Interpretation of the meeting.

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Okay, everyone, I'd like to call to order the November thirteenth, twenty twenty-five meeting of the Santa Rosa Planning Commission.

If we could have roll, please.

Thank you, Chair.

Commissioner Carter.

Here.

Commissioner Sisko.

Here.

Commissioner Horton.

Here.

Commissioner Pardot.

Here.

Commissioner Sanders.

Here.

Vice Chair Duggan is absent.

Chair Weeks.

Here.

Thank you.

Let the record reflect that all commissioners are present with the exception of Vice Chair Duggan.

Thank you.

Today's meeting by request is being simultaneously translated to Mandarin.

We have translation headsets available for those attending in person in the chambers if you would like them.

And the translation channel through Zoom has been enabled.

By clicking the globe at the bottom of your screen, you will be taken to the Mandarin channel.

Additionally, please be sure to speak slowly and clearly for the interpreters.

So with that, we have no remote participation under AB 2449.

We have one set of minutes from September 25th.

Are there any changes, corrections, additions?

Okay.

Seeing none, those will stand as submitted.

Are there any public comments on the minutes from September 25th?

Seeing no one, we will go on to public comments on non-agenda matters.

As a reminder, this item is for any public comments that are within our purview, but that are not on the agenda.

If you would like to make public comment, please go to either podium, and you will have three minutes.

There will be a countdown timer once you begin to speak.

Okay, seeing no one go to the podium for the public comments and non-agenda matters.

We'll move on to uh commission business.

Um our statement of purpose is that we are charged with carrying out the California planning and zoning laws in the city of Santa Rosa.

Duties include implementing of plans, ordinances, and policies relating to land use matters, assisting in writing and implementing the general plan and area plan, 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.

And with that, we'll go to Commissioner Reports.

Are there any commissioner reports?

Okay.

No commissioner reports.

So then we will go on to Department Report.

Good evening, Chair Weeks, members of the Commission.

Uh, I do not have a report for tonight.

Thank you.

Uh we have no statements of abstention or recusal, I believe.

Is that correct?

Okay.

Uh no presentations, which is item eight, no consent items, number nine, number 10's report item.

So we'll move right into our scheduled item.

This is a public hearing, pure vita recovery services, planning record 5761, Mountain Hawk Drive, PLN 25-0136.

This is an ex parte item, so we'll start with that.

Uh Commissioner Horton.

Uh, thank you.

I have met with the applicant at their request and visited the site.

Thank you.

Commissioner Sanders.

I've also met with the applicant and several uh business owners on the site and visited the site several times.

Thank you.

Commissioner Carter.

I visited the site and also met with the applicant.

Thank you, Commissioner Sisko.

Um I met with the applicant and have also visited the site.

Thank you.

Commissioner Pardot.

I have also met with the applicant but have not visited the site.

Thank you.

And I have also met with the applicant and have visited the site in the past.

So with that, um, once again, I'd like to remind people, if you're speaking, please to speak clearly and slowly, um, that will help with our interpreters.

So with that, um, we will start with the presentation.

Thank you, Chair Weeks, and good afternoon, members of the planning commission.

My name is Sitchinor Bisla, and the project before you today is a minor conditional use permit request for Pure Vita Recovery Services to be located at 5761 Mountain Hawk Drive.

The request is for a 24-bed community care facility, and that would be a non-medical adult residential alcohol and drug treatment program.

It would be a 24-hour operation with a maximum of eight staff on site at any given time.

I would also like to add on to the slide that the applicant currently operates a six-bed community care facility at that site with the same operation, which I will discuss further later in the presentation.

Here is the project location, the building to the left, located within the highlighted parcel.

The second floor suites 201 through 207 is where the proposed use would be going and where the current six-bed facility is.

Here is an aerial view of the neighborhood.

The project site is located on the corner of Highway 12 and Mountain Hawk Drive.

The staff report provides a detailed project history, but I will go over some of the key dates.

In July of 2022, the applicant obtained a zoning clearance for a community care facility for six or fewer clients.

And in August of 2022, the applicant applied for a minor conditional use permit for 24 clients.

In October of 2022, a notice of zoning administrator public meeting was distributed to neighbors within 600 feet of the property.

And following that, staff received a request for a public hearing.

Later that month, city staff met with neighbors and realized there was a high amount of interest in the item.

Therefore, the item was elevated to the planning commission for decision.

In December of 2022, the planning commission held a public hearing at which the motion to adopt a draft resolution of approval failed.

And staff was given direction to return to the planning commission at a later meeting date with a resolution of denial for them to act on.

And as a result, staff did not return to the planning commission with a resolution of denial.

And then May of 2025, we received a new minor conditional use permit request also for a 24-bed community care facility at this site.

The zoning for this site is CNSR, which stands for Neighborhood Commercial and Scenic Road as it's located along Highway 12.

Per the commercial land use table and the zoning code, a community care facility of seven or more clients is allowed with an approved minor conditional use permit within the CN zoning district, and a community care facility for with six or fewer clients is permitted by right with an obtained zoning clearance.

These requirements are consistent throughout all of the different zoning districts, residential, commercial, and industrial.

It's the same requirements throughout the city, with the exception of the C V zoning district you'll see there.

That's the motor vehicle sales district, and that's the only district where community care facilities are not permitted.

The zoning code's definite definition of community care facility is a facility, place, or building that is maintained and operated to provide non medical residential care, which may include home finding and other services for children and or adults for a variety of groups, including the addicted.

Pura Vita is licensed by the California Department of Health Care Services and is defined by the California Health and Safety Code as an alcoholism or drug abuse recovery or treatment facility, which provides residential non-medical services to adults who are recovering from problems related to alcohol or drug abuse.

The California Health and Safety Code defines incidental medical services as services that are in compliance with the community standard of practice and that are not required to be performed in a licensed clinic or licensed health facility.

And the services that Pira Vita provides are in keeping with the definition of incidental medical services.

The Health and Safety Code also goes on to state that facilities shall not by offering approved incidental medical services be deemed a clinic or health care facility.

Therefore, they're still defined as providing non-medical services and fit the zoning code's definition of community care facility.

The general plan land use designation for this site is very low density residential, for which the implementing zoning district is rural residential, and within the implementing zoning district, there would be the same permitting requirements for community care facilities.

The proposed use is consistent with several goals and policies of the general plan in regards to land use and economic development, health, equity, environmental justice, and parks, and housing.

Here's the proposed floor floor plan for the use.

This is a bit different than what came before the planning commission in December of 2022.

Currently, they are as built seven residential units, and at that time the proposal was to keep the seven units as built to operate the facility, and the six-bed facility has been operating with those seven units as built.

But now the proposal is to combine units 201 through 204 and 206 and 207 into two singular larger units, and then utilize unit 205 as a staff office space.

These larger combined units allow not only for more staff oversight over the operation, but also for a greater community environment amongst the clients.

There are 30 spaces available on site for the use, as well as 12 on-street spaces along Highway 12.

The zoning code requires that community care facilities provide one parking space for every three beds, so this use would require eight parking spaces, and there's more than adequate parking on site.

The project description specifies that clients will not have their vehicles on site throughout the duration of their stay.

So the available parking spaces are anticipated to be used by staff and during a client check-in and checkout.

The project is categorically exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act through a Class 1 exemption as they are located within an existing structure involving a negligible expansion, as well as a class 32 exemption for an infill project.

Staff is able to make all of the required findings for a minor conditional use permit.

The proposed use is consistent with the zoning code and the general plan.

Police and traffic staff have found there to be no foreseen issues in terms of generating a nuisance or inconvenience to others in the vicinity.

Staff has received numerous public comments stating concerns about the proposed use, and I'll go through these one by one in the next slides.

There are concerns that the proposed use is being misleadingly represented as a community services center.

The zoning code provides standardized definitions for all of the different land uses, and every time a new land use is proposed, the first step is for staff to determine which one of the land use categories in the zoning code corresponds to the proposed use.

The proposed use, as discussed earlier, exactly meets the zoning code definition of community care facility.

There is no other land use definition that mentions services for the addicted that would meet the proposed project.

Staff has found no other land use category to be more appropriate for the proposed use.

There are concerns about the proximity to the elementary school and compromise safety.

There has been no evidence submitted to suggest that the proposed project would affect the safety of the neighborhood.

Furthermore, state law and city code do not have any regulations that would limit the proximity between schools and community care facilities.

The police department has also reviewed the project, and they do not have any concerns.

And as mentioned earlier, Pure Rita has been operating a six-bed facility at this site for over three years, and they have had no issues.

There have been no calls for service to this site to the police in regards to the facility's clients or their staff, and there have been no court enforcement violations at this facility.

There are also concerns about impacts to traffic and parking.

There was a trip generation memo prepared by WTRANs in 2022 that demonstrates that the proposed use would have an insignificant effect on the traffic.

In addition to that, check-in would only be during business hours, so there would not be any after hours traffic anticipated.

Clients will not have any vehicles on site, and they wouldn't be able to go off site without a staff member.

And again, as discussed earlier, there are 42 spaces total located here for the proposed use.

The zoning code requires eight spots for this use, and given the operational characteristics, it's expected that it would generate a low parking demand.

We also received concerns about the effects on the economic vitality of neighboring businesses.

In their project description, the applicant has noted that they have supportive and positive relationships with their neighboring businesses, and the city does not have any documentation that the proposed use would have any negative impact on the neighboring businesses on site.

We've received comments that the proposed use is a violation of the general plan.

Staff isn't really clear on which aspects of the general plan this is referring to.

As discussed earlier, the proposed use is consistent with several goals and policies of the general plan.

And the residential general plan land use designations support compatible accessory uses, which explicitly include community care facilities.

There have been comments that the proposed use is incompatible with a residential neighborhood and it does not serve the needs of the Skyhawk community.

In the housing element of the general plan as well as the zoning code, both of them explicitly classify community care facilities as a residential housing use type.

Additionally, in the project description, the applicant has stated that their six-bed facility at this location has successfully served several members of the Skyhawk community with addiction treatment services, and they plan to continue to do so as they expand if the need arises.

The draft resolution before the planning commission today contains a condition of approval that would require at least three overnight staff and six daytime staff to be present.

We've also received several letters in support of the proposed use at this site.

We receive letters from previous clients and their family members as well as other Santa Rosa residents.

They note that this is a vital resource for the community, that Pura Vida has saved many lives, and people have given their personal positive success stories of their experience with Pura Bita.

They've stated that Purabita has a proven track record of professionalism.

It's safe, structured, controlled operation where the rules are enforced, and there's respect and care for the surrounding community.

They've noted that there is a necessity for such a facility, as there have been recent closures of several other facilities in the county, and there is a lack of beds, and that addiction does not discriminate and affects people from all walks of life and all neighborhoods.

We've also received letters of support from neighboring businesses, namely Edward Jones, Massage Envy, Anytime Fitness, and Colleen's Coffee Shop, as well as the owner of the adjacent parcel and conjoining building.

They've all stated that they have positive working relationships with Pure Abita and have had no issues with them as neighbors.

They have been safe and responsible operators.

The business owners say that they support the work that Pura Vita does and the services that they provide, and that they have full faith that they'll continue to be responsible, respectful, and continue to foster the positive relationships as they expand.

Specifically Colleen's Coffee Shop and Anytime Businesses or any sorry Anytime Fitness also noted that Pura Vita staff patronizes their businesses, and they feel that the expansion would not only be beneficial to the community, but also for their businesses.

