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I personally prefer "Town of Sonoma" but discovered when I tried to Google "Town..." that the site I wanted (sonomacity.org) didn't come up. Search on "City of Sonoma" and it is the first item. Somebody will need to recode all the web pages so the search engines will find them.
El Pueblo de Sonoma - I think "Town" seems and sounds about right.
We are the Town of Sonoma. And if it does change then I hope City Hall becomes a true Town Hall Meeting Place. We need positive direction where we keep our old town appeal. So many recent changes circling the square do not reflect that attitute. I have lived in other places that reflected , another city.
When I see local business suffering because of big business allowed to setup shop in our town, it makes me sad. We are killing the idea of this place staying a town. Simply naming Sonoma as the "Town of Sonoma", does not make it a town. We need to start supporting the people who live here, setup a small business and keep the local economy healthy. Big business TOT taxes and their influences do not make this a town. City Hall should start listening!!!
Please don't change, I'd have to get a new personalized license plate. My CITYCLK wouldn't be applicable any more.
Doesn't the city council have other pressing issues to concentrate there time and efforts on? Quit wasting your time and our tax payers dollars on issues that are irrelevant to the community. Were an established city that needs to focus our energy on priorities not dreams for one individual. Start focusing on the strong points of the city such as public safety. We have top notch police and fire services for fractions of the costs other cities have in the bay area. Lets continue to keep our "city" safe with the resources we currently have today, and discontinue taking a step back in time which could hurt the community.
Mathew...
Cotati, Healdsburg and St Helena are all cities with populations of 7,170, 11,600 and 6,006. Sonoma along with these other small cities, enjoys mixes of all the benefits of living in a small city with cultural advantages surrounded by beautiful vistas of hills, vineyards and majestic oaks.
(There is a "village" in southern california that has 20 and 30 story high buildings).
Silly to compare the city of Sonoma to Paris, Rome and London.
By definition a "town" is "an urban area that has a name, defined boundaries, and local government, and that is larger than a village and generally smaller than a city". San Francisco, Paris, London & Rome are cities - not small towns such as ours with a population of less than 10,000.
The City of Sonoma should stay the City of Sonoma. Spending money and staff time on a name change is rediculous!! Spending your time supporting our hospital at a Council meeting would have been time better spent. If it is not broken, there is no need to fix it.
This is silly. Change for no other reason than the sake of change is a waste of time and money. If you want to change something how about about shortening your meetings by not filling the agenda with items that are neither needed nor important. There are real problems that need to be addressed.
I agree with the comments focusing on the best use of our resources and energy.
Councilman Sebastiani -- please get off your high horse. First the religious displays on city property and now this.... Can you please focus on the important issue. How about we spend some of that 10K on getting the drainage ditches cleared out before the next big rain and we have flooding up and down Broadway like during the storm of 2005. Perhaps we can get some of the park benches repaired and painted.
Quit wasting CITY money!!!!
The word "town" has positive connotations of being charming, relaxing, and low-crime, but one could also associate towns as being weary of ousiders, behind the times, or uncultured. While "city" might make people think of a place that's crowded, crime-ridden, and polluted, it can also be associated with being diverse, culturally rich, and at the forefront of political and technological trends. In the end, do the positive connatations of one outweigh those of another?
Even if the cost to rename the City will only be $10,000, it's still $10,000 that could be better spent. Making Sonoma an official "town" won't add to its charm. Protecting our surrounding open space, investing in bike- and pedestrian-friendly infrustructure, and promoting well-designed development will.
Please reserve City resources for matters that will actually affect our residents' quality of life.
Claudia is the winner! Toity it is, though we will probably need a study on this as well. Oh, say $57,000? Then we'll have to give the money to Claudia anyway...
By the way ... don't know Claudia, don't need to. Very cute response.
We live in a small incorportated historic city with small towns around us.
Our city provides local services to its citizens.
A town is usually an unincorported community with no governmental powers.
Usually, county governments provide services to these unincorporated communities.
Listen, Kelso... not sure what you're implying with your sarcastic comment about the Town of Danville, but I am a proud member of the Danville community and would appreciate it if you got your facts straight. First of all, the population is 43,000. Second, the suburban tract homes may be your ignorant, narrow-minded view of our community- but the reality is that our community is a true town. The Town of Danville incorporated in 1982 as a Town and not as a City because it wanted to preserve its small town atmosphere. The Town's leaders and residents have since worked very hard to maintain an excellent quality of life for its residents while maintaining that small town atmosphere- and have been very successful at it. We have a very quaint downtown with historic buildings that date back to the mid-to-late 1800s. Old Town Danville is home to our beloved railroad museum, village theatre, historic Hartz Avenue, dozens of historic buildings and our Town Meeting Hall. It's a community gathering place for all of its 43,000 residents and what makes the Town of Danville a true "Town." The Danville Livery, a walkable and appreciated shopping center in town, is a testament to how much our community values the community's heritage. We have a very engaged Town Council, proud sense of community, and appreciation for our neighbors. Our Town Council meetings are held the old school way- not in front of television cameras and the sort- and our public comment period is called "For the Good of the Town" to foster that New England-style town hall-style meetings. The fact we’ve been the “Town of Danville” and not the “City of Danville” I think has helped Danville keep its small-town charm- appreciation of its downtown, decisions NOT to sprawl like other cities, and to preserve our hillsides, open spaces and agricultural areas (yes, Danville has its fair share of horse stables, farms and open spaces). Look, I’m not going to agree or disagree with Sonoma’s choice between “City” and “Town”- that’s something for the citizens of Sonoma to decide (I love your little community, by the way). But, please, leave the Town of Danville out of it.
