Sonoma Valley residents updated on future of Sonoma Developmental Center closure

The initial results of a $2.1 million outside analysis show that the infrastructure, underground utilities and buildings of the Sonoma Developmental Center in Sonoma Valley are all past their useful life, according to officials from the state Department of General Services.

“It would generally be cheaper from a physical perspective to demolish and rebuild to renovate,” said Jason Kenney, the department’s deputy director, to soft groans among the 150-person audience Thursday night in the Altimira Middle School auditorium in Sonoma. “I’m not saying that’s what will happen, because of the historical and cultural values, but that’s from a dollars and cents perspective.”

The 860-acre property, with 142 buildings, rolling hills and numerous amenities, will be closed at year’s end because of budgetary and quality-of-care deficiencies. What will become of the unique site, remains to be determined.

Rather than reuse it for state purposes or sell it off, as is the state’s usual process, the agency responsible for overseeing its transition has opted to engage local residents on how to redevelop the complex dedicated to the developmentally disabled for the past 125 years.

“This is an unorthodox approach for us, and we’re actively soliciting local input,” said Daniel Kim, director of the Department of General Services. “We haven’t done this before, it’s a new process.”

In the interim, the remaining residents - 139 people as of March - will be transitioned to specialized community homes by December to prepare for a “warm shutdown” of the campus. The health care needs of residents will now be handled by Santa Rosa Community Health, and current staff are also being reassigned where possible.

Maintaining some form of critical services for the disabled, as well as preserving the property’s open spaces for use by the public and as a wildlife corridor are top priorities, according to a coalition stakeholder group.

As part of the collaborative and collective process, they said they plan to continue those discussions and host another public meeting for more feedback in June.

The analysis is expected to be completed in July.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story has been updated to more accurately represent the residents it serves.

You can reach Staff Writer Kevin Fixler at 707-521-5336 or at kevin.fixler@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @kfixler.