We also received a letter from Christopher Lewis, the former chief of licensing for the California Department of Healthcare Services.

In this letter, he clarifies the facility's designation as a non-medical residential treatment program that provides incidental medical services.

And he also clarifies that state law prohibits this facility from being classified as a medical facility.

Mr.

Lewis also shows support for pure vita in this letter, explaining that it's a structured and evidence-based program operating with the highest levels of care, and that approval of this permit would strengthen public health and improve community well-being.

For any questions, comments or concerns, this is my contact information.

And the applicant also has a presentation of their own as well.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Are there any questions, clarifying questions of staff at this time before we hear from the applicant?

Terry?

Or Commissioner Sanders, rather.

And just clarifying questions.

Clarifying questions.

From what the presentation was.

No.

Okay, anyone else?

Okay, so with that, we'll go to the applicant.

I'm not sure.

Okay.

Yes, please.

And when you get up there, you can, and this is for everybody who is going to go to the podium.

There's a button on the side, you can raise and lower it.

You have to speak directly into the microphone because it's very sensitive.

So just for those of you who will be speaking, that I could get that out of the way right now.

So if you could state your name for the record, that would be great.

It might be on the other side.

Is that on that side?

It might be up aside as it goes.

Okay.

My name is Alex Wignall.

I'm one of the owners and the operators of Pure Vita Recovery Services.

I personally owe everything I have.

My work, my family, my wife and three children, my friends, to my sobriety.

And that all started in a facility like the one we're proposing to operate here.

I'd like to start by thanking everyone who's shown support for our project.

Most notably all of our immediate neighbors at the project location.

Joe Zabluski is the owner of Massage Envy, Patrick Cam, the owner of Anytime Fitness, and Matt Morales is here too, his manager to support us.

Bob Duffield, owner of Edward Jones, Colleen Falconer, the owner of Colleen's Coffin Coffee Shop, and Ken Lafranke, our neighbor who owns the building next to us.

These neighbors all have a vested financial interest in the operation of their respective businesses, with whom we share common space and parking.

It was no small gesture for them to publicly support our project.

It's a testament to the good faith in which we've worked together to foster neighborly relationships and an affirmation that the good work that we strive to do every day is making an impact and achieving its desired goal to provide quality, affordable addiction treatment to as many people as possible.

Secondly, I'd like to thank uh David Chen, the president of Skyhawk United, for acting as a liaison in our efforts to reach out to the community to provide outreach and educational opportunities.

In our meeting with Mayor Stapp, he strongly recommended that we make a strong effort at community outreach and engagement to help meet and educate our future neighbors.

Over the past weeks, we have held two public meetings, which were attended by members of the leadership team at Pura Vita.

Dr.

Chen graciously notified his sizable community email list of these opportunities, and we also posted public signs next to the notice of public hearing signs as well as flyers at Colleen's coffee shop in attempt to in an attempt to reach as many members of the community as possible.

The first meeting was held in person at Colleen's coffee shop, which she generously offered for that purpose, and the second was held via video conference at the suggestion of Mr.

Chen.

While the turnout was low, we were notified by several members of the community that they and their neighbors were aware of the meetings and had received numerous invites and saw the signs we had posted.

I want to take a few minutes to address some of the misconceptions about our program that we have heard, notably that we heard during those outreach meetings.

Number one, there will be no change in service at the facility.

The proposed 24-bed facility will provide the exact same services that the current six-bed facility is licensed to provide and has been doing for the last three years.

There will be no outpatient services or medication assisted treatment or walk-up clinics at the facility.

Neighborhood effects.

There have been no complaints reported to the city, Pura Vita, or neighboring businesses or landlords.

Further, there have been no law enforcement calls for service relative to our residents, and many members of the surrounding community have not even noticed our operation.

Our other locations in Santa Rosa have likewise generated no complaints or calls for service.

There's obviously lots of concern about the neighboring businesses, like Nora mentioned in her staff report.

The proposed use will not affect the existing businesses at the center.

The facility will only use the seven residential units upstairs.

There were questions about supervision of residents.

Residents are going to be supervised by between four and stick six staff members, or I'm sorry, four and eight staff members 24 hours a day.

Traffic was a question that Nora covered.

We had that trip generation memo done by W Trans that showed that we would have a negligible impact on traffic.

There's not nearly enough time in my 10-minute presentation to explain all of our policies and procedures.

However, I will say that Pura Vita maintains an active and unblemished license from the California Department of Healthcare Services, as well as an active and unblemished accreditation from the joint commission.

These regulatory bodies have sole authority to govern the operation of facilities of our type.

They require strict guidelines for client safety.

By operating a non-medical adult residential addiction treatment facility, pure Vita is obligated to operate under these guidelines and hold ourselves to the highest standard to maintain a safe and effective treatment environment for our clients and neighbors.

This includes detailed policies and procedures of the highest standard for client intake, admission, privacy, and discharge.

When this project was presented to the planning commission in 2022, there were several there were several aspects of our program that we did not do a good enough job of explaining.

I'm hoping that we can take a minute to correct some of the errors we made and give the planning commission all the necessary information to make an informed decision about the nature of our project and its suitability for this location.

As Nora's excellent staff report outlines, Pura Vita Recovery Services is proposing to operate an alcohol and drug program, which the California Health and Safety Code explicitly states cannot be considered a medical facility.

Here to shed some light on that issue, I have with us our medical director.

Forgive me while I introduce him.

This usually takes a minute.

This is retired Lieutenant Colonel Roderick Fontenette.

He's a 21-year Air Force veteran with deployments to Afghanistan, Kuwait, Turkey, Africa, and Germany.

Dr.

Fontenette is board certified in emergency medicine, critical care medicine, neurocritical care, and is currently waiting to sit for his addiction medicine boards.

He earned a master's of health care management from Harvard University's THTN School of Public Health.

He's the medical director of the ICU at St.

Alina Hospital, where he cares for critically ill patients, many of whom have substance use disorder.

So Roderick Wayne Fontenet for the recording.

Thanks for having me here and welcoming me here this evening.

At Pura Vita, we treat clients who are attempting to recover from addiction in a residential setting.

This should not be confused with an inpatient setting, which would imply a setting of medical nature.

Residential settings are ones in which clients are fully capable of all activities of daily living, including at the detox level of care.

To ensure that clients meet these requirements, they undergo a rigorous screening and admissions process.

This step ensures that no patient who enters an inpatient medical detox is admitted to our facility.

If at any time during that process, myself or my colleagues determined that a patient needs a higher level of care, they are referred elsewhere.

Pure Vita submitted a letter of support from Christopher Lewis, the former chief of licensing at the Department of Healthcare Services, which I would like to quote: the man who wrote this oversaw the approval of all applications for these type of facilities at DHCS for over a decade.

And I quote, this facility does not provide medical treatment services, but instead offers structured, supportive recovery in a home-like environment where individuals can safely begin the process of rebuilding their lives.

Programs of this kind are designed to foster personal growth, accountability, and community reintegration, key components of long-term recovery.

The law does not allow these type of facilities to be classified as medical.

However, some incidental medical services are provided, such as prescribing medications.

End quote.

Thank you, Rod.

Appreciate that.

Many concerns sent to the city via email that we were able to see focus on vagrance, vandalism, criminal activity, property values, and danger to school children.

These have been left unaddressed until now because I think we can all agree that they are baseless, discriminatory, and according to our nearly three years of operational success, false.

The proposed project will continue to have no negative impact on the residential neighborhoods near our program.

Our community is not immune to the effects of our country's broader addiction crisis.

In fact, Sonoma County just lost one of its longest-standing and largest residential addiction treatment facilities in the past month when Azure Acres closed its doors, eliminating over 50 residential beds in the county.

Now more than ever, the people of Santa Rosa need access to quality addiction treatment.

We hope to help fill the gap and allow our neighbors a place to land when they need it most.

I would like to pose a to pose a question to keep in your mind as you hear public comment throughout the rest of the meeting.

Pure Vita currently operates 18 residential beds in Santa Rosa, including six at the proposed site.

Of all the concerns and fears that you will hear tonight, do any of them come in the form of a concrete complaint about one of our existing programs, locations, services, or clients or employees.

I'm confident that they won't.

As evidenced by the staff report and their recommendation for issuance of the minor conditional use permit.

Our plan is consistent with the zoning code, general plan, and other required findings.

Our use is non-medical residential addiction treatment in the form of a community care facility.

Our three years of operational experience at this site make that make clear that the neighbors who see us every day, the ones who would be directly affected by our operation, the businesses we share a building with are actively supporting our expansion.

Our facility in no way threatens or inconvenience inconveniences the surrounding neighborhood.

Pura Vita has been a pillar in the treatment community in Santa Rosa for 10 years.

Our reputation is one of a quality addiction treatment and neighborly conduct.

Our only goal is to continue to quietly and effectively treat struggling members of our community.

We know that this isn't the type of application that you see come across your desk every month.

Facilities like ours are often forced to operate in the shadows or in remote and rural settings due to unreasonable public backlash.

Because of this, the details of what we do, how we operate, and who we treat can be hard to grasp.

We hope that the staff report and our presentation have satisfied most of your questions.

However, we look forward to honestly and transparently answering any questions you may have later in the meeting.

It is our hope that the planning commission sees the value in our work, the quality of our proposal, and recognizes the years of quality service we have provided and votes to approve this life-saving project.

Finally, as I look around the room, I see a lot of people here who have come to support us, and I'd like to express my gratitude for this their support.

Our work can sometimes seem unrewarding, and it really means the world to us that you took time out of your busy lives to be here to support us.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Are there any clarifying comments from the applicant or for the applicant?

Commissioner Carter.

Uh can you tell us again you how many beds you currently have in Santa Rosa and at how many different locations?

We have 18 beds in three different facilities.

Thank you.

Any other commissioner Sanders?

Can you describe your client?

Who's the client?

Who is this person?

The client is any adult who's suffering some from substance use disorder that comes to us and has the means or the ability to enter treatment after undergoing a screening by our medical team.

So in terms of a, I can give you a breakdown of like insurance versus non-insurance.

Is that what you're asking?

No, I was just curious to know, you know, the person that walks through the door.

I mean, who is this person?

I mean, they're going to be a neighbor of a lot of people.

Sure.

Yeah.

They're they're members of the community, doctors, lawyers, police officers, firefighters.

Kaiser is one of our biggest referents, and they're a huge employer-sponsored plan in our in our county.

So over 60% of our referents are being referred by Kaiser Permanente through their AMRS program.

The additional 39, an additional 39% come from the other major insurance providers.

So Anthem, Aetna, Blue Cross, so private insurance providers.

Okay.

Any particular age range?

Technically, it's anyone over 18, but like we said before, they have to be capable of ADLs, activity, activities of daily living.

So we tend to not see very old people who can't get around on their own or who need assistance walking.

Um I'd say the average age is probably 30 to 60, somewhere in there.

Okay.

And you mentioned something about, you know, it's open to anyone over a certain age, I think 18, who has the means to pay.

What does that mean?

Uh it means that we we provide our service for a fee.

We are a for-profit organization.

Um we are in network with all the major insurance companies.

So most people who come to us, you know, they pay their deductible if they have one left and then they walk in and they get treatment.

Um, so that's what I meant by that.

What's the cost, just out of curiosity?

If you were to pay cash pay, yeah.

Uh $27,000 a month.

And how long is a that's for a 30-day residential stay.

And is that the maximum length of time that someone will stay or no?

Um 90 days is typically the longest someone will stay, but we've never had a cash pay person stay that long.

