Santa Rosa City Council Regular Meeting Summary - August 6, 2024
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Santa Rosa City Council Regular Meeting Summary - August 6, 2024
The Santa Rosa City Council met on August 6, 2024, in a combined closed session, study session, and regular meeting. The meeting began at 1:31 PM with a closed session for labor negotiations, followed by a study session on the Development Services Strategic Business Plan and the Vision Zero Implementation Plan Update. The regular session started at 4:00 PM and included approval of consent items, a second reading of the retail tobacco sales ordinance, and two major ballot measures: a Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) increase and a General Business Tax overhaul. The meeting adjourned at 6:40 PM.
Consent Calendar
- 13.1 – Resolution approving an administrative cost recovery lien of $3,552.40 against property at 1597 West Avenue for uncorrected code violations. Adopted unanimously (7-0).
- 13.2 – Resolution approving an administrative cost recovery lien of $34,562.44 against property at 616 Mendocino Avenue. Adopted unanimously (7-0).
- 13.3 – Resolution extending the Exclusive Negotiation Agreement with Rogal Projects for 90 additional days for potential development of 625 and 637 3rd Street (Garage 5). Adopted unanimously (7-0).
- 13.4 – Resolution approving a second amendment to General Service Agreement F002145 with Waterworks Industries Inc. for aquatic weed control, increasing compensation by $26,264.03 to a total of $119,189.03. Adopted unanimously (7-0).
- 13.5 – Resolution supporting the City’s participation in the Sonoma County Transportation Authority’s application for the Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) grant program. Adopted unanimously (7-0).
- 13.6 – Second reading of Ordinance No. ORD-2024-010, adding Chapter 6-20 “Regulation of Retail Tobacco Sales” to the Santa Rosa Municipal Code. Adopted 6-0-1 (Council Member Alvarez recused due to financial interest in a cannabis business).
Public Comments & Testimony
- Closed Session (Item 3.1): Sam Hoel (Santa Rosa Firefighters Local 1401) urged the Council to authorize fair bargaining using comparable cities, stating that the current negotiations are not proceeding in good faith. Stephen DelPorto (Santa Rosa Firefighters) supported the firefighters’ stance and asked for a fair contract based on comparable cities.
- Study Session 4.1 (Development Services Strategic Plan): Calum Weeks (Generation Housing) expressed support for the plan and requested quarterly or biannual public updates on implementation.
- Study Session 4.2 (Vision Zero): Eris Weaver (Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition) voiced strong support for the quick-build, action-oriented approach. Abby Arnold (California Streets Initiative) encouraged rapid implementation and education campaigns. Calum Weeks (resident) shared personal safety concerns and praised staff. Alexa Forrester (Bikeable Santa Rosa) supported the plan and urged the Council to withstand short-term complaints.
- Consent Items 13.1-13.6: Mary Lou Schmidt, Greg Damron, and Michelle McGarry (all from Tobacco Free Sonoma County Coalition) spoke in favor of the tobacco retail licensing ordinance, citing youth vaping rates. Michael Hilber and Duane DeWitt spoke against the cost recovery liens (13.1 and 13.2), arguing that the property owners may face mental health or financial hardship and that the city should show more mercy.
- Item 14 (Non-Agenda): Colleen Fernald spoke about the power of elected office, murder, and peace. Michael Hilber raised concerns about drug dealing. Duane DeWitt discussed health, safety, and welfare in the Roseland community.
- Item 15.1 (Transient Occupancy Tax): Michael Hilber opposed the TOT increase, calling it a “junk fee” and expressing concern about the total tax burden on visitors. Duane DeWitt suggested cutting funding to the Chamber of Commerce and selling city properties instead of raising taxes.
- Item 15.2 (General Business Tax): Dr. Warren Chin (Sonoma Mendocino Lake County Medical Association) opposed the original measure but appreciated modifications; he requested an exemption for Medi-Cal and Medicare providers and a phased increase of the cap. Joanne Webster (North Bay Leadership Council) supported the revised proposal with modifications and thanked staff for outreach. Michael Hilber opposed the measure, calling it onerous. Duane DeWitt spoke in favor of raising the cap to $50,000 for large businesses. Adina Flores opposed the measure, citing conflicts of interest and lack of audits.
Discussion Items
- 4.1 Development Services Strategic Business Plan: Director Gabe Osburn and Aaron Baggarly (Matrix Consulting Group) presented findings from an 18-month process, including surveys of 5,500 customers (10% response rate) and staff input. Key recommendations included creating a single development czar, improving technology, and standardizing customer service. Council discussion focused on fee review cycles, a centralized customer service number, and better communication with constituents. Council Member Alvarez requested proactive education for entrepreneurs on future uses. Council Member Fleming suggested a flowchart for staff to handle constituent inquiries.
- 4.2 Vision Zero Implementation Plan Update: Director Dan Hennessey presented data: 74 deaths and 535 serious injuries in Santa Rosa over 11 years, with an estimated $1.3 billion cost. He highlighted the high injury network, equity concerns, and the need for speed reduction and street design changes. The Council supported the plan and the accompanying SS4A grant application (Item 13.5). Council members expressed strong support for quick-build projects and acknowledged expected public pushback. Council Member McDonald asked about Safe Routes to School; staff noted limited resources.
