Soundings

Spring, 2002

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• Fuel Management Plan
• Sea Ranchers of Year: Halprin, Sylvia
• Unit 24 Party – May 18
• CEP to Be Updated
• Lines From the Library
• Fire Department Picnics a Tradition
• New Engine Arrives
• Gualala River Water Export on Tap?
• 2000 Census Describes Sea Ranchers
• Restaurants: Sizzling Tandoor
• Elaine Jacob Gives to Community
• TSR Archives Get Home
• Flora in the Forest
• Soroptimist Tour and Tasting
• New Owners: Save the Date!

"The greatest fire threat we have is not structure fire, it is wildfire," said Chief Dan Levin of The Sea Ranch Fire Department. He was part of a panel at the Midwinter Meeting on February 16, 2002, as they informed members about The Sea Ranch Fuel Management Plan. Along with Levin, the panel included Carol Rice, Fire Ecologist and consultant for Leonard Charles and Associates; Bill Wiemeyer, TSRA Director of Design Review and Environmental Management; Bill Chapman, TSRA Director of Facilities and Resources; and members of the Board of Directors, Roy Austin, Alex Long and Pete Mattson.

LEVEL OF RISK UNACCEPTABLE
Levin said, "The wildland interface issue is not isolated to Sea Ranch, it is a nationwide problem as people move away from the city and into the country. We live by a philosophy which by definition requires balancing competing ideas. What is acceptable risk? I would argue that the level of risk we live under is unacceptable. We need to understand the nature of the wildfire threat, the scope of the fuel issue, and what to expect from the Fire Department. You need to know what you can do to protect your home."

CLIMATE
The spread of wildfire is influenced by three things: weather, fuel, and terrain. The most important variable is weather. In this coastal climate, prevailing winds drive fires to the southeast but unstable conditions yield erratic fire behavior. Wind direction directly affects humidity – wind coming out of the northwest raises humidity while wind from the northeast brings very, very dry air. When that happens on Sea Ranch, humidity has been reported as low as nine percent and the firefighters instinctively keep their boots on, ready to roll.

FUEL
"Some people call it vegetation, others call it biomass, firefighters call it fuel," said Levin. California’s unmanaged landscape is designed to burn. Until we manage it, we will continue to lose structures and perhaps lives. Fuel types affect the speed with which fire moves and the intensity of the burn. Light fuels like grass burn faster than heavy fuels like wood. Dense fuels burn hotter but slower than sparse vegetation. For example, a fire will burn fast but not very hot on a hillside that has been grazed and the fuel is sparse, so it’s easy to intercept.

The continuity of fuels determines the rate of spread. All fuel management plans intend to break up the continuity of fuels so that there is not vegetation transmission capability, not solid canopy, nor solid grasslands that carry the fire from one point to another. Levin said, "A fire burns twice: once on the ground and once in the air. When the fire is on the ground there is a good chance of stopping it. If it gets into the air, there’s no stopping it until the weather changes."

TERRAIN
The steeper the slope, the more the fuels above the fire are preheated, so terrain is an important determinative of fire behavior. The direction a slope faces determines how much moisture there is in a fuel: a north-facing slope is much wetter than a south-facing slope. Geographical features such as chimneys, draws and box canyons act as flues drawing fire upward.

There is rapid transition of wildland fires in meadows because there are heavy, decadent fuels; fire will move faster on grassy hillsides; slower but hotter in the forested hillsides; and when it gets up on the mixed ridges and ridgetops, it will tend to slow down and still look for a place to burn. It may burn back down the hill if the wind changes or over on the other side if the wind stays the same. The deep-forested hillsides are actually pretty safe as long as the wind does not come out of the northeast as it did in 1946 when a wildfire burned from Point Arena to Gualala.

LIMITED FIRE RESOURCES
The Fire Department has four fire engines, and – assuming they are all available – they all will respond to any reported fire on Sea Ranch during fire season. That constitutes 25, maybe 27 or 28 firefighters. "That’s all we’ve got." In the first hour of a fire, the community can expect four fire engines within 10 minutes, mutual aid will bring two more engines and a water tender within 15 minutes, the first helicopter or air tanker within 20 minutes, and up to five air tankers and two helicopters – depending on whether there are other fires outside the area – within 20 minutes. Assuming they are all available. After the first hour, the secondary engines start coming in from out of the area, dozers are about an hour-and-a-half away, and the first gang crews are about two hours away. "So we have about an hour to work with six fire engines and two helicopters."

STRUCTURE PROTECTION
In a wildland fire, the first thing firefighters do is save lives and protect structures. But it must be understood that protecting structures diverts resources from fighting fires so the fire is going to grow. Each fire engine can protect two houses. With maybe five fire engines, only 10 houses can be protected. "That’s it," warned Levin, "If the fire threatens more than 10 in the first hour, we’re going to lose the rest of them. We have to choose which structures we can save, and our primary criterion is the likelihood of success. That has to do with clearance around the structures both on the property and on Commons, and the likelihood we’re going to be able to put firefighters in there safely and they will be able to divert the fire around that building. If we think there is a risk because it’s too overgrown, we’re not going in there. There’s no house that’s worth the loss of anybody’s life."

REGULATIONS
State law PRC 4291 requires a minimum 30-foot clearance to create defensible space around a structure so that firefighters can make a stand safely. The regulations allow 100 feet. Members can expect stricter enforcement of state regulations, more restrictive fire-safe standards on new construction. "Until the fire loss starts to go down, the regulations are going to increase. I think we’re going to see a sprinkler requirement within the year on all new construction and more regulations on building materials and distances from structures."

Levin spoke to people in the meadows who might be reluctant to pay for the Fire Management Plan. "There’s a few people down on Yardarm Drive who can tell you what happens when a fire burns on the hillside, because it burns right back to the meadow. Meadows are not immune from wildland fires." Levin is particularly concerned about fuel density on major ingress and egress roads. "If we have a wildfire this summer anything like the Yardarm fire, we will lose houses and I hope we won’t lose lives. But people will be trapped – I can guarantee it."

PLAN AVAILABLE
Carol Rice presented the elements of the Plan (see SOUNDINGS, Winter 2001) with slide illustrations of areas of the Ranch where the Plan will be applied. She displayed a map of Sea Ranch delineating grazing areas, roadside fuelbreaks, reduced fuel zones, downslope calming zones, riparian planting zones, and drainage way conifer removal areas. A summary of the Plan is being prepared for every member of TSRA. The full Plan will be available to read at the Association office.