Okay.

So you said 30,000?

27.

So I'm sorry.

Yeah.

27.

I should write while you talk.

That way I would stay on top of it.

And you said about the length of stay.

Um, what tell me explain to me like a um I'm sorry, what was that?

I'm sorry.

Was there more information I see?

Oh, yeah, my partner was whispering something in my ear.

No worries, no worries.

Yeah.

Um, describe a day in the life of your facility.

Sure.

It's very structured.

So, um, like we mentioned in this, like Nora mentioned in the staff report, clients are supervised 24 hours a day.

Um wake up or rise and shine, as we call it, is typically around 7 30.

Um, and the day includes, so I'm not our clinical supervisor, but I believe four to six hours of either individual or group therapy every day.

Um, and then they eat our clients eat meals together, um, they they do activities together.

They go to outside uh recovery meetings together or recovery meetings come into the house.

Um, but they are all together uh receiving treatment all day from the time they wake up until they go to bed.

Um we have other requirements in the program, um, physical fitness requirements.

Um they use the gym downstairs, the anytime fitness gym, um, and they're supervised, they go down there with a staff member.

So, you look like you're in pretty good shape.

Do you keep them in shape?

Thank you.

I try, yeah.

So I'm talking about good man.

Um so I know it's been said that um clients will not leave the facility without a staff person with them, is that correct?

Yes.

And they are there's a bus, right?

That that will come and pick them up and take them to whatever appointments they need to go to.

Is that actually?

Yeah, vans.

Okay, a van.

Yeah, right.

And how often is that coming back and forth?

I mean, is everyone going at would would all 24 residents be going at one time to certain things, or are they kind of coming back and forth?

Someone's got an appointment at 10 o'clock, another person's got an appointment at.

How does that work?

Yeah, I mean, the percentage of clients that are going out to like appointments on their own is pretty pretty small.

Um that's people who come in with like a pre-existing condition that they need to see their PCP for or something will accommodate that.

Um, and they typically won't go in the van.

We have some smaller company vehicles that they can be transported in with like one staff member will take them somewhere.

Um, but typically they're all going somewhere together, yeah.

And that also includes like you know, just sort of getting out and maybe going to the basketball court and or a soccer field.

Yeah, that we do like walking therapy, they walk at Spring Lake, um, they do hiking, they go to the beach.

We have a pretty uh rigorous activity schedule.

Okay.

Granted, this is, you know, that's for our existing setup is three separate houses with six beds at each one.

So um the schedule will change when we move here, but the fundamentals will be the same.

Right, okay.

And you're you have six beds there now, and you're going to so six beds, there's seven condos there, two bedroom condos in existence right now?

Yeah, seven two bedroom apartments.

And so there are six uh clients there now, and we're going from six in seven condos to twenty-four in seven condos.

No, no.

Right now, the six clients are in the first three apartments.

Okay.

Um, and one of them is just staff offices, which that's gonna stay the same.

One apartment will be staff offices, and the floor plan it kind of shows the layout.

But our plan is to open up the first four units so that it creates one big living room that's all visible by staff.

Okay, and that's where most of the community activity will happen group, dining, um, and then there'll be a smaller uh community room on the other side of the staff offices in the other two apartments, and they're kitchens, right?

Yeah, everyone's kitchens.

We have a chef.

Oh, yeah, okay.

You can invite me to uh dinner sometime?

Anytime.

All right, so I'm like here.

Um so this is an additional 18 beds at this unit.

So it's doubling what you do across all three of your locations in one shot.

Is that correct?

Well, it would be if we kept all the other facilities, but we're not going to.

Oh, okay.

So we're consol our plan is to consolidate all of our existing beds into this one facility.

Yeah.

I didn't know that.

Thank you.

So that kind of gets rid of my next question.

Um you mentioned uh your other efforts of community outreach, but you kind of mentioned that uh they were kind of lightly attended.

Yeah.

And that was just basically by posting, you know, flyers, and I mean, did you go and knock on doors?

We didn't knock on doors.

I posted signs.

Uh I had signs printed.

Actually, I think they're still up.

They're next to the um notice of commun of what do they call it?

Notice of public hearing signs.

Um, and then uh David Chen, who I mentioned was the president of Skyhawk United, um, agreed to disseminate the notice of those meetings via his email list to the community, um, which to my understanding has hundreds of of people on it.

Okay.

Uh I promise I'm getting to the end of this.

Um the last time in 22 when you proposed this, there was uh some issues around smoking.

Yeah, and a smoking tent that was gonna be on the front side on the highway 12 side, and then maybe it was gonna be in the back.

And now what is the status of any of that right now?

Yeah, so we went back and forth for a long time with planning.

It's part of the reason that our application took so long to get across the finish line.

Um, and the conclusion we came to was that we are not required to have a smoking area.

Um, and that because of the way the site is set up, there was not a great place to put a smoking area that complied with the the city smoking ordinance.

Um, and so part of our plan when we have this facility is one of our other facilities is located on Montecito Drive.

Um it's on a half acre, it has goats and chickens for the clients and a garden, and they will be spending a good chunk of time there during the day doing groups.

Um so we will have a smoking area there that does comply with the city zoning code, and then any smoking that happens at 5761 Mountainhawk will be sort of a case-by-case scenario that will comply with the city zoning code and of course we'll be subject to code enforcement if it doesn't.

So I would imagine you'd have to have a staff person because you can't smoke inside the building, right?

Yeah.

So you have to have a staff person.

Staff has to be with clients when they're smoking.

So 11:30 at night, I need a cigarette, staff, let's go.

They don't usually let them do that, no.

Okay.

They're supposed to be sleeping at 11 30.

Okay.

All right.

Um we have seen I I should mention too, Dr.

Fontenette is um pretty gung-ho about uh a new smoking cessation program that we're implementing, and we're providing nicotine patches and nicotine gum to people to help get them off cigarettes.

Um and we have seen a dramatic decrease in the number of people smoking who come into our program.

It's just not as popular as it used to be.

Well, vaping.

Vaping and then nicotine pouches are right now, yeah.

Sure.

Um and I guess the big question, and you just one more time, this is not providing medical services.

It is not.

Okay.

Um have you ever had serviced uh a client who is a diabetic and needed insulin?

Yeah.

And they may use a needle.

They self-administer their own medication.

Okay.

And I'm sure you have a um a medical waste company that comes and swoops up the little red boxes and sharps disposal.

Sharps disposal.

We have these, yeah.

We have these things called drug busters where like old medications go in there and they they're rendered inert and it's all done by a third-party accredited company.

They come by and pick it up, ready to go.

Okay.

And um some of these questions were from folks, you know, typing and emailing us.

So I just want to kind of go through that.

Um, is the facility locked at night?

Like no one can get out, or how does that work?

No, we're not a lockdown facility.

People aren't court ordered to be there.

People come because they want to be there.

Sure.

So technically anyone can decide to leave against medical advice at any time.

We have AMA blocking um policies that are our staff works hard to keep people there when we can.

Um in the event that someone leaves, we always attempt to call their emergency contact as long as we have a release for them.

Um and then we will also put them in an Uber.

We have a uh joint program that we run with a nonprofit where our clients get access to lift rides at no cost to recovery-based activities.

And so we will always put someone in an Uber to a safe location when they leave.

Um unless they completely refuse service, then you know they're grown adults and um and they can walk away if they want to.

And you're getting clients from all over.

I mean, they're not just I know you mentioned that there were uh uh a time where you had a Skyhawk resident, but that's not the norm.

I mean, they're coming from wherever they're coming from, is that correct?

They're like I said, most of our about 65% of our clients come from Kaiser Permanente, Northern California, which is basically the greater Bay Area region.

Um but with that said, Kaiser Santa Rosa and Kaiser Petaluma Marin are our biggest referents.

So most people are Sonoma Marin County residents.

Okay, so for the odd one that's not from the area and they decide, you know what, I'm done with this, I'm out, they leave.

What's the protocol?

We've put people in Ubers to Sacramento, uh, San Jose.

You know, we we do what we can to get them there safely.

Um and then the best case scenario is someone comes and picks them up, and that's what we always try to do.

Um but you know, people like I said, people are they're free adults who are allowed to come and go.

So we do everything we can, but we are limited.

And the building is ADA uh accessible compliant.

And lastly, um do you guys have to carry some sort of liability insurance?

Oh yeah.

Yeah.

If you need specifics, Ben's the insurance guy, so he can't.

Oh, you are questions you have, yeah.

Yeah, he looks like he's in shape too, so um video savor uh video surveillance?

Yeah, on the exterior of the exterior of the building, and actually um the common space inside will have um, some of the common spaces will have video surveillance as well.

Okay, thank you very much.

You're welcome.

Thank you, Corey.

Thank you.

He's never told me I'm in great shape, so as you will.

I um I just a quick thing you said in response to Commissioner Sanders that I just wanted to ask about.

When you you said you screen the clients before you admit them to the program.

Can you elaborate on that?

And is there a safety consideration there?

How does that work?

Sure.

Yeah, so we're licensed, like I said, we're licensed by DHCS and we're accredited by the joint commission, who um they use levels of care designations from, it's called ASAM, the American Society of Addiction Medicine.

Um we are licensed to provide specific levels of care.

So our screening process is mainly to make sure that whoever's coming in meets those levels of care and can successfully complete treatment with the services that we provide.

Um, for example, a big one is someone who has a dual diagnosis, addiction, and mental health diagnosis.

We're limited on what we can provide treatment for, and we screen for those things to make sure that clients are appropriate for treatment.

Um we also screen for ADLs, that's a big one.

A lot of people will say, Oh, yeah, I can I can shower by myself, I can um I'm fine to walk up and down the stairs, and then you find out quickly okay, they're not, and they have to be referred out, you know.

Um so those are things we deal with.

We try and screen the more rigorous our screening process, the easier our lives are.

So we do a really good job at it.

Thank you.

Yeah.

Any other questions?

Commissioner Pardeaux.

Excuse me.

In regards to the clients, uh, do you guys currently or in the future will accept anybody with perhaps convicted a convicted felon?

Um, yeah, we may.

Okay.

Do you have like a threshold what you were not what you were not allowed?

For example, individuals in the Megan Law list.

Yeah, we typically screen, we do screen for 219s, and that can that's for a variety of reasons, but it's mainly to protect the the safety and mental health of our other clients.

Uh, what's a 219?

Oh, I'm sorry, 290.

What's that?

Oh, a sex offender.

Okay.

Yeah.

Oh, thank you.

Just a reminder to everybody our role in the Planning Commission is to enforce the zoning code and the general plan of the city of Santa Rosa not to develop or act or make recommendations on the program.

So just want to make sure I said that at the beginning of the meeting, and I just want to make that clear again before the public comments portion.

So thank you.

We'll go ahead and go to the public comment portion now.

All right, thank you, Commissioner.

Sure.

So with that, um, get my script.

Uh if you are in the room and want to make public comment, um, we are gonna start with the orange cards.

I have 34 of them at the moment.

I will call your name.

And if you can make your way to the podium, I'll call a few names in advance.

We're gonna use both the West and East podium.

And you'll have two minutes for your public comment.

Once again, adjust the height of the podium and speak clearly into the microphone and speak uh slowly.

So with that, I will go ahead and open the public hearing on this item 11.1, and the first few people who will be speaking who have filled out an orange cart are David Schwartz, Kelsey Maynard, Andrew Maynard, and Maggie Zing.

So please use both both podiums.

So we'll start with.

Are you David Schwartz?

