Santa Rosa City Council Regular Meeting – October 27, 2026

On 2026-10-27, the Santa Rosa City Council held its regular meeting in Council Chamber, beginning at 4:04 p.m. All seven council members were present. The agenda included a Capital Improvement Program update, a briefing on community safety and civil rights for immigrant communities, a litigation report, consent items, issuance of Wastewater Revenue Bonds Series 2026A, and two future-agenda requests concerning automatic license plate readers and farm animals within city limits.

Consent Calendar

• By a 7-0 vote, the Council approved consent items 13.1 through 13.3:
  • Acceptance, by resolution, of the completed Vegetation Management Education and Inspection Program and its grant-funded deliverables, with no current fiscal-year budget impact.
  • Approval of the First Amendment to Professional Services Agreement No. F003164 with Holly (Civic Calling Corporation) to add a labor costing module, increasing compensation by $22,500 for a total not to exceed $118,500 from October 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027.
  • Approval of a Professional Services Agreement with Burke, Williams & Sorensen, LLP for specialized labor relations and employment law services not to exceed $600,000, with no additional appropriation requested.
• No public comment was offered on the consent calendar.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Capital Improvement Program: Dwayne DeWitt, a Roseland resident, thanked staff but expressed concern that spending favors Oakmont, which he described as one of the county's wealthiest neighborhoods, while Roseland and West End roads are older and in poor condition. He asked for more balanced infrastructure investment and for staff to seek brownfields and redevelopment funding for the Sebastopol Road area. Nancy Lands questioned spending on pickleball and tennis courts compared with dog parks, noted that Sonoma County Animal Services wrote almost $500,000 in tickets to off-leash dog owners in the last year, and asked for larger or more dog parks, including a possible site at Northwest Community Park.
• Immigrant community safety and civil rights: Many speakers, including members of the Sonoma County Sanctuary Coalition and allied congregations, urged the Council to adopt an ordinance rather than a resolution. Speakers asked for provisions prohibiting city collaboration or information-sharing with ICE, employee training, posted protocols, contractor coverage, and stronger enforcement. Gabriela Hernandez said the city says it protects migrants but is not protecting them and called for 'zero ICE collaboration.' Rev. Lindsay Bell Kerr said she trusted migrants' demand for an ordinance and called for responsibility over fear. Others cited ICE incidents in other states, fears in the community, and asked the Council to mirror Sonoma County's ordinance. Several speakers criticized the resolution approach as insufficient. The comment period included a musical interlude; after it continued, the mayor called a five-minute recess and cleared the chamber before reconvening.
• Non-agenda public comment: Tom Sawyer, identified as an engineering project manager for the Santa Rosa Watershed Technical Assessment Team, said preliminary FEMA flood maps contain significant errors near Bennett Valley Golf Course, including a culvert modeled as a four-foot diameter, a 350 percent error in flow area, and large predictive errors. He stated the model predicts about 300 properties could be flooded in the Bennett Valley Basin and submitted a 232-page technical audit package for the record. Dwayne DeWitt urged the Council to direct staff to pursue brownfields and redevelopment funding for Roseland. Alan Wolves, Merlin, and Inhi Lee described weekly early-morning sweeps of homeless encampments near Sam Jones Shelter, saying officers take tents, sleeping bags, medicine, clothing, and documents, and asked the Council to stop the sweeps ahead of the rainy season.
• Automatic license plate readers (Flock): Public comment was overwhelmingly opposed to Flock cameras. Speakers cited privacy violations, data sharing with ICE, misuse by police, racial profiling, and the removal of these cameras by more than 20 California cities. Some speakers asked the Council not to wait for contract renewal and to cancel the contract immediately, while others thanked Councilmembers Alvarez and Fleming for requesting the study session and asked for a public timeline.
• Farm animals: Public comment was supportive of allowing more backyard agriculture, food sovereignty, and local food resilience. No online comments were received.
• Wastewater revenue bonds: Merlin spoke against borrowing from investors and suggested taxation instead.

