Sonoma Mountain Village Green Community

     Sustainability is more than catering to the environment, but also to the human being that lives in that environment. Sonoma Mountain Village, an award-winning, green community combines idea of designing for people as well as being conscientious of their impact on the planet.

     Sonoma Mountain Village is the first community in North America endorsed by the International One Planet Communities Program, a prestigious award. The community is a replicable model that is set to prove that we can be environmental stewards while living well. It’s a community designed to care for its residents, the community and the planet without compromising our richly deserved quality of life.

     Sonoma Mountain Village is a 200-acre, mixed-use, solar-powered, zero-waste community under development by Codding Enterprises. As the best in green building, the community is included in the USGBC’s LEED-ND program, and is targeting the highest certification level, Platinum. In 2008, the community was awarded California’s highest, most-prestigious environmental honor, the Governor’s Environmental and Economic Leadership Award (GEELA) as a model for comprehensive land use planning.

     The development has a vision off a “five-minute lifestyle”. This means having parks, shopping, services and a town square all within a short walk of homes and businesses. Community programs, such as car and bike sharing, walking, school buses, neighborhood electric vehicle shuttles, car charging stations, community gardening and a daily farmers’ market, create a culture that supports many lifestyles. The Lifestyle Concierge Program and the One Planet Living Center conduct classes on products and new technologies, host events, sell goods and offer networking around the world with fellow One Planet Communities.

     There are many reasons why this community deserves all of its awards. With all the water conservation methods in place water use has not increased above the water allocation granted to the previous site owner Agilent Technologies. Food is grown locally so as to practice sustainability. The majority of the food for the community is grown within 300 miles. There is a daily farmers market, health food grocery store and restaurants. Nature is a big part of the community landscape. There are 27 acres of parks and open space, along with enhanced wetlands areas, green roofs to support bee gardens and edible landscaping along walking paths. Social justice is a concern for Sonoma Mountain Village. It boasts 25% affordable housing, housing for sale and rental for all income levels, local and fair trade goods for sale in the community, with the creation of 4,400 jobs.

     The website lists many other reasons why this community is so desirable. It is a true Garden of Eden for modern times.