IMPACTS
Bill Weimeyer stated, "The Fuel Management Plan is not without impacts." Emphasis will be on work on private lots vs. work on Commons where the current Plan was focused. There will be changes in landscape character: forest, grassland and coastal scrub. Grazing will change the character of existing meadows. Weimeyer said there will be an attempt to avoid critical habitat and to protect habitat values and natural resources. For example, scrub management will take place after the nesting season for birds, which is mostly between March and the end of July. Some privacy screening will be lost. Debris removal will involve smoke management and noise.

THE PROCESS
The staff will prepare individual neighborhood plans and notify neighbors through the Bulletin, giving them an opportunity to meet with staff. Where the plans affect common areas, neighbors within 300 feet will receive a mailer with a map. Showcase areas will be developed on a few private lots to demonstrate what kind of work will be done in various landscape types. Neighborhood workshops will be held to discuss the kinds of things the Association will be doing in that neighborhood.

IMPLEMENTATION
Bill Chapman explained what was going to be done in each of the years of the Plan. In the first year, staff will do down-slope calming zones from the south end of the Ranch to Longmeadow. A contractor will be cutting roadside fuelbreaks and removing shrubs from the grasslands in reduced fuel zones. Also, reduced fuel zones will be treated east of Highway One between Moonraker and Longmeadow. A grazing contractor will do initial preparation for grazing.

In the second year, staff will finish all the roadside fuelbreaks in the forested area south of Annapolis Road. They will begin the annual mowing of all the roadside areas that are grassy and will do rototilling of wider areas along Highway One on the east side. The contractor will work on the reduced fuel zones on the west side of Highway One.

The third year, the Association will continue roadside fuelbreaks in forested areas from Annapolis Road to Unit 19. They will also treat downslope calming zones from Longmeadow Road to the Chapel area. In the forested areas east of the highway, they will be working between Longmeadow and Unit 20A. The contractor will be removing brush, possibly with machinery, in all of the meadow areas east of Highway One.

In the fourth year, the roadside fuelbreaks will be completed from Unit 29A to the north end of the Ranch in the forested areas. Also, the downslope calming zones in the north end of the Ranch will be finished. The Highway One firebreak improvements will be done throughout the Ranch. The riparian zone planting and drainage way conifer removal will be done. Also, in the fourth year, the ongoing maintenance of the Plan will commence with reentry into the areas done in the first years of the Plan. The contractor will finish all of the shrub removal on the west side of the highway and meadows. Chapman explained that the areas of highest risk were chosen for the first work.

COST
The Plan will involve at least 40,000 hours of TSRA staff labor in the next four years compared with 10,000 hours of labor in the last 10 years, estimated Chapman. An additional 25,000 hours of labor will involve contractors. Labor estimates are based on production rates of the last 10 years. The total cost of implementing the Plan is $1.9 million minus the moneys existing in the current budget for fuel management. The net cost will be $1.2 million in new dollars. The TSRA budget, set for the first three years of the four-year cycle, anticipates a per unit cost of $12.79 per month in 2002-’03, $12.68 per month in ‘03-’04, and $14.15 per month in ‘04-’05, with the final year anticipated to cost between $12 and $15.

Our current Board of Directors made a remarkably fitting choice for this year’s SEA RANCH AWARD. TSRA recognizes two of the giants whose work profoundly influenced this community over the last half-century.

First, is a wonderful man, now deceased, whom Ned Westover, Oceanic’s project manager in the early ‘60s, found in Los Angeles. This man, a contractor, was the only one who could actually construct the designs of the famous architect Richard Neutra. He had very, very special skills.

The challenge given to him was to move to a barren, overgrazed 5,200-acre coastal ranch in Sonoma County, and then to try to build the unusual structures that a bunch of architects and designers had been working on for years that were utterly unique in community design.

The late Matt Sylvia came to Sea Ranch and has been a remarkable influence ever since. Whatever ideas the architects came up with, Matt found ways to not only build – when others thought they could hardly be built – but to improve upon. Many architects found him the ideal partner. Our own home on the ridge was designed by Al Boeke and built by Matt Sylvia to suit us perfectly for a quarter of a century.

Matt built Condominium One, the Esherick demonstration houses, the Lodge, Moonraker Recreation Center, North Rec, some 19 Binker Barns, private homes all over the Ranch – as many as 200 structures that constitute a major part of our built environment.

A contractor friend told me that Matt was unique in his sense of structural mechanics – especially in how houses would actually work when we lived in them. Matt was also honest, generous to all, ready at all times to provide help and usually at no cost. He was truly a professional builder. He avoided competitive bidding, but if you picked him for a job you always got more than you paid for.

I remember Matt at the Lodge bar, sitting with a bunch of friends, shoes untied, red-and-black wool shirt, blue jeans, hairy, scruffy, laughing, and giving joy to a lot of people. And he is not yet gone. Jack Richardson still buys pool tickets on sports events in Matt’s memory. He’s still in the pool. Matt Sylvia loved The Sea Ranch.

LAWRENCE HALPRIN
When Al Boeke first saw the Ohlson Ranch lying like a beautiful jewel along the Sonoma coastline, the idea of The Sea Ranch was born. Al assembled a star-studded group of designers and land planners to create a new kind of environment. Shining brightly in this constellation of experts was Lawrence Halprin, this year’s Sea Ranch Award recipient.

In the early 1960s, this group took years to study the land, measure its potential, and hammer out the plan for its future. Halprin calls it a score; in fact, he wrote a book on scores, The RSVP Cycles in which he scored The Sea Ranch, much like the score for a symphony. Many other people contributed, many added and changed it. There were great names joining Halprin in this scoring process: names like Boeke, Moore, Turnbull, Whitaker, Donlyn Lyndon, Esherick.

In addition to his work at Sea Ranch, Larry Halprin was involved in the Lovejoy Plaza and Cascade in Portland, Nicollet Mall in Minneapolis, Freeway Park in Seattle, Ghirardelli Square in San Francisco, the Vietnam and the Roosevelt Memorials in Washington D.C., and many other innovative projects around the world. My friend, Terry Radtkey, says that Larry tries to make many parts of the world beautiful so that people will stay away from Sea Ranch.

Few Sea Ranchers realize that we live in a work of art. The way our roads lie in the curves of the land, the slopes of our roofs, the meaning of our CC&Rs, the look of the built as well as the growing environment, the health of our entire ecosystem was materially assisted by our original designers – as well as by our decisions today.

