Sonoma County · Est. 2010
Community Soil is a full-service ecological landscape design, installation, and estate stewardship firm. From fire-safe land management to refined garden master planning, we help landowners realize the full potential of their property.
Serving Sonoma, Napa & Mendocino Counties · California
Who We Are
We manage sites from the foundation of the home to the edges of the property lines—infrastructure, water systems, stonework, and intricate plantings alike. Throughout every project, clear communication ensures your expectations for beauty, function, and cost are understood and met.
The result is land that not only serves its purpose, but grows more resilient and more cherished with each passing season.
Every design accounts for the changing climate, the regional environment, and the life cycles of the materials we use.
Defensible space, fuel reduction, and forestry that protect your home while keeping the land beautiful and healthy.
Master planning that lets you build out your property in confident phases, knowing the finished result will fit together.
Our landscapes become more enjoyable and more resilient over time, supported by tailored, lasting maintenance plans.
What We Do
We design, build, and maintain residential landscapes and estates across Sonoma County—each project infused with beauty, function, and ecological resilience.
Thoughtful landscape architecture grounded in your goals and the character of your land—from landforms and circulation to soil health and robust plantings.
Fire-resilient land management using strategic zoning, fuel-load reduction, and sound forestry to protect your home and community.
A comprehensive plan that shows how every element of your property fits together, so you can build out in confident phases over time.
Tailored, ongoing stewardship that goes far beyond mow-and-blow—monthly, bi-monthly, or quarterly care that keeps your landscape thriving.
Regenerative practices that improve soil health, recharge groundwater, and enhance habitat—reversing decline while creating beauty.
Native and drought-tolerant gardens that attract pollinators, conserve water, and bring color and fragrance through every season.
Our Approach
Four guiding disciplines shape every project we take on, ensuring your landscape is as enduring and ecologically sound as it is beautiful.
We emphasize comprehensive master planning so every essential element fits together. Build out gradually, knowing the finished result will integrate beautifully—and often at lower overall cost.
Grounded in millennia of land development practice, our design begins with landforms and infrastructure and finishes with improved soil health and robust plantings—clarity, beauty, and ease of use.
A whole-systems ecological design methodology that emphasizes beneficial connections between elements on site and between the built and natural environment.
We prioritize details, materials, and maintenance that reverse ecological decline—and design landscapes that withstand drought, flood, fire, and wind in an era of climate change.
How We Work With You
We offer a complimentary half-hour visit for prospective clients in Sonoma County. One visit is usually enough to know if we are a good fit.
A landowner questionnaire, county-level site research, and a longer interview and site tour help us understand your land and your aspirations.
We translate your intentions and our observations into working plans—schematic site plans, a planting palette, and itemized cost estimates.
Our skilled, living-wage crews build your project—from infrastructure and stonework to water systems and intricate plantings.
A tailored maintenance plan keeps your landscape healthy and beautiful for years to come, on a schedule that suits your property.
Selected Work
From small suburban gardens to broad-acre forest restoration, every project exemplifies our commitment to beauty and sustainability.
Stonework & Terracing
Dry-stacked basalt terraces
Native & Drought-Tolerant Plantings
Arbor & pollinator plantings
Water Systems
Swales & stormwater management
Forestry & Fire Safety
Gully restoration, West County
Edible Landscapes
Raised keyhole bed gardens
Meet Our Team Leaders
Owner · Principal · Project Manager
Paolo Tantarelli is a Sonoma County native and the founding principal of Community Soil, a mission-driven business specializing in high-end landscape design, site planning, construction, and maintenance. He has overseen the implementation of family property legacy projects in the North Bay for over 15 years.
His strengths include project planning, communications, estimation, and project management. Dedicated to sustainability and whole-systems thinking, Paolo understands how the California landscape can remain resilient to climate change while being enjoyed by multiple generations.
He has traveled extensively in Central and South America, following a passion to study human behavior and healthy food systems throughout history. His gardening style reflects key principles of permaculture, bio-intensive methods, and biomimicry.
Project Manager
Isaac has over a decade of hands-on experience in agriculture, beginning in Hawai‘i and expanding into commercial operations across California. His work includes irrigation design, fertigation systems, soil improvement, and plant health programs for high-value crops.
He has also consulted internationally in Mexico, Italy, and Spain on cultivation systems and supply chain consistency.
At Community Soil, Isaac focuses on irrigation design, water system diagnostics, project planning, and clear technical support for clients.
Lead Designer
Josho earned a Master of Landscape Architecture from UW Seattle and spent five years at a high-end design firm. A stickler for detail, he connects big-picture thinking with intimate built details to cultivate legibility and spatial dynamism.
What Folks Say
This is a high quality, thoughtful group that stands behind their work. We worked with Paolo and his team across interior landscaping, waterway management, and forestry management.
They helped us envision and create our new gardens—colorful, fragrant, drought-tolerant plants that attract bees and butterflies. The team is very talented, creative, knowledgeable, and patient. I highly recommend Community Soil!
They helped me reconstruct my landscaping after the Tubbs Fire. They used sound forestry and fire management principles in protecting regrowth, and built swales to raise the water table. Plantings were beautiful while respecting water usage.
Over the last 8+ years we have used Community Soil’s skills and vision to create gardens, restore oak woodlands, and find a way to work with our natural surroundings in a sustainable way. A pleasure to work with on this journey.
Get Started
We offer a complimentary half-hour visit for prospective clients in Sonoma County. Tell us a little about your property and we’ll be in touch to schedule a time.
Your request has been received. We’ll reach out shortly to schedule your site assessment.
