Montini Preserve Transfer on City Council Agenda Monday

Update Monday morning: City Planner David Goodison has confirmed that the Montini discussion will go ahead as planned tonight.

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Residents who are passionate about having a trail to go hiking with their dogs are expected to turn out Monday night, as the city again discusses the proposed transfer of Montini Preserve into their jurisdiction. That's unless the discussion is delayed to allow increased public participation.

The 95.5-acre preserve north of Gen. Vallejo's home in the State Historic Park is currently owned and operated by the County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District.

Under the management plan for the preserve, pets are not allowed. That plan, prepared by the Open Space District, would still govern the property if the preserve goes into city ownership, City Planner David Goodison told Patch recently.

If the transfer goes ahead, "the City could initiate an amendment to the management plan in order to allow leashed dogs on the trail that will be developed on the Preserve or possibly even a dog park," Goodison told Patch by email.

"Under the amendment process, the City would be required to demonstrate that: 1) allowing dogs would not significantly degrade the habitat value of the Preserve, and 2) that allowing dogs would be consistent with the acquisition objectives associated with the purchase of the Preserve. In addition, the Open Space District would need to approve any amendment to the Management Plan," Goodison wrote.

On Monday night, the public will have time to comment before the council goes into closed session on the issue at 5:30 p.m. The Open Space District has been invited to speak later in the evening. The public can comment again when the issue is discussed by the council in public session. Action may be taken.

Bob Edwards, board member of Sonoma Valley Dog Owners and Guardians, has sent a letter to the city council requesting a delay of the discussion and suggesting the public deserves more transparency in the negotiations.

He has asked the council to delay discussion of the issue until the public can digest "very voluminous materials" prepared by staff for the meeting and made available Friday. Among the nine considerations presented in the letter is one regarding the use of the Brown Act.

In the letter, Edwards states that although there is an exception in the state's public meeting law to allow for closed sessions regarding real estate transactions, the repeated closed sessions "solely involve two public entities discussing a matter of public interest.

"The impression is unavoidable that one or both entities are not being forthcoming about the public's business, and there has been no reason articulated for invoking the Brown Act exception in this case, which could have been waived in the interest of transparency."

In an email to reporters over the weekend, Edwards stated:

"... In my meeting with her on Thursday, Supervisor Susan Gorin (who also sits on the Board of Directors for the county Agricultural Preservations and Open Space District) informed me that neither the District nor its manager, Bill Keene, has any problem with allowing dogs on the Montini, a la the Taylor Mountain Preserve and all other Bay Area open space districts, if that is what the City wants."

The transfer issue is Item 8A on the city council agenda.

Edwards continued, "There therefore seems to be no reason not to insist that all necessary transfer documents be changed to expressly allow leashed dogs on future Montini trails and off-leash dogs in a fenced dog park on Montini, prior to signing any transfer agreement.  Otherwise, a decision on Item 8 A should be delayed for further public discussion." 

The city council meeting will be held in the Community Room on First Street West.