Many unique talents were attracted to Sea Ranch: Matt Sylvia for buildings, Slim Maxim who was magical in designing trails and landscapes, many great architects, and certainly Larry Halprin. In recent years, because he was aware that economics, sales pressures, nature, and state and county governments placing heavy pressures on Sea Ranch and changing who and what we are, Larry gave us two Sea Ranch Workshops. I attended both. They were held to give Sea Ranchers the opportunity to learn to see the landscape we live in, to see what we were building and the meaning of the structures we were building, and to contemplate our future needs as a community. Larry always fought for that sensitivity to what we actually had here and the precious nature of it.

This last year, Larry and Anna’s home at Sea Ranch burned in an awful fire. Many people stepped up to help. The pain of this loss was great; but if all goes well, their home will be rebuilt by this summer.

An old saying is that a prophet is without honor in his own country and I have noted that this is true quite often but not here, Larry Halprin, not at Sea Ranch. The unique and marvelous dream you helped to realize at Sea Ranch is still alive and well and all of us thank you for it and honor you today with this award for outstanding community service.

All Unit 24 home and lot owners are urged to attend the Eighth Annual Unit 24 party to be held on Saturday, May 18, 2002, from 4 p.m. until 6 p.m., at One-Eyed Jack's picnic area. The Unit 24 committee will provide beverages and picnic supplies, but requests participants to bring finger foods to share with 10-12 people.

Last year almost 70 people attended this annual gathering, which provides a great opportunity to greet old friends and meet new ones. Houseguests will also be welcome.

A $3.00 donation per person will be accepted at the gathering to help defray expenses. A flyer will be mailed within the next few weeks. In the meantime, if you would like more information, please call Warren or Georgia Radford at (707) 785-2450. All of us in Unit 24 look forward to meeting and talking with our neighbors.

Spend some time talking with Bill Wiemeyer about the Comprehensive Environmental Plan (CEP) for The Sea Ranch, and suddenly a 200-page document (which Bill admits is "dry") suddenly sounds a lot more interesting.

The idea for a plan originated in a 1985 report, The Sea Ranch: Process for the Future. This report was written by early Sea Ranch designers: Al Boeke, Joseph Esherick, Lawrence Halprin, Reverdy Johnson, Donald MacDonald, Charles W. Moore, Hideo Sasaki, and William Turnbull who assembled as The Professional Consultants Group. The group was commissioned by the TSRA Board "to examine the state of design and planning at The Sea Ranch and propose how this community can best nurture its special, but changing, environment as it moves into its second 20-year period." One of the report’s recommendations was to prepare an "overall plan for the landscape and placement of buildings in it that can be the guide for all future change at The Sea Ranch."

Neither the Board nor the staff in 1985 really knew what an overall environmental plan should look like or how to put one together. Opinions abounded but consensus took some time. In 1989, Ted Smith, then Director of Planning and Design, hired Bill Wiemeyer from a planning firm where he had been writing general plans to prepare an environmental plan for Sea Ranch.

The Planning Committee (PC) worked with Bill on the plan, chewing over drafts word by word. Section by section, the Plan became more comprehensive, growing well beyond its original focus on the landscape and environment. It ended up with 6 elements: Planning and Design, Land Use, Natural Resources, Cultural and Recreational Resources, Infrastructure and Health and Safety. It became the Comprehensive Environmental Plan (CEP).

As the process got under way, Bill realized that he needed someone to take minutes at the meetings. He advertised in the Bulletin and Marti Kambe answered the call; she’s been taking the Planning Committee minutes ever since. Since she’s not a voting member of the PC, she can closely concentrate on what’s being said. She remembers the Committee spending up to a half-hour on a draft of a section, debating the use of a single word, such as "guest" vs. "invitee" or how to use the word "public" in consonance with the CC&Rs.

The original draft of the Plan was written much like a city general plan with detailed background statements, analysis, and policy statements for each subject area. When the Plan finally reached the Board, the term "policy" was eliminated in favor of "guidelines." The Board felt that "policy" implied more commitment to certain actions than it was willing to take at that time.

The CEP is a product of the concerns of the early ‘90s – view restoration, fire management, protection of the natural environment and riparian zones – and many of those issues still resonate today. According to Marti, TSRA members wanted the CEP to show how to protect the vision of TSR into the future as development continued. Other concerns have faded, according to Bill. Privacy was much discussed then, as the Bane Bill was still fairly new and some members were unsure how much TSR should interact with the larger North Coast community or whether it should be a gated community. He points out that this was well before the Gualala Arts Center, for instance, or the growth of RCMS.

Public hearings held by the Planning Committee on each section of the CEP ensured that members’ views were represented and incorporated prior to the Board’s approval of the CEP guidelines. The CEP is a living document that is updated periodically. Because of the wealth of information contained in the CEP, the original document, in loose-leaf format, is kept intact with modifications or new information contained in addenda. Thus, the CEP has come to serve as an "institutional memory" for TSR, according to Bill.

Since its adoption, CEP has provided background and guidance for the Board as it considers environmental issues ranging from hedgerow restoration to new trails and facilities. It’s impressive to see how much has been accomplished since the first CEP draft, such as the completion of the Del Mar Center and purchase of the Water Company.

The Planning Committee will be updating the CEP this year and invites members to learn more about the CEP at a Forum on Saturday, June 1 at 3:00pm. This is one opportunity for Sea Ranchers to review the guidelines and comment on changes needed to keep the CEP a vital and useful document to guide future TSRA staff and Board decisions.

Three cheers for Randy Burke and his talented colleagues in Facilities and Resources! They have arranged for the purchase and installation of the new Library bookshelves.

And another three cheers for the new shelves themselves! More books within reach will make a visit to the Library easier and more pleasant.

The volunteers have made some rearrangement of the collection. Library patrons will need to spend a little time getting reoriented because certain sections have been moved. All this is in an effort to relieve the overcrowding that has been such a plague for the past many months.

The "General Nonfiction" has grown to a very large size. It contains all the nonfiction that has no special shelf area of its own, and clearly has been needing some attention when space became available. "Essays and Memoirs" will return to a separate section, but the others will be lumped together, at least for the time being.

The volunteers cannot express their gratitude enough to the Facilities and Resources staff, and in particular to Randy Burke and John Preston. These men have given cheerful and competent help at every stage of the operation and were a delight to work with.

Do come and enjoy the new arrangements. As usual, the Library, located in the Ohlson Ranch house, is open during daylight hours, even if the lights are off and there is no one there. Come in, browse, borrow, donate – and return.

