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Record of Proceedings

Santa Rosa City Council Regular Meeting - February 24, 2026

City Council — Tuesday, February 24, 2026
BodySanta Rosa, California
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, February 24, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 4:03:58

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it
0:00

Globe.

0:00

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.

0:07

Click done to activate and begin the interpretation.

0:09

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

1:14

Welcome back, everyone.

1:15

The time is two o'clock, and we'll call this meeting to order.

1:18

Madam City Clerk, would you please call the roll?

1:20

Thank you, Mayor.

1:21

Councilmember Rogers.

1:23

Councilmember McDonald.

1:28

Councilmember Ben Wells.

1:30

Councilmember Alvarez.

1:40

We will move to our closed session items.

1:42

We have four on the agenda today, items 3.1 through 3.2.

1:51

So with that, we'll open up open it up to public comment.

1:54

Are any members of the public here today?

2:09

Oh, apologies.

2:10

I'm getting my numbers wrong.

2:12

Alright, three point one through three point four.

2:14

Seeing no members of the public here, we will close public comment and we'll recess in a closed session.

8:15

All right.

8:15

Welcome back, everyone.

8:17

We're a we're a couple of minutes late, but we'll get going.

8:20

We'll reconvene an open session.

8:22

Madam City Clerk, would you please call the roll?

8:29

Thank you, Mayor.

8:30

Council Member Rogers, present.

8:32

Council Member McDonald, here.

8:33

Council Member Fleming, your Council Member Ben Wellows here.

8:37

Council Member Albrecht.

8:39

Vice Mayor Krepke.

8:42

Let the record show that all council members are present.

8:56

So just an announcement there.

8:58

We'll run to item six, a report, if any, on our closed sessions.

9:02

Madam City Attorney.

9:03

Thank you, Mr.

9:03

Mayor.

9:04

There's no reportable action taken at today's closed sessions.

9:07

Thank you.

9:08

Thank you very much.

9:09

All right.

9:03

We're gonna move the order of our next item around a little bit because we have a good group in the community coming out to hear our proclamation on Black History Month.

9:18

But some of those folks have not yet arrived.

9:20

So uh with your uh with your permission, we're gonna move on to item 7.2, which is our presentation on Sonoma Waters water on Sonoma Waters Water Transmission System Capital Projects and Maintenance Udate.

9:32

Uh I think we have David Royal and Kent Gilf.

9:36

Thank you both for coming out.

9:39

And the floor is yours.

9:44

Great, thank you very much, Mr.

9:46

Mayor.

9:47

Um, some technical assistance.

9:57

All right, thank you very much.

10:00

So good afternoon, Mayor Stapp and uh members of the council, uh Kent Gilfey, um Director of Engineering at Sonoma Water.

10:07

Um I'm joined by my colleague David Royal, um assistant general manager of our operations and maintenance, and we appreciate the opportunity being here again uh to present present updates on some of Sonoma Water's water supply transmission system projects and related maintenance updates and highlight some of the ways that Snowwater's um working to maintain the reliability and resiliency of our water transmission system that serves your Santa Rosa community.

10:34

So we were last here reporting on projects about the about this time last year, and I'll be giving some status updates on a number of those projects, followed by David's update on some maintenance uh efforts.

10:45

We do hope that you find the information helpful ahead of uh a presentation next month by our finance people on the budgets associated with the water transmission system.

10:54

Um so before jumping in, I just do want to acknowledge and thank uh the city for its leadership uh in this arena, particularly uh that of uh council member Rogers uh serving as uh chair of our WAC, our water advisory committee last year, as well as Jennifer Burke uh continuing to chair our technical advisory committee, and we appreciate all the coordination and partnership on water supply issues and working with the city on that front.

11:24

So moving right in, um, just quickly, just by way of introduction for anybody who may be a little less inter uh familiar with Sonoma Water.

11:33

We are a wholesale water supplier of some 600,000 residents in Sonoma and Marin counties.

11:39

Our direct customers are the retail water suppliers or our water contractors that are shown on this uh slide here, which are many of the cities and the water districts that supply directly to the homes and businesses within our service area.

