OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Santa Rosa City Council Regular Meeting - January 7, 2025

City Council — Tuesday, January 7, 2025
BodySanta Rosa, California
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, January 7, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
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Transcript — Verbatim
0:13

I'd like to ask the interpreter currently on the Spanish channel to commence interpretation of the meeting.

0:19

For those just joining the meeting, live interpretation in Spanish is available, and members of the public or staff wishing to listen listen in Spanish can join the Spanish channel by clicking on the interpretation icon in the Zoom toolbar.

0:32

It looks like a globe.

0:34

If you're on your cell phone or tablet, locate the three dots, tap them lightly, and put a check mark on your preferred language.

0:41

Click done to activate and begin the interpretation.

0:45

Once you join the Spanish channel, we recommend you shut off the main audio so you only hear the Spanish interpretation.

0:53

Interpreter Claudia, will you please restate this in Spanish?

0:56

Yes.

1:56

Estamos as sus ordinance.

1:58

Thank you very much.

1:59

Back to you.

2:03

Welcome everyone.

2:04

The time is 2 31 and we'll call this meeting to order.

2:06

Madam City Clerk, would you please call the roll?

2:12

Thank you, Mayor.

2:13

Councilmember McDonald.

2:15

Here.

2:16

Councilmember Rogers.

2:18

Present.

2:18

Councilmember O'Krepke.

2:20

Here.

2:21

Councilmember Fleming.

2:23

Here.

2:23

Councilmember Benuelos.

2:27

Council Vice Mayor Alvarez.

2:29

Present.

2:30

Mayor Stapp.

2:31

Here.

2:31

Let the record show that all council members are present.

2:35

Thank you.

2:35

We have no closed session items today.

2:37

So we'll move on to item 4.1.

2:39

Madam City Manager.

2:41

Thank you, Mayor Stabb.

2:43

Greetings, Council, and Happy New Year.

2:45

So we will begin with study session item 4.1, comprehensive water and wastewater rate study report and propose fiscal year 2025-2026 through fiscal year 2029 through 2030 rate schedule.

3:01

And I'll turn it over to Director Burke.

3:05

Thank you, City Manager Smith.

3:07

And good afternoon, Mayor Stapp and Vice Mayor Alvarez, members of Council, and as was stated, happy new year.

3:15

We're pleased to be in front of you today with uh a pretty important uh study session for the council.

3:22

Uh before I get started, I'd like to just uh note that we had sent an updated PowerPoint that was supposed to have a revision on slide 57 that was supposed to change the date from February 28th to March 5th.

3:40

If you'll notice the revised PowerPoint had the exact same date.

3:44

So that was my mistake.

3:46

I accidentally sent the wrong PowerPoint again.

3:49

Um the clerk will fix that after the uh study session today, and we will make sure and note that uh verbally when we get to that slide.

3:58

So that was the only thing that was changing between those two versions.

4:02

Um again, uh my name is Jennifer Burke, and I am the director of the water department.

4:08

I have with me today Mark Hildebrand, who's with uh Hildebrand Consulting, who's our rate consultant.

4:15

We also have uh virtually Dustin Cooper, who's our interim assistant city attorney with Manasian Law.

4:22

He is also going to be presenting as part of this presentation today.

4:26

And then I have in the audience um some staff, Nick Harvey, our deputy director of administration, as well as Elise Miller, our communications coordinator, who are available should you have any additional questions during the study session.

4:40

I did want to take a moment to uh let the council know that your board of public utilities did a tremendous amount of work uh on the product that you see in front of you today.

4:52

We met with the BPU and budget subcommittee, and then we met with them in study session.

5:00

We incorporated their feedback, which resulted in our ability to reduce the water rate recommendation that's before you today.

5:05

And still at the staff level feel comfortable that would we we would meet our reserve requirements going forward.

5:12

So on December 19th, the Board of Public Utilities did unanimously recommend the report and the rate schedule that is before you today.

5:21

And again, I just want to take a moment to thank them for all their work.

5:24

They really did put in a ton of hours to get us to where we are today.

5:29

Our agenda today will go over our objectives and general rate studying.

