Tolay park opening still a year away

Regional park officials said more work is needed, including an environmental report. The property southeast of Petaluma was purchased with public money more than a decade ago.|

The long-delayed opening of Tolay Regional Park southeast of Petaluma is still more then a year away, Sonoma County Regional Parks officials said at a community workshop on April 22,

The environmental process, which needs to be completed before the public is given unfettered access to the 1,769-acre park, has not yet started, according to the county’s environmental consultant.

“We are hoping for adoption of the Tolay Park Master Plan by May of 2016,” said Katrina Hardt-Holoch of the Berkeley consulting group MIG.

She said completion of the environmental impact report for the park would not start until this June. At the earliest, she did not expect full certification of the report until spring 2016. The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors would need to approve the final plan.

“We will start the process this June. We have to do some more work on the Master Plan before we can begin that process,” she said. “We are hoping to have the EIR ready for public review by December. The public will have a chance to weigh in on the process at that point and after a 45-day public review process, the EIR will proceed for certification.”

Tolay Regional Park has been planned for over a decade as a place for camping and hiking in the pristine rolling hills between Petaluma and Sonoma. Owned by the Cardoza family for several generations, the land was acquired by the county in 2005 for roughly $18 million, with the help of a $500,000 donation from the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria in 2007 and $300,000 from the state Coastal Conservancy.

Graton Tribal Chairman Greg Sarris said he was unconcerned about how long the process has taken. He said he was excited about the prospect of the land being protected and used as an educational resource for the public.

“This is a very important historical place,” he said. “We are working with the county to make sure the land is preserved and that once it is open, it will enhance the public’s appreciation of the land and its history.”

Tolay Lake, a seasonal wetland, is significant in Native American history and contains many archaeological artifacts.

“This is taking time because protecting the environment takes time,” Sarris said. “Tolay Lake is part of California’s original history. Indian medicine men would come from as far as Oregon north and Mexico south to utilize its water.”

Sarris said he wanted to see the lake and the ecosystem of the region restored, and said he was proud to have partnered with the county for that purpose.

“This is an example of what can be done when tribes and parks work together,” he said.

Supervisor David Rabbitt said he got into politics because of parks.

“I ran for office originally in Petaluma because I wanted to see more parks,” Rabbitt said during the public workshop. “I used to take the kids and we’d pick pumpkins when the property was owned by the Cardozas. This is a special place, but as they say, there is always more to go.”

John Baas of MIG said the master plan would encompass factors such as maintaining Tolay as a working farm and ranch and developing it as a place for science and research. But, he noted, public input showed people want the lowest level of development and what he said was a place of peace and respite.

One major hurdle will be the availability of drinking water for campers and hikers.

“We’re still looking at ground water options and utilizing waste water management techniques,” said Baas. “At some point we will increase the potable water supply, but that will be in the future.”

Audience members asked about the repeated delays in the process. Petaluma resident Deborah Clarkson asked what facilities would exist for those with disabilities. Caryl Hart, the Sonoma County Regional Parks director, said that the county was working on facilities to accommodate the disabled.

As for the time it has taken to get the park developed for public use, Hart said the process was “really frustrating in park world, but we hope for next summer.”

(Contact E. A. Barrera at argus@arguscourier.com.)

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