Dear Friends,
Addressing the homeless crisis here in Sonoma County is an ongoing effort. In January and February our efforts were focused on providing emergency services and housing options, clearing and cleaning the Joe Rodota Trail, and keeping our public spaces open and safe for all residents.
In March the Board of Supervisors will be voting on locations for permanent indoor/outdoor shelters that will enable us to offer safe locations and services to further diminish the public health and safety issues of encampments. And we are continuing to work in collaboration with non-profits and other organizations to address not only the symptoms but also the causes of homelessness.
While we are working hard to address systems that will help support our residents, the Federal Government is targeting immigrants on multiple fronts in ways that undermine our justice system, our families, and our residents. I join my voice with those who are condemning the recent ICE actions arresting immigrants at the courthouse on February 18th despite California law, and also disagree with the weakening of the safety net for immigrants (Public Charge policy) which could result in increased homelessness among our vulnerable populations.
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Good information is an important piece for guiding successful programs.The outreach team (Interdepartmental Multi-Disciplinary Team, or IMDT) working on the Joe Rodota Trail and other encampments have been gathering this vital data.
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ICE and Immigration Policy Changes
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Within the last couple of weeks there have been renewed attacks on multiple fronts that are impacting immigrants in our community. Those attacks include both the Public Charge policy, recently upheld by the Supreme Court, and an increase of activities by ICE that target immigrants in our community. I hope you'll join me in standing up for our community and against targeted bullying from the Federal government. There is no question that our immigration system is broken - and terrorizing families isn’t the way to fix it. There are things you can do to support our undocumented neighbors. Consider supporting the North Bay Rapid Response Network. Below is a summary of recent actions targeting our undocumented community.
I. ICE Arrests.
This past week we have seen arrests inside our courthouse in violation of state law. Our justice system cannot run effectively if witnesses, victims, and perpetrators do not show up to court for fear of being targeted by ICE. We also witnessed a 2 hour stakeout outside of a western Santa Rosa home that shut down a section of the street. This is clearly designed to elicit fear, and is also an excessive waste of taxpayer dollars.
II. Restriction on Public Charge (Information courtesy of Robin Bowen, Executive Director of Child Parent Institute)
Only weeks ago a US Supreme Court ruling made it possible for the current administration to move forward with a restriction on public charge, the term used to refer to the necessary social services that may be accessed by immigrant families actively applying for permanent status, such as food, housing and medical care.
This restriction unduly targets new immigrants, creating greater risk factors such as homelessness, poor health and unsafe living conditions. All these factors significantly increase the risk of child abuse, neglect and poor child safety. This restriction will deepen crushing poverty, poor nutrition, poor health and increased homelessness among an already struggling population. It will also serve to erode the trust that is needed between families and social service providers.
Social workers, community organizations and schools have worked for many years to create a fabric of support services to assist the most vulnerable families among us. We believe it is important to understand the need to assist families at such a crucial time in their lives.
We call upon members of the public to learn more about the impact of this decision on children, and to support child abuse prevention councils and other organizations working to create systems that support children and families and keep them safe.
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Sonoma County Local Coastal Plan
Next Steps
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Permit Sonoma has completed this round of public workshops on the Local Coastal Plan (LCP). The next step is for Permit Sonoma to scope changes to the draft based on public comment received and develop strategies and additional outreach materials with the new draft.
During the Board of Supervisors’ Strategic Planning Session at the end of January, I was able to advocate for an LCP workshop to come before the full Board of Supervisors prior to moving forward with the Planning Commission. This should slow the process down considerably and provide an opportunity for the full Board of Supervisors to hear about and validate community concerns, and offer a chance for the elected officials to provide broad direction to staff to address community concerns prior to moving forward with the Planning Commission. I hope you will participate in this process to ensure the protection of our precious Sonoma Coast for generations to come.
Permit Sonoma is working intently on the scoping and identifying the Workshop and subsequent Planning Commission dates. As soon as the information on these dates is available, we will let you know.
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Municipal Advisory Councils
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The Sonoma Coast and Lower Russian River Municipal Advisory Councils (MACs) are one year old! The goal of the MACs is to provide a voice to constituents. Specifically, the MACs were
"established to advise the Board of Supervisors and other County decision makers on local planning and management decisions relating to the [Lower Russian River and Sonoma Coast] regions, to provide a regular forum for citizen participation in the formation of advisory recommendations on those decisions and to provide a bridge for communication between the County and local residents and businesses, and the general public on local government decisions.
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This past year was a foundation-building year in which the MACs have
- established relationships with constituents and County as well as with their fellow representatives,
- provided a valuable information source for their communities, hosting information on flood relief and recovery, Local Coastal Plan workshops, Fire and Emergency Preparedness, and more,
- expressed their constituents needs in topics ranging from roads repair, to homeless solutions, tourism impact mitigation to trash pick up, economic and community resilience,
- established policies and priorities for addressing TIF Funding as well as Permit Review for land use and events.
Our thanks go out to retiring Chairs Mike Nicholls/Lower Russian River, and Che Casul/Sonoma Coast, who helped guide the MACs through this first year. Welcome to the new Chairs Jeanette Dillman, Russian River, and Scott Farmer, Sonoma Coast, for 2020. They both come with experience serving on the MACs as well as strong priorities for this coming year. Join us for a forthcoming MAC meeting to hear more about initiatives in your community and to contribute your input.
Your next MAC meetings will be at 5:30 pm:
Sonoma Coast MAC - March 18th at Del Mar Hall in Sea Ranch.
The Sonoma Coast MAC is held the third Wednesday of every month.
Lower Russian River MAC - April 16th Location TBD
The Lower Russian River MAC is held the third Thursday of every month.
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- Lower Russian River Wastewater CAG: Thursday, February 27, 6-8pm Monte Rio Community Center
- Armstrong Woods Roving Docent Foot Patrol Training: Saturday February 29, 8am - 2pm
- Election: March 3rd. More election information here.
- 5th Annual B-RAD Beach Cleanup! Saturday March 7, 10 am to 1pm
- Sonoma County Board of Supervisors: Tuesday, March 10, 8:30 am
- Sonoma Coast MAC meeting: Wednesday, March 18, 5:30 - 7:30 pm, Del Mar Meeting Hall, Sea Ranch.
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Fifth District Supervisor Lynda Hopkins | County of Sonoma | 707-565-2241
Lynda.Hopkins@sonoma-county.org
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