As it turns 50, Rohnert Park still outwardly resembles the vision that led to its creation in 1962: A tightly planned suburb of look-alike neighborhoods, each with its own school and small-town amenities of parks, pools and convenient shopping centers. Change is under way in the form of major development projects on the city’s south, east and west edges.

Independent political committees spending tens of thousands of dollars will play a key role in Rohnert Park’s City Council elections. While five candidates have spent a combined $44,000, two opposing committees alone have already spent a combined $26,500 on campaign signs and mail pieces. See who’s funding the power struggle.

A divided Rohnert Park City Council on Wednesday approved the Sonoma Mountain Village housing and commercial development. Supporters said the $1 billion project is a model for environmentally responsible development. But two councilmembers said it contained too many homes and would strip the city of land that could be used for industrial development.

It is the biggest project in Rohnert Park since the 1980s, one that could eventually increase the city’s population by 10 percent. The City Council tonight is expected to approve Codding Enterprises’ plan to build about 1,900 housing units on the former Agilent Technologies campus east of town.

A proposed $1 billion mixed-use project described as being on the cutting edge of environmentally sustainable development goes to the Rohnert Park City Council at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

One of the more eye-opening earmarks supported by local legislators involves $11.5 million, NASA and a laser research lab in Rohnert Park.