Santa Rosa Planning Commission Regular Meeting – March 24, 2022
STREAMING COPY IN PREPARATION — RECORDING AVAILABLE FROM THE ORIGINAL SOURCE
Santa Rosa Planning Commission Regular Meeting – March 24, 2022
The Santa Rosa Planning Commission held a virtual regular meeting on March 24, 2022, at 4:30 p.m. (adjourned at 6:09 p.m.). Commissioners unanimously approved three conditional use permits: a Total Wine & More for alcohol sales with tasting and wine classes, an AT&T telecommunication facility, and a Flora Terra cannabis retail dispensary. No public comments were received on non-agenda items.
Commissioner Reports
- Commissioner Duggan reported attending the League of California Cities Planning Commissioners Academy in San Ramon, highlighting sessions on recent housing legislation and a speaker on social justice and inclusivity.
Department Reports
- Staff Liaison Jones announced that effective April 1, Claire Hartman will become the new staff liaison to the Planning Commission. The April 14 meeting is canceled, and the April 24 meeting likely canceled due to technology upgrades. A joint meeting with the City Council on the General Plan update is scheduled for May 24.
Discussion Items
Item 8.1: Total Wine & More – Conditional Use Permit (CUP21-076)
- Proposed use: Sale of beer, wine, and distilled spirits for off-site consumption with on-site tasting and wine classes (capacity 20–30 people). Hours: 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. Location: 2705 Santa Rosa Ave, #B.
- Staff presentation (Planner Conor McKay): The project qualifies for CEQA Class 1 (existing facilities) and Class 32 (infill) exemptions. Staff recommended removing an erroneous Class 3 exemption (conversion of small structures) from the resolution.
- Public comments: None.
- Commissioner action: Motion to approve as modified (removal of Class 3 exemption) carried 7-0 (Resolution PC-2022-007).
Item 8.2: AT&T Telecommunication Facility – Conditional Use Permit (CUP21-064)
- Proposed use: Installation of a new 60-foot-tall monopole with supporting equipment shelter and backup diesel generator at 2400 Bluebell Dr.
- Staff presentation (Planner Kristinae Toomians): The site is in an industrial area with residential to the west across the SMART rail. The tower would fill a coverage gap. CEQA exempt under Class 3. The electromagnetic energy report concluded compliance with FCC limits (15% of the threshold at ground level).
- Public comments:
- Sidnee Cox (Safe Tech for Santa Rosa) strongly opposed, citing health concerns from radio frequency radiation (RFR), outdated FCC guidelines, and a federal court ruling on FCC standards. She argued the tower should be placed away from homes, apartments, and a nearby gymnastics center.
- Applicant response (Tom Johnson): Health issues are preempted by federal law; the Planning Commission can only consider aesthetics. The tower meets FCC limits. Alternative sites were considered but were too close to existing towers or insufficient for coverage.
- City Attorney Jeff Burke confirmed that FCC regulations preempt local health concerns; the commission may rely on the engineer's certification.
- Commissioner Holton asked about microwatts per meter; the report used microwatts per square centimeter (FCC standard). Staff and applicant referred to the report's compliance statement.
- Commissioner Carter clarified the finding on public health, safety, and nuisance; Attorney Burke stated that if the engineer's report is valid, the health issue is resolved.
- Commissioner action: Motion to approve carried 7-0 (Resolution PC-2022-008). Several commissioners noted their decision was based on the record and FCC standards, not personal endorsement of the tower.
Item 8.3: Flora Terra – Cannabis Retail Conditional Use Permit (CUP21-061)
- Proposed use: Operation of a 1,140-square-foot cannabis dispensary (medical and adult-use) at 1226 4th St (former Bruno's restaurant). No on-site consumption or delivery. Hours: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
- Staff presentation (Planner Susie Murray): The building requires only minor exterior updates. An odor mitigation plan (charcoal filtration) is included. A traffic study found one additional AM peak trip and 16 PM peak trips. The closest schools are ~1,500 feet away; parks ~1,600 feet away. The applicant's existing dispensary has a good record with police. The required parking is five spaces; the site has four on-site plus street parking.
