Sonoma County Forest Resource Ordinance

Proposition 84 Wildfire and Resilience Planning Grant Case Study

 

Brief Summary 

Permit Sonoma is the County of Sonoma’s land use and permitting agency. The County endeavored to update its tree ordinances through a Comprehensive Tree Ordinance Update beginning in 2019 following Board of Supervisors direction to Permit Sonoma’s workplan. Permit Sonoma's goal was to develop a Forest Resource Ordinance that would protect and steward the beneficial uses of forest and tree resources for Sonoma County. The project entailed a comprehensive analysis of existing regulations and policies and identification of areas for improvement and enhancement to bring forward in an ordinance update to the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors. The project supports County goals of reducing GHG emissions and building resilience to climate change. The project is informing updates to the Sonoma County General Plan, Climate Action Plan, and Local Coastal Plan and will be implemented through adoption into the zoning code. 

Lead Agency and Partnerships 

The County of Sonoma, at the direction of the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors, is the lead agency responsible for the project. Permit Sonoma, the County’s consolidated land use and permitting agency, is the County department responsible for the development of the ordinance. The department’s Planning and Natural Resources Divisions comanaged the project.

University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) was retained as a consultant to provide technical expertise and guidance on the best science related to the development of the project. 

Drivers 

Sonoma County currently has limited planning guidance or policies to comprehensively steward forest resources in a way that would mitigate impacts of catastrophic wildfires such as the 2017 Sonoma Complex (Tubbs and Glass Fires) or the 2019 Kincade Fire.  

Disaster recovery efforts often overlook the loss of economically and ecologically valuable natural resources amidst the essential and politically pressing tasks of housing, infrastructure, and business recovery. Healthy and sustainably managed forests serve as carbon sinks and can be resilient to climate change risks, including warming, drought, wildfires, and pests. 

The project aims to strengthen Sonoma County’s recovery from 2017 and 2019 wildfires by prioritizing the restoration of damaged or lost forests and enhancing and protecting existing forests from further degradation. 

Other project drivers are the Open Space and Resource Conservation Element of the County’s General Plan, as well as direction from the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors. Members of the public were also drivers, calling for reform to the County’s tree ordinances and for expanded tree protection policies.  

Engagement Process 

Public engagement included outreach with members of various stakeholder and interest groups. Informal meetings were held to solicit feedback and provide a space for the public to connect with staff on the development of the ordinance. 

Public meetings were also held at Planning Commission and Board of Supervisor meetings. These meetings allowed decision makers to hear from the public on desired goals and outcomes of updated County tree policies. Public comment submitted to those meetings was primarily been in favor of developing science based policies that ensure the protection of woodlands. 

Climate Impact Area 

Local, state, and international reports and planning documents have documented the impacts of deforestation on climate change. The project aims to reduce the impacts of deforestation and land use conversion, as well as enhance existing tree regulations, resulting in increased carbon sequestration capacity for the County’s forests.  

The envisioned policy changes are intended to enhance proactive forest management to mitigate or lessen wildfire risks, and ensure that proper exemptions are allowed for sustainable forest management and ecologically sound fire risk reduction practices.  

Funding Source 

The County of Sonoma allocated Climate Resilience Funds to Permit Sonoma to hire a forester to bring forward and implement tree and forest related policies and programs. It is expected that this position will continue the work started by the Proposition 84 Grant in moving forward a forest resource ordinance and developing programming for implementation following the grant term closeout.  

Research and Data 

The County of Sonoma’s Vegetation Mapping and LiDAR program, or Sonoma VEGMAP, was instrumental in providing data to develop a baseline analysis for forest resources. The VEGMAP mapped plant communities to the alliance level across the County.  

UCCE also developed a disturbance analysis to track disturbances across the County’s forested land, using 2013 as a baseline. This was used to determine where impacts are occurring and what types of development could be causes of disturbance to forested landscapes across the County.  

A lack of tracking data was found, which prompted consideration of a tracking mechanism into the ordinance.  

Challenges 

The COVID-19 pandemic impacted workforce capacity, resulting in a delayed planning process. The project workplan was pared down to complete key deliverables that would still meet the intent of the original grant agreement, and provide replicable examples to help in similar planning processes for other jurisdictions across the state. 

Outcomes 

Project outcomes and key deliverables include:

1. Future adoption of Ordinance by the County Board of Supervisors  

2. Improved tree related regulations in Sonoma County Code 

3. Technical Memorandums focusing on planning process and data analysis.   

Next steps planned at the time of case study submission included the presentation of a final ordinance to the Planning Commission and subsequently the Board of Supervisors for adoption.  

Replicability 

The project represents an innovative planning and policy response to consecutive wildfire disasters. Since 2017, the County has built capacity to plan and carry out resilient and long-term recovery. The efficacy of the Ordinance is contingent on adequate funding, plan alignment and policy coordination practices. It could serve as a model for other large counties or regions with significant forest resources and land management regulatory responsibilities.  

Current science and best management practices find that landscape level protections, or whole forest ecosystem protections, are a primary tool in combating climate change. Current regulatory practice is to focus on individual trees and individual tree mitigation. The Sonoma County Forest Resource Ordinance Project will attempt to address landscape level protections and mitigations, serving as an example for others to replicate.

Further Information 

Robert Aguero, Senior Environmental Specialist 

Robert.Aguero@sonoma-county.org / 707-565-3718