April 9, 1999

Rosewood petition hits farmers' market

Hotel development on Sonoma's Upper Mountain Cemetery property will be the
topic of a petition circulating Tuesday and Friday at the Sonoma Valley Farmers'
Market.

In March, a group of Sonoma residents filed papers with the city clerk aimed at
drafting a voter-approved ordinance "preventing the City of Sonoma from leasing
or selling 60 acres of . . . undeveloped hillside area behind Mountain Cemetery
for the development of a resort hotel."

The Dallas-based Rosewood Resorts and Hotels has been eyeing the property
since late last year, and is expected to file a formal development application later
this month. The City Council will hold a special session April 29 to decide
whether or not the application can be submitted.

Commenting last week on the petition drive, project spokesman Hal Thannisch
said, "All that I would ask is that the voting public consider that it's not an initiative
to vote for or against the project. It's to vote for or against a process."

Canvassers have approximately six months to get the 842 signatures - 15 percent
of Sonoma's 5,611 registered voters - needed to qualify the referendum for a
special election ballot. The City Council can then either adopt the ordinance, or
send it to the voters - which could cost the city as much as $20,000.

The Sonoma Valley Farmers' Market begins at 5:30 p.m. every Tuesday in
Sonoma Plaza. Friday morning's market is held at 8 a.m. in Depot Park, 270
First St. W., Sonoma.