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Record of Proceedings

Cultural Heritage Board Study Session on Draft General Plan – September 20, 2023

Planning Commission — Wednesday, September 20, 2023
BodySanta Rosa, California
SessionPlanning Commission
DateWednesday, September 20, 2023
StatusFILED
Video Record
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Transcript — Verbatim
2:25

Okay, good afternoon, everybody, and welcome to the September twentieth City of Santa Rosa Cultural Heritage Board meeting.

2:35

Um we'll go ahead and begin with uh call to order and a roll call.

2:39

Uh, Ms.

2:40

Buckide, if we can have a roll call.

2:42

Board Member Borin.

2:48

Here.

2:50

Board Member Carney.

2:51

Here.

2:52

Board Member Fennel is absent.

2:54

Board member Klein.

2:56

Here.

2:57

Board Member Marslin.

2:59

Here.

3:00

Board Member Garrett.

3:02

Or sorry, Vice Chair Garrett.

3:04

Here.

3:04

Chair Miser.

3:06

Here.

3:07

Let the record reflect that all board members are present with the exception of Board Member Fennel.

3:16

Okay, thank you.

3:17

And moving on to item two, approval of minutes.

3:20

Uh, do we have any additions, deletions, changes to the August sixteenth, twenty twenty-three draft minutes?

3:31

Seeing none?

3:33

We'll leave them as read.

3:45

Any person may address matters not listed on this agenda, but which are within the subject matter of the jurisdiction.

3:54

The public may comment on agenda items when the uh item is called.

3:59

Each speaker is allowed three minutes.

4:06

Chair Miser, I'm not seeing any members of the public here in person, and we have no participants via Zoom.

4:13

Okay, thank you.

4:14

I'll close uh public comment.

4:37

Reviewing proposed alterations to historic buildings, and promoting public awareness of preservation issues.

4:44

If you are in a historic district and would like more information regarding historic districts, please see the processing review procedures for historic owners of historic properties.

5:00

Do we have any reports from board members?

5:02

Anybody been involved in any fun activities?

5:08

Okay.

5:09

Okay.

5:13

Seeing none, we'll close uh board member reports.

5:16

Uh but actually before I do that, I'll open it up for public comment.

5:22

Chair Muser, since nobody had any board member reports, then no public comment is needed.

5:28

Okay, moving on.

5:29

Uh we don't have anything in other uh tonight.

5:33

So we'll move on to uh Miss Murray with uh department reports.

5:37

Good afternoon, Chair Muser and members of the Cultural Heritage Board.

5:42

I want to open with an apology.

5:44

I um I made you uh a commitment at the meeting of August 16th that I would send out some dates for um an upcoming workshop.

5:53

And I was reminded of that by Chair Muser earlier today.

5:57

And so I I have sent them.

6:00

They're on your email when you get home.

6:02

Um I'm gonna let you know those dates are October 18th is the first one.

6:07

We have another item pending on that agenda, and it's something that you will all be very interested in.

6:14

Um, but I we don't know for sure that it's there.

6:17

So I'm gonna throw out these dates October 18th, November 1st and 15th, and December 6th or 20th.

6:25

I I'm always a little hesitant on things that are gonna draw public attention for doing it near the holidays.

6:31

So if we can avoid that December 20th, I think it would be best.

6:35

But all the other dates look good.

6:37

So if you could just look at your emails when you get home, let me know if you are if it looks like you'll be available now on those dates.

6:45

I'm not asking you to reserve them, but what I will do is try to block an agenda for the the workshop so we don't have other items.

6:53

We can do it in a round table discussion in another room where we're um recorded and televised or live streamed, I guess it is these days.

7:03

Um yeah, so if you could do that, that would be great.

