Codding Enterprises is redeveloping a 200-acre mixed-use site in Rohnert Park, California, called Sonoma Mountain Village. The zero-carbon, zero-waste, pedestrian-friendly site combines new urbanism with deep sustainability. The project was recently endorsed by the prestigious One Planet Communities program, a joint initiative of World Wildlife Federation International and BioRegional, as the first community in North America to adopt their 10 principles for sustainability. Centered on a town square with a daily farmers market, every residence will be no more than a 5-minute walk from basic services. The site will include 1,900 homes and nearly 300,000-sq.-ft. of office space.

Artist’s rendering of the town square in Sonoma Mountain Village (Photo: Sonoma Mountain Village)

Key green features of the project include:

Energy Efficiency: A project goal is to reduce carbon emissions from buildings by 100% by 2020. New buildings are designed to beat California’s stringent Title 24 energy efficiency standards by 80%, and existing buildings will be retrofitted to reduce energy use by 50% or more. Heating will come primarily from passive solar features, with help from supplemental sources such as solar-electric heat pumps, biomass, biogas and ground-source heat pumps.

Renewable Energy: Sonoma Mountain Village’s 1.14-megawatt solar array powers the businesses at Sonoma Mountain Village, including a panelized steel frame factory, the world’s first carbon neutral data center and Codding’s headquarters.

Reuse and Recycling: One of the project goals is to reuse and recycle as much of the buildings as possible by adapting the original Agilent corporate high-tech campus. Streets have been cut through in two areas already to make the site more walkable.

Public Transit: Public transit stops are planned within one-quarter mile of Sonoma Mountain Village residences, and the proposed SMART station in downtown Cotati is within a 6-minute bike ride.

Geof Syphers, the company’s Chief Sustainability Officer says, “We are building a truly sustainable community to serve as a model way of living, and we are keenly aware that the development’s overall impact must be restorative if we are to reverse global warming.”

Artist’s rendering of streetscape in Sonoma Mountain Village (Photo: Sonoma Mountain Village)