5:34

We'll talk about the water financial plan, our recommendation on the water side.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Water And Wastewater Management████████████████████████████28%
Planning And Zoning█████████████13%
Procedural███████████11%
Affordable Housing█████████9%
Public Engagement██████6%
Community Engagement██████6%
Public Safety█████5%
Intergovernmental Relations█████5%
Transportation Safety███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Santa Rosa City Council Regular Meeting - January 7, 2025

This regular meeting of the Santa Rosa City Council convened at 2:30 PM with a study session on water and wastewater rates, followed by interviews for the Housing Authority at 3:30 PM, and the regular session beginning at 4:00 PM. The meeting adjourned at 6:59 PM. Council took significant actions including introducing a zoning code amendment to comply with new state housing laws (passed 4-3), adopting the 2025 Federal Legislative Platform (unanimous), and approving several consent items. Public comment was heard on various topics.

Consent Calendar

  • Item 14.1: Resolution appropriating $406,933.91 in additional cell tower lease revenues to the Help 2 Others (H2O) program was adopted (Resolution RES-2025-001).
  • Item 14.2: Resolution approving the Eighth Amendment to the General Services Agreement with Smile Business Products, Inc. for citywide copier lease, maintenance, and repairs (extension of one year, increase of $200,000, total not to exceed $1,433,173.80) was adopted (Resolution RES-2025-002).
  • Item 14.3: Resolution approving a Professional Services Agreement with Remix Technologies LLC for transit scheduling and planning software (five base years with two one-year extensions, amount not to exceed $303,867.00) was adopted (Resolution RES-2025-003).
  • Item 14.4 (Purchase of two Kenworth dump trucks for $579,053.79) was continued to a date uncertain.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • On Proclamation (8.1): Speakers thanked Common Ground Society for its work on inclusion and belonging. Olivia Ellis described how isolation affects families with disabilities; Terrance Sanders (Luther Burbank Rose Parade Chair) highlighted the importance of inclusive spaces; Duane De Witt advocated for understanding; Jana Adams (Common Ground President) expressed gratitude.
  • On Community Empowerment Plan (9.1): Duane De Witt proposed a “red curb patrol” to paint curbs at intersections for safety under the new state daylighting law, suggesting community volunteers use donated paint.
  • On Consent Items (14): Duane De Witt commented on Item 14.3 (Remix software), urging stable transit schedules and criticizing frequent changes.
  • On Non-Agenda Matters (15): Duane De Witt gave New Year wishes and suggested partnering with the Southwest Greenway for funding; Janice Karrman requested drone mapping of Santa Rosa to document losses from fires and complained about a residential project causing street congestion and tree removal.
  • On Zoning Code Text Amendment (17.1): Duane De Witt urged a cautious approach given small sample size; Yolanda Galvez opposed components, citing parking issues at specific developments in Coffee Park (3790 and 3800 Coffee Lane).
  • On Federal Legislative Platform (16.1): No public comments.

Discussion Items

  • 4.1 Comprehensive Water and Wastewater Rate Study Report (Study Session): Santa Rosa Water Director Jennifer Burke, consultant Mark Hildebrand, and Interim Assistant City Attorney Dustin Cooper presented proposed rate increases for FY 2025/26–2029/30: water rates increase 6% for three years, then 7% for two years; wastewater rates increase 5% per year for five years. Key drivers: capital underinvestment (infrastructure report card target of $34M/year for water, $42M/year for wastewater), Sonoma Water wholesale cost pass-through reinstatement, and inflation. The study session provided direction to staff to proceed with Proposition 218 notice.
  • 5.1 Housing Authority Interviews: Council interviewed four applicants (Claudia Cappio, Wayne Downey, Miles Horton; two others absent). Applicants discussed housing challenges, funding, and experience.
  • 8.2 Sonoma Water Presentation: Kent Gylfe (Sonoma Water Director of Engineering) presented capital projects update, rehabilitating wells and tanks, seismic retrofitting, and cathodic protection. Council and staff discussed rate projections, infrastructure spending, and the need for long-term CIP planning.
  • 9.1 Community Empowerment Plan Update: Ana Horta announced upcoming community meetings (Jan 22 – drone program; Jan 27 – mayor/vice mayor meet & greet) and CPR training for 7th graders.
  • 12.2 Board and Commission Appointments: Council appointed incumbents David Cooper and Craig Lawson to the Board of Building Regulation Appeals (7-0). For Housing Authority, appointed Claudia Cappio and incumbent Wayne Downey (7-0).
  • 16.1 2025 Federal Legislative Platform: Presented by Assistant City Manager Jason Nutt and MMO Partners (Kyriakos Pagonis, John O'Donnell). Highlights of 2024 accomplishments: over $10M in federal funding secured (including $898,000 for police, $1.75M for transportation safety, $210,000 for energy efficiency). The 2025 platform covers wildfire resilience, surface transportation, water/energy, PFAS, climate change, housing/homelessness, public safety, and education. Councilmember Banuelos moved to add language on immigration policy; Councilmember MacDonald proposed three additional amendments: (1) monitor immigration policy consistent with city's indivisible resolution (2018-199), (2) protect entitlement funding (Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, SNAP, TANF, veterans benefits, child nutrition), (3) support highest level of FY2026 funding for K-12 and special education.
  • 17.1 Public Hearing – State Legislation Zoning Code Text Amendment: Senior Planner Monet Sheikhali and Supervising Planner Amy Nicholson presented amendments to comply with new state laws (ADU rules, density bonus, shared parking, SB9). Staff proposed limiting ADUs on properties developed under both provisions of SB9 to one ADU and one JADU, but only outside the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) and on streets at least 36 ft wide (or 30 ft if parking on one side). Discussion centered on safety, street width, WUI concerns, and housing goals. Councilmember Fleming offered a friendly amendment to apply the restrictions only in the WUI and remove the street width provision; it was not accepted by the motion maker. The original motion (staff recommendation) passed with a vote of 4-3 (Stapp, Alvarez, Okrepkie, Rogers in favor; Banuelos, Fleming, MacDonald opposed).