What began as a fund-raiser for The Sea Ranch Volunteer Fire Department has become an institution over the last 20 years. Ranchers, their families, guests, and friends from neighboring communities look forward to getting together at One-Eyed Jack’s picnic grounds for each of two events: the first on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend in May, and the second on Labor Day weekend in September. Don’t miss the next one on the May 26! Newcomers have made many a new friend at their first Fire Department Picnic.

The picnics, sponsored by the Volunteer Fire Department and aided by the VFD Auxiliary, are the main fundraisers held by the Department, along with Christmas Tree sales in December. Profits go to the purchase of items and fund activities not covered in the county budget. Also, the Fire Department has become a supporter of an Explorer Scout Troop specializing in fire suppression training, and is funding post-high school scholarships in this field.

Each year the VFD Auxiliary recruits a chair and a vice chair for each picnic. The Auxiliary, with the help of The Sea Ranch Association staff, sets up the picnic site. They also prepare the salads, fresh fruit, baked beans and desserts; serve the picnickers; plan and run the games for the children; and clean up the area after the picnic. One of the picnic highlights is watching children of all ages participate in tug-o’-wars, three-legged races, water balloon throws, and the ever-popular bucket brigade; then seeing their faces light up when they win prizes. Over the years, the volunteers have refined the organization of the picnic to make it fun for all, including the workers.

The firefighters are responsible for the purchase of all the food and drinks, supplying electric power to the site, preparing the coffee and tea, barbecuing the meats, and serving the drinks. Firefighters proudly display all the shiny engines and trucks (as well as make sure Smokey the Bear makes an appearance).

The Sea Ranch Fire Department is taking delivery of a new fire engine. Dubbed Engine 4471, the new vehicle is a high performance fire engine built to fight both structure and wildland fires.

The rig is based on a prototypical engine designed by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. It has all of the capabilities of a traditional structural fire engine such as ladders, large volume pumps and heavy tools, as well as the ability to travel off road, to pump water while rolling, and to access remote vegetation fires. The truck also has a computerized foam system capable of delivering foam suppressant for wildland fuels as well as flammable liquids. It carries a crew of up to five firefighters inside the safety of a fully enclosed and conditioned cab.

Three members of the Fire Department traveled back to Appleton, Wisconsin for a pre-delivery inspection at Pierce Manufacturing, Inc. As a test run, they drove the engine home, braving winter snows in Kansas, stopping in Salt Lake City to pay homage to the Olympic Torch, before crossing into California, and delivering the unit to the dealer’s Modesto facility for final outfitting.

Firefighters are anxious to get trained on the intricacies and capabilities of this unique apparatus, which will boost the Department’s ability to get off road and attack vegetation fires during the summer. The engine is expected to be delivered to The Sea Ranch in early March. The new truck replaces a 1975 Ford pumper which will likely see service at a neighboring department.

The specter of tugboats dragging gigantic bladders of Gualala River water to San Diego alarmed Sea Ranchers when Julie Verran, reporter for the Gualala Independent Coast Observer broke the news. If the proposal by an Alaskan firm seemed ludicrous at first, staff at the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) indicated that notices of the applications were going out to the public shortly.

THE PROPOSAL
Alaska Water Exports, part of an international consortium called World Water SA, has applied for rights to winter flows in the Gualala and Albion rivers on the North Coast, intending to pump as much as 30,000 acre-feet (nearly 10 billion gallons of water) into huge floating bladders, each about the size of six football fields, moored offshore. (For comparison, The Sea Ranch Water Company Reservoir has a storage capacity of 300 acre-feet or 97,784,000 gallons.) Several times a week, tugboats would drag the floating bags south along the coast so that Alaska Water could sell the water to San Diego, which imports 90 percent of its water and is constantly looking for more to accommodate its growth. Should the city of San Diego and the applicant be able to agree on a price for the water, the scheme would supply about 40,000 homes.

THE APPLICANTS
Representing the applicant is Ric Davidge, an advocate for privatizing water utilities and creating a "free market" for water. He is President of World Water SA, a consortium of international companies engaged in buying and selling bulk quantities of water around the world. World Water’s board of directors includes a Saudi Arabian financier, a Japanese shipping executive, and a Norwegian venture capitalist.

"HARVESTING" WATER
Davidge said, "We’re harvesting fresh water that would otherwise flow untapped into the ocean during peak river flows. All we’re doing is capturing a natural resource that would otherwise be lost." Specifically, a cistern-like device would be buried under the river, more than a quarter-mile from the highest saltwater intrusion point, and it would suck the water through a pipeline into 50,000 cubic-meter plastic bags to be hauled south by tugboats. Option A would run a 24-inch pipeline under Gualala Point Park, and Option B would run the pipeline from its intake the length of the river bed. Davidge declared, "There will be no loss of water table in the river or in its associated groundwater systems. He also promised: "Our water harvest technology will not in any way adversely impact steelhead runs or any other river-related fish or wildlife.

PUBLIC TRUST DOCTRINE
The people of California own the water in California’s rivers under the doctrine of public trust, which says that some resources are so important that the state must hold them in "trust" for future generations. The Public Trust Doctrine has generally applied only to "navigable water," a broadly defined term that includes any body of water navigable at any point in the year by any "small pleasure craft." Modern courts have expanded public trust protection to include the right to swim, hunt, and preserve water bodies in their natural state.

WATER RIGHTS
A water right is a legal entitlement, which authorizes diversion of water from a particular source for beneficial use. There are two major kinds of surface water rights: riparian rights, which come with land bordering a water source; and appropriative rights that are granted by the SWRCB. The Sea Ranch Water Company has an appropriative right to divert 613 acre-feet or 200 million gallons of water per year from the Gualala River. The Company may only pump water when flows in the river are above certain levels: 5 cubic feet per second (cfs) from June 1 to November 30, 25 cfs from December 1 to March 31, and 10 cfs from April 1 to May 31. Unappropriated water is any available water flowing in a river or stream that is not claimed under riparian or other prior rights.

STATE WATER RESOURCES CONTROL BOARD
The State Water Resources Control Board has the responsibility for allocating water rights. When a permit is requested, notice goes out to interested parties. If protests are filed, the Board will try to resolve them. The proposed project is also reviewed for effects on the environment, and if there are adverse impacts the board can suggest changes to the project to prevent or mitigate the impacts. If the proposed use of water is in the public interest, in accord with the California Environmental Quality Act and would not impair an existing right, the Board may issue a permit. When water is not available in sufficient quantities to fulfill the permit, the "first in time, first in right" principle requires the permitee to reduce a diversion to respect preexisting rights. By the same token, those with prior permits must defend their rights to available supplies.

