TranslateSonoma Valley Fire District Reorganization No. 2024-10 (Kenwood FPD)
Proposal for Reorganization of the Sonoma Valley and Kenwood Fire Protection Districts
The Commission will be reviewing a proposal to reorganize the Sonoma Valley and Kenwood Fire Protection Districts involving dissolution of Kenwood Fire and subsequent annexation of the District’s territory into Sonoma Valley Fire.
Sonoma Valley Fire has been providing comprehensive staffing services to Kenwood for the past year or so, and has increased staffing levels. If the reorganization is approved, all assets and liabilities of Kenwood Fire will transfer to Sonoma Valley.
Sonoma Valley has a voter-approved special tax (parcel tax) that will be applied to Kenwood after the reorganization. Sonoma Valley’s tax is almost completely the same as a parcel tax imposed on Kenwood residents.
The proposed action has been evaluated for compliance with the State of California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and found to be exempt in that no new or different services are expected to be provided.
If the commission orders approval of the reorganization it will conduct a protest proceeding to gauge registered voter and landowner sentiment in the Kenwood Fire territory. Depending on the outcome of the proceeding, the approval will stand, be vacated, or become subject to a referendum.
The Plan for Service, a document describing how the reorganized agencies will operate, is available.
The Commission is scheduled to conduct a hearing on this proposal at its Wednesday, February 5, 2025 meeting at or after 2:00 pm. The Commission meeting will be held at Sonoma County Administration Building, 575 Administration Drive, Room 102A, Santa Rosa, California. Please see the Notice of Hearing for information on how to provide comment on this matter.
NOTICE OF PROTEST HEARING SONOMA VALLEY FIRE DISTRICT REORGANIZATION
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN by the Sonoma Local Agency Formation Commission that the Commission will hold a public hearing on Wednesday, April 2, 2025 at or after 2:00 p.m., at the Board of Supervisors Chambers at 575 Administration Drive, Santa Rosa.
The purpose of the hearing is for the Commission to receive written protests filed against the following item:
File No. 2024-10: Sonoma Valley Fire District Reorganization No. 2024-10 Involving Dissolution of the Kenwood Fire Protection District, and Annexation of That Same Territory to the Sonoma Valley Fire District
The proposal was initiated by resolution of the Board of Directors of the Sonoma Valley Fire District (Sonoma Valley FD) and by the Board of the Kenwood Fire Protection District. Sonoma Valley FD submitted an application including a plan for serving the affected territory. These documents can be viewed on the Commissions website at:
The short form designation is Sonoma Valley Fire District Reorg No. 2024-10 (Kenwood FPD)
The territory to be annexed to Sonoma Valley FD comprises those parcels located within the Kenwood Fire Protection District, which serves the unincorporated community of Kenwood and environs in the northern portion of Sonoma Valley.
The reason for the reorganization is to achieve greater economy and efficiency in providing fire protection and emergency medical services for the residents of and visitors to the area.
Owners of property annexed to the Sonoma Valley FD will be subject to special taxes, including parcel taxes, that the District collects due to voter-approved tax measures. For a typical single-family home, the current assessed parcel tax is $200 per year. Sonoma Valley FD’s special tax roll is essentially comparable to taxes assessed by the Kenwood Fire Protection District, but there may be differences for some types of property.
To determine the taxation level for your property, please contact Sonoma Valley Fire District at 707-996-2102.
The Commission approved the reorganization by Resolution No. 2791 on February 5, 2025, which sets forth a full and complete description and the terms and conditions of the Commission’s approval. The Commission found the proposal exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), pursuant to Sections 15061(b)(3) and 15320 of the State CEQA Guidelines.
Protest Notice of Hearing and Filing Instructions
Protest Form
By: Mark Bramfitt, Executive Officer Date: February 12, 2025