Key Outcomes

  • Water/Wastewater Rate Increases: Council gave direction to staff to proceed with the Proposition 218 notice, including a 45-day exhaustion period (written objections due March 5, 2025) and a public hearing on April 1, 2025. Rates will increase 6% per year for three years for water (then 7% for two years) and 5% per year for wastewater for five years.
  • Zoning Code Text Amendment (REZ24-004): Introduced by a 4-3 vote. The ordinance modifies Zoning Code chapters on density bonus, parking adjustments, ADUs, and rules of interpretation, including the staff-recommended limitation on ADUs/JADUs when both provisions of SB9 are used (only outside WUI and on streets meeting width requirements).
  • Federal Legislative Platform: Adopted unanimously (7-0) with four amendments: inclusion of immigration policy monitoring, protection of entitlement funding, support for K-12 and special education funding, and a reference to the city's indivisible resolution.
  • Appointments: Unanimous reappointments to Board of Building Regulation Appeals (Cooper, Lawson) and Housing Authority (Cappio, Downey).
  • Consent Calendar: Approved unanimously (14.1-14.3; 14.4 continued).
  • Minutes: Approved as submitted (13.1 with Banuelos and MacDonald abstaining; 13.2 with Banuelos abstaining; 13.3 as amended with spelling correction).

Meeting Transcript

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 listen in Spanish can join the Spanish channel by clicking on the interpretation icon in the Zoom toolbar. It looks like a globe. If you're 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. Interpreter Claudia, will you please restate this in Spanish? Yes. Estamos as sus ordinance. Thank you very much. Back to you. Welcome everyone. The time is 2 31 and we'll call this meeting to order. Madam City Clerk, would you please call the roll? Thank you, Mayor. Councilmember McDonald. Here. Councilmember Rogers. Present. Councilmember O'Krepke. Here. Councilmember Fleming. Here. Councilmember Benuelos. Council Vice Mayor Alvarez. Present. Mayor Stapp. Here. Let the record show that all council members are present. Thank you. We have no closed session items today. So we'll move on to item 4.1. Madam City Manager. Thank you, Mayor Stabb. Greetings, Council, and Happy New Year. So we will begin with study session item 4.1, comprehensive water and wastewater rate study report and propose fiscal year 2025-2026 through fiscal year 2029 through 2030 rate schedule. And I'll turn it over to Director Burke. Thank you, City Manager Smith. And good afternoon, Mayor Stapp and Vice Mayor Alvarez, members of Council, and as was stated, happy new year. We're pleased to be in front of you today with uh a pretty important uh study session for the council. Uh before I get started, I'd like to just uh note that we had sent an updated PowerPoint that was supposed to have a revision on slide 57 that was supposed to change the date from February 28th to March 5th. If you'll notice the revised PowerPoint had the exact same date. So that was my mistake. I accidentally sent the wrong PowerPoint again. Um the clerk will fix that after the uh study session today, and we will make sure and note that uh verbally when we get to that slide. So that was the only thing that was changing between those two versions. Um again, uh my name is Jennifer Burke, and I am the director of the water department. I have with me today Mark Hildebrand, who's with uh Hildebrand Consulting, who's our rate consultant. We also have uh virtually Dustin Cooper, who's our interim assistant city attorney with Manasian Law. He is also going to be presenting as part of this presentation today.

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