Hearings before the SWRCB are adjudicatory proceedings in which rules of evidence are applied. The notice of hearing may require the submission of written testimony at a specific time, usually 10 days, prior to the hearing. It is the policy of the Board that "surprise testimony and exhibits at hearings be discouraged." (Title 23, Chapter 3, Article 2, ¤648.2(a).) Oral and written testimony is under oath and each person has the right to call and examine witnesses, to introduce exhibits, to cross-examine opposing witnesses and to rebut evidence. Questions from Board members, staff or legal counsel are in order at any time.

Any communication should be sent to Kathryn Gaffney at the State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Water Rights, and refer to Application Numbers 31194 and 31195. The address is P.O. Box 2000, Sacramento, CA 95810.

Information from the 2000 U.S. Census.

The 1990s were a boom time for Sea Ranch according to data from the 2000 U.S. Census. In 1990, Sea Ranch had slightly more than 1,000 houses. By 2000, the number of houses had grown to over 1,500 – more than a 50 percent increase. Or looked at another way, over one-third of the houses on Sea Ranch in April 2000 were built during the 1990s. Nearly every aspect of life at Sea Ranch has been affected by the influx of new houses and new people. Are we becoming a different kind of community? More permanent residents? Older? Younger? The Census yields some answers.

The U.S. Census, taken every 10 years, is a count of every household in the nation. The number of people, housing units and households are counted and information is collected on the ages and relationships of people in each household and whether they are homeowners or renters. Additional data on education, employment, income, and other characteristics of both people and housing units are collected on a sample basis (not yet available). The information is then compiled for geographic areas ranging in size from states to individual blocks.

The only way to extract Census information for Sea Ranch is block by block – 34 of them. The block boundaries do not conform exactly to Sea Ranch boundaries. On the eastern edge of Sea Ranch, blocks that contain Sea Ranch parcels also extend into Gualala Redwoods land (Blocks 1 and 18) and, to the south, a block containing the condo and Yardarm areas also includes a strip of the Richardson meadow west of Highway One (Block 19). Few, if any, people live in these areas, so The Sea Ranch totals are not significantly affected.

HOUSES
Table 1 summarizes housing data from the 1990 and 2000 censuses. This table tells a story about what has happened at Sea Ranch over the past decade. First, although the total number of houses increased more than 50 percent, the number of occupied houses increased by more than 75 percent. In 1990, 31 percent of the houses were occupied by full-time residents; in 2000, 37 percent of the houses were occupied by full-time residents. Sea Ranch is still predominately a second-home community, but the proportion of permanent residents is increasing and Sea Ranch starts the 2000s as a hybrid with the task of meeting the sometimes divergent needs of both residents and occasional users.

The Census reports that over 90 percent, or 887 of the 975 vacant houses, are held "for seasonal, recreational or occasional use." These houses form the pool from which the rental agencies draw. According to Ramshead Realty’s Judy Berry, at the February 2, 2002 Forum on Commercialization, about 450 Sea Ranch houses are now on rental programs. That leaves about 437 vacant houses that are used occasionally by owners and guests or rented by owners for vacation use. Some are also vacant because they are for sale or rent or for other reasons.

Table 1 also shows that few of the occupied houses are rented full-time; their owners live in most of them. Although the percentage of full-time rentals has gone down a little from 1990 to 2000, the split remains essentially the same.

POPULATION
Who lives in all these occupied houses? One answer is 520 more people than lived at Sea Ranch full-time in 1990. During the 1990s, the full-time population grew 82 percent from 637 to 1,157 people while at the same time the number of houses increased by 51 percent. Table 2 also shows that the permanent Sea Ranch community is white although less so in 2000 than in 1990. In 1990, 97 percent of the residents were white; by 2000, only 82 percent were white. The biggest change was growth in the Latino population from less than 1.5 percent in 1990 to over 12 percent in 2000. The completion of the Burbank housing in 1997 undoubtedly contributed to this increase.

DISTRIBUTION OF POPULATION
Where are these full-time people at Sea Ranch? Do most live on the east side of Highway One or at the south end? The map above shows Sea Ranch divided into 19 Census blocks or groups of Census blocks. A tag shows the population, number of houses and number and percent of occupied houses for each of the 19 areas. Data from the map are summarized in Table 3.

All parts of Sea Ranch contain significant numbers of full-time residents. However, slightly more than 56 percent of full-time Sea Ranchers live east of Highway One, although only 42 percent of the houses are there. Forty-eight percent of the houses east of Highway One are occupied by full-timers as opposed to 29 percent west of the highway – home to many of the vacation rentals.

The distribution north and south of Annapolis Road is virtually even. Eighty percent of permanent residents and 80 percent of the houses are north of Annapolis Road, and 20 percent of both people and houses are south of Annapolis Road.

AGE
The Census shows that the median age of full-time Sea Ranchers actually fell from about 63 in 1990 to about 57 in 2000. Table 4 shows that, while the numbers of people in each major age group increased during the decade, the percentage of people from 18 to 64 years old remained the same at 57.5 percent. However, the percentage under 18 increased, and the percentage of those 65 years and older decreased slightly during the ‘90s. Most of the children under 18 are in the block containing Burbank housing, and the completion of this project in 1997 is a major factor in the more than twofold increase in the number of children at Sea Ranch.

The "Age-Sex Pyramid" pictures in detail the age distribution of Sea Ranch residents in 2000. This diagram displays the number of people in each 10-year age group with men on the left and women on the right. As you can see, this is a top-heavy "pyramid." The bulk of the people, both men and women, are in their 50s and 60s. Men and women make up about equal parts of the population in each age group except the 50s. Here, women comprise a disproportionate share. No explanation for this anomaly is found in the data.

Another interesting fact is that, contrary to national statistics, men are living as long as women. In 2000, Sea Ranch full-timers included 30 men and 30 women age 80 and older. And, there are slightly more men than women in their 60s and 70s. Perhaps life at Sea Ranch contains just the right combination of stress relief and activity for men to stay healthy into their later years.

HOUSEHOLDS
The Census counts two types of households: 1) family households consisting of a married couple with or without children, or single parent households; and 2) nonfamily households consisting of one person, or unrelated or unmarried individuals living together. Sea Ranch is a community of predominately married couples without children. Table 5 describes the households in 1990 and 2000.

Table 5 indicates that although most full-time Sea Ranchers are married couples, a growing number are in nonfamily households. Over 75 percent of the nonfamily households consist of people living alone. In 2000, 62 men and 92 women lived alone; almost half of them were 65 years and older. Men were "head of household" in 25 of the 43 other nonfamily households; women in 18.

