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Board of Supervisors Department
Mark West Area Municipal Advisory Council
Information for Project Applicants Appearing Before the MWAMAC
Congratulations on appearance before the Mark West Area Municipal Advisory Council (“MWAMAC”) to discuss your proposed use permit, rezoning application, or request for a General Plan amendment. Your participation can give you important insight into the reaction your project will generate from concerned neighbors and citizens in the Mark West Area.
This guide is intended to help you prepare for your hearing by describing the process, and listing the types of questions you might expect to hear from the MWAMAC. If you have further questions or concerns, please contact the MWAMAC Chair.
Why was my project selected for review?
The Chair of the MWAMAC, with the assistance of the MWAMAC Secretary, selects projects and application proposals for review based on his or her judgment of the potential impacts that the project may have on the Mark West Area.
My plans are only conceptual at this point. Should I present them now?
The advantage to appearing before the MWAMAC when your project is only in the conceptual stage is that you can get a sense of the community’s response to your plans before spending a lot of time and money on a full-fledged design.
The disadvantage is that the MWAMAC is more likely to be unwilling to recommend approval of your plans/proposal without seeing final details, so they may ask you to reappear when you have completed your planning.
The risk of appearing late in your project planning process is that the MWAMAC may recommend significant changes, or even recommend that your project be denied approval.
For projects that may generate community opposition or concerns, you might consider holding local community/neighborhood meetings before filing for a permit application.
Most projects are handled in one hearing; however, it may be to your advantage to return to the MWAMAC for consideration of your revised plan.
What are the key areas of concern that the MWAMAC members are likely to raise?
Concerns will inherently vary, based on the type of project or proposal being reviewed. Often these topics come up during Commission meetings:
- Traffic generation, particularly along windy and well-worn County roads
- Parking
- Event Activity
- Scope of use permits
- Concentration
- Water use
- Sanitation and other matters of health and safety
- Well, septic, drainage and ground water questions
- Noise
- Visual impacts
- Appropriateness of project given zoning and other land use designations
- Preservation of trees and native habitats
- Other environmental impacts
How are MWAMAC meetings organized?
A regular meeting begins with a roll call and the approval of the minutes, followed by an opportunity for members of the public to address the MWAMAC on matters not otherwise on the agenda.
Typically a series of proposed projects and applications are then reviewed. Finally, the MWAMAC considers administrative issues, and reports from ad hoc committees.
What procedures are followed for project review?
Applicants or their representatives make a brief presentation before the MWAMAC, followed by a period for MWAMAC members to ask questions. The public is then given an opportunity to ask questions and/or comment on the project.
The Chair will then close the public comment portion of the review, and MWAMAC members will then discuss the project and pass a resolution, if warranted. Please note that once the public comment portion of the review is closed, any additional comments or answers to materials from the MWAMAC members should be addressed through the Chair.
How should I plan my presentation?
The best presentations begin with a complete application package. MWAMAC members often receive abbreviated project applications from the County, and if there is additional information that you would like them to have, please work with the Council Secretary to get the materials to the MWAMAC members in advance of the meeting.
A concise presentation is often better than a comprehensive one. Assume that the MWAMAC members have reviewed the package of information that describes your project, so your description of the application can be brief. It is helpful to describe exactly what approval you are seeking (i.e. a zoning change or a use permit) and what level of project planning you have completed (is this is conceptual review, or are there well-developed plans?).
Focus on the impacts that your project will have and how you intend to mitigate them. What concerns are neighbors of the project likely to have? Have you notified them of your plans, or held a meeting with them yet?
MWAMAC members will focus on their concerns during the question and answer period, so it is not necessary to try and anticipate and answer every concern in your presentation. If you would like guidance regarding preparation for your appearance, don’t hesitate to contact the Chair in advance of the meeting.
How should I handle questions and comments from the audience?
During the open comment period, members of the audience will have the opportunity to ask questions and state their opinions about your proposal. We recommend that you answer questions forthrightly and concisely. You should not feel obligated to respond to statements of opinion.
The Chair will help moderate this portion of the hearing. If the project is likely to engender a level of controversy or extensive feedback from the community, the Chair will likely establish guidelines for the public comment period, potentially including time limits for each speaker.
What happens to the recommendations made by the MWAMAC?
The MWAMAC Secretary will capture all aspects of the project review in the meeting minutes. Minutes are distributed to the Sonoma County Fourth District Supervisor and to the County’s Planning Department.
One of the MWAMAC members appointed by the County is also charged with meeting directly with planning staff to review specific projects. The Sonoma County Planning Commissioner from the Fourth District is usually in attendance to hear discussion of projects, but will not take part in the question period.