Sonoma County considers 'town square' for The Springs

Residents of The Springs area of the Sonoma Valley have long pushed for a town square along the busy highway that cuts through their communities, a place they could hold farmers markets and art exhibits or just sit and people-watch.

They’d hoped county officials would use redevelopment tax dollars to build a plaza along Highway 12 in The Springs, which is currently undergoing a ?multimillion-dollar roadway overhaul that includes new sidewalks, streetlights, bike lanes and road widening. But Gov. Jerry Brown and state legislators squashed the possibility for a town center four years ago when they did away with redevelopment agencies.

Last week, Sonoma County supervisors revived the idea when they allocated $50,000 for its design.

With the street improvement project underway, board Chairwoman Susan Gorin, who pushed for the funding, said the county had a good opportunity to finally look at creating a “living room” where residents could gather and socialize.

A one-block thoroughfare just north of the Church Mouse thrift shop in Boyes Hot Springs will be closed off once a sidewalk goes in. That space could be converted into a plaza, said Gorin, who has been talking to nearby property owners about the idea.

“All of them are enthusiastic about using this street and underutilized parking for a community gathering place,” she said in an email.

Having a town square right off the busy highway could encourage more people to stop and explore the shops and restaurants in the area, said John Haig, the county’s redevelopment manager. That section of the highway gets more than 30,000 motorists daily. “The commercial district could profit off of a livelier downtown,” he said.

So will local residents, Haig said. It could provide a venue for arts and food events, as well as provide residents with a “sense of place” without feeling like just a point between Santa Rosa and Sonoma to the south.

Michael Ross, an architect in The Springs, agreed.

“When you just treat Highway 12 as a thoroughfare, it neglects the fact there are people living here,” said Ross, who previously created renderings, at no charge, of what a plaza off Highway 12 near Boyes Boulevard could look like. The designs were shelved when the county’s redevelopment agency was dissolved.

In February, he shared those designs with the Springs Community Alliance, a citizens group, hoping to build more interest in the plaza plan.

“I believe in the whole concept,” he said. “The most successful towns, particularly Wine Country towns, have gathering places. The Sonoma Plaza is an excellent example of it.”

The Springs, a community that encompasses Agua Caliente, Boyes Hot Springs, El Verano and Fetters Hot Springs, has long struggled to find its identity, said Rich Lee, chairman of the Springs Community Alliance. It’s often been seen as the “poor sister of Sonoma,” he said.

“It enhances the cultural fabric of the community,” Lee said about the town square. “It creates a sense of place.”

He said there currently are talks about putting on a farmers market in The Springs. However, there aren’t many suitable locations. He said the plaza could be the answer.

But it could be a while before one is built. Gorin said officials still need to have conversations with residents about what they want the town square to look like, and also have to come up with a construction cost.

“At that time, I will be advocating for funding to construct the plaza,” she said.

Still, Lee said he applauded the supervisors for making a “first step.”

“I don’t think any one of us anticipated this coming,” he said.

You can reach Staff Writer Eloísa Ruano González at 521-5458 or eloisa.gonzalez@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @eloisanews.