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Environmental, Fiscal & Railroad Property Developments
Friends of SMART closely follow the environmental, fiscal, and property issues that underlie the Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit Project.
The November 2006 election saw a majority of voters in both Marin and Sonoma counties supporting the SMART Project, but the vote fell just short of the required 2/3 supermajority necesssary to enact the quarter-cent sales tax. Last year the SMART Board reviewed recommendations from an ad hoc committee that considered all aspects of planning for the rail and trail project along with the concerns of critics. The staff is now overseeing preparation of a supplemental environmental impact report to address cumulative effects of freight and passenger service and related issues so that revised plans may be presented to voters as the basis for a successful ballot measure in 2008.
The slowing real estate market has affected development of the SMART property in Santa Rosa. Negotiations between the city of Santa Rosa and selected developer, Creative Housing Associates, are probing the fiscal and conceptual aspects of the project. At the same time, the City has drafted a Station Area Plan to optimize the use of properties within easy walking distance of the train station. Hearings are under way on the environmental impact report as well as the plan itself.
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