Santa Rosa City Council Regular Meeting – March 10, 2026: Brown Act, Bond Approvals, and Park Turf Decision
Santa Rosa City Council Regular Meeting – March 10, 2026
The Santa Rosa City Council met on March 10, 2026, starting at 2:52 PM with a closed session and study session, followed by the regular session at 4:00 PM. All votes were 5-0-0-0 with Mayor Mark Stapp and Council Member Victoria Fleming absent. Key actions included approving two TEFRA bond issuances for affordable housing, adopting zoning code amendments for massage regulations and housing element implementation, and authorizing a Design-Build RFP for park and pavement projects with direction to prioritize PFAS-free artificial turf at Martin Luther King Jr. Park.
Study Session – SB 707 Brown Act Amendments
- The City Clerk and City Attorney presented an overview of recent Brown Act changes under Senate Bill 707 (2025), effective January 1 and July 1, 2026. Topics included new remote participation rules, social media prohibitions, disruptive behavior provisions, reasonable accommodations, mandatory remote public comment for council meetings, and agenda translation requirements.
- Council provided direction to staff: (1) not to authorize fully remote participation for eligible subsidiary bodies (bicycle/pedestrian, parks & rec, water advisory), (2) update the council manual for public comment length and minutes, (3) consider an exception to the open government ordinance to allow the council to proceed with meetings without Spanish interpretation after good-faith efforts during an internet disruption, (4) retain current agenda translation requirements (5% population threshold, no cap), and (5) update citizen participation policy.
Proclamations & Presentations
- National Surveyors Week (March 15–21, 2026) – Presented to Bruce John, Sonoma County Chapter of the California Land Surveyor’s Association.
- Luther Burbank Home & Gardens – Presented to Linda Hall, Board President, who noted 96 volunteers contributed 9,076.25 hours in 2025 (economic value $364,320.68). Upcoming events: April 11 exhibit for 100th anniversary of Burbank’s death, April 18 plant sale.
- Arbor Week (March 8–14, 2026) – Presented to Parks Superintendent James Castro, who highlighted the department’s reduced staff (from 62 to 23 FTE) and the March 14 Arbor Day celebration planting over 40 trees.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Non-Agenda Matters (Item 14) – Speakers addressed:
- Shane Weinstein (ATU Local 1575) opposed MASCOTS regional transit cuts, noting that after 8 PM Sonoma County becomes a transit desert; 45 weekday and 47 weekend riders rely on those routes.
- Adina Flores alleged a false arrest and fraudulent police reports.
- Sean Evans (SBA) announced disaster loan deadlines for tidal flooding (physical damage: April 6, 2026; economic injury: November 3, 2026).
- Fred Allebach urged consideration of displacement from the South Santa Rosa Specific Plan.
- Al Lerma and Randy supported reinstating evening Golden Gate Transit funding.
- Public Hearing 16.2 (Apple Valley Bonds) – Lauren Fuhry (Burbank Housing) thanked staff.
- Public Hearing 16.4 (Housing Element) – Alethea Larson (The Living Room) supported tiny homes, noting 34 individuals housed via trailers and tiny homes in four years. Fred Allebach commented on the urban growth boundary and low-density zoning limiting affordable housing.
- Report Item 15.1 (Design-Build & Turf) – Fred Allebach supported turf alternatives. Tommy Isacson (Santa Rosa Youth Soccer League, police officer) strongly supported synthetic turf with lighting, citing crime prevention and youth development.
Discussion Items
- Consent Calendar – Items 13.1, 13.2, 13.4, 13.5, 13.6, 13.7 approved. Item 13.3 (Animal Damage Management) continued to March 24 due to Council Member MacDonald’s recusal, which broke the quorum.
- Massage Ordinance Amendments (16.3) – Staff presented changes to Chapter 20-49 to enable Live Scan background checks and refine definitions. Police Chief Cregan described a three-pronged approach: code enforcement partnership, criminal enforcement (three search warrants, multiple arrests, seizure of hundreds of thousands of dollars), and landlord engagement. Council approved unanimously.
- Housing Element Implementation (16.4) – Staff introduced amendments to allow tiny homes on wheels (only in rural residential zoned districts, one per lot, size and design standards), housing cooperatives, farm worker housing, residential care facilities, and ADU updates per state law. Planning application fees for tiny homes set at $2,885 (lowest minor use permit fee). Council approved.