Does any of this matter? It does to those trying to anticipate current and future needs at Sea Ranch. The Planning Committee is using this data in a project to update the Comprehensive Environmental Plan. The information is useful to those planning for emergency and disaster response; and future needs for social services, facilities, infrastructure and other capital projects. Perhaps most importantly, demographic information paints a picture of a community, its people and houses at a moment in time. Combined with data from prior years, the information clarifies trends. A community that knows where it is heading has some choice about the future. A community that doesn’t know loses its options.

The Sizzling Tandoor
9960 Hwy One, Jenner, 707-865-0625
Lunch: 11: 30-2:30 Dinner: 5:00-10:00
Closed Tuesdays.

How did an Indian restaurant come to be in Jenner? Having driven by hundreds of times, my curiosity was piqued by Sizzling Tandoor’s idyllic setting overlooking the Russian River and the rolling hills. Good comments and reviews about their North Indian food led me to finally try it.

Up until now my only brush with Indian food was my Midwestern mother’s annual culinary flight of fancy made with the scraps and remnants of our holiday roasted bird. She called it "turkey curry." It was a bilious bright yellow. Consistency of wallpaper paste. Had shriveled raisins sprinkled on top. I hated it. Forever since I have unreasonably viewed all Indian food with fear and suspicion.

Seeking adventure and armed with a glossary of terms and a sporting friend knowledgeable in Indian cuisine, off we went to this plain looking little gray restaurant.

We arrived about 12:30 on a Friday afternoon. Frankly, the exterior looks uninviting but the inside is bright, clean and cheerful with wall-to-wall windows with incredible river and hillside views. There is a patio for outside dining that must be divine on warm days but we were content inside with our window table. East Indian decorations and touches are here and there – an intricately embroidered tablecloth under our glass tabletop, a wall hanging depicting a golden goddess, a cardboard advertisement for Taj Mahal beer. The pressed-back oak chairs must have been from a previous incarnation of the restaurant but curiously seemed to fit in. The waiter, the chef (complete with turban), and an older aproned gentleman greeted us. They all looked to be family. We had lots of attention; there was only one other couple dining.

The number of items offered on the menu was staggering! We wanted to try a broad sampling, prepared to take home extras, and I was at the mercy of my learned companion to help with the selection. We started with an appetizer of vegetable samosas. These crispy, fried, light pastry pockets were stuffed with a delicately flavored mixture of potatoes and onions and peas. They were accompanied by three sauces – one a clean-tasting fresh coriander sauce hinting of spices and garlic, one a tamarind sauce tasting at the same time sweet and tangy, and lastly a thin yellow curry sauce that was zesty and complex and not at all like Mom’s, thank goodness. All so different from each other, these sauces were completely harmonious and were perfect with the samosas.

Next we tried the chicken tandoori. I learned that the tandoor is the clay oven in which many of the foods are cooked over mesquite charcoal. The temperature inside can reach as hot as 900 degrees. The chicken was first marinated in yogurt and a spice-blend called garam masala, which consists of coriander seeds, turmeric, cloves, peppercorns, cardamom, fenugreek seeds and more. It was then cooked in the tandoor. The meat was moist and very tender, an interesting reddish color on the edges, sprinkled with chopped fresh coriander and delicious. Served with rice, it was a unique taste, not at all hot or pungent but very flavorful. My companion agreed it was a well-prepared tandoori dish.

I had to order the lamb vindaloo. I just love that word "vindaloo." It sings. And I can tell you the dish did too. Of all I tried, this was my favorite: spicy succulent pieces of lamb, not at all "lamby" tasting, in a sauce with onions, tomatoes and potatoes. The sauce was rich and flavorful redolent of garlic and hot pepper and those amazing Indian spices. We had ordered it "medium hot" and at first bite thought it was very mild, but a second or two later the peppers kicked in. I was glad that my friend had suggested we order mango lassis. This lovely orange-colored mango flavored yogurt drink (think "smoothy") was perfect to put out the fire.

There are several vegetarian dishes on the menu and we tried the baigan bharta, a tandoor-roasted eggplant dish fragrant with herbs and spices and simmered with tomatoes, peas and onions. It was very good also and the sauce was just what we needed to try the nan, the traditional Indian bread, also baked in the tandoor. This delicious light, leavened bread is shaped in large flat ovals and served in a basket. We broke off pieces and sopped away.

While our friendly and attentive waiter prepared our "take-away" boxes of leftovers, we sipped the traditional chai tea, here called Indian masala tea. Warm and milky and faintly hinting of cardamom, it was soothing and pleasing. But we couldn’t even think of dessert. I’ll have to go back for the kheer, their rice pudding-like specialty.

Yes, I’ll definitely go back. The spell of Mom’s dreaded curry has been broken. The food was well prepared and delicious. No, I have nothing to compare it with in the Epicurean world of Indian cuisine, but my gourmet companion thinks it is very good and ranks it with the best that she has eaten in Berkeley. I like her idea of ordering meals by phone, and picking it up on the way home to Sea Ranch (or having guests stop for it on their way north).

Appetizers range from $ 3.50 to $6.50. Entrées range from $8.95 to $19.50 with most around $13.00. Rice and nan are included. The luncheon specials seem to be well priced at $5.95 and $6.95 inclusive of nan, rice, vegetables and soup. There is also a selection of "Western" food: steaks, chops, hamburgers, and fish and chips from $5.95 to $15.95. Beer and wine are also served, although the choice is limited.

Oh, and how did The Sizzling Tandoor come to be in Jenner? The two partners, cousins Bobby Beasla and Jay Singh, were driving by one day and saw the restaurant site for lease. Already owning a restaurant in Santa Rosa they decided to give it a try for a few months. That was in 1993. Why Jenner? It seems that before coming to the U.S. they owned a restaurant in a village on the Scottish coast, and the little town of Jenner and its setting reminds them of that special spot in Scotland.

In an unprecedented show of support and generosity, longtime Sea Ranch resident Elaine Jacob has donated the Gallery Center building and property on Highway One in Gualala to Redwood Coast Medical Services. Escrow closed on December 31, 2001. Announcement of the donation at the December RCMS meeting brought an enthusiastic round of applause from the Board.

The building currently houses, in addition to several private businesses, mental health counseling services for individuals, couples, and children; a drug and alcohol counseling office; a bilingual Medi-Cal eligibility worker; the Shamli Hospice office and resource library; the Community Resource Connection office; and a new community education program. "RCMS is one of the best and most important services in our community," says Elaine. "Besides, it is more fun to give while you can enjoy the giving than after you are gone!"