- 15.1 Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) Ballot Measure: Chief Financial Officer Alan Alton presented the proposal to increase the TOT from 9% to 11% (estimated $1.2 million additional annual revenue). The measure would bring the combined TOT and BIA rate to 16%, tying Santa Rosa with Healdsburg for the highest in the county. Council Member Stapp noted that recent state law (junk fees) requires upfront disclosure. The Council voted to introduce the ordinance and approve the resolution for the November 2024 ballot.
- 15.2 General Business Tax Ballot Measure: Alan Alton presented a revised proposal after extensive stakeholder outreach. The new plan: keep rates the same, raise the maximum tax cap from $3,000 to $10,000, introduce gross receipts tiers, and add an annual CPI adjustment (2% floor, 4% ceiling). Estimated additional revenue: $3 million annually (down from the original $12 million). Council Member Rogers requested that the Economic Development Subcommittee explore reductions for Medi-Cal and Medicare providers. The Council voted to introduce the ordinance and approve the ballot resolution, and separately to assign the subcommittee to consider incentives for medical providers and other businesses.
Key Outcomes
- Study Session Notes: No formal action taken on Items 4.1 and 4.2, but Council provided direction to staff on development services improvements and strongly supported the Vision Zero implementation.
- Consent Items 13.1-13.5: All adopted unanimously (7-0).
- Consent Item 13.6 (Tobacco Ordinance): Adopted on second reading (6-0-1, Alvarez recused).
- Item 11.2 (League of California Cities Delegate): Voted to designate Mayor N. Rogers as voting delegate, Vice Mayor Stapp and Council Member Okrepkie as alternates (7-0).
- Item 11.3.1 (Future Agenda Item): Approved placing a reconsideration of specific fee increases adopted March 5, 2024, on a future agenda (7-0).
- Item 15.1 (TOT Ballot Measure): Ordinance introduced and resolution adopted to place the measure on the November 5, 2024, ballot (7-0). Mayor Rogers designated to submit argument in favor.
- Item 15.2 (General Business Tax Ballot Measure): Ordinance introduced and resolution adopted to place the measure on the November 5, 2024, ballot (4-0-3, with Mayor Rogers, Alvarez, and Fleming recused due to rental property ownership). Vice Mayor Stapp designated to submit argument in favor. Additionally, the Council voted to refer the consideration of a reduction for Medi-Cal and Medicare providers to the Economic Development Subcommittee (4-0-3).
Meeting Transcript
Good afternoon. I'd like to ask the interpreter currently on the Spanish channel to commence interpretation of the meeting. For those just joining the meeting, live interpretation in Spanish is available, and members of the public or staff wishing to listen in Spanish can join the Spanish channel by clicking on the interpretation icon in the Zoom toolbar. It looks like a glow. If you are on your cell phone or tablet, locate the three dots, tap them lightly, and put a check mark on your preferred language. Click done to activate and begin the interpretation. Once you join the Spanish channel, we recommend you shut off the main audio so you only hear the Spanish interpretation. Claudia, will you please restate this in Spanish? Yes, thank you. Thank you very much. Back to you. Councilmember O'Krepke. Here. Councilmember McDonald. Here. Councilmember Fleming. Here. Councilmember Alvarez. Vice Mayor Stapp. Here. Mayor Rogers. Present. Let the record show that all council members are present with the exception of Councilmember Alvarez. Thank you. We will now proceed to item three, which is our uh 3.1 conference with labor negotiators. Madam City Clerk, can you please facilitate public comment on this item? Thank you. We are now taking public comment on item 3.1. If you are in council chamber and would like to comment but have not yet provided a speaker card or your name, please make your way to the podium. You'll have three minutes and a countdown timer. Will alert at the end of that period. As you approach the podium, please state your name for the record if you choose to do so. Speaker on the East Lecterin, please go ahead. If not, please ask about it. We can't negotiate here. Um we're kind of in a cycle where the city council negotiators have different roles, obviously, right? Um, but we can't pass the buck back and forth. There is authorizations that needed for real negotiations to take place. And as we all know, our city charter um talks about a comparable city survey. Um that's how it's supposed to be done for us. Uh it's been done that way with all the other city units that I'm aware of. Uh it's also been done that way with city executives. Um, this is an important foundation of how these labor negotiations are supposed to go. What we need from you guys is authorization for that process to actually happen. Um, if the negotiators are bound by a hard and fast number that everybody else has gotten, we cannot have those good faith negotiations occurring. So we're asking for you guys to um come up with the ability um to make that happen and authorize the negotiators to do that. Um issue is not something that can be swept under the rug at this point. You know, um, you guys all heard our firefighters speak a couple weeks ago. Um since then they've been blowing up my phone. Um everyone was absolutely you know stoked after that meeting, um, expecting that they'd hear something good from their friends at council.
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