11:53

Our primary source of water is the Russian River.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Affordable Housing██████████████████████████████30%
Transportation Safety████████████████16%
Procedural██████████10%
Engineering And Infrastructure███████7%
Public Safety███████7%
Water And Wastewater Management██████6%
Community Engagement██████6%
Planning And Zoning█████5%
Arts And Culture███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Santa Rosa City Council Regular Meeting - February 24, 2026

The Santa Rosa City Council met on February 24, 2026, at 2:00 PM in the Council Chamber. The meeting included a closed session, a study session, proclamations, staff presentations, consent items, and two public hearings. The primary focus was the appeal of the Lago Fresca Apartments project, which was denied unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 8:07 PM.

Consent Calendar

  • Minutes: The February 10, 2026, regular meeting minutes were approved as submitted.
  • Resolution RES-2026-015: Approved a second amendment to the professional services agreement with Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Romo for continued legal services, increasing compensation by $175,000 to a total of $375,000, and appropriated $375,000 from unassigned general fund reserves.
  • Motion: Awarded Contract No. C02406 for Hopper Avenue Corridor Fire Recovery Improvements to Argonaut Constructors for $4,054,718, plus a 15% contingency of $608,207.70, for a total of $4,662,925.70, funded by the Capital Improvement Fund (no General Fund money).
  • Motion: Approved the cooperative purchase of four 2029 Pierce Enforcer Type 1 Fire Engines from Golden State Fire Apparatus Inc. for $5,709,802, using the Houston Galveston Area Council Interlocal Cooperative Agreement.
  • Resolution RES-2026-016: Approved amendments to the Classification and Compensation & Salary Plan and Schedule, adopting an updated Salary Plan and Schedule, and increasing appropriations by $163,122.15.
  • Item 13.3 (Grant Writing Services): Continued to the March 24, 2026, regular meeting.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Non-Agenda Matters: Janice Karrman spoke about overlapping city and county meeting schedules making it difficult to attend all meetings.
  • Lago Fresca Apartments Appeal (16.1):
    • Opposition: Many residents and community members expressed opposition, citing traffic congestion, parking shortages, safety concerns for pedestrians and cyclists, and emergency evacuation risks. Speakers included Katy Moranda (appellant), Michael Ann Blatt, Jeanette McFall, Richard Hunt Sr., Analisa Hunt, Ann Butler, Robert Ostling, Michael Fried (BV Neighbors Against Lago Fresca), Anthony Nuno, Mindy Shambaugh, Mary Alice Wilson, Diane Martini, Kashy Ghazzagh, Mike Raymond, Stephen Schwartz, Rebecca Hopper, Jerry Huffaker, Richard Molley, Patti Fitch, Keith Woxerman, and an anonymous speaker.
    • Support: Abby Arnold (Santa Rosa YIMBY) and Sonia Barwick (Generation Housing) spoke in support, noting the project's alignment with housing goals and infill development.
  • First 2026 General Plan Amendment Package (16.2):
    • Ken MacNab (KMAC Advising) spoke in support of the changes to Maxwell Drive properties, stating that the "maker mixed use" designation is more appropriate.
    • Fred Allebach spoke on land-use compatibility, encouraging flexibility in future zoning decisions across the city.