I don't really care that much as long as Mr. Sebastiani is willing to personally pick up the tab for any costs incurred by the City/Town and any local businesses.
CALL THIS PLACE A TOITY. i cant beleive what suckers you are all being by responding with serious comments. you are doing just what was expected... fighting amoungst yourselves. you are all being played. CALL THIS TOWN A TOITY thats a compromise
Renaming our town the "Town of Sonoma," the most appropriate reflection of our identity, is not just an attempt to honor our agriculture heritage. While our rural flavor and charm is part of who we, as a town, were, are, and will be, many official "Towns" in California are anything but. Have you been to the lively "Town of Danville"? With a population over 60,000 and suburban tract homes stretching to the horizon, Danville is anything but agricultural. What about the Towns of Corte Madera, Fairfax and Atherton? Those places bring to mind retail and residential uses more than pasture land. It is obvious that each place had their own reasons for identifying itself a “Town.”
So here is our reason:
We’re a sophisticated center of commerce and culture in the middle of wine country. The agricultural uses that surround our town and sustain our local economy is not just our heritage but our future. We’re a place for visitors to get away from the hustle, bustle and problems of “the City” an hour to our south. While most incorporated areas in California of varying size are officially known as “city,” our unique attributes and special place in our state are more commonly in agreement with “town” than the alternative. We’re a place for Sonomans that have lived here for generations or just a few months to get involved and look after each other. To paraphrase Hillary Clinton, “it takes a town.” We’re a small community and the positive connotations of “Town” is the best description of what exists here.
When we talk to family and friends throughout the country about where we live or where we’re from, we never refer to it as “our city,” or “my city.” Sonoma’s synonym is always town, as in “my town was like,” or “you won’t believe what happened in my town,” or, “our town has become…”
When it comes to "wasting time and money," these charges are entirely overblown. The city manager has estimated the cost to be about $10,000, or just under 2% of what it cost to renovate the duck pond. Furthermore, the concern about wasting time would be more credible if it didn't come from the same crowd who looks forward to a five-hour council meeting about the War in Iraq. This is exactly the type of issue our council should be debating.
Hopefully in the end, there won’t be much of a debate. While this is just an issue of semantics, I strongly support Councilman Sebastiani in his effort and hope the rest of our “Town” Council agrees.
Sonoma has been a city since 1881...at that time livestock roamed the city and the plaza... folks cultivated the ground, raised chickens, grew their own vegetables and had fruit trees. Sonoma was a city when it was agricultural 127 years ago, and it has been a city ever since.
I do not consider Sonoma "agricultural"!
Now after 127 years you are thinking about reverting back to a" town".
There is a difference between a town and a city.
What is left in Sonoma that's agricultural?
The Sebastiani vineyards on 4th street east?
We are a city. There are more important issues than this to be considered.
I can't imagine our historic "City Hall" called "Town Hall"
I do not support the change.
This seems to be an exercise in semantics.....I am concerned with the perception that Mr. Sebastiani has of Sonoma and it's need to be called a Town so that it can remain rural and agricultural....come on August, the cows are out of the barn......Sonoma hasn't been an agricultural town/city for decades and changing it's name to Town won't bring it back.
All one has to do is look at the City's Zoning Map to see the actual percentage of ag land inside the city limits. My sense of development within the city over the past several decades has stayed true to the past and present General Plans by staying the course on city centered growth and not city centered ag development!
I find your reference to the public safety services that the City enjoys today and it's comparison to Big City levels of service misleading and misguided.
Sonoma residents deserve well trained, efficient and competent firefighters, emergency medical and law enforcement personnel equipped and supported with appropriate technology that ensures quick response times and adequate staffing to address the protection of our families, businesses and property. We never have, nor will we ever have the resources to match San Francisco Fire and Police Departments daily equipment or staffing.....I for one, can clearly see the difference between the City of San Francisco and the City of Sonoma...and it's not for the chickens,cows, vineyards or vegetable patches.
Agree generally with comments above... if there is a cost associated name change from "city" to "town", then name change is not the best use of taxpayer dollars. Would rather see funding for wind power generation or de-sal plant.
im not too sure changing the "city of sonoma" to the "town of sonoma" is creative enough to make people interested and curious. there are millions of towns and cities all over the world all ready . i think it would really generate excitement if we called sonoma a toity. thats a cross between a town and a city. sonoma would be the only toity in the world. people would flock in from all over to find out if sonoma was a hoity toity or toity toity. they would all be taking pictures of themselves in the toity,they would be doing their shopping in the toity,just think of all the stuff people could do in the toity. i think you need to be more creative and think outside the box if you want to make a difference
Regardless of any of our individual opinions on what feels better as a way of describing Sonoma, I believe there are much more important issues for the City Council to spend time and money on. Simple as that. For the record, my personal opinion about our identity: I believe the diverse nature of the community and its significance as the gateway to the Wine Country make it clear that we are a city and I think we should be proud of that identity.
It should be left the "City of Sonoma". I always say to people when I am asked, Where do you live? I live in the town of Sonoma, I'm not in the City Limits. I have lived here for 63 years and no one has ever questioned a the name "City or Town". If the change should come, the expence will follow. The cost and waste of money is not the time to do anything like this, as cities and county as well California is getting short of money. You'll have to change all letter heads, logos on equipment, such as trucks, then workers shirts and Police Department logo on shirts, maps, and cost to others like AAA on their maps and it keeps going on. Get over it, It is the City of Sonoma with the town around it.
A city is a city. A town is a town. They should be organized appropriately.
Leave well enough alone! By changing the name will not bring more revenue to the city. In fact it will be costly and the money can be put to better use.