OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Santa Rosa City Council Meeting - November 5, 2025

City Council — Wednesday, November 5, 2025
BodySanta Rosa, California
SessionCity Council
DateWednesday, November 5, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 4:39:05
Transcript — Verbatim
36:00

That's all that's Good afternoon.

1:04:03

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

1:04:10

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.

1:04:25

It looks like a globe.

1:04:27

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.

1:04:35

Click done to activate and begin the interpretation.

1:04:38

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

1:04:46

Isidra, will you please restate this in Spanish?

1:05:43

Back to you.

1:06:05

Thank you, Mayor.

1:06:06

Councilmember Rogers.

1:06:08

Councilmember O'Krepke.

1:06:09

Councilmember McDonald.

1:06:11

Council Member Fleming.

1:06:13

Councilmember Ben Wellows.

1:06:17

Let the record show that all council members are present with the exception of Vice Mayor Alvarez.

1:06:29

Perfect.

1:06:35

Yes, in the event that the broadcast goes down or our internet service fails again.

1:06:49

Perfect.

1:06:50

Thank you for that.

1:06:51

And so we will move on to item four point one, our discussion of dynamic pricing at the Bennett Valley golf course.

1:06:58

Gentlemen, it's a pleasure.

1:07:00

The floor is yours.

1:07:01

Thank you, Mayor and Council members, Jason, that assistant city manager.

1:07:27

And with that, I was very excited to learn that Kemper Sports has been on their own, evaluating conditions of the course and trying to come up with ways that they can work that they can benefit uh the city's budgets and finance.

1:07:40

And so with that, uh, they are here to present one of those items uh to get your feedback and determine if this is something we'd like to bring forward as uh part of our fee restructuring.

1:07:52

So with that, I'd like to introduce James Birchall and Greg Anderson, and they will work their way through the presentation.

1:07:59

Thank you, Jason, and welcome.

1:08:01

Uh, we're here to present uh from Kemper Sports, which was Touchstone Golf.

1:08:06

Just as a little information, Touchstone Golf was purchased by Kemper Sports earlier this year.

1:08:11

We've merged together and now um have a real dynamic team.

1:08:16

Uh our team is still in place with Mark Luthman, who was the president of Touchstone Golf, is now the executive vice president under the golf division of Kemper Sports.

1:08:24

In my role as vice president of operations, I still oversee uh the Touchstone Golf Portfolio, but also now have the support from Kemper Sports as an operation.

1:08:33

So we're really excited to share with you the new true demand system that Kemper Sports has introduced for Bennett Valley and how it will help financially uh the golf course do a little bit better.

1:08:45

And one of the things I want to make sure we're talking about our public or non-resident pricing.

1:08:51

Our goal is always to continue to keep resident pricing for the residents of Santa Rosa to have the best pricing.

1:08:57

So this uh dynamic pricing strategy is not implemented for the residents at this time.

1:09:03

We're just introducing this for non-resident tea times.

1:09:08

So, what is true demand from Kemper sports?

1:09:10

There's really four pillars here.

1:09:12

The variable pricing is the dynamic pricing, but now we'll also have some business intelligence, compens uh compens insights, as well as innovative booking strategies to help us drive more revenue for Bennett Valley.

1:09:25

So I'm gonna quickly go through the four different pillars here of how true demand will help Bennett Valley drive more revenue for the golf course.

1:09:34

The real important one for us is the variable pricing component.

1:09:37

We're gonna implement, they're asking to implement this for the non-resident pricing structure.

1:09:42

And really, there are parameters that go into effect of how we would choose to dynamically price or variably price those rounds.

1:09:50

There's historical data that comes into play, weather is a big factor as we know it's gonna rain pretty heavy tomorrow, so we'd want to uh variably price our rates tomorrow if we could.

1:10:00

What the current sale looks like, um, how long are these rates going to be available for, and then what is the golfer's response?

1:10:06

If we're not seeing um tea times being booked, then we can adjust the pricing, or if they're booking them fast, be able to dynamically price them uh based on the demand.

1:10:17

So these are the kind of five pillars or parameters of what variable pricing can do for the golfers uh again, the non-resident golfers for Bennett Valley.

1:10:28

This is a case study that we've done at different golf courses at this facility back in 2023 and 24.

1:10:36

We implemented dynamic pricing, and we saw weather impacting uh rounds and playability.

1:10:44

And at the top uh chart here, it says they did about 1,762 rounds.

1:10:50

This is four percent less than their plan.

1:10:53

But because at the bottom there, they were able to like dynamically price where available and what made sense, they were able to increase revenues by 22 percent or almost 30 over 31,000 because the demand was there, and we were able to adjust based on what's going on in the market for the golf course.