Born in 1921 in Detroit, Michigan, Elaine Jacob has lived a richly textured and productive life, punctuated by forays into such diverse areas as jewelry design, technical illustration, animation, business systems, publishing, college teaching, and industrial design.

After graduating from Wayne State University with a B.F.A. in Industrial Design, she went to work for the Signal Corps during World War II. There, she drafted illustrations of military vehicles for Army and Navy training manuals, and did animation for training films. After the war, she and another artist opened Creative Design Studios, a jewelry and silk screen textiles studio and gallery, housed in a garage.

"After about three years, my mother started asking me when I was going to get a real job," she says, laughing.

She decided it was time to move on, and applied for a teaching position at Wayne State. Because of her experience with Creative Design, she was hired by the School of Business Administration for a special course to teach young women how to run a small business. When the grant for that program ran out, she moved on to publishing.

Never one to keep quiet if she saw an area for improvement, Elaine had been openly critical of the quality of the university’s publications. When the head of that department retired, Elaine was offered the opportunity to see if she could make things better. "I didn’t know a thing about printing," she says, "but I’ve always believed that what you don’t know you can learn. I said, ‘I can do this.’ "She tackled the job with her usual spirit and optimism, and eventually became responsible for the redesign and printing of all of Wayne State’s publications.

In the mid-fifties, an opportunity to join the family business landed Elaine on the ground floor of a new technology that initiated her 30-year career in industrial design. Her father and uncles’ glass container business, founded by her grandfather in 1885, was expanding into plastics – the Owens Illinois Glass Company had asked them to design a line of plastic bottles. She not only helped them reengineer their business and marketing systems ("When I started, my uncles were still handwriting the ledgers!" she says), but she also designed a huge variety of plastic containers for everything from windshield wiper fluid to cosmetics. Her career spanned the early history of plastics development – "I learned my way through a lot of things!" she says – and her success led to her becoming the first woman president of the National Association of Container Distributors.

It was in the mid-seventies that Elaine first visited The Sea Ranch. She was in the area on a Wine Country Tour, and had admired the development in Architectural Digest. It was love at first sight. "Stop the car!" she said, and decided immediately to purchase a lot. She returned many times on vacation, and retired to fulltime residency here in 1983.

As with many "retirees" on the coast, she went straight to work as a volunteer on a variety of community projects. Early in life, she discovered that "going through life making things beautiful" is what brings her joy. "Because I’m a designer, I decided that my volunteer work would be in the realm of creative things," she says. As a member of the board of Gualala Arts, she was intimately involved through the whole process with the design and construction of the new Arts Center.

"During the initial design process, I was amazed that there seemed to be very little opinion offered on how people wanted the interior of the building to look," she says, "so I took it upon myself to offer some suggestions, most of which were picked up." Her elegant sense of design is evident in the slate floor of the foyer, the board-and-batten wall beside the staircase (which echoes the finish on the exterior of the building), and the interior signage, which she designed and had made. As she puts it, she "conned" stained glass artists Little and Raidl of Cazadero into designing and donating the sidelights for the entrance.

Two years ago, she decided to turn her attention and energy to fund-raising for RCMS, helping to put together the group that offered the initial Challenge Grant. She is now in her second year on the Board. This time around, her design talents are being put to use for the remodel and interior finishes of the clinic on Ocean Drive.

Whatever Elaine does, we can be sure it is with zest, style, grace – and a whole lot of class.

Thanks to the Board of Directors, the Archives Committee moved its files into Room 3 at the Del Mar Center. For security, TSRA provided a lock on the door and soon will install Lexan panels in the door and windows, making illegal entry difficult – if not impossible.

Once the archives had a home, I found two used two-drawer fireproof file cabinets in Santa Rosa at about one-fifth the cost of new ones. (Wells Fargo Bank was the previous owner!) The file cabinets weigh about 400 pounds apiece and no delivery company would deliver them to Sea Ranch.

The committee owes eternal gratitude to Phil Simon who volunteered pick up and deliver the files to Room 3 – no easy task! The Committee now has the tremendous job of sorting through existing material using advice on methods and techniques of archiving. Further needs are for storage boxes (banker boxes), acid-free filing folders and labels, shelving, etc. Among material the Committee has received are historical items, TSRA scrapbooks covering events from 1965 to 1970, old Sea Ranch promotional calendars with great photographs, and a number of taped interviews and transcripts of oral interviews.

The Committee is dedicated to receiving members’ collections and organizing the files so that the material is available to researchers on an appointment basis. Members who have historical material they would be willing to donate to the archives may call me at 785-9608 or Martha Wohlken at 785- 3311. Other members of the Archives Committee are Al Boeke, Janann Strand and Kathi Gordon. To donate to the project, make checks payable to me, mark them "TSRA Archives" and send them to me at P.O. Box 387, The Sea Ranch, CA 95497. A few copies of the CD containing 36 photos of early Sea Ranch are still available. Send a check for $21.50 to me at the above address.

Spring is, of course, a wonderful time to look for wildflowers in the central TPZ, but actually there are things to notice here at every season. I’ll try to mention what to look for at other times as we go along. Start out at the top of Longmeadow, where there is a small parking area on the left. Walk around the gate and head north on the fire road. At this point you will be surrounded by Redwood trees, Sword Fern, and Redwood Sorrel. By late spring, the bank on your left will be covered with Sugar Scoop, a member of the Saxifrage family with tiny white flowers, maple-shaped leaves, and seedpods that do look like old-fashioned sugar scoops; and Fairy Bells, a lily with a pair of dangling bell-shaped flowers and alternate leaves with parallel veins. Take a 20foot detour down Trail # 104 to see a small Nutmeg tree on the right side of the trail. The long needles have very sharp points. This is a California native unrelated to the edible spice.

Back on the fire road, look for finely cut Lady Fern and the beautiful Five-Finger Fern on the left bank, then lush Salal bushes with wide evergreen leaves (come back in summer for the edible purple fruit), and then an expanse of Modesty, a woody ground cover with tiny white flowers and opposite leaves, backed by large Huckleberry, Coffeeberry, and Wax Myrtle shrubs. Nearby is a clump of the large, coarse Chain Fern.

