Friends of the Gualala River

An affiliate of the Redwood Coast Watersheds Alliance

P.O. Box 1543, Gualala, CA 95445 GualalaRiver.org



Friends of the Gualala River PLP08-0021, Ratna Ling Retreat Center
January 19, 2012
1

Supervisors Mike McGuire, Efren Carrillo, and David Rabbit
575 Administration Drive Room 100 A
Santa Rosa, CA 95403

Cynthia Demidovich, Project Planner
Sonoma County Permit and Resource Management Department
2550 Ventura Ave.
Santa Rosa, CA 95403
cdemidov@sonoma-county.org

SUBJECT: File No. PLP08-0021, Ratna Ling Retreat Center

June 15, 2014

Dear Supervisors McGuire, Carrillo, and Rabbit and Ms. Demidovich:

Please see the attachedment in the this delivering email of the letter sent to PRMD in January
2012 from Friends of the Gualala River opposing approval of Use Permit, PLP08-0021, for
Ratna Ling Retreat Center and the Dharma Press Book Publishing Facility at 35755 Hauser
Bridge Road, Cazadero. We continue to be concerned about the same issues as described in that
letter and are continuing to warn of the immediate harm to the environment that this project
brings and to the serious precedent it might establish as far as the flawed permitting process that
has transpired with regard to its unique commercial nature.

In addition to the aforementioned subjects in the previous FOGR comment letter of January
2012, we point to the issue of the inadequacy of the present fire protection services in place for
the response to emergencies at the Ratna Ling facility. They are of great concern to the local fire
department, nearby neighbors, surrounding forest land residents, county tax payers, and should
be of yours too as their representatives.

The letter to you from the Timber cove Fire Department should be a wake up call to the
seriousness of the issue. There would be no adequate response possible to fires in any of the
numerous large buildings in the printing facility if they were to start and become engaged. The
fire would likely escape to the surrounding forest with devastating effects. Calling a 20,000
square foot factory with six state of the art million dollar presses an "ancillary use" to a
permitted Retreat Center because PRMD is willing to consider that use "similar to a club or
lodge" cannot be defended and and has so far been insufficiently addressed regarding the fire
risk it presents.

Friends of the Gualala River
An affiliate of the Redwood Coast Watersheds Alliance
P.O. Box 1543, Gualala, CA 95445 GualalaRiver.org



Friends of the Gualala River PLP08-0021, Ratna Ling Retreat Center
January 19, 2012
2

The fact that giant fabric structure storage buildings have been constructed and have been
allowed to be used without a use permit and proper assessment for fire risks is a sad
commentary on the overall permitting process by the county. The inadequate resources of the
community and capacities of county services in such a remote location all point to the rejection
of permits for this of this out of scale, commercial, high impact, water intensive, and tax payer
subsidized project.

Friends of the Gualala River, with its mission to protect the Gualala River watershed and the
living things within it strongly urges you to protect the health and safety of the west countys
populace and environment and reject the PLP08-0021 use permit.


Sincerely,

Chris Poehlmann
President, Friends of the Gualala River
poehlman@mcn.org