Cultural Heritage Board Regular Meeting - June 16, 2021
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Cultural Heritage Board Regular Meeting - June 16, 2021
This virtual meeting of the Santa Rosa Cultural Heritage Board was called to order at 2:32 p.m. and adjourned at 3:35 p.m. The main agenda item was a study session on the update of the Santa Rosa General Plan (Santa Rosa Forward), during which board members provided input on a draft Vision Statement to guide the 25-year planning process.
Consent Calendar
- Approved the draft minutes from June 2, 2021, as submitted.
Public Comments & Testimony
- No public comments were made.
Committee Business
- Statement of Purpose: Chair Meuser read the board’s purpose regarding historic preservation standards.
- Board Member Reports: Board members Boren, Fennell, and Praetzellis reported upcoming meetings with applicants for projects (SMART station condominium project and a project by Peter Stanley).
- Staff Report: Susie Murray, CHB Staff Liaison, noted that the next meeting will include an update on the Downtown Station Area Specific Plan and reminded members about Brown Act training and the upcoming review of board rules and regulations (targeted for July 7).
Discussion Items
- Study Session – Santa Rosa General Plan Update and Input on Santa Rosa Forward Vision Statement: Senior Planner Andy Gustavson presented an overview of the 3-year Santa Rosa Forward project, which will produce a General Plan with a 25-year horizon. He described community outreach efforts, including over 1,300 respondents to a mapping survey and 10 district-based workshops (including some in Spanish) held in May 2021. The draft Vision Statement emphasizes principles such as inclusion, equity, health, safety, lifelong learning, cultural diversity, sustainability, and connectivity. Gustavson noted that a $600,000 Kaiser grant will support a focus on healthy neighborhoods. Board members offered the following comments:
- Board Member Praetzellis: Expressed enthusiasm for the vision’s emphasis on inclusion and equity, but raised concern that the city’s cultural heritage survey is outdated (last updated ~30 years ago) and asked how it will inform the General Plan’s environmental review. Gustavson and Murray confirmed that a cultural resources survey update is underway and will be brought to the board in the coming weeks.
- Board Member Boren: Supported the concept of neighborhood-level shopping and services to reduce travel, and suggested improving the aesthetic of corridors like Santa Rosa Avenue.
- Board Member Praetzellis (continued): Highlighted the value of neighborhood-focused events and equitable education, cautioning that the ranking of vision statements in workshops might be misleading due to overlapping categories.
- Chair Meuser: Noted that the draft Vision Statement lacks explicit reference to historic resources, recommending that language be added to address historic neighborhoods and resource protection. He also mentioned opportunities in the recently annexed Roseland area and the need to resolve conflicts between downtown station area plans and historic districts.
- Vice Chair Fennell: Praised the city’s neighborhood grant programs and community events, but identified homelessness as a critical issue impacting neighborhoods and home values, calling for more effective city solutions.
- Gustavson thanked the board for feedback, stating that the input will be used to revise the Vision Statement, which will be presented to the Planning Commission and City Council at a joint study session on July 20, 2021. He encouraged board members to complete the online questionnaire to augment their comments.
Key Outcomes
- The board provided substantive input on the draft Vision Statement, with a strong consensus that historic resource preservation should be more prominently reflected in the vision.
- Planning staff will incorporate this feedback into the final Vision Statement for the July 20 joint study session.
- Board members were invited to submit additional comments via the online survey.
- Upcoming board meetings will include a review of board rules and regulations (targeted July 7) and an update on the cultural resources survey.
Meeting Transcript
If board members can turn their video cameras on. Okay, welcome everybody to the uh Wednesday, June 16th, City of Santa Rosa Cultural Heritage Board. If we're all ready, we'll go ahead and begin. Um Mr. Maloney, could we uh have a roll call? Oh, I'm calling the meeting to order as well. Perfect. If you can read the uh the virtual text first prior, and then we get the roll. Okay, I'll do that. Due to the provisions of the governor's executive order in 2520 and in 2920, which suspend certain requirements of the Brown Act and the order of the health officer of the county of Sonoma to shelter in place to minimize the spread of COVID 19. The Cultural Heritage Board is conducting today's meeting in a virtual setting using Zoom webinar. Board members and staff are participating from remote locations and or practicing appropriate social distancing. Members of the public may view and listen to the meeting as noted on the city's website and as noted on the agenda. Members of the public wishing to speak during item. Well, we don't have an item today. So I guess uh yeah. Members of the public uh wishing to speak uh make public comment or doing public hearing items will be able to do so by raising their hand and we'll be given the ability to address the board. Uh with that, Mr. Maloney, could we have a roll call? Yes, thank you, Chairman. Let the record reflect that all commissioners are present except for sorry, board members are present except for board member Gail, Gary, and Wing. Okay. Thank you. Moving on to item two, uh, approval of the minutes. Um any of our board members have any addendums or changes uh to the minutes. Uh and if so, raise your hand. Not seeing any. Okay, I think we can approve the minutes then as submitted. At this time, I'd like to open uh up the board for public comments. So we are now open for public comments for any item not included in this meeting's agenda. If you wish to make a comment via Zoom, please select the raise hand button. If you are dialing in via telephone, please dial star nine to raise your hand. Each speaker has three minutes. The countdown timer will appear for the convenience of the speaker and viewers. Please make sure to unmute yourself when you are invited to do so. Your microphone will be muted at the end of that countdown. Mr. Maloney. Oh, go ahead. Sorry, thank you, Jeremy, sir. Um, at this time we have zero um people raising their hand because right now we have zero attendees. This um not having another item other than the study session. I think we are good to move on. Okay, so with that, we will then close public comment. Okay, moving on to item four, board business, our statement of purpose. The cultural heritage board shall consider the following matters, standards, guidelines, and criteria to the extent applicable in determining whether to grant or deny a permit, whether the proposed change is consistent or incompatible with the architectural period of the building, whether the proposed change is compatible with any adjacent or nearby landmark structures or preservation district structures, whether the color, textures, materials, menstruations, decorative features, and details proposed are consistent with the period and or compatible with adjacent structures. Whether the proposed changes destroys or adversely affects the important architectural features or feature or features, the Secretary of the Intender standard, interior standards for rehabilitation and guidelines for rehabilitating historic buildings, such other matters, criteria, standards as may be adopted by the resolution of the Cultural Heritage Board. The Secretary of the Intender standard, interior standards for rehabilitation and guidelines for rehabilitating historic buildings, such other matters, criteria, standards as may be adopted by the resolution of the Cultural Heritage Board. Do any board members have any reports that they'd like to make at this time? If so, raise your hand.
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