1:11:11

So, even though rounds were down, we're able to grow revenue based on the demand for the golf course.

1:11:17

So if it's high demand, we're able to charge more for those rounds of golf.

1:11:23

And this is a kind of just a big sample of what it would sort of look like when we start programming a calendar based on the time, the day, and a range of pricing per segment as we would call it.

1:11:36

So at 5 a.m.

1:11:37

on a Monday, a rate could be $33, and then at 10, 29, and so on and so forth.

1:11:43

But at each of these buckets, as you can call them, we would be able to put a range of pricing available based on demand, all the segments that we talked about from the variable pricing strategy.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Affordable Housing████████████████████████████████████36%
Procedural████████████████16%
Fiscal Sustainability███████████11%
Transportation Safety███████7%
Community Engagement██████6%
Parks and Recreation█████5%
Economic Development█████5%
Homelessness███3%
Historic Preservation███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Santa Rosa City Council Meeting - November 5, 2025

The Santa Rosa City Council met on November 5, 2025, for a regular meeting lasting over seven hours. Key actions included approval of the General Plan 2050 implementation with amendments, adoption of new development fees and parking rate adjustments, and acceptance of the Tourism BIA annual report. The meeting also featured presentations on dynamic pricing at Bennett Valley Golf Course, community updates, and public comments on various issues.

Consent Calendar

  • Approved items 13.1 through 13.10 (including purchase orders, professional services agreements, resolutions, and ordinance second reading) with a motion by Councilmember McDonald, seconded by Councilmember O'Krepke. The vote passed 5-0 (Councilmember Fleming and Vice Mayor Alvarez absent).

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Fred Olibach opposed dynamic pricing at Bennett Valley Golf Course, calling it unfair and greedy, comparing it to airline pricing.
  • Nate Coogan raised concerns about discrepancies in the business tax code (Measure EE) for small commercial property owners.
  • Rebecca (owner of Energize Hot Yoga) reported negative impacts from increased homeless population after reopening of St. Vincent's dining hall at 610 Wilson Street.
  • Janice Corman spoke about an illegal tree-clearing project near her property and lack of city response.
  • Peter Alexander (multiple times) gave lengthy comments on constitutional issues, FEMA camps, and veteran affairs.
  • During the General Plan public hearing, multiple speakers addressed missing middle housing and rezoning:
    • Fred and Abby Arnold supported the plan for housing equity.
    • Richard and Craig Keene opposed the proposal at 2016 Dennis Lane, citing fire safety and traffic concerns, and noting state law SB 1123.
    • Gwen and Kevin asked for removal of Deterk Commons block from missing middle overlay due to existing density.
    • Al Stavola expressed concerns about property values, parking, and lack of communication.
    • Armando Cruz highlighted that many Spanish-speaking residents were unaware of the plan.
    • Matt thanked staff for listening on Parker Drive rezoning.
    • Stephanie (Generation Housing) and Cal supported the missing middle housing initiative.
  • Anna (community member) requested more outreach to Latino families.

Discussion Items

  • Dynamic Pricing at Bennett Valley Golf Course (Item 4.1): James Birchall and Greg Anderson (Kemper Sports) presented a "True Demand" system for non-resident tee times, projecting $85,000–$100,000 additional annual revenue. Councilmembers asked about implementation and revenue use. Public comment opposed. Council expressed support for the direction.
  • Community Empowerment Plan Update (Item 8.1): Anna Horta listed November events, including community meetings, tunnel to towers run, park volunteer day, creek cleanup, holiday toy drive, and winter tree lighting ceremony.
  • City Manager Reports (Item 9): Updates on CalFresh benefit reductions (43,000 residents affected), gold designation for EV charging infrastructure, and release of bid for bike/ped overcrossing.
  • Council Reports (Item 11): Councilmember O'Krepke reported on public safety subcommittee (e-bike misuse). Councilmember Rogers highlighted SRPD trunk or treat and Veterans Day ceremony. Councilmember Ben Wellows reported on Sonoma County Coalition on Homelessness (NOFO funding concerns) and announced appointment of Pam Rivis to Board of Parks and Recreation. Councilmember McDonald attended Sonoma Family Meals event and trunk or treat. Mayor Stapp reported on finance subcommittee, groundwater agency, and water advisory committee meetings.
  • General Plan 2050 Implementation (Item 16.1): Amy Nicholson and Gabe Osburn presented three ordinances to amend zoning code, rezone ~2,089 properties for consistency, and add missing middle housing overlay on 1,991 properties. The planning commission had recommended removing Parker Drive properties from the rezoning. Council discussed and approved with an amendment to remove Deterk Commons and Kingwood Street areas from ordinance three, directing staff to work with those neighborhoods for future amendment. The vote was 6-0.
  • Development Related Cost of Service Fee Update (Item 16.2): Gabe Osburn presented minor fee adjustments, including caps on surcharges and reductions for tree removal, sidewalk replacement, and multiple entitlements. Revenue impact estimated at $40,000 reduction per year. Council approved unanimously (6-0).
  • Downtown Parking Rate Adjustment (Item 16.3): Chad presented new rate structure and permit options, with validation program, additional free parking areas, and citation fee increases. Projected $350,000 annual revenue to general fund. Council approved (6-0).
  • Tourism BIA Annual Report (Item 15.1): Scott Adair presented 2024 report, budget, and future work plan. No boundary or assessment changes. Council approved continuation of 3% assessment (6-0).

