Santa Rosa Planning Commission Regular Meeting - July 13, 2023
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Santa Rosa Planning Commission Regular Meeting - July 13, 2023
The Santa Rosa Planning Commission held a regular meeting on July 13, 2023, starting at 4:30 p.m. and adjourning at 6:23 p.m. All seven commissioners were present, though Commissioner Terrence Sanders recused himself from item 9.1 (Fir Ridge Meadows) due to a past campaign contribution from the applicant, which was returned. The meeting covered a staff report on the House Santa Rosa housing initiative, a public hearing on the Fir Ridge Meadows subdivision, and routine administrative items.
Consent Calendar
- None. No consent items were listed on the agenda.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Cliff Wigham (property owner and organizer of the Gateway Coalition in the Roberts District) spoke during non-agenda public comments. He raised concerns about the current zoning of the Roberts District (6.0 floor area ratio) and argued it should be reduced to 2.0 or revert to 25-40 units per acre, citing the area's alignment with Roseland and the city's own staff report on EIFD. He also attempted to display a map but encountered technical issues.
- Gregory Fearon (public comment on House Santa Rosa) expressed support for the project and advocated for a strong user group to make the tool more user-friendly, drawing on his experience as a software developer.
- Natalie Manning (resident at 1908 Lion Court, adjacent to Fir Ridge Meadows) commented on the importance of heritage trees, particularly a significant oak and coast redwoods, and expressed concerns about bird species and construction impacts. She asked about tree replacement and phasing of construction.
- Gregory Fearon (again on Fir Ridge Meadows) commented on the project's history, noting that the site was originally intended for affordable housing and expressing regret that the current proposal is market-rate. He urged the commission to ensure proceeds from the land sale are used for low-income housing.
- Debbie Mies (resident near Fir Ridge Meadows) raised concerns about traffic, stating that the traffic study understates actual volumes, and asked about noise ordinance enforcement and how to access the traffic study.
- Greg Marcarelli (resident at 1907 Lion Court) expressed concerns about wildlife (hawks, owls, bobcats) and the proposed road alignment, questioned the tree health assessments, and asked whether the project could be built in phases or if the land could be donated back to the city.
Department Reports
- Staff Liaison Jessica Jones reported on several items: the draft General Plan public version is expected to be available for review as early as July 17, 2023, with community outreach through the end of summer and a joint commission/council meeting in fall 2023 to review the draft General Plan and EIR. The City Council upheld the commission's approval of the Tierra de Rosas tentative map on July 11, 2023. The short-term rental ordinance will go to the City Council for second reading on July 25, 2023, including changes requested by the commission.
Discussion Items
- House Santa Rosa Report (Item 8.1) – Presented by Planner Conor McKay. The project is a grant-funded initiative (LEAP grant from HCD) to accelerate housing production in Santa Rosa. Two tools were presented: a development feasibility map/dashboard that allows users to filter parcels by criteria (e.g., density, height, parking, affordable units) and a real-time development map/dashboard showing housing projects in the pipeline by council district. The grant originally required expenditure by September 2023, but the state is expected to extend the deadline to September 2024. Approximately 500 survey responses were received earlier. Commissioners offered feedback, including suggestions for adding a constraints heading (instead of
Meeting Transcript
Chair Weeks, we're ready to get started whenever you are. Okay, with that, um, we will go ahead and start the uh July thirteenth, twenty twenty-three meeting of the Center of Planning Commission, and I'd like to call the meeting to order. Can we have roll call, please? Commissioner Carter. Commissioner Sisko. Here Commissioner Holton. Here. Commissioner Peterson. Here. Commissioner Sanders. Here. Vice Chair Duggan. Here. Chair Weeks. Here. Let the record reflect that all commissioners are present. Thank you. Um and with uh we'll go to item two approval of minutes. We have one set of minutes from June eighth. Are there any changes or corrections? Okay, seeing none none, those will stand as approved. So we'll go to item three, our public our public comment section. Uh, we're now taking public comments on item three, which is non-agenda matters. This is a time when any person may address the commission on matters not listed on this agenda, but which are within the subject matter jurisdiction of the commission. Um if you could like to to go to one of the podiums up there, um, you will be given notification and a timer will be set for three minutes. Can I use overhead? Does it work? Yes. And if you could please state your name for the record. I'm uh one of the property owners of the Roberts District and the organizer of the gateway. I'm sorry, could you speak directly into the microphone so we can hear you? My name's Cliff Wigum. I'm one of the property owners and the organizer of the Gateway Coalition in the Roberts District. The newly formed Roberts District. How can I make the overhead work? Cliff, sorry, bear with me. I'm trying to get I'm trying to turn this on and it's not working. Um can the IT team please come out here. We'll get somebody out in just a second to help. Okay. Um the Roberts District was created as part of the downtown stationary specific plan. Previously, it was trend village 25 to 40 units per acre, and it was zoned that in 2006. I bought my property in 2006, and six months later, it was rezoned to something I couldn't use property for. In 2016, I created the Gateway Coalition, which is a collection of ten property owners on a ten acres uh private property in the ro what is now the Roberts District. We secured a grant from the EPA in 2018 to do the environmentals. We completed the environmental assessments November twentieth, 2020. And the properties were rezoned six weeks later, and January first, twenty twenty-one, to the current unrealistic six point zero floor area ratio. Uh no, I've spent the last two years talking to developers, and everyone tells me that it will never be developed because it's positioning. Uh not in eight years, not in 25 years, that it is on the south side of Highway 12. That's a four-lane elevated solid Earth freeway dividing Ray Road Square and Roberts District.
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