Just ahead on the left is a huge Redwood snag, surrounded by Wild Rose, both red and black Huckleberries, and native Blackberry. All of these berries, appearing in summer, are good to eat. The open area on the right side of the road is covered with Rushes, with hollow round stalks (remember – Sedges have edges, but Rushes are round). On each side of the road are small Tanbark Oaks and Bishop Pines. Soon you will pass a small Douglas-fir on the left. The narrow needles are about the same length as Redwood needles, but the pale grey bark is covered with large sap blisters. My grandchildren love it when I smear this sap on their small cuts or scrapes and call it "nature’s Band-Aid." It’s pretty sticky, so their parents are a little less enthusiastic, but it really does feel good!

As the road curves left and goes uphill, look for wide-leaved Vanilla Grass, a native grass found only in Redwood forests, and lots of Douglas Iris. Pass an unnumbered trail on the left, and then a pile of huge abandoned pipes. Across the road is a weird collection of escaped exotics, including Foxgloves and Pride of Madeira (blooming in summer). About 100 yards farther on, after a slight dip in the road, look for Spreading Wood Fern on the left – the first one that I’ve seen on TSR. I don’t know if it’s really that rare or if it looks so much like the very common Lady Fern that it’s easy to overlook. The leaflets on Lady Fern are short at the top and base of the stalk and largest in the middle; Wood Fern leaflets are longest at the base, so that the whole frond is triangular rather than elliptical. Just past this fern is a large Redwood with a small pointed stake nailed on to it about four feet up. From this post to Trail # 107, the delicate blue flowers of the Wood Anemone carpet the roadside in late spring.

Stay right at this junction (you’ll see the water tank on your left). The road curves down to the right. Look here for a good-sized Western Hemlock on the right, with very short soft needles and a droopy tip. The road straightens out, then narrows and descends sharply. Before descending, look for a clump of small Grand Firs on the right, mixed in with Douglas Firs, making them easy to compare. The Grand Fir has a similar grey sap-blistered trunk, but the needles are wide and much longer, with a notched tip (if you’re as old as I am, you’ll need a lens to see this). The road rises again, lined here by Hemlocks and a few broad-leaved Rhododendrons. When you reach another unnumbered trail sign on the left, you have quite a few choices. You can continue to follow the fire road as far as the northern section of Timber Ridge Road (watching for rare Coast Lilies and Bellflowers in the summer) and Big Tree, looping back on Trails #123, #120, and #118 (use a Trails Map). Or turn left on Trail #107, watching for Coralroot Orchids and Trilliums, to a fork with another unnumbered trail sign and masses of the rare Fringed Corn Lily. A right turn here will bring you out on Schooner Drive, which will take you back to Longmeadow and your car. Check the meadows on your left just before Longmeadow for Zygadene or in late spring, Pink Star Tulip, Dwarf Brodiaea, and Wild Onion. In summer a careful search near the north end of Schooner could reveal two orchids: Hooded Ladies’ Tresses and Elegant Habenaria.

One more option is to take the left fork back at the Corn Lily patch and return to Longmeadow through the woods. You will soon pass a lovely sag pond, a great place to look for Slink Pod, an exquisite little lily, in early January, or Inside-out Flower in late spring. Trails #108 or #106 on your left will both take you back to the fire road, or you can stay on this trail and emerge right by your car. You’ll see lots of Calypso Orchids toward the end of this trail in early spring.

On Saturday, May 1, 2002, Soroptimist International of Mendocino-Sonoma Coast, Inc. will hold its 18th Annual Architectural Tour and Wine Tasting.

The tour will highlight innovative and dynamic concepts in architecture and interior design conceived by some of the coast’s most creative architects and designers, such as Obie Bowman, Howard Curtis, Dan Levin, and Steve Brodie. Their designs are especially suited to life on the beautiful and rugged Sonoma and Mendocino Coast. The tour begins at 10:30 a.m. and ends at 3:30 p.m.

This year’s tour will include a stunning remodel and update of a 20year-old Sea Ridge residence designed by Howard Curtis, who acknowledges that, although remaking an existing structure can be more challenging than starting afresh, it is often the most rewarding.

The premier wine event of the South Coast, the Wine Tasting will be held at the Gualala Arts Center from 2:00 to 5:30 p.m. and will showcase over 20 Northern California wineries, including Annapolis, Fellom, Husch, and Navarro, presenting red, white, sparkling varietals, and dessert wines, as well as brandies and cognacs. A silent wine auction and drawing will feature such vintners as Whaler, Frey, Mendocino Hill, Elizabeth, Leveroni, and Greenwood Ridge. Restaurants invited to provide hors d’oeuvres during the tasting include: Pangaea, Oceansong, The Food Company, The Sea Ranch Lodge, and The Galley on Main.

The South Coast Seniors will present an "all-you-can-eat" hot lunch available at the Gualala Community Center. All monies raised by this lunch will go to support Senior Home Health Visits, the Senior Van, Meals on Wheels, and their weekly lunches in Point Arena and Gualala. The Hot Lunch will consist of a hearty, homemade soup, large-selection salad bar, bread and butter, and a drink.

The local Soroptimist Club is part of Soroptimist International of the Americas founded in 1921 in Oakland, California. It is a nonprofit, volunteer service organization comprised of business and professional women who contribute time and financial support to community based projects benefiting women and their families. The tour proceeds this year will go to a number of local community and youth projects, such as FAIR’s work in domestic violence, RCMS Breast Cancer Awareness, South Coast Senior Citizen Center meals and special events, South Coast Fire Department and Coast Fire Explorers, Point Arena High School students (through scholarships such as the Youth Citizenship and Violet Richardson Ward Awards). Guests are welcome at program meetings on the second and third Tuesday of each month at Oceansong Restaurant in Gualala, from 11: 45 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

The tour usually sells out, so purchasing tickets in advance is highly recommended. Tickets are available in advance using a credit card by calling 707-884-3571 or 888-541-7873. A limited number of tickets may be available on the day of the tour at The Sea Ranch Lodge and in Gualala at the Community Center. Tickets are $35 for both the tour and tasting, or $25 for each event separately. The Seniors’ Hot Lunch may be reserved for $8 and tickets will be available the day of the event. For more information, call coordinating committee members Jean Stalnaker 884-4522, or Mary Mobert 884-3368.

Are you a new owner at The Sea Ranch? Have you recently bought a lot, or built a home here? Did you miss the last New Owners’ Meeting?

If so, save this date! April 13, 2002, 3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Place: The Del Mar Center

To honor and inform new owners!

Our expo will feature the Web site, the many services available to you, and an opportunity to meet your Board members and other Sea Ranch owners.

Last Updated: 03/19/07