Plans For Community With Cyberlibertarian Credentials Slowed

SONOMA COUNTY, CA — Review of plans for a new settlement in Cloverdale are on pause until questions about aircraft safety and land-use compatibility are hammered out.

At a special meeting on Monday, developers for the The Esmeralda Land Company presented plans for a settlement in a corner of Cloverdale to Sonoma County commissioners who oversee development near airports.

The proposal, brought forward by the Esmeralda company, envisions development of 266 acres at the southeast edge of the city, directly beneath the Cloverdale Municipal Airport runway approach, placing it squarely within the commission’s jurisdiction.

Airport Land Use commissioners paused the plan in order to address aircraft safety and land-use compatibility.

While the land near the airport may appear vacant, the area is governed by invisible safety buffers designed to protect aircraft and people during takeoffs, landings, and emergency situations. If a proposed development does not conform to those safety zones, it cannot be approved under state law. A section of the development crosses into two overlapping zones, including one that has restrictions because of flight safety.

Commissioners paused any decisions about the plans and requested the Esmeralda project include updated noise maps, confirm aligned land uses within the airport safety zones, and prohibit any uses or developments near the runway.

During the meeting, the developer pushed back on requests for more specific language related to airport safety zones, saying the presentation was not an application for project approval. He described the materials as “a plan, a vision, a dialogue — but not a project,” adding that nothing could move forward without an official safety determination.

“I can’t emphasize this enough — we’ve bent over backwards,” he said, noting compliance with requirements from multiple agencies. “My legal self is scratching my head.”

The commissioners said they liked the plan for the land but needed to nail down the details.

Devon Zuegel, associated with Esmeralda Land Company, has been pursuing the Cloverdale property since 2024. The property is accessed via Asti Road and occupies the former location of a lumber mill. Past proposals have included a hotel, a spa, a golf course, an equestrian center, and residential units. Any development requires full remediation of the former industrial site before construction can proceed.

The Esmeralda group partnered with Edge pop-up events, which bring together hundreds of participants to "prototype" alternative governance. The Edge Esmeralda events, including annual gatherings in Healdsburg, are designed to explore how technology, culture, and policy can create better, self-organized societies.

Edge Esmeralda is designed as a year-round community modeled on Chautauqua, a historic town in western New York founded in 1874. Zuegel describes the concept as a “cross between a college campus and a family summer camp,” emphasizing collaborative learning, creativity, and spontaneous social activities.

The pop-up gatherings in Healdsburg serve as prototypes for the permanent village planned in Cloverdale, about 15 minutes away from the current Edge Esmeralda events.

Zuegel has said she wants the settlement to be part of Cloverdale and the development incorporates existing infrastructure, including the planned SMART station, Great Redwood Trail, Cloverdale Airport, and River Park.

But the umbrella group at its core has been linked to the concept of a “Network State,” a cryptocurrency- and smart contract–based community that begins online and eventually establishes physical settlements with distinct culture, governance, and economy.

Zuegel pushed back against the characterization, saying in an email that Future residents of our proposed village would be citizens of Cloverdale, pay Cloverdale taxes, and vote in Cloverdale elections. She added that associating the project with the Network State feeds into an untrue conspiracy theory spread by a handful of misinformed people.

People who associate with Network State ideas talk about creating new forms of 'autonomous government,' she said. "By contrast, we want to connect with Cloverdale," she said. "Our land use approvals are happening transparently via the normal public process, fully subject to the legal jurisdiction of California, Sonoma County, and Cloverdale."

She said the project, if successful, will pay substantial annual taxes and fees into Cloverdale's general fund, the school system, Sonoma County, and the State of California.

She estimated a future $4 million net annual surplus for Cloverdale after accounting for public costs.

The potential revenue is not lost on Cloverdale officials.

City officials see the "Esmeralda" project as a way to diversity the town's economic base.

The site’s history is complicated. A $24 million environmental cleanup remediated soil and groundwater after it was a Louisiana-Pacific wood processing mill.

In 2015, Laulima Development attempted to develop the property as the Alexander Valley Resort, including a hotel, bungalows, a spa, an equestrian center, and homes, but the plan faltered in 2017 amid concerns about the airport’s proximity. Earlier, in 2008, the site had received approvals under Diablo Commercial, which allows the current project to bypass a full environmental review.

The Airport Land Use Commission (ALUC) is a state-mandated body responsible for ensuring that development near public-use airports does not pose safety hazards to people on the ground or interfere with airport operations. The commission reviews projects within designated airport influence areas and determines whether proposed land uses are compatible with established safety, noise, and operational standards.

Cloverdale Municipal Airport is a small, publicly owned general aviation airport primarily used by private pilots, agricultural aircraft, and emergency services. Although it does not support commercial airline traffic, the airport is subject to the same land-use safety requirements as larger facilities, including runway protection zones and approach surfaces that restrict development intensity near landing and takeoff areas.

Under California law, local jurisdictions must either ensure proposed developments are consistent with an adopted Comprehensive Airport Land Use Plan or formally override the commission’s findings. Projects that fail to conform to CALUP safety zones are rarely approved without substantial redesign.

The Alexander Valley Resort property has remained largely undeveloped for decades due to a combination of environmental constraints, water availability issues, and airport safety considerations. The Esmeralda proposal represents the most recent attempt to unlock development potential on the site, but must first clear airport safety compatibility review before advancing in Cloverdale’s formal entitlement process.

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