Discussion Items

  • Study Session: An overview of Senate Bill 707 (Brown Act amendments) was continued to the March 10, 2026, regular meeting.
  • Proclamation - Black History Month: Council Member Natalie Rogers read and presented the proclamation to Nancy Rogers (Black Chamber of Commerce) and Arthur Chaney (100 Black Men of Sonoma County). Ruben Scott (2025 Merit Award winner) also spoke.
  • Presentation - Sonoma Water: David Royall (Assistant General Manager) and Kent Gylfe (Director of Engineering) provided updates on water transmission system capital projects and maintenance. Highlights included the Eli Booster Pump Station, tank rehabilitation, well activation, and a new computer maintenance management system (NextGen). Council discussed deferred maintenance and the aquifer recharge pilot program.
  • City Manager's Reports: Lori Ann Farrell announced the launch of a citywide survey for the City Manager recruitment, Sonoma County Restaurant Week, after-school program sign-ups, and the CalHome Rehabilitation Loan Program.
  • City Attorney's Report: Teresa Stricker reported no settlements in January and ongoing litigation caseload of 33 matters, with trial dates for about one-quarter.
  • Mayor/Council Reports: Council Member Fleming noted the upcoming Metropolitan Transportation Commission meeting on the Transit Oriented Communities policy. Mayor Stapp reported on the reopening of Dutch Flohr Neighborhood Park and recent Sonoma County Mayor's and Council Members' meetings, including a focus on crisis response.
  • Lago Fresca Apartments Appeal (16.1):
    • Staff presented the project: a 50-unit multifamily development (including 4 very low-income units) at 2445 Summerfield Road and 4744 Hoen Avenue. The Planning Commission (unanimous) and Design Review Board (4-1-1) had approved the project. The appeal was filed by the Bennett Valley Community Against Lago Fresca Project.
    • The appellant, Katy Moranda, argued that the driveway location near the Hoen/Summerfield intersection, lack of visitor parking, and emergency evacuation concerns create safety risks. She requested an independent traffic study and design modifications.
    • The applicant, Jan Verhawley, and team (architect, landscape architect, traffic engineer) presented, stating that the project meets all city and state standards, including Caltrans site distance requirements. They noted that the project has been redesigned over five years in response to city and community input.
    • Council discussion focused on the legal constraints under the state Density Bonus Law and Housing Accountability Act. City Attorney Ashley Crocker and Planning staff explained that denial would require substantial evidence of a specific adverse impact on health or safety, which was not present in the technical reports. The council also heard from Fire Marshal Paul Lowenthal about improved evacuation procedures since the 2017 wildfires.
  • First 2026 General Plan Amendment Package (16.2):
    • Staff presented amendments to the General Plan 2050 land use diagram and text, including changes to 10 properties to ensure consistency with zoning. Key changes included re-designating areas near Memorial Hospital to low-density residential, reclassifying properties on Mountain Hawk Drive, and adjusting the Maxwell Drive properties to "maker mixed use." A text amendment added Active Transportation Plan maps.

Key Outcomes

  • Closed Session: No reportable action taken.
  • Lago Fresca Apartments Appeal: Council voted 7-0 to deny the appeal and uphold the Planning Commission's approval of the Conditional Use Permit and the Design Review Board's approval of Design Review. Resolutions RES-2026-017 and RES-2026-018 were adopted.
  • First 2026 General Plan Amendment Package: Council voted 7-0 to adopt the addendum to the General Plan 2050 EIR (RES-2026-019), adopt the land use and text amendments (RES-2026-020), and approve the first reading of the ordinance rezoning 10 properties. The ordinance will be brought back for a second reading.
  • Meeting adjourned at 8:07 PM.

Meeting Transcript

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. Welcome back, everyone. The time is two o'clock, and we'll call this meeting to order. Madam City Clerk, would you please call the roll? Thank you, Mayor. Councilmember Rogers. Councilmember McDonald. Councilmember Ben Wells. Councilmember Alvarez. We will move to our closed session items. We have four on the agenda today, items 3.1 through 3.2. So with that, we'll open up open it up to public comment. Are any members of the public here today? Oh, apologies. I'm getting my numbers wrong. Alright, three point one through three point four. Seeing no members of the public here, we will close public comment and we'll recess in a closed session. All right. Welcome back, everyone. We're a we're a couple of minutes late, but we'll get going. We'll reconvene an open session. Madam City Clerk, would you please call the roll? Thank you, Mayor. Council Member Rogers, present. Council Member McDonald, here. Council Member Fleming, your Council Member Ben Wellows here. Council Member Albrecht. Vice Mayor Krepke. Let the record show that all council members are present. So just an announcement there. We'll run to item six, a report, if any, on our closed sessions. Madam City Attorney. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. There's no reportable action taken at today's closed sessions. Thank you. Thank you very much. All right. We're gonna move the order of our next item around a little bit because we have a good group in the community coming out to hear our proclamation on Black History Month. But some of those folks have not yet arrived. So uh with your uh with your permission, we're gonna move on to item 7.2, which is our presentation on Sonoma Waters water on Sonoma Waters Water Transmission System Capital Projects and Maintenance Udate. Uh I think we have David Royal and Kent Gilf. Thank you both for coming out. And the floor is yours. Great, thank you very much, Mr. Mayor. Um, some technical assistance.

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