Santa Rosa City Council Regular Meeting - July 8, 2025
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Santa Rosa City Council Regular Meeting - July 8, 2025
The Santa Rosa City Council met on July 8, 2025, to consider a range of items including adoption of the Active Transportation Plan, a public hearing on default by Cornerstone Communities II, LLC regarding property at 410 B Street, direction on the proposed water supply agreement between Marin Municipal Water District and Sonoma Water, and approval of consent items. The meeting began with closed session at 3:30 PM, reconvened at 4:37 PM, and adjourned at 8:50 PM. Council Member Victoria Fleming was absent throughout.
Consent Calendar
- Approved consent items 13.1 through 13.8, including: lease of six Gillig hybrid transit buses from Golden Gate Bridge District (not to exceed $125,000); professional services agreement with Coda Technology Group for broadcast playback system replacement ($144,153); grant of easement to Sonoma Water for emergency well activation project; fiscal year 2025/2026 grant agreements for public services, fair housing, and HOPWA ($895,075); submission of two MTC grant applications for Transit Oriented Communities policy work ($450,000 total); professional services agreement with Artworks Foundry for Ruth Asawa art panels ($406,900); fourth amendment to agreement with Bryce Dow-Williamson ($20,000 increase); and standardization of fire station alerting systems with waiver of competitive bidding.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Active Transportation Plan: Over 20 speakers expressed support, including representatives from Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition, Santa Rosa YIMBY, North Bay Transit Riders, Bikeable Santa Rosa, and community members. Speakers highlighted safety, equity, health benefits, and the need for swift implementation. Specific requests included prioritizing improvements in Roseland, addressing Lance Drive safety, and providing accommodations for recumbent trikes.
- Cornerstone Default: Multiple speakers opposed the repurchase and supported giving Cornerstone more time, including representatives from Greenbelt Alliance, Santa Rosa YIMBY, BKF Engineers, North Bay Leadership Council, Generation Housing, Santa Rosa Metro Chamber, former Congressman Douglas Bosco, and architect Brendan Dunnigan. Pauline Block, representing Cornerstone, requested deferral to allow the entitlement process to continue. Rachel Harris (Greenbelt Alliance) spoke in support of the housing project. Janice Karrman suggested extending until the October arbitration.
- Water Supply Agreement: Janice Karrman spoke in support, thanking Councilmember Rogers for her role on the Water Advisory Committee.
- Non-Agenda Matters: Sue Lunsford raised severe traffic and noise issues on West College Avenue. Duane DeWitt advocated for naming a park after a Pearl Harbor casualty and for green space in Roseland. Janice Karrman commented on illegal tree cutting and concerns about council appointments. LimLam and her son Jonathan described a safety hazard from a neighbor's fence touching their roof.
Discussion Items
- Active Transportation Plan (ATP) Adoption: Transportation Planner Torina Wilson and Mauricio Hernandez of Alta Planning presented the updated plan, which replaces the 2018 Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan. The plan adopts a safe systems approach, includes 80 miles of new/upgraded sidewalks and nearly 200 miles of new/upgraded bike facilities, and is estimated to cost $750 million for full implementation. Council discussed funding, prioritization based on equity, safety, and coordination with pavement maintenance projects. Councilmembers expressed strong support and emphasized the need for equitable distribution of infrastructure, particularly in underserved areas like Roseland and Lance Drive.
- Cornerstone Default Hearing: Real Estate Manager Jill Scott and outside counsel Ethan Walsh presented evidence of default by Cornerstone Communities II, LLC under the 2021 purchase and sale agreement for 410 B Street. The city sold the property for $1.34 million with post-closing obligations, including securing entitlements and submitting building plans for related sites. After multiple extensions and a December 2024 council extension, Cornerstone remained in default. Staff highlighted unresolved litigation between Cornerstone partners, which could affect project viability. Cornerstone's representative Pauline Block disagreed with the default assertion and requested the council defer action to allow the entitlement process to proceed. Council debated the merits of extending again versus repurchasing. Councilmember Bañuelos voted against repurchase, arguing for more time; others cited the lack of progress and uncertainty from litigation.
- Water Supply Agreement Direction: Deputy Director Peter Martin presented the proposed amended water supply agreement between Marin Municipal Water District and Sonoma Water. The 15-year agreement maintains current volumes but adds flexibility, a rollover provision, and a $12.5 million lump sum payment from Marin Water for resiliency projects. Staff confirmed no negative impact on Santa Rosa's water allocations. Council directed its Water Advisory Committee representative, Councilmember Rogers, to approve the agreement at the August 4, 2025 WAC meeting.
Key Outcomes
- Resolution RES-2025-116: Adopted the Active Transportation Plan (6-0, Fleming absent).
- Resolution RES-2025-117: Elected to repurchase the property at 410 B Street from Cornerstone Communities II, LLC at the call purchase price (5-1, Bañuelos opposed, Fleming absent). The City Manager is directed to deliver a Call Exercise Notice within 10 days.
- Motion: Directed the Water Advisory Committee representative to approve the Marin Water-Sonoma Water agreement at the August 4, 2025 WAC meeting (6-0).
- Consent Items: Approved as amended (6-0), including correction of resolution title for Item 13.1.
Meeting Transcript
Good afternoon. I'd like to ask the interpreter currently on the Spanish channel to begin 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 globe. If you are on your cell phone or tablet, locate the three dots, tap them lightly, put a check mark on your preferred language. Click done to activate and begin the interpretation. Isidro, will you please restate this in Spanish? Back to you. Welcome everyone. Here. Vice Mayor Alvarez. Present. Mayor Stepp. Here. Let the record show that all council members are present with the exception of Councilmember Fleming. Thank you. I had a quick question for our city attorney. Um in eventuality. Is there any is there any announcement we have to make here? Um and when we um provide that opportunity, we still do not have remote um public comment. So all of the requirements are the same, but we do not have council member Fleming here with us as originally planned. With that, we'll move on to items 3.1 and 3.2. These are our closed session items for today. Both item 3.1 and 3.2 uh pertain to a conference with real property negotiators. Are there any members of the public who would like to comment? Of course, you make your way out to comment on items three point one or three point two. Whatever decisions you make, I support and uh and will be grateful for I also noted when I came in today that it has been almost exactly forty six years since the first time I came into this chamber to make a presentation to a city council. And so on those over those decades, I have been very lucky, very fortunate to work with a succession of outstanding counsels committed to the public interest, even where I may not always have agreed, or they agreed with me, and also been very fortunate that the quality and integrity of your staff has been uh has been relentless. Uh that's the best way to put it. So, whatever your decisions are again, thank you very much for the opportunity. Thank you for the kind words, Hugh. Are there any other members of the public who would like to speak on either of these items? Seeing none, we will close public comment and uh recess into closed session. Thanks for your patience, everyone. We ran a little long and closed session, but we're back now. We'll call the meeting into order. Madam City Clerk. Councilmember Rogers. Present. Councilmember O'Krepke. Here. Councilmember McDonald. Here. Councilmember Fleming is absent. Councilmember Ben Wellows? Here. Vice Mayor Alvarez. Mayor Stapp. Here. Let the record show that all council members are present with the exception of Vice Mayor Alvarez and Councilmember Fleming.
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