Okay, go ahead, Mr.

Schwartz.

Um just a note what I'm gonna say is different than what I submitted yesterday.

So the text is more condensed.

Uh hi, my name's David Schwartz.

I'm a resident homeowner in the St.

Francis subdivision adjacent to the Skyhawk neighborhood in Santa Rosa.

I'm here to present my views regarding the proposal to expand the number of beds to 24.

I recognize the need for this form of treatment, and I don't want to come across as sanctimonious, but I do not support this proposal.

This neighborhood is an upper and middle class neighborhood of residents in Santa Rosa.

It's not a community of commercial medical or office buildings.

It's a residential community.

Counter to what was presented earlier, the area in front of the Skyhawk village along Highway 12 is stacked up with vehicles for sale from RVs to 40-year-old Buick Rivieras.

The proposed parking spaces have been taken up by these for sale cars.

The level of panhandling along Highway 12 is extremely concerning.

The city appears to just allow this behavior to go on without penalty.

Highway 12 is a fast boulevard.

Somebody's gonna get injured or killed if this is not addressed.

The level of homelessness along Highway 12 and Santa Rosa Creek is out of control.

And within a few feet of the Pure Vita Skyhawk facility is a restaurant with full alcohol bar.

Within a half mile, there are two well-displayed marijuana dispensaries and other restaurants with full bars.

Within a few points, thank you.

Thank you.

Okay.

I have more to say.

Kelsey Maynard.

Hello.

You might want to lower the podium.

And once again, you'll have two minutes.

Thank you.

My name is Kelsey Maynard.

I'm a board certified physician assistant, and I am now a new mom.

My most important job.

This is my husband, Dr.

Andrew Maynard and our son Beckham Maynard.

And when Dr.

Maynard graduated residency, we were deciding where we were going to live.

Was it going to be Reno or was it going to be Santa Rosa?

And what sold us on Santa Rosa was the Skyhawk neighborhood and Austin Creek Elementary School.

Thinking of him growing up with us being able to walk him to school in a safe neighborhood was a huge bonus for moving to this city.

And as medical providers, we strongly believe that detox is a vitally important role for our community.

But there are better centers in Santa Rosa.

One right next to Memorial Hospital that could actually accommodate more beds and serve more people.

We just don't think that this center is appropriate for the Skyhawk Village Plaza.

That's a community center meant for services for the neighborhood.

We also feel that we didn't get proper time to evaluate this second proposal.

The first proposal was met with lots of opposition and a lot more notice.

The sign went up on October 30th when the application was actually filed 178 days ago.

As a resident of the community, I feel like your job as the planning commission is to inform the residents and the residents of Santa Rosa.

This detox facility is a high-intensity treatment center.

Well, not medical treatment center, but it's a high-intensity center with 24-7 access that's going to impact our residential area.

And as residents of this neighborhood, we deserved more time to know.

We deserved an official city neighborhood meeting where it could be discussed on the record with someone from the city present.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Please, if you um, if you agree with somebody, if you could just go like that or thumbs up or something, that would be great.

Thank you.

So Andrew Maynard, gonna pass off the baby.

All right.

All right, I'm Dr.

Andrew Maynard, board-certified anesthesiologist with the American Board of Anesthesiology.

The questions asked tonight are not of a business that belongs in a neighborhood, they're of a for-profit business that belongs that does not belong in a prosperous middle-class neighborhood.

My concern is not that with detox services, they're important.

My concern is with placing a 24-bed, 24-7 institutional detox operation in Skyhawk Village, a small neighboring serving commercial center directly adjacent to a single family homes and within steps of our Austin Creek elementary school.

This facility would be located on the second floor of former apartments that were never designed for institutionalized level traffic, staffing emergency response or patient turnover.

Skyhawk Village single entrance layout cannot safely accommodate the unscheduled vehicle activity associated with detox operations, shift changes, ride share drop-offs to their meetings, ambulances, deliveries, and especially in a zone that is heavily used by children walking to school, introducing a high-intensity 24-hour institutional use facility in a neighborhood, commercial center that conflicts directly with the intent of the zoning of the Santa Rosa general plan.

The scale traffic generation and traffic generation emergency service load and operational impacts are incompatible with the center's design and the surrounding homes.

Approving this project also means a citywide precedent or sets a city pride precedent that the city would not be able to reverse.

If Skyhawk Village is deemed appropriate for a detox center, every neighborhood serving commercial center becomes a potential site.

Santa Rosa already has commercial and mixed use zones for better equipped uh for detox services.

Skyhawk Village is simply not designed for to safely or appropriately absorb an institutional operation of this scale.

For these reasons, I respectfully urge the commission to deny this application on the basis of land use incompatibility and safety impacts.

Thank you.

Hi everyone, I'm Maggie, and I'm here to speak for myself and also for other parents who are not able to be here tonight.

And I have been living in Skyhawk for the past eight years, so I was here in the public hearing three years ago for the same project.

And uh I just want to say loud and clear, we don't like this project in Skyhawk Village.

We're not here to oppose any recovery service.

And we know this is very important for the community.

However, Skyhawk Village is not intended for that purpose.

And for many reasons, my fellow residents already stated, so I'm not gonna repeat that again.

Um I just want to say some of my concerns about this whole thing, because we were here three years ago for the same thing, and this again um we have to face again to put out our voice loud there.

And so three years ago, I think maybe some of you are here too, were there before, and I think um the voice from the community from the Skyhawk community was loud and clear.

We don't like this, and we we and the commissioner to get the denied, um, denied the project.

What I don't understand is why we are here again today and talk about the same thing again.

And um I don't there are many things we don't understand, of course, zoning and the procedures involved to get this project approved.

Those are all things we don't quite, we are not quite familiar with.

However, sometimes we use our common sense, and so why this is happening again, why we need to talk about this again.

So that's just one of the my concerns and the other concern I have is we are only given 10 days of the notice, and it's really too short a notice for us to understand the the whole project to what's new, what's different from last time, and we need a longer time.

Thank you.

Thank you.

David Chen, followed by Morgan Pennington, followed by David Paul.

Good evening.

Chao Weeks and uh commissioners.

My name is David Chen.

I'm the president of Skyhawk United, a CBO, representing over 400 families in the neighborhood of the Skyhawk village.

When this current application wasn't for the same number of beds at the same location was fired on May 3 on May 5th, 2025.

One I was reached out by Mr.

Wicknow.

I really appreciate uh he reaching out to us.

He's doing the right thing, but the fact that we never heard anything from the city, that worries the whole community, especially because after three years ago, when more than 60 people spoke against the proposal on the public hearing on December 8th, 2022, all this are coming back again to us without any note with only 10 days to act on.

In that only 10 or so days, we managed to dispute a flyers to let more people know because we want them to be part of this decision making processes.

So we have uh 48 people, including Principal Lisa Christofferson, send objective emails to the commissioners.

I based on all these above factors, I do respectfully request this application be voted no.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Morgan Pennington.

How's it going?

I'm my name's Morgan.

Um I've been uh in relationship with Pira Vita since I think 2019.

Um I've been a drug addict since I was 15 years old.

Um my dad was also an alcoholic, and my grandpa was also an alcoholic, so this is very much a disease for me and something that I've been raised with, knowing that it's a disease.

Um, but my first experience in recovery was with Pure Vita, and um it was at a house over on Creekside.

Um, and it was like the first time that I had hope in my recovery that like I could be around other people that were just like me and also be successful, and his house was full of um people that were uh motivated to helping us, and that was the first time and my first experience in that kind of environment.

And I know other people that have not had the opportunity to be with Pira Vita and these places like Skyhawk that make you feel normal.

It's a nice place to be and give you that opportunity, and they weren't allowed to have that experience with their first time trying to get it clean, and so it kind of jaded their whole experience with that, and I think it's important to treat these people like they're just like everybody else, and have the privilege of being in these places just like everybody else, so that one day you know they can feel like a normal person, you know.

Um I also was 25 years old and I was homeless and I had nowhere to go.

And I I called Jose, their operations manager, and no question came and picked me up, and um my insurance lapsed after two weeks, and they scholarship me after that because I didn't have anywhere to go or any money, and they let me stay at one of their houses for three months.

So, no matter where this place is, it needs to stay and and belongs, um, especially for me.

Like I've been able to stay clean for three years, and I've just went on a trip across the country, I have an amazing job.

My family's back in my life, and I think I would probably be dead or in jail without Pierre Rita.

So I'm here today to share that with you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

David Paul, David Paul, followed by Gobin Yan.

And then Goofang Lu.

Pardon my pronunciation, everyone.

Good evening.

My name is David Paul.

I'm uh here to oppose the Planning commission's recommendation for the pure vital expansion from six to twenty-four beds.

I'm here to provide a little bit of the historical perspective and corporate memory that may not have uh been part of your experience, but um I live very close to the pure vital facility.

As a matter of fact, there's uh four patients from the Sonoma Development Center right next door to me.

They moved in the same day I did.

And uh I was happy to hear that uh two years ago I was part of the group that opposed the expansion of 24 beds, the application for 24 beds here.

Um, like my colleague before me, why are we doing this again?

And like the gentleman who just expressed his appreciation for Puravita in the small residential area, very successful.

Well, I was disappointed to see that we've abandoned the um precedence of data, data gathering, uh two or almost three years ago now.

Um I was part of the group that opposed this.

Seven years ago, I tried to block or help uh people understand that uh moving Sonoma Development Center patients next door, a small residential place was not the good approach, and certainly that house next door to mine wasn't the right place, um but I was uh told by Senator Mike McGuire in a couple of conversations face to face.

Nancy Bargman from uh the North Bay Regional District, um Susan Goines from uh Sonoma Supervisors, this council, as well as the city council to say, look, large is not good.

We want these two these uh people in small residential areas like four.

That's who's moving in next door to you.

Thank you.

Gu Ban Yan, followed by Gu Fang Lu, followed by Jess Young.

Uhang Hall was uh no.

I'm sorry, can you pardon me, Chair?

Uh I believe that we will be needing interrogation for this public comment.

So we'll ask that our in-person translator will also take an additional two minutes to do the translation for you to hear the public comment.

Okay, so if our trans if our interpreter could go to the other podium and speak into that microphone, and we can do uh interpreter, would you like to do this um sentence by sentence?

Um or would you like to relay the two-minute public comment?

She's an eji jiu so hama.

Uh, hi, everybody.

Uh what's it?

I'm the president for Chinese church.

My name is uh.

Uh, you see who you are.

In our church, we have some friends living in Skywork's community.

Uh, uh uh, and uh, they told me a lot of concerns about this thing's impact.

Uh well, you're on a high.

I have uh two kids.

We're living in the community close to the community.

Uh well, she wants how my uh ping and the uh uh I hope they have uh healthy and safety and safe community involvement.

Uh so you will see why uh go uh so I hope commissioners can really reject this proposal.

Uh yeah.

Thank you, everybody.

Thank you.

So the next speaker is Gu Fang Lu, followed by Jess Young, followed by Stephen Azevedo.

Anybody?

Jess Young.

Stephen Azevito.

Okay, I'm gonna put aside the other two cards in case they come back.

Thank you, Commissioners.

My name's Steven Azevito.

And I was very instrumental in the naming of Perda Vita.

And the reason behind that was for clients to learn to live joyously in their life.

And in order to do that, they of course have to recover from their disease, whatever it may be.

And once recovered, they start to learn the principles that we live by in the 12-step fellowship.

And one of them is patience, tolerance, kindness, love, charity, and I could go on.

