear the views of a broad cross-section of homeowners, landholders, and business owners. Please encourage your neighbors and friends to attend, and be prepared to contribute to the discussion.
Steve Strom
President, SCCF
I would like to invite you all to attend a meeting of the Sonoita Crossroads Community Forum on SATURDAY, DECEMBER 8 at the ELGIN SCHOOL from 9am to 1130am. This community gathering will serve as the first of several meetings aimed at eliciting a shared vision for the future of the area surrounding the crossroads of SR 82 and 83.
During the past year, the Board of the Crossroads Forum has invested considerable time in discussing the possibility that over the next few decades the Crossroads could evolve to serve as the focus of a 'village' or ' town center'. Our discussions have been motivated both by trying to examine the practicalities of implementing the 'village concept' advanced in our "Comprehensive Plan for NE Santa Cruz County" published in 2002 (http://www.sonoitacrossroads.org/compplan/ours/P2Ch3.html#intro), and by the interest expressed by several landholders to initiate developments within a mile or so of the Crossroads. The SCCF Board is unanimous in our belief that it is now timely, and indeed critical to work with the community to re-examine the vision and concepts put forth in the 2002 plan, and through this process, develop a strong, shared vision of how we now wish the Crossroads to evolve. Such a shared vision is essential to (1) providing Santa Cruz County with an understanding of community consensus regarding guidelines for evolving a village/community center and the land use categories needed in order to achieve the community's vision; (2) providing potential developers with a clear understanding, via a clearly articulated set of principles, of how their plans can best match the community's vision and thus gain its support.
The main goal of our meeting on December 8 is to understand whether there is, in fact, strong consensus that over the next decades the community wishes to see development near the Crossroads that creates the feel of a small "village" or "town center" that might provide, among many possibilities: (i) a mix of housing (type and cost); (ii) a variety of businesses and services; (iii) pedestrian-friendly walkways; and (iv) a sense of community. Per the Forum’s policy statement developed by the Board and approved by the membership, such a village or center would ideally blend seamlessly into more sparsely populated residential areas and ultimately into broad open space and working ranches (http://www.sonoitacrossroads.org/issues/development/notices/).
If there is such a consensus, the Board would then plan to hold a series of workshops aimed at defining: (i) the character of the village or town center; (ii) the kinds of housing, services and amenities that would best serve the needs of the community both in the near term and on a twenty year horizon. The result of these workshops would be publication, describing our community’s vision for how the area within a mile of the Crossroads might develop, and a laying out set of principles to guide that development.
Meeting Outline
9am to 10am
(1) The meeting will start with a review of the 2002 Comprehensive Plan -- both its main conclusions and the process of community 'visioning' and consensus building that led to its adoption.
(2) The next step would be to summarize the 'village concept' incorporated as part of the plan and to explain the Forum Board’s belief that while the PRINCIPLES behind the concept may remain valid, the single model presented in the plan is both too limited and, in its specifics, not matched to current land use patterns.
(3) We would next hope to learn from Mary Dahl (Santa Cruz County Planning Office) her views regarding how our efforts to envision the evolution of the crossroads can best be structured to help her office, the Planning and Zoning Commission and the Board of Supervisors evaluate proposed developments near the Crossroads
(Mary's participation has yet to be confirmed). John Maynard (Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors member representing District 3) may also comment.
(4) Organizing Breakout Sessions to discuss the future of the Crossroads.
10am-noon
(5) Refreshments and pastries available to participants
(6) Break up into working groups (6-8) led by Forum Board members.
The working groups would be charged with developing independent summaries of:
(i) merits and liabilities of a village/town center
(ii) characteristics of the village/town center
(iii) the beginnings of a list of residential, business and service entities that best fit the village concept.
The output of the working groups will be a set of well-framed issues for discussion at subsequent workshops. The ultimate goal of the workshops should be to provide a vision (20 year horizon) for development within a mile of the Crossroads, as well as a list of specific characteristics of a town center/village that should be encouraged.
We very much hope that you will join us on December 8 to initiate a discussion which has the potential to shape the long-term future of our community. To be successful, we need to hear the views of a broad cross-section of homeowners, landholders, and business owners. Please encourage your neighbors and friends to attend, and be prepared to contribute to the discussion.
Steve Strom
President, SCCF
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