Key Outcomes

  • Approved dynamic pricing direction for Bennett Valley Golf Course (non-resident only) – no formal vote, council supportive.
  • Approved General Plan 2050 implementation ordinances (first reading) with amendment to remove Deterk Commons and Kingwood Street from missing middle overlay. Vote: 6-0.
  • Approved development fee resolution (Item 16.2). Vote: 6-0.
  • Approved parking fee and rate resolution (Item 16.3). Vote: 6-0.
  • Approved Tourism BIA annual report, budget, work plan, and continuation of assessment (Item 15.1). Vote: 6-0.
  • Approved consent calendar items 13.1–13.10. Vote: 5-0 (Fleming and Alvarez absent).
  • No reportable actions from closed session.
  • Council directed staff to work with Deterk Commons and Kingwood Street neighborhoods on future general plan amendment regarding missing middle housing.

Meeting Transcript

That's all that's 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 globe. 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. Isidra, will you please restate this in Spanish? Back to you. Thank you, Mayor. Councilmember Rogers. Councilmember O'Krepke. Councilmember McDonald. Council Member Fleming. Councilmember Ben Wellows. Let the record show that all council members are present with the exception of Vice Mayor Alvarez. Perfect. Yes, in the event that the broadcast goes down or our internet service fails again. Perfect. Thank you for that. And so we will move on to item four point one, our discussion of dynamic pricing at the Bennett Valley golf course. Gentlemen, it's a pleasure. The floor is yours. Thank you, Mayor and Council members, Jason, that assistant city manager. And with that, I was very excited to learn that Kemper Sports has been on their own, evaluating conditions of the course and trying to come up with ways that they can work that they can benefit uh the city's budgets and finance. And so with that, uh, they are here to present one of those items uh to get your feedback and determine if this is something we'd like to bring forward as uh part of our fee restructuring. So with that, I'd like to introduce James Birchall and Greg Anderson, and they will work their way through the presentation. Thank you, Jason, and welcome. Uh, we're here to present uh from Kemper Sports, which was Touchstone Golf. Just as a little information, Touchstone Golf was purchased by Kemper Sports earlier this year. We've merged together and now um have a real dynamic team. Uh our team is still in place with Mark Luthman, who was the president of Touchstone Golf, is now the executive vice president under the golf division of Kemper Sports. In my role as vice president of operations, I still oversee uh the Touchstone Golf Portfolio, but also now have the support from Kemper Sports as an operation. So we're really excited to share with you the new true demand system that Kemper Sports has introduced for Bennett Valley and how it will help financially uh the golf course do a little bit better. And one of the things I want to make sure we're talking about our public or non-resident pricing. Our goal is always to continue to keep resident pricing for the residents of Santa Rosa to have the best pricing. So this uh dynamic pricing strategy is not implemented for the residents at this time. We're just introducing this for non-resident tea times. So, what is true demand from Kemper sports? There's really four pillars here. The variable pricing is the dynamic pricing, but now we'll also have some business intelligence, compens uh compens insights, as well as innovative booking strategies to help us drive more revenue for Bennett Valley. So I'm gonna quickly go through the four different pillars here of how true demand will help Bennett Valley drive more revenue for the golf course. The real important one for us is the variable pricing component. We're gonna implement, they're asking to implement this for the non-resident pricing structure. And really, there are parameters that go into effect of how we would choose to dynamically price or variably price those rounds. There's historical data that comes into play, weather is a big factor as we know it's gonna rain pretty heavy tomorrow, so we'd want to uh variably price our rates tomorrow if we could. What the current sale looks like, um, how long are these rates going to be available for, and then what is the golfer's response? If we're not seeing um tea times being booked, then we can adjust the pricing, or if they're booking them fast, be able to dynamically price them uh based on the demand. So these are the kind of five pillars or parameters of what variable pricing can do for the golfers uh again, the non-resident golfers for Bennett Valley. This is a case study that we've done at different golf courses at this facility back in 2023 and 24.

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