Forestville: A Pot Ready to Boil

by Joan Riback

Watching Forestville is like watching a pot, expecting it to boil. In the past year we have been presented with a proposed bypass, quarry expansions, a large storage shed, an affordable housing development, Solak Park, the development of the Crinella property, apartments being built near Speers, and most recently, two large downtown lots being designated for affordable housing developments with 20 units per acre and diverting 80% of the water in the Russian River during the summer months. With each of these proposals, we had a flurry of reactions, yet, to date, nothing has happened.

It worries me. I try and imagine what Forestville will be like when all of these things manifest, and wonder when that will be. What will our downtown be like when we have doubled the commercial area around a town square with living units above and row houses behind it, and another 32 living units at the Burbank development? If the other two lots are approved for affordable housing, that would add over 100 more homes in or near downtown. Even if they are not approved for ‘affordable housing’, we might assume that some development will take place there, significantly increasing our population.

If the bypass goes in, and the quarries expand, increasing truck traffic, and the storage sheds go up, what impact will those things have on our small town? What would happen if we no longer had enough water in the river to boat or swim? I try and picture it.

Some of the proposed changes could increase our quality of life. The town would benefit from a park at the end of the trail. Meeting friends at a great restaurant or ice cream parlor built around a town square sounds delightful. We need to keep the enrollment up in our schools and our businesses need a strong local population to support them. And, a pedestrian friendly downtown with tree lined streets, wide sidewalks and landscaping creates a picture of charm and beauty.

A lot has been decided about what will happen in Forestville. However, nothing has happened yet. We can’t stop all development, but we can influence the way it happens. We still have a moment to create a plan to guide future development.

The FPA has worked hard over the last year to discover how we can best use our time and resources to be effective in that task and we intend to do our best to facilitate the people of Forestville who care, to have a vehicle to make a difference. I hope you will join us. Our next Town Meeting is Saturday, January 24, at 10:00 AM.