And the vision that Alex and Ben had was to bring this to their clients.

And another part of that uh vision is once someone is in a place of sobriety for some long term, they start to learn how to be of service.

And one of those service that we learn is to be a good neighbor, is to give back to the community.

And that's very important for continuous sobriety.

As we learn to help others, we carry what we have been given freely to the next person that needs help.

And being that good neighbor, and my experience, I have done let you know I grew up in Santa Rosa.

I'm a third-generation Santa Rosa.

This town was 25,000 people when I grew up here.

We didn't have quality services like Purda Vita to take care of those hobos that were down on courthouse, I mean at Railroad Square, drinking and carrying on.

We didn't have those services.

And these two gentlemen now are providing services that so we can all grow and grow to be better people.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Sage Cleek, followed by Micah Sawyer.

Excuse me.

Followed by Nelson Ortiz.

Nelson.

Oh, I see somebody.

Hi.

My name is Sage, and I'm a medical assistant here in Santa Rosa.

Can you speak a little closer to the microphone, please?

Yes.

Thank you.

When I was 19 years old, I went to school to become a medical assistant.

Part of that program was an externship.

For my externship, I was placed at a pure Vita home.

I showed up at 5 a.m.

for my first day of my externship to one staff member at the facility, another medical assistant.

After only one day of training, he let me know that when I showed up tomorrow for my second day at 5 a.m.

I would be the only one there with the residents.

A 19-year-old medical assistant student with one day of training.

Not only was that negligent, but it was unsafe to me, and it was unsafe to the residents.

If Pura Vita doesn't have enough staffing for a small six-bed home to the point where they would leave a 19-year-old student there alone on her second day.

How can we expect that they can promise us the staffing for a 24-bed home?

Thank you.

Thank you.

Micah Sawyer.

Hi, my name is Micah Sawyer, and I am the co-founder of Micah's Hugs.

We are a local nonprofit focused on fentanyl education, harm reduction, and family support here in Sonoma County.

We started Micah's Hugs after I lost my son to fentanyl poisoning over six years ago.

And since then we have been partnering with Pure Vita with really amazing results.

We partnered directly with Pira Vita Recovery Systems, and I am here to strongly support the request to expand from six to twenty four beds at the Mountain Hawk facility.

Through our partnership, we have provided over 40 sober living scholarships that give people up to two months of stable housing enough to find work and regain independence.

We also provide NORCAN training at Pira Vita locations and collaborate on community education, outreach, and recovery events.

We have seen firsthand that Pira Vita runs a safe, professional, structured program.

Their existing six-bed facility has zero complaints, zero law enforcement issues, and is practically invisible to the neighbors because of how well it is managed.

Expanding access to treatment makes the community safer, not less safe.

Areas with treatment options see lower overdose deaths, fewer emergency calls, and strong long-term outreach for individuals and families.

Santa Rosa has felt the devastating impact of fentanyl and addiction.

If it were fewer overdoses, fewer funerals, and safer neighborhoods, we must expand treatment, not restrict it.

We just really desperately need more beds in this county, and I strongly support this on behalf of the families we serve.

I urge you to approve pure vidas permanents so more people can receive the help that they need.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Nelson Ortiz.

Yeah, hi.

My name is Nelson Ortiz.

I'm not here to oppose what Alex and his partners are doing.

I think is a it's a good thing.

However, I don't think it should be done in our backyard.

Um a 24-bed addiction recovery facility does not belong in a residential neighborhood, especially being so close to Austin Creek Elementary School and the Skyhawk Community Park.

My kids go to school here, they play with their friends.

So this is a top top concern, safety concern for me and my neighbors.

In addition, this proposal contradicts the city's 2050 general plan vision to have complete neighbor neighborhoods, areas with convenient, equitable access to goods and services needed to support daily life of its citizens, such as grocery stores, recreation opportunities, community gathering places, activity, active transportation infrastructure, and transit, a 24-bed drug addiction recovery facility does not belong in our neighborhood.

By allowing this expansion of the direct treatment facility in our neighborhood.

Thank you.

Cynthia Arthur, followed by Anastasia Maslars, followed by Richard Goloube.

Cynthia Arthur, uh it's on the other side.

A little further down.

There.

Hi, my name is Cynthia Arthur.

I'm a long-term home homeowner and resident of Skyhawk neighborhood.

I'm here to oppose the um request for the expansion of the detox center.

Um I understand there's a need for this type of program and support for people obtaining sobriety and help with addiction.

However, I feel the program should not be located in a small neighborhood within walking distance of an elementary school.

Expanding the facility in our neighborhood shopping center is inconsistent with the city's vision and what homeowners expected when they purchased homes in our neighborhood.

The Skyhawk Village Shopping Center was established to provide an amenity to the Skyhawk neighborhood and surrounding areas.

Consistent with the Santa Rosa vision that residential neighborhoods benefit from proximate shopping and services.

It's unacceptable that the city has known about and been working on this proposal or request for 177 days.

But the neighborhood that is most impacted by this business was only notified approximately 10 days ago.

The same applicant was denied for a very similar application in 2022.

We still have the same concerns that were voiced at that time.

We are requesting the decision be postponed until a neighborhood, until our neighborhood has time to get answers to our questions and determine the impacts of this type of business, what it could have on our neighborhood, our children, our safety, and our way of life.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Anastasia, followed by Richard Golub, followed by Rich Arthur.

Hello, my name is Anastasia Majash.

I'm a family medical doctor.

I have worked on and off with patients with addiction and dependence.

As much as we need centers that help people with addiction, I honestly do not believe that Skyhack Village is the appropriate place for a large-scale detox facility.

Detoxing can be challenging, complicated, and dangerous.

With travel withdrawals can be life-threatening.

Skyhog Village is not located anywhere near a large medical facility, and transporting patients in an emergency might be very challenging and dangerous for the residents of the detox center and as well as the community.

Skyhawk is a diverse community.

Lots of young families with young children live in this area.

Patients with addiction problems, unfortunately, very often have other mental issues, and detox can exacerbate those conditions.

Detoxing can affect one's judgment in negative way.

People can develop hallucinations, delusions, and even become violent.

This can put the whole community in danger.

Skyhawk has only one park and one school, which are both extremely close to the proposed detox center.

Few methods walking distance.

Kids are solid as TKers go to Austin Creek, and the park is a popular place for smoke kids and teenagers to hang out.

The Skyhawk village detox does not have an outdoor space suitable for patients of 24 patients.

It has a very small outdoor space.

And I do not believe that this kind of environment, it's not the best of the interest of the patients.

The public transportation in the neighborhood is limited, which means patients would need to use their own transportation, and this would increase the traffic.

This would make the area very congested and even potentially produce a hazard coming or leaving the complex.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Richard Golub.

Thank you.

Uh, my name is Richard.

Um, a long-time skyhawk can you speak into the microphone?

Sure.

Is that better?

Yes.

My name is Rich.

I'm a longtime Skyhawk resident and board certified anesthes.

I have a variety of clinical concerns related to this.

Uh that my colleagues have already stated.

But my my concern is a little different.

I mean, primarily, I'm I gotta tell you, I'm angry.

Uh, I feel misled by this board in 2022.

We sort of resoundingly uh rejected this, uh, and now we get a 10-day notice that we're starting this process all over again.

But apparently it's been sitting on your doctor for 170 days.

Um, the idea that Pura Vita hasn't hasn't had any reported incident uh complaints or incidents is simply because we didn't know it was there.

That on its surface may sound like a good thing, uh, but I would contend that I've and personally have had a variety of incidents related to this, that I simply didn't attribute to Pure Vida because I didn't know it existed.

I assume that it was gone after it was rejected in 2022.

Uh I have young children.

Uh, and I will tell you that the creek behind this center is one of the best polywog and tadpole catching areas in Santa Rosa.

Uh, and we are frequently down there uh catching polywogs and tadpoles, along with metal detecting, has become one of the hot things with all the boys in the neighborhood.

And we're down there exploring what used to be an old homestead site, digging around.

There's a picnic table sitting down there, and frequently there's people down there smoking, hanging out, and there's always multiple people.

I realize now this is probably the pure Vita uh folks, and I've had several rents.

And I simply didn't attribute it to Pure Vita.

We request more time to study this and understand what all this means.

I appreciate your time.

Thank you.

Rich Arthur, followed by Michael Roshford, followed by Roger Pereira.

Hello, my name's Rich Arthur.

Um, I'm a longtime resident of Skyhawk, and I'm here today to oppose the drug treatment facility in the Skyhawk village shopping center.

Um I'm opposed because I think there's a lack of timely communication with the neighborhood residents, and there are many unanswered questions that need to be answered.

The city has known about, I think it's been stated before.

The city has known about the application for 170 some days, and if it wasn't for Skyhawk United, uh we would not have known that this was gonna be put into process, and that was only 10 days ago.

Um I think the decision the decision should be maybe delayed out to a further date to give us proper time to get our questions answered and to allow our neighborhood to be involved.

Um there's just a lot that we don't know, and I think there's a lot we could talk about as a group as a city.

Um, and I also think that if you hadn't um held this meeting at 4 30, we might have had more people come to the meeting.

4 30 is kind of a early date time for people to come, so I think it excluded quite a bit of our residents, so hopefully there's enough people here to make sense of what we feel about our neighborhood.

And um, I'm just not sure we know everything there is to know about what the uh facility is gonna offer.

So thank thank you.

Thank you.

Michael Rochford, followed by Roger Pereira, followed by DJ Fimister.

Sorry, I'm not good with these names.

Sorry.

Thank you.

Uh my name's Michael Rochford, I'm a resident of Skyhawk, and first I'd like to say I respect everybody, everyone here is individuals, very professional presentations.

Look like you do good work, and uh, you know, I've been impacted by addiction, you know.

My dad was an alcoholic.

I have a lot of empathy for every individual, so I just want to state that first.

Um it sounds like uh this has been a known issue for a while.

Each of the well, most of the commissioners at least have stated they've met with the applicant.

Um I know I none of us that I know of have met with a commissioner, and I feel like this was kind of sprung on us relatively quickly.

We we kind of thought the issue had died, um, and seems a little unfair.

Um, also there is conflicting research.

Um, you know, there is research that shows that this helps, and I think in a broad sense it certainly does, and we all I think everybody wants that, but it there is research that shows in the media vicinity there can be a rise in violent crime and a decrease in home values, and although that may not have manifested yet, there is that potential.

Um, and I can say uh there might be a misconception of the people that live in Skyhawk.

Um, you know, we we are living pretty much paycheck to paycheck, like we're not you know, grossly rich people that you know we are sacrificing every day.

My wife's in grad school working on her master's and her doctorate, working two pretty much full-time jobs, both of us raising kids.

I'm working full-time, you know.

Every day, every decision has to be the right decision.

Uh, there's not a lot of room for error, and we sought out this community intentionally, it's the best school in the North Bay, as far as we could tell.

The choices were here, or San Ramon.

We chose Santa Rosa for the school for the community for the safety, and with respect, we would ask that you oppose the application.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Roger.

Hi, uh, my name is Roger Pereira.

I'm a new transplant of Santa Rosa as of June 25.

I'm also proud to say I'm a seven-year sober this year, and I can appreciate the need of recovery facilities.

Having said that, we've had a recovery facility in my last neighborhood with 15 baths, and it created a few issues.

Public safety and enforcement clinics often experience spikes in police EMS calls during relapses or incidents at all hours of the day and night.

Proximity to children, increased food traffic from individuals in active recovery, raises supervision and safety concerns.