7:08

Um I think that that the board training that'll serve as a really good training opportunity.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Historic Preservation███████████████████████████████████████39%
Planning And Zoning███████████████████████████████31%
Procedural█████████9%
Community Engagement███████7%
Climate Change████4%
Code Enforcement███3%
Staffing██2%
Public Health Awareness██2%
Parks and Recreation██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Cultural Heritage Board Regular Meeting – September 20, 2023

The Cultural Heritage Board (CHB) held a regular meeting on September 20, 2023, from 4:31 PM to 5:29 PM. The primary item was a study session to review and provide input on the Draft General Plan 2050 (Santa Rosa Forward). The board focused on the historic preservation chapter and related policies, discussing staff recommendations, a public comment letter from the Sonoma County Historical Society, and potential improvements to the plan.

Consent Calendar

  • None.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No public comments were made in person or via Zoom.

Discussion Items

  • Study Session – Draft General Plan 2050: Senior Planner Shari Meads presented the multi-year process, vision statement, land use alternatives, and the structure of the draft general plan. The plan includes a new chapter on urban design, historic preservation, and art and culture (Chapter 2), with policies on historic preservation (pages 4-7 to 4-10). Key policies discussed include:
    • Policy 4-2.11: simplifying obstacles for owners of historic properties.
    • Action 4-2.12: requiring salvaging of historic materials from demolitions (board member expressed concern about enforceability and feasibility).
    • Board members supported the recommendations from the Sonoma County Historical Society (e.g., performing a survey of significant event sites, using consistent terminology, and preserving historic aspects of parks).
  • Board members raised the need for dedicated funding to survey un-surveyed properties and identify standalone historic buildings. The downtown station area historic resource evaluation (750 properties) is nearing completion and will be presented to the board on October 18, 2023.
  • Staff noted that the public comment period closes October 1, 2023, and additional comments are welcome.

Key Outcomes

  • The board endorsed the Sonoma County Historical Society’s recommendations, agreeing they would strengthen the historic preservation chapter.
  • The board recommended that Action 4-2.12 be revised to avoid a blanket building code requirement and instead allow case-by-case review of demolition permits for historic structures, with a report to the CHB prior to permit issuance.
  • Staff will consider the board’s input and may adjust the timeline for final public review of the general plan.
  • The next CHB meeting (October 18, 2023) will include a presentation on the downtown station area historic resource evaluation.

Meeting Transcript

Okay, good afternoon, everybody, and welcome to the September twentieth City of Santa Rosa Cultural Heritage Board meeting. Um we'll go ahead and begin with uh call to order and a roll call. Uh, Ms. Buckide, if we can have a roll call. Board Member Borin. Here. Board Member Carney. Here. Board Member Fennel is absent. Board member Klein. Here. Board Member Marslin. Here. Board Member Garrett. Or sorry, Vice Chair Garrett. Here. Chair Miser. Here. Let the record reflect that all board members are present with the exception of Board Member Fennel. Okay, thank you. And moving on to item two, approval of minutes. Uh, do we have any additions, deletions, changes to the August sixteenth, twenty twenty-three draft minutes? Seeing none? We'll leave them as read. Any person may address matters not listed on this agenda, but which are within the subject matter of the jurisdiction. The public may comment on agenda items when the uh item is called. Each speaker is allowed three minutes. Chair Miser, I'm not seeing any members of the public here in person, and we have no participants via Zoom. Okay, thank you. I'll close uh public comment. Reviewing proposed alterations to historic buildings, and promoting public awareness of preservation issues. If you are in a historic district and would like more information regarding historic districts, please see the processing review procedures for historic owners of historic properties. Do we have any reports from board members? Anybody been involved in any fun activities? Okay. Okay. Seeing none, we'll close uh board member reports. Uh but actually before I do that, I'll open it up for public comment. Chair Muser, since nobody had any board member reports, then no public comment is needed. Okay, moving on. Uh we don't have anything in other uh tonight. So we'll move on to uh Miss Murray with uh department reports. Good afternoon, Chair Muser and members of the Cultural Heritage Board. I want to open with an apology. I um I made you uh a commitment at the meeting of August 16th that I would send out some dates for um an upcoming workshop. And I was reminded of that by Chair Muser earlier today. And so I I have sent them. They're on your email when you get home. Um I'm gonna let you know those dates are October 18th is the first one. We have another item pending on that agenda, and it's something that you will all be very interested in.

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