- Applicant presentation (Alicia Wingard, co-owner): The business is locally owned and operated. Security measures include ID scanning, security guards during all business hours, high-definition cameras (90-day retention), and a professional alarm system. The applicant employs 15 people at the existing location and expects to hire 6–10 for the new store. Starting wage $18/hour after 90 days. Tax revenue: 3% on recreational cannabis goes to the city. Demographics show 63.5% of customers are over 30.
- Public comments:
- Daniel Garcia (Santa Rosa resident and insurance broker) supported the project, citing community benefit, increased property value, and the applicant's excellent reputation.
- Richard Brantley (neighbor on Fair Oaks) expressed concern about parking overflow into the residential neighborhood, noting heavy use by Goodwill customers and children playing on the street.
- Staff response to parking: The city's parking standard for cannabis retail is one space per 250 sq ft (five required); the existing four spaces plus on-street parking were deemed adequate in the traffic study. A change of use to a similar commercial use could occur without additional parking review.
- Commissioner O'Krepke noted that a different commercial use could occupy the space without any parking review, emphasizing that the dispensary's parking demand is comparable to other uses.
- Vice Chair Peterson addressed written public comments, noting the city's cannabis ordinance aims to distribute dispensaries evenly to avoid traffic concentration, and that the use is analogous to alcohol sales (previously Bruno's).
- Commissioner action: Motion to approve carried 7-0 (Resolution PC-2022-009).
Key Outcomes
- All three conditional use permits were approved unanimously (7-0).
- Resolution PC-2022-007 (Total Wine & More) approved with a modification to remove the Class 3 CEQA exemption.
- Resolution PC-2022-008 (AT&T facility) approved, with commissioners acknowledging health concerns are preempted by federal law.
- Resolution PC-2022-009 (Flora Terra) approved, with conditions including the odor mitigation plan and security measures.
- No consent calendar items, no abstentions, and no public comments on non-agenda items.
Meeting Transcript
This is the city attorney Burke if you would like to test your audio and video for us. Can you hear me, Mike? Loud and clear. Thank you. Excellent. Thanks. Mike, it looks like everyone is here. We uh ready to go at 4:30. Yes, at 4:30, staff will be ready when you are. And I wanted to let you know that is going to be a minutes ticker today. So for roll call and other meetings like that, we'll be doing this first words. Okay, thank you. Yep, no problem. So I think we'll be ready to go in about a minute. If everybody can turn their cameras on, that'd be great. There we go. There you are. Yeah, the host had disabled my video for some reason. No worries. I don't mind being in the dark. Okay. Uh, Mr. Maloney, Ms. Buckite, are we ready to go? Yes, Chair Weeks, we are ready to go. Thank you. Okay. So with that, I will call to order the March 24th, 2022 meeting of the Santa Rosa Planning Commission. And read our typical statement due to the provisions of the governor's executive orders, N twenty-five-20 and n-29-20, which suspends certain requirements for 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 planning commissioners will be conducting today's meeting in a virtual setting using Zoom webinar. Commissioners and staff are participating from remote locations and are 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 four, the public comment period or during our public hearings tonight, we'll be able to do so by raising their hand and we'll be given the ability to address the commission. So with that, um, could we have roll call, please? Let the record reflect that all commissioners are present. Thank you. So we don't have any minutes to approve tonight. And so we'll go right into our public comment section. I'm gonna open the public comment period now for any item that is not included on this meeting's agenda. If you wish to make a comment via Zoom, please select the raised hand button. If you're dialing in via telephone, please dial star nine to raise your hand, and each speaker will have three minutes. A countdown timer will appear for the convenience of the speaker and the viewers. And please make sure to unmute yourself when you're invited to do so. Uh your microphone will be muted at the end of that countdown. So we have any members of the public who would like to speak on items that are not on the agenda tonight. Chair Weeks, there are no hands case at this time. Thank you very much. So with that, I'll go ahead and close the public comment period. And we'll move into item four, planning commissioners report. So our uh purpose as a planning commission is that we are charged with carrying out the California planning and zoning laws in the city of Santa Rosa, and duties include implementing of plans, ordinances, and policies relating to land use matters, assisting in writing and implementing the general plan and area plans, holding public hearings, and acting on proposed changes to the zoning code, zoning map, general plan, tentative subdivision maps, and undertaking special planning studies as needed.
openpublica.com