A higher potential for loitering near school routes, playgrounds, and youth areas.

There's also an impact on uh non-smoking ordinances.

Recovery facilities typically require outdoor smoking areas.

This contradicts with the current non-smoking buffer zones of Santa Rosa public buildings.

Neighborhood stability and property values, commercial treatment traffic, drop-offs, pickups, lingering clients, changes the character of our residential corridor.

Documented cases in multiple cities show downward pressure on nearby home values on clinics our place in the school zones.

Thank you.

Thank you.

DJ Fimster, followed by Kathleen Ramazzati, followed by Matthew Winters.

Good evening.

Uh I'm DJ Femester.

Uh thank you for taking the time to listen to me.

I appreciate a couple of the commissioners ask a lot of the questions that I had sent in on my email earlier.

I appreciate that, but now I'm gonna butcher what I planned to say to get through to some other topics.

Um, first, I too am opposed uh to the rehab center here, not because it's a rehab center, but because of the size and the location.

Pura Vita will be tripling the size of any facility they've ever had before in a location where it was not designed to be or planned to be, and I don't think that that is a good way to go about business uh and doing things.

We have a lot of unanswered questions that I think we need some sort of community meeting to address.

Um, I would point out that every commissioner here tonight has met with the applicant, but there has not been any meeting with the public that is sponsored by the city and properly noticed.

I think we should have that.

I think um we are due that at the very least.

Um giving credit where credit is due.

I believe the city is dedicated to transparency, and I believe that the applicant probably wants to create a relationship of trust with the community.

Uh this has not been accomplished, and probably the exact opposite has occurred.

Making decisions on partial facts when there is no reason to rush this is not a good business practice.

I would request the proposal at the very minimum be put on hold until the city sponsor meeting can be scheduled.

We can then wade through the concerns from everybody involved, find out what's real and what's not, and move on from there.

Thank you.

Thank you, Kathleen Ramazzati, followed by Matthew Winters, followed by Derek Whittington.

And you can use both podiums just as a reminder.

Okay, uh Kathleen.

Yes, okay, go ahead.

Well, first, thank you for holding this meeting.

Um, we were all dismayed, I think, as you've heard from others.

Can you speak a little closer to the microphone or either that or lower the podium?

Is that better?

Yes.

Okay.

Um, thank you for speaking with us, and I'm glad we've had the opportunity to speak up.

It was a bit discouraging to find out at last minute that this was going on.

Uh why that happened, only you can answer that.

I have no idea.

Firstly, I want to praise everybody that works for Pura Vita.

You're doing a good job.

You're taking care of people.

Some of you have walked, I think, the same path, and you've come the other out the other side on a good side.

So for that, everyone in our community should be grateful.

However, I think the choice of this facility to expand your company, and especially now that we have learned that you're closing three of your other houses is inappropriate.

It's not the right place.

We've heard everybody talk about here in the pluses and the minuses, and I have to agree, I do not think and will not agree that this is a good choice.

And I hope that the planning commission declines the request from the applicant.

However, pure Vita is sounds like a fairly good operation to help people get through an addiction.

That's good.

We just need a better place for it.

We have too many issues that other residents have brought up.

I don't need to repeat them all.

The council has people's emails and comments in that.

And I think that doing anything other than at least postponing for more contact and more communication would be the very best thing to do.

There are security issues, there's safety issues.

I think there's some questionable truth issues going on, and we'd like to know the truth, and we'd like to get this settled clearly.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Matthew Winters, followed by Derek Whittington, followed by Jose Valencia.

Good evening.

My name is Matthew Winters, and I serve as director of operations for Pure Vita Recovery Services.

I appreciate the opportunity to speak tonight in support of our request to expand the residential treatment beds at our Mountain Hawk property.

One aspect of my job is compliance, and that is what I would like to speak about tonight.

If nothing else, to quell any concerns the commission or community may have.

By expanding our capacity at Mountain Hawk, we are not only increasing access to essential treatment services, we are extending a safe and regulated environment to more individuals who might otherwise go without support they need.

To deny this expansion, no matter where it's located, you are in effect saying that those struggling with addiction in Sonoma County are not deserving of the help and healing they so desperately need.

Thank you for your time.

Thank you.

Derek Whittington.

Yes, my name is Derek Whittington.

I am the clinical director with Pure Vita Recovery Services.

I'm also an addict in recovery, and I'm here to speak from a personal perspective.

It was a facility like Pura Vita that uh allowed me the opportunity to improve my life.

And uh unfortunately, it's one of the facilities that recently closed, thus limiting the amount of opportunities people like myself have to receive um the opportunity to recover.

Um, while I was at that facility.

Uh I was introduced to a new way of life, but not only a new way of life, but gave me the inspiration uh to seek what it's going to take to better my life.

And in doing so, um, I made the decision to be a counselor and uh to further my education and to be able to help people that attend uh our treatment centers.

Um I've been able to uh receive a graduate degree in marriage and family therapy.

I really believe wholeheartedly in the Pure Vita program and what it has to offer.

I really appreciate that the people that live in the Skyhawk community have shown support for recovery, um, but at the same time I'm also hearing not in my neighborhood.

And that to me is is concerning because there's only so many places that we have the opportunity to provide treatment.

And I just want to thank you for your time.

Thanks.

Thank you.

Ben Goldberg, followed by John Haig.

Followed by Brian Williams.

Good evening.

My name is Ben Goldberg.

Uh, thank you for the to the commissioners for the work that you do and for giving me the forum to provide my perspective.

I am a parent of a student at Austin Creek Elementary School this school year.

I'm also a board certified psychiatrist who has treated hundreds and hundreds of patients in Sonoma County over the past six years.

The vast majority of them have been suffering from substance use disorders.

We desperately need as many of these detox and treatment beds in our communities as we can get.

I honestly think that it's a privilege rather than an affront to have them located in our own neighborhoods because there are approximately 25,000, maybe more residents in Rincon Valley, excluding children, 10 to 20 percent of the adults in Rincon Valley are currently suffering from an alcohol or drug substance use disorder.

They need places to go to get clean.

So I know I'm as a community member making an unpopular uh opinion tonight, but I am fully in support of the Pure Vita application to be in Skyhawk Village.

Thank you.

Thank you.

John Haig, followed by Brian Williams, followed by Tracy Goo.

Hi, Commissioner.

I'm sorry, my name was called a little while ago, and I think my name was Skipp.

I'm sorry, what was your what's your name?

Jose Valencia.

Okay, yes.

Go ahead, sorry.

Good evening, everyone.

I stand before you today because Pure Vita gave me something I wasn't sure I'd ever find.

Again, hope.

Um I've been with Pura Vita since 2017.

Um I am the director of patient pathways.

I went to a facility in this area uh that's very similar to what Pure Vita is proposing.

Um when I got to Pure Vita in 2017, I was lost.

I was struggling with addiction, but with what I'm sorry.

When I came to the program in 2017, I was lost.

I was struggling not just with addiction, but with believing I had any chance of any future.

Pure Vita didn't didn't just offer treatment, it offered compassion, structure, and a community that refused to give up on me even when I had given up on myself.

Through their guidance, I learned how to rebuild my life piece by piece.

I learned accountability, resilience, and most importantly, that I was worth the effort.

Pure Vita didn't save me with a single moment.

It saved me with the consistent support day after day until I could stand on my own again.

Today I am living proof of what this program can do.

I am grateful every day for the second chance I was given.

And I know countless others can experience the same transformation.

That is why I support Pure Vita Recovery Services.

Because when you support this program, you're not just funding services, you're saving lives.

You're investing in people who deserve the opportunity to heal and to thrive.

I have been sober since 2017.

I have rebuilt every single relationship with my family.

When I came in 2017 to this program, I did not know what I was doing with my life.

I didn't know that I could have a life.

And I am very grateful for every single moment that I have, and I know my family is as well.

I do hear concerns about the Skyhawk residents that they don't want it in their backyard, but these programs are vital.

Without these programs available, people like me would never have a chance.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

John Haig, followed by Brian Williams, followed by Tracy Goo.

My name's John Haig, and I'm a graduate of Pure Vita.

It was asked earlier what does one look like?

Looks like me.

I'm one of many.

I was there for 90 days.

I had gone through their detox.

And it was the first time I'd ever felt safe.

I ended up going to their outpatient.

So I spent a total of seven months in treatment.

And it provided me a foundation of what it was like to be part of society, to have worth.

So I have an intimate understanding of the operation there.

And I believe the expansion of it has merit, has worth because without that area, these people that I know, I would not be here.

So I would consider uh wholeheartedly the expanding of that the mountain hawk area.

So it's rather I'd rather you do the difficult right than the easy wrong.

So thank you.

Thank you.

Brian Williams.

My name my name is Brian Williams.

My wife and I live in Oakmont, just east of Santa Rosa.

We support Pura Vita's proposed proposal to expand their current facility at Mountain Hawk Drive from six to 24 beds.

They have a proven track record in Santa Rosa with no reported increases in crime or danger to surrounding residents.

The issue of addiction in our community is real.

It impacts our loved ones, our neighbors, and our friends.

The proposed expansion of Pura Vita will have a positive effect on those seeking recovery and will enhance, not detract from our community and our city.

About two to three years ago, the city made a permanent made permanent the then temporary location of the tiny home village off Highway 12 and directly across from Oakmont.

Our community was in an uproar, fearing crime and other problems from the once homeless individuals.

None of these problems materialized.

Sonoma County Adult Detention Facility as a uh a drug addict.

Um she thought she was the smartest one in jail.

She was a Cal grad until she met the doctors and the lawyers.

The residents or that the uh providers of of the services to the clients, they're all of us, and they're in kids.

Thank you.

Tracy Goo.

Hi, everyone.

My name is Tracy Gu.

I've been living in Skyhawk neighborhood for more than 13 years, and my family truly love this community.

Skyhawk Village was designed to provide a convenient and welcoming space for the community.

Pleasing a detoxing center in this location does not align with that purpose.

As residents of Skyhawk, we do not support the establishment of the detox survey center here.

We are concerned that it quote bring potential safety risk to our neighborhood.

Many of us have children, and we do not feel comfortable having such a facility located so close to our homes.

There's also an elementary school within half a mile of Skyhawk Village, which makes this location particularly unsuitable.

For example, in Marin County, the Helen Vine Duck Center experienced a fatal shooting incidents near its facility in neighboring counties such as Cementel.

Sustense use disorder treatment detox type of facilities, have been closed or flagged for serious operational and safety issues.

These precedents confirm our concerns about the safety, suitability, and the stability of such a center near residential communities.

There are many other commercial areas in Santa Rosa that would be more appropriate for such a facility, but not inside the Skyhawk Village.

Our voices and consider this plan and stop the approval for the detox center in Skycoff Village.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Tim McAllister, followed by Matthew Shembar, followed by Julia Stewart.

Doesn't go up higher.

Hi everybody, Tim McAllister.

Um I'm here to speak in support of the expansion of the Pure Vita treatment facility in Skyhawk.

So I am a voting Santa Rosa citizen, and I am at this point I've been sober for 37 years.

I have a personal experience with pure vita through my daughter, my youngest, who uh one of four four kids was destined to get what I had, right?

So she had it, went through Pure Vita's multiple programs, PHP, outpatient support, and then ultimately their sober living environment.

And at this point, she's been sober for over five years.

So I owe uh endless debt of gratitude to Pure Vita, their staff, and Ben and Alex personally.

So I'm in very much in support of this.