Discussion Items

• Capital Improvement Program Update: Deputy Director Krista Siegenthaler reported that 14 projects had been completed since December 2025, including Lower Colgan Creek Restoration Phase 3, several park renovations, Piner Creek Crossing HAWK, the Hearn Avenue traffic signal, Sonoma Avenue pavement rehab, and Howarth Park tennis and pickleball courts. A notice of completion was also issued for the Robles Trunk Lining Project. About 20 projects are under construction, including fleet garage hoists and the Hearn Community Hub, expected to finish in summer 2027. Staff cited approximately $70 million bid for construction in 2026 to date, about $110 million in current construction, and about $100 million in completed projects over the last 18 months, putting the total on the presented slides near $300 million. Councilmember Bañuelos asked for a district-by-district red/yellow/green project status map with funding sources, and Councilmember Alvarez asked for a district-level investment breakdown; staff said they could provide the data and noted an existing capital projects webpage and GIS map.
• Community Safety and Civil Rights for Immigrant Communities: City Manager Jason Nutt and Assistant to the City Manager Lindsay Doherty presented past actions, including the 2017 'indivisible city' resolution, the 2017 Santa Rosa Police Department immigration enforcement policy, the 2018 resolution opposing family separation, the February 2026 resolution urging Congress to strengthen immigration enforcement standards, and the April 2026 ordinance declaring civil immigration enforcement not a city purpose. Staff said they are updating a public web page and will return on November 10, 2026, with a draft resolution addressing ICE cooperation, employee training, Senate Bill 580, and contractor provisions. The City Attorney and City Manager explained the proposed use of a resolution rather than an ordinance because the policy governs city employees and can be enforced through personnel rules; an ordinance would require meet-and-confer with labor unions and would take longer. They noted Petaluma recently adopted a similar policy by resolution and that Attorney General guidance requires cities to adopt appropriate employee-training policies. Councilmembers generally supported bringing the resolution forward on November 10, with several asking for more specific information about what an ordinance could add and a timeline if the Council later decides to amend the April ordinance. Councilmember Bañuelos noted that, as a public-sector employee and union board member, she was not aware of a meet-and-confer requirement for the ICE direction she received.
• Report of Settlements and Active Litigation: The City Attorney reported no settlements or judgments were finalized in September 2026. As of October 12, 2026, the city had 47 active litigation matters, six matters with assigned trial dates, and five cases on appeal following rulings in favor of the city at the trial court level.
• Wastewater Revenue Bonds, Series 2026A: CFO Scott Wagner and financial advisor Craig Hill presented the proposed financing. The bonds would finance about $35 million for the Laguna Treatment Plant Electrical Infrastructure Improvement Project, refund the Series 2014A and Series 2016A wastewater bonds, and partially defease Series 2002B bonds. The bonds would be payable solely from wastewater system net revenues and would not affect the General Fund. The expected borrowing is about $50 million, with a resolution cap of $55 million, an interest-rate cap of 4.5 percent, and an underwriter discount cap of 0.5 percent. Staff highlighted the release of $7 million in reserve funds, an approximately 11-year repayment schedule, total debt service of about $37 million for the $35 million project, and about $12 million in improved cash flow over the next four years compared with the rate-study assumption. The resolution waives Council Policy 000-58's minimum refunding savings threshold because of the other financial benefits. The Council approved the resolution and related documents by a 7-0 vote.
• Future Agenda Item on Automatic License Plate Readers: Councilmember Alvarez requested a study session on ALPR/Flock prior to any future contract renewals, with Councilmember Fleming's concurrence. After public comment, the Council voted 7-0 to schedule that study session on a future agenda.
• Future Agenda Item on Farm Animals Within City Limits: Councilmember MacDonald (transcribed as McDonald) requested a review of the city's rules on farm animals, noting ongoing complaints about roosters and noise and that the city currently relies on the county's animal-control ordinance. The Council voted 6-0-1, with Councilmember Fleming abstaining, to bring the item forward.
• Approval of Minutes: The Council approved the October 7, 2026 special meeting minutes and the October 13, 2026 regular meeting minutes as submitted.

Key Outcomes

• Approved the consent calendar 7-0.
• Approved the Series 2026A wastewater revenue bond issuance and related documents 7-0.
• Voted 7-0 to schedule a future study session on automatic license plate readers before any contract renewal.
• Voted 6-0-1 to place a review of farm animals within city limits on a future agenda.
• Directed staff to return on November 10, 2026, with the draft immigrant safety/civil rights resolution and additional explanation of resolution-versus-ordinance options and timing.
• Approved the minutes of the October 7 and October 13 meetings.
• No settlements were reported for September 2026.