- Design-Build RFP for Park & Pavement Projects (15.1) – Staff recommended design-build for Oakmont Pavement Maintenance, MLK Jr. Park sports field and play area, and Bayer Park natural play area. Extensive discussion on artificial vs. natural turf for the MLK soccer field. Director Hennessey presented lifecycle cost analysis: artificial turf costs ~2x more to install but 20% of maintenance costs over 10 years, with similar total costs but higher usage capacity. Council members expressed strong support for artificial turf with PFAS-free materials, citing equity, youth engagement, reduced water use, and maintenance burden on parks staff. Staff confirmed ability to fund the full project (not phased) and will bring budget approval in May. Council approved the motion with direction to prioritize PFAS-free, environmentally friendly turf systems.
Key Outcomes
- Study Session – Direction given to staff on Brown Act implementation (see above).
- Consent Items Approved (13.1, 13.2, 13.4–13.7):
- Second Amendment to Blanket Purchase Order with Linde Gas & Equipment Inc. ($100,000 increase, total $199,000).
- Purchase of three mid-size trucks ($121,482.75).
- Third Amendment to BPO with Scott’s PPE Recon, Inc. ($32,000 increase, total $113,000).
- Master Services Agreement with CivicPlus, LLC ($169,317 for three years).
- Seventh Amendment to legal services agreement with Geary, Shea, O’Donnell, Grattan & Mitchell P.C. ($40,000 increase, total $680,000) and appropriation of $70,000 from unassigned General Fund.
- Second reading and adoption of ordinance rezoning 10 properties (ORD-2026-002).
- Item 13.3 – Continued to March 24, 2026, due to lack of quorum.
- Resolution RES-2026-021 – Approved $5 million in tax-exempt bonds for Del Nido Apartments (206 units, 850 Russell Ave).
- Resolution RES-2026-022 – Approved $40 million in exempt facility bonds for Apple Valley Scattered Site Apartments (232 units, multiple addresses).
- Ordinance (first reading) and Resolution RES-2026-023 – Approved massage ordinance amendments and Live Scan authorization.
- Ordinance (first reading) and Resolution RES-2026-024 – Approved housing element implementation amendments and tiny homes on wheels application fees.
- Motion – Authorized issuance of Design-Build RFP for Oakmont Pavement Maintenance, MLK Jr. Park (sports field and play area, with direction for PFAS-free artificial turf), and Bayer Park Natural Play Area. Staff to incorporate council direction into RFP and return with budget in May.
Meeting Transcript
All right. We will call this meeting to order at two fifty two PM. Um, Madam Uh Deputy City Clerk, can you take roll, please? Councilmember Rogers. Councilmember McDonald. Here. Councilmember Fleming is absent. Councilmember Ben Willow? Here. Councilmember Alvarez. Vice Mayor Okke? Here. And Mayor Stapp is absent. Let the re record reflect all council members are present with the exception of Mayor Stapp and Councilmember Fleming. Yes, uh, today I will be attending this meeting remotely under GC five four nine five three point eight point three. Applying the just uh just cause provision due to uh contagious illness, and uh we'll be participating with both audio and video turn on throughout the meeting. And this room, I am by myself another adults or children present. Um, we will now move on to our announcement of closed session items. Uh item three point one conference with real property negotiator. Uh Madam City turn, do I need to read the description as well? Uh you do not, but you're welcome to do so. Thank you for making me feel welcome, but I will not. Seeing nobody move, we will close public comment. Just a reminder, we'll be taking comment via Zoom. Um, since we have a participation under the um just cause provision. panel to comment 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. Thank you very much. Back to you. All right. Uh, and we're back. Item four study session. Take roll call. Oh, roll call, sorry. Thank you. Councilmember Rogers. Present. Councilmember McDonald. Here. Councilmember Fleming is absent. Councilmember Ben Wellos. Here. Councilmember Alvarez. Vice Mayor O'Kropkey. Here. And Mayor Stapp is absent. Let the record reflect all council members are present with the absence of Mayor Stapp and Councilmember Fleming. Thank you very much.
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