So I mean, there's a number of community um needs, critical community needs.

So some folks have outlined already where there's been Athena house, was shut down for I don't know, was it a year?

So that was a female-only residential treatment facility.

If it wasn't for Bill Gallagher's step stepping up to put that back together in Rincan Valley, that would still be offline, and those beds would not be available.

Um Azur Acres facility in the county for 59 years, just shut down October 9th of this year.

So we're at a critical junction.

It's in the news about fentanyl deaths on a weekly basis, and we need more of these facilities, and for folks to come and invest their own money in this community is critical at this point in time, and waiting is just is gonna cost lives.

So I think that's about enough out of me, but I really want to say something.

The fact that you guys have this um Mandarin translation is incredible, right?

I don't know if this is being zoomed out or whatever, but this is really very cool.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Matthew Shembar, followed by Julia Stewart, followed by Ching Xu.

Hello, everyone.

My name is Matt Shimberry.

I'm here today to voice my support for this project.

I do this as a longtime resident of Santa Rosa, a former officer with the Santa Rosa Police Department, and as someone who holds a master's in forensic psychology in over 15 years of public health and safety experience.

Transparently, I must also add that I am an employee of Pura Vita and thus have a clear bias toward this cause.

But to try to be as objective as possible here, as this gentleman suggested, I'm going to defer to the data.

In 2024, Pura Vita helped 732 people on the road to recovery, over 65% of whom were from right here in town.

Of those 732 people, 478 utilized our residential services.

That's nearly 500 people in one year.

And mind you, we've been there for three.

So figure 1500 people who have come through our residential since Mountain Hawk opened.

But the day's decision isn't about whether or not the need exists in this community.

Many of you, even dissenting on this cause, agree that it does.

The decision is about where these services should happen.

And though that may seem less important, I'm here to impress upon you, members of the council, the human impact of this decision.

Sonoma County had 135 overdose deaths in 2023, 110 in 2024, and the numbers in 2025 are sadly on the rise.

To put bluntly, there are people in this community, perhaps loved ones of the people in this room that simply do not have the luxury of time to wait while we find a new location, go through the accrediting process.

No, no.

We have the building, we have the staff, we have everything we need.

The time to act is now.

Understand that if you vote yes here, sure.

Some folks will be upset for the short term.

Uh and fairly soon, though, uh, it'll go back to, as this gentleman said, didn't even know they were there.

But people will be alive.

Five, ten more years, less years down the line, there will be a quantifiable number of people that are alive because of your yes vote that wouldn't have been otherwise.

Uh as I said, I'm biased, but to me that's a no-brainer.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Julia Stewart, followed by Ching Shu, followed by David Wargan.

Good evening, Council members.

My name is Julia Stewart, and I'm here tonight as a mother from Rankin Valley and as a woman in long-term recovery.

A few years ago, I watched my son slip into an addiction to synthetic marijuana.

He wanted to stop, but it was everywhere.

Easy to find, even at school.

In my desperation, I reached out to my friend Ben at Pura Vita.

He stepped in immediately for my son and for my whole family.

Pure Vita didn't just treat his symptoms, they showed him how to rebuild a healthy life from the inside out.

Before I came here tonight, I asked him what he would want me to tell you.

And this is what he said.

Mom, tell them the truth.

The drug problem is way worse than people think.

Kids are scared and hiding it, and parents don't see it.

Not because they don't care, but because they don't know what to look for.

It takes something to wake them up.

Tell them Pura Vita changed the trajectory of my entire life.

My son played on the same Skyhawk elementary school playground, your children's play on, and he also bought drugs in Skyhawk.

That's the reality we cannot ignore.

Skyhawk is not immune to substance abuse.

During the fires and the pandemic, the Skyhawk community came together and fought for our kids, their safety, their education, their mental health.

That's who we are.

So I'm asking you tonight, please don't become the community that says if your family is struggling with substance abuse, don't come here.

Go somewhere else.

Because I don't believe that's who we are.

The people who come into Pura Vita could be your kids' doctors, surgeons, police officers or friends, parents trying to get well.

There are kids and our kids' best friends.

My son wasn't dangerous.

He was sick and he needed a safe place to recover.

Right now, kids are overdosing in bathrooms and bedrooms because they don't know where to turn.

And when families finally reached out for help, they're told there are no open beds.

We can do better than that.

So I'm asking you, parent to parent.

Let's not be the community that says we'll help you unless it's something uncomfortable.

Let's be the community that stands with families in their hardest moments.

Addiction doesn't discriminate.

Recovery shouldn't either.

The expansion doesn't threaten our community, it strengthens it.

So tonight I'm asking you, choose to be the kind of city that protects its children and supports its family.

Choose compassion.

Our kids' lives are depending on it.

Thank you.

Ching Shu, followed by David Wargan, followed by Kim Kohee.

Good evening.

My name is Qing Shi.

I'm a resident of Skyhawk.

I'm here to oppose the plan.

So three years ago, Pure Vida submitted the same request to change the use of the same building.

It did not get approved.

I just want to remind everyone that all the conditions and the reasons of not approving the proposal remains the same after three years.

There was no misunderstanding three years ago.

The ambiguity of whether it's a pure non- non-medical facility or medical purpose facility remains the same.

They name it non-medical for the service providers like Pure Vida to get the license more easily.

However, anyone would argue about it after understanding how the facility operates.

By the way, rehab quote rehab for drug addiction or alcoholism is defined as a medical expense if you ask IRS.

So I would request the Pure Vita to give more details about how they help their clients take the necessary medications and injections in need.

I have concerns about the criteria they use to screen their clients in terms of medical needs.

In the last, out of curiosity, I would ask whether they offer professional medical staff when they market in their services.

Thank you.

Thank you.

David Wargan, followed by Kim Kohey, followed by Wei Shing Shi.

Okay, I'd like to say uh first of all, good evening to the commission.

Thank you for having us hearing.

My name is David Wardron.

I am very much in support of the Pura Vita facility.

Uh my wife and I live a 10-minute walk from the facility, so it's pretty part of our neighborhood.

And as you know, uh we have much more of a demand for services in alcohol and drug recovery than we have facilities to handle them.

So this is a very severe problem, not only in all of America, but certainly here in Sonoma County.

So uh I am 41 years sober.

I have heard a lot about various recovery services, inpatient, uh outpatient uh services, and pure vita is the best one that I know of that I've heard of.

And thank you very much.

Thank you so much.

Kim Kohey, followed by Wei Shing Shi, followed by Stella Barry.

Hi, my name is Kim Kohee.

Thank you for that opportunity to speak.

I'm a patient advocate in the healthcare industry and have lived in Santa Rosa for 22 years and on Queen Anne Drive since 2018 after leaving my house in Tubbs Fire.

My brother and father-in-law have both both been through rehab services in the past.

So I think Pure Vita for providing this service.

The six clients has worked well for the last three years, so why are we increasing to 24?

From what I understood from the presentation, they're closing other locations.

Why aren't they increasing the numbers there as well?

If they're consolidating all of those folks to this location, in fact, then they're only increasing the number of beds for adults in Santa Rosa by six.

So it sounds more like a business decision based on money by a for-profit company.

In addition, there is a um only 500 feet away, there is another community care facility.

I disagree with the staff report that says that this is in a different neighborhood.

It's literally across the street.

The clients of the community care center on a facility on Queen Anne also do not drive.

But the number of people coming and going to the house is quite large.

There's staff, there's new staff due to turnover.

There may be new patients, there's visitors, there's repair people.

This all leads to increased cars, people at all times of the day and night.

Secondly, if I remember correctly, the reason that this facility was denied in 2022 was because the smoking section was located on Scenic Highway 12.

So what they did now is just got rid of it.

That doesn't mean that the people aren't gonna smoke.

My biggest concern with the smoking is that they're gonna go right behind the facility with their cigarettes and that there is a wooded facility.

I'm literally across the street and I'm terrified of another fire.

The fact that I haven't moved away from Santa Rosa is kind of amazing to be honest with you.

I feel that this 24-bed facility will have a significantly impact, significantly negative impact on the future of the Hawk.

Thank you.

Wei Xing Shi.

Hello, Euluwa.

So as the the code of loan code is just, the Skyhawk village serves for Skyhawk community to provide a day-to-day small business and service.

The applicant has said they have served a few Sky Hope members using calendar six-bed facility.

But not all patients are Skyhawk members, which means Calendar facility has a capability if Skyhawk member needed the treatment.

Now the new proposal suggests the 24 beds, which double the 12 beds are other two locations.

Skyhall community is only tiny portion of Skyhawk, Senator population.

How do Skyhawk community have double need treatment needs of the rest of all Santa Rosa population?

Again, Skyhawk Village designed to sky designer for Skyhawk community, not to for not to appropriate for citywide project.

I understand that the program is important, but the location is not appropriate.

So the plan team and a the applicant needed to work to find the appropriate one, send the two sauna 22.

The applicant and the city have piecemealed parts of the proposal that were legit by the community commit commission through a serious.

This is alarming because it shows a pattern of the applicant to work in such stuff to achieve his original vision.

We know he purchased the property, but it's not the reason for this program.

So please recall all the concerns and a discussion we had three years ago to make a um writer decision.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Stella Barry, followed by Katie Winters, followed by Gu Fang Lu.

Okay, hi everybody.

Um I'm just gonna keep it really brief.

I wanted to speak in support.

Um I learned a lot actually during this whole presentation.

Thanks, Nora, for what you were able to um share with us in the very beginning.

I my understanding is that this conditional use permit doesn't actually violate um anything, and it it seems like it's more a matter of whether or not people want to have it in their immediate area and whether or not it's something that would serve the Skyhawk community.

I guess I feel like um these are residential units, they're not coffee shops, they're not things that would be serving sort of the general public in that area anyway.

Um the owner of the building could have anyone living there, any number of people there.

You actually have kind of this huge privilege in helping be a part of deciding what is going to be in that shopping center because right now, well, before it was just um random people, and they could be smoking and they could be smoking anywhere, and there's just a lot.

Um it feels like there's a lot of things that could take place and occupy that space that actually could be a disservice to the community, and I don't feel like a care facility is one of them.

I also feel like you're treating the people that would be um living there as non-members, but they're residents and they are short-term tenants in this space, and they actually are the community, and so they having members of the community living there is actually um significantly serving because you guys are not just the members of the community, the people there are also the members of the community.

They live there.

And um, and um anyway, I just hope that it's really considered.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Katie Winters.

Good evening, my name is Katie Winters.

I was born and raised here in Santa Rosa, and I've lived here my entire life.

In 2015, after battling with alcoholism and addiction, I entered a residential drug and alcohol addiction treatment center.

Due to the lack of available rehabs locally, I had to go out of county.

Entering rehab and continuing my recovery has been the single best decision of my life.

It saved my life.

I truly believe I would not be alive today had it not been for residential treatment.

Pure Rita Recovery Services was not around 10 years ago when I got sober, but their uh sober living was, and that's immediately where I went after I exited the residential treatment facility.

I'm an active member in the recovery community here in Santa Rosa, and I know many people who have gotten sober through the services of Pierre Vita.

A close family member of mine graduated from their treatment program.

He's now living in one of their sober living houses, working, actually starting his own business, and looks forward to celebrating a year of recovery next month.

The changes I have been privileged to witness in people who have successfully turned their lives around is one of the best gifts that recovery has given me.

Pure Vita has an outstanding reputation throughout our recovery community and genuinely wants to help others.

To rob people of this opportunity is just wrong.

What Pira Vita is requesting is an increase in the number of beds at their current facility to allow availability to those suffering from this disease.

That tells me that there is a need for more, that people are seeking the help they so desperately require.

I believe that's why we're here again three years later.

The fact that people in our community are fighting this is heartbreaking to me.

To think of all the people I know that are sober because of pure vita not having had the opportunity because our fellow neighbors are against it truly makes me sad, but also grateful that they did have the opportunity to turn their lives around.

And that's why I offer my support for Pierre Vita so they can continue saving lives and giving hope to the once hopeless.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Michelle Sawyer, followed by Candy Whitezel.

Chair, I believe we had a U Feng Lu to speak.

Oh, okay.

I had called the name earlier, but okay.

One moment.

Um I just want to confirm that we'll have the in-person.

Oh, wonderful.

Thank you so much.

And then just a and then just.

So people who actually stay in the facility center, they probably have a solve addition problem.

When they approach the kids that doesn't have a very good email.

We had also gonna damage our families.

Sometimes we hear people from the facility maybe run out from there.

She you fashion.

It happens sometimes.

So we actually strongly oppose this uh proposal.

Hopefully, this facility will stay away from schools.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Michelle Sawyer, followed by Candy Whites.

Whitesall?

Whiteshi?

Sorry.

Good evening, Commissioners.

My name is Michelle Sawyer, and my husband Micah spoke a little bit ago.

We live in Sebastopol and together we co-founded Micah's Hugs.

I want to share something personal.

I lost my stepson, Micah Jr.

to fentanyl, and I have witnessed firsthand how addiction destroys families.

The pain doesn't go away.

That's why access to treatment and recovery programs matter so deeply to us.

Hearing people oppose Pure Vita's expansion has been incredibly disappointing.

What I'm hearing essentially is we appreciate the work you do, but not in our neighborhood.

But addiction is already in every neighborhood, no matter.

But addiction is already in every neighborhood, no matter no community is immune.

Nearly everyone in this room has been affected by substance use through a family member, friend, coworker, or neighborhood.

Someone spoke earlier about seven years being clean but not wanting a recovery program near their home.

And I'll and I say this with compassion that kind of stigma is exactly what keeps people sick.

It closes doors of treatment and leaves families like mine living with lifelong grief.

Where we live, Asia Acres, a treatment center right across the street from me recently closed.

We were devastated.

We saw the difference it made in our community, and we welcomed the program.

These facilities don't bring chaos, they bring supervision, accountability, and hope.

When I worked for Catholic charities, their housing program faced almost identical neighborhood opposition.

People were convinced it would be a problem.

The program opened anyway, and a few months later, several of those same neighbors apologized.

They realized their assumptions were wrong and that the program actually made the community stronger.

The people seeking treatment at Pira Vieta are not those people, they are people, sons, daughters, parents who deserve a chance to rebuild their lives, and many of them already live in the neighborhoods just like this one.

Approving these additional beds means forever.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Candy, Whitesry?

Whitezel.

Whitzel?

Mm-hmm.

Okay.

Thank you.

Um, a few things to consider before you make your decision if it hasn't already been made.

There's no doubt that this company proved it can and does and has helped people, and for that I commend you.

And um, for all of those who have um recovered and and have years of it, I also commend you.

It is no doubt that um addiction is definitely a problem.

Um I don't see though how them closing their other what three facilities and combining all the beds into one in our neighborhood to 24 beds.

I don't see how that helps, especially the numbers that have been said of all the people who are suffering from addiction.

Um I don't see how that's gonna help much.

Um remember also they're a for-profit company.

So that means that people who have insurance coverage that will pay for it, those who have the money that can pay for it, and they have some scholarships.

But that doesn't, um I'm sure there's a large majority of people who still won't fit and can't go to those facilities.

Um don't forget the medical assistant who stood here and told you that she worked for the company, and she went in with one day of training, and the next day she was expected to work on her own.

What about the three-day minimum at night and the six-day minimum during the day?

What happens when they have to take them to a to a doctor's appointment or somewhere that reduces the staff members and that makes six um six people for 24 beds, okay?

You have six people.

What happens when one or two or three or a few of those people are gone?

That means staff members are with them, so your staff is reduced.

My daughter works at a facility where money.

Thank you.

Greg Cornelius, followed by Jess Young, followed by Lan Sun.

Good evening.

Thank you for being here.

Um I hope that the planning committee approves the parameter expansion.

I'm lucky enough to have friends and family members go through a program similar to this, if not through this program themselves.

Um it's almost frustrating.

I wasn't gonna speak, but it's frustrating to hear people, you know, alienate people to go through this program and assume that crime in their neighborhood is because of this facility or facilities like this.

The city has more problems.

Can you speak a little closer to the microphone?

The city has more problems than, you know, in its own without, you know, people blaming people who are trying to work hard every day to better themselves.

They're in these facilities to better themselves, and we have to remember that.

A few years ago, I lived in a neighborhood when the uh say Dream Center was coming in, and I was like a lot of people here, scared to have that in my neighborhood.

What's gonna happen to my property values?

It's gonna be crime, there's gonna be homeless people all over.

But guess what?

It didn't happen.

They moved in and we went on to business as usual, and there was no effect on the community.

And actually, I was almost ashamed of it now, looking back at how I reacted when I heard that was coming into the program in my neighborhood.

But that's all I wanted to say, this facility and facilities like this are for people who actually want to be there and want to better themselves, and we should get out of the way of that.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Okay, thank you.

Uh Lan Sun.

Uh hello.

Thank you for the opportunity to speak up.

And my name is Lan Sung, and I'm a Skyhawk resident, and also the mother of a five-year-old daughter.

So my kid also goes to uh uh Skyhawk uh sorry, Austin Creek Elementary School, and I saw his teacher her teachers are here.

Um, and uh I I first of all I appreciate a detox center for the community, and that's important for the whole community.

However, I don't agree uh to the location and their expansion plan.

The the thing is they I think the owner mentioned that their their program uh has uh always the the whenever a uh patient needs to go outside, always have uh staff accompaniment uh accompanying uh the the resident.

However, now when they expand from uh six beds to 24 beds, they're potentially 24 patients in that facility.

How they can maintain like how many staff members they need.

If they only have six members, I I doubt it's uh sufficient to maintain the facility in the way they propose.

And also it sounds like the office area stays uh very similar to before.

Now, a twenty-four-person facility needs many more staff.

How they can accommodate all these new staff members.

Uh that's my question.

And then another thing is uh based on the owner's reply to commissioner, that uh so so the the patient there could be uh people with uh criminal records in the patients.

So I I know the chance may be small, like uh for a for a person with criminal method one day he's not happy and working around and left the facility, but our community with so many young kids we cannot afford any this risk.

Thank you.

Okay, uh that was the last card.

If anybody wants to speak, uh please make your way to the podium.

There's we have one more speaker coming up, and after that, if there is anybody else who'd like to speak, please make your way to the podium.

Good evening, Chair Weeks and Planning Commission.

My name is Susie Murray, and I recently retired from the city of Santa Rosa from the Planning Division after almost 20 years of service.

During that time, I saw a lot of conditional use permits for community care facilities.

These require a minor conditional use permit, which typically don't come to the Planning Commission.

But nobody wants it in their backyard.

I personally live nearby a facility, and every morning when I walk past, there's people outside saying good morning and petting my dogs.

So when Alex first came to the city to talk about this project, certainly from a very high level, I was one of the planners at the counter, and everything that I heard, I looked at them, I'm sure I jinxed jinxed the project.

We looked at surrounding land uses, distance from residential uses, a park right there, a creek, open space.

It was adjacent to the highway 12 where public transportation was available.

Plenty of parking.

What did I say?

This is a slam dunk.

I jinxed the project, I am certain of it.

So kudos to this applicant team for coming back after the last planning commission meeting, withdrawing their application, going back to the drawing board, and addressing the issues that were raised at that meeting.

Shortly before I retired, the second application came in.

And I was so hoping that I would still be here, that we could get it through in time, and I could sit at that staff table and recommend support.

But I'm going to take that back now.

It's really nice to be on the sidelines and say what I really feel in my heart of hearts, and that is, I hope this time around, for this use that we need so badly for all income levels, and the members of the community that are not criminals.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Hi, my name is Brooke Nichols.

Um, I am an employee of Pierre Vita.

I wanted to clear something up.

Um, it has been stated this evening a lot about detox, and I believe that some of you may not understand.

We are not asking, what they're asking for is not our detox.

Detox is where people who are currently under the influence of alcohol or drugs come to.

They come to where I work.

I get the people that are under the influence that are out of control that you might very well be frightened of.

What they're talking about is a residential after they have spent time with me or at another detox where they have gotten they are they have become clean, they are sober, they have made the decision to change their life.

That's when they go to our residential facility.

They are making the healthier choices, they are not running around loaded.

I wouldn't want them as my neighbors either if they were under the influence.

These people are making the best choices they can make on a daily basis, and they are led by people like me who have been where they have been.

We have excellent employees.

We have employees who many employees who have walked the path, and they it's a it's a really good place.

It's a really fantastic company.

And the people you don't know that they're there now.

I don't understand how, yeah, maybe a little more traffic.

That's out of my scope.

I I can't comment on that.

But when I go over there, the people aren't outside hanging out.

They are programming, they are separated from the businesses down below, and they are accompanied by staff whenever they leave the property.

I just wanted to say that.

Thank you.

Thank you.

If you could state your name for the record, no problem.

My name is Frederica Gross, and I'm here to speak more to the issue of lack of transparency that is felt by the community.

Um, I don't have a stance specifically on the facility itself, other than to say, I'm a former accountant, I'm a former auditor.

I'm concerned that what I've I did not come tonight to speak.

But I've been listening, and what I feel the commission owes the community is a chance to come and speak to them and let them voice their specific concerns, not NIMBY, not this or that or the next thing, but the fact that we have a for-profit facility by an owner who is closing other facilities to bring the beds here.

And I question the commission's not specifically addressing that to their community.

So what I'm asking for is that you give the community a chance to speak to you directly before you make a decision.

Okay, seeing no one rise, I'm going to go ahead and close the public hearing.

And we um, since we've been here now for what's it seven to two hours, two and a half hours.

Um, and then we will come back and uh deliberate.

So uh let's say seven minutes, I think.

Okay, folks, we're gonna uh call the meeting back to order.

And how I'm gonna start this is going through some of the questions that were raised by the public.

And I'll go through my list and then I'll pass it on to my fellow commissioners for their list if I've missed things, which I'm sure I have.

So if we could get the applicant ready to answer questions, the questions that I have, anyway, and then also staff ready to answer some questions.

So I'll start with staff.

I'm sorry, I shouldn't, I should have said that first.

So one of the first questions was there were our vehicles for sale along 12, there's panhandling, the city does nothing about that.

Is there a response?

It's not in the purview of this application.

I believe that's on highway 12, which is I believe a state highway.

Uh it is, and we actually we have uh somebody from the police department here if you want to hear from them.

Uh but yes, what what's before the commission is the conditional instrument for this project?

Uh my understanding and uh from the police department is that there has not been any issues specifically related to this use as it is currently on site.

Uh Lieutenant Harrington, can you just hit the pot go up to the podium and confirm that for us, please?

And then if any, since she's will be up there.

If anybody has other questions for police, we can ask her at that point.

Hello, everybody.

Is this picking up?

It's we need a little closer.

There you go.

Can you hear me now?

Yes.

Okay.

Hi, my name is Brenda Harrington.

I'm the police lieutenