Santa Rosa Planning Commission Regular Meeting - May 8, 2025
Santa Rosa Planning Commission Regular Meeting - May 8, 2025
The Santa Rosa Planning Commission held its regular meeting on May 8, 2025, beginning at 4:30 PM and adjourning at 5:02 PM. All five members were present (Chair Karen Weeks, Vice Chair Vicki Duggan, Commissioners Patti Cisco, Aaron Pardo, and Terrence Sanders) with Commissioners Charles Carter and Miles Horton absent. The meeting included approval of minutes, public comments on non‑agenda matters, commissioner and department reports, and a public hearing on a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) for alcohol sales at a Circle K gas station.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Non‑agenda public comment (4:31‑4:34 PM): Janice Carrman expressed disappointment that the “Hand” sculpture was removed to Geyserville, arguing the city should have cooperated to keep it in Santa Rosa. She also objected to Commissioner Terrence Sanders’ appointment to the Planning Commission, stating he lives in District 4 while she is in District 3, and that commissioners should represent their own district. Chair Weeks clarified that Planning Commissioners are appointed by council members to serve the entire city, not tied to a specific district.
- Public hearing comment (4:49‑4:50 PM): The same speaker, Janice Carrman, requested that the hours for alcohol sales at the Circle K be reduced, suggesting a 9:00 PM cutoff, citing nearby hotels, drinking activity, and the risk of underage access.
Discussion Items
- Commissioner Reports: Vice Chair Duggan reported on the grand opening of The Cannery apartment building near the train station. Commissioner Sanders echoed that and reminded everyone about the upcoming Rose Parade on May 17, 2025, at 10:00 AM.
- Department Report: Deputy Director Jessica Jones updated that the first General Plan Amendment package for 2025, including the Dutton Avenue property and a Housing Element amendment, was continued to June 3, 2025, and will be combined with the General Plan 2050 item.
- Public Hearing – Circle K Store & 76 Gas Station (CUP24‑047): Planner Hana Michaelson presented the request for a Type 20 (beer and wine off‑sale) conditional use permit at 2799 4th Street, an existing Circle K and 76 station. The project is exempt from CEQA. Staff noted that the police department had no objections. The ABC representative, Megan Brewer, explained that Type 20 (beer/wine only) differs from Type 21 (includes spirits), and that within the relevant census tract, six Type 20 licenses are allowed but only one is currently active. Commissioners raised concerns: Commissioner Sanders noted the area already has multiple alcohol retailers (CVS, Safeway, Lucky’s, bars) and questioned “public convenience or necessity”; Commissioner Cisco pointed out the misalignment between zoning code criteria and available police records; Chair Weeks requested that future reports include a map of all nearby alcohol sales outlets, not limited by arbitrary census tracts. Commissioners also noted that store hours are set by ABC (6:00 AM‑2:00 AM for alcohol sales) but the store’s operating hours (5:00 AM‑11:00 PM) can be regulated by the city. Commissioner Cisco suggested the applicant voluntarily avoid selling single cans/bottles to reduce loitering, though this could not be conditioned.
Key Outcomes
- Minutes: The April 24, 2025 draft minutes were approved as submitted.
- Conditional Use Permit Approval: Motion by Commissioner Cisco, seconded by Commissioner Pardo, to adopt Resolution PC‑RES‑2025‑010 approving the CUP for off‑site beer and wine sales at the Circle K, 2799 4th Street. The motion passed 5‑0 (Chair Weeks, Vice Chair Duggan, Commissioners Cisco, Pardo, Sanders in favor; Commissioners Carter and Horton absent). The decision is final unless appealed to the City Clerk within 10 calendar days per Zoning Code Section 20‑62.030.
Meeting Transcript
Okay, everyone. Um, we're gonna get started with our meeting. Um, I'd like to call to order the May eighth, twenty twenty-five meeting of the planning commission, and could we please have roll? Thank you, Chair. Commissioner Sisko. Here. Commissioner Horton is absent. Commissioner Pardo. Here. Commissioner Sanders. Vice Chair Duggan. Here. Chair Weeks. Here. Let the record reflect that all members are present with the exception of Commissioner Carter and Commissioner Park. And we don't have any remote participation. We have one set of minutes from April 24th. Are there any changes to the minutes? Okay, so with that, they'll be approved as submitted. And then we'll move on to public comments on non-agenda matters. We are now taking public comments on non-agenda matters. This is a time when any person may address a commission on matters that are not listed on this agenda, but which are within the subject matter jurisdiction of the committee. If you'd like to make public comment, please state your name for the record, and you'll have three minutes. The microphone doesn't seem to be working. Is it working? Okay, I think it's working now. Janice Carmen, K-A-R-R-M-A-N. And I just like to comment about the hand, and I'm very disappointed that it's gone off to Geyserville. And I do feel that it's within the jurisdiction of the city, and the city should cooperate with other agencies. And you're trying to promote tourism. We're trying to promote it. I've lived here for you know most of my life and been coming since before I was born. So I've seen a lot of changes in Santa Rosa, and right now it's painful what's going on. But that hand was actually part of the legacy, the legend is Santa Rosa. And today it's in the paper that they only found out about it a week ago, and I had spoken with someone earlier, and they they weren't sure. But the point is that people need to move when you see it's time to move. You can't just sit and wait for someone else to do something. And I feel that if you'd known that it was going to move, and you know, planning should be somehow related to this. Um, if you knew it was going to move, then I feel that the uh people of Santa Rosa could have rallied a bit, and maybe we would have even gotten a benefactor that was willing to pay for it and lend it to Geyserville. But the reason why it was not uh ours still, or uh uh Santa Rosa is because I'm told that by a good source that Santa Rosa City could not afford to pay for the excavation, and no one seems to know how much that cost either. But um I'm just gonna say that the hand was really important here, and I also want to talk about my objection to Terry being on the board, and this is not an equity issue, it is not a racial or a gender issue. This is an issue about the constituents of Santa Rosa being represented by a person from their own district and not another district, and it doesn't matter who appoints them as long as they represent the district that they are supposed to be representing. He's from district four, I'm in district, uh district three, and it's the largest district in Santa Rosa. So I object to Terry being on the uh planning commission and representing whoever he's representing. I don't know. He talked about things in some other place last time I was here. So thank you. Are there any other public comments? Okay, so with that, I'll close the public comment period. And I would like to mention that planning commissioners are appointed by specific council members and uh not tied to the district.
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