SONOMA COUNTY, Calif. (KRON) – “It’s a good move. It’s a move in a positive direction,” David Rabbitt said.
Starting Wednesday, Sonoma County residents can return to county parks.
Here’s the catch though, you can only go to parks within walking or biking distance from your home.
That means no cars will be allowed in the parking lots and revisions to park closures do not include coastal beaches or parks.
Modifications to Sonoma County’s park closures will take effect beginning at 12:01 a.m.
Residents will be allowed to walk or bike to parks from their homes but still, driving to the park is not allowed.
“By tomorrow you can visit some of our parks here in Sonoma county. Not all parks. Nothing in the coastal zone. Parking lots still will be closed and really only those parks you can walk or ride to so not accessible to all,” David Rabbitt said.
Sonoma County Board Supervisor David Rabbitt says playgrounds, restrooms, picnic areas and sports courts will remain closed.
However other changes will follow, as part of a new order, which will be released later this week.
“There will be a new order going forward. That new order is slightly different. It loosened up somewhat. There’s no end date, it does allow for some additional activities and occupations to take place which I think is a good thing, including construction both residential and new commercial construction,” Rabbitt said.
That new order will also allow nurseries, florists, and real estate to re-open as long as social distancing protocols are in place, face masks are still required.
While there’s no end date listed in the new order, Board Supervisor Shirlee Zane says one thing is certain, no gatherings through the summer.
“The one item that has a date on it is the gatherings, that there will be no gatherings either small or large, private or public until at least labor day so that’s wont happen in the summertime,” Zane said.
Zane says she worries about the implications for businesses.
“A lot of our restaurants are not going to make it. I’m seeing we’ll probably face about a 25% closure rate,” Zane said.
And the long-term impacts of the closures.
“That psychological fallout is very real and we saw that during the recession when I first joined office in 2009. My husband was a case in point. He got depressed. The private girls school that he was the CFO at was closing and he couldn’t get out of a depression and he took his life and I’m afraid we’re gonna see a lot more diseases of despair than we actually see virus cases,” Zane said.
“In the event of crowding, widespread non-compliance with the limitations of this Order, or other evidence of activities presenting an unacceptable risk of spread of COVID-19 through Park use, any or all Parks may be closed again in their entirety or on a case-by-case-basis by the Health Officer, or by the individual Park owner, including but not limited to County Parks as determined by the Director of Regional Parks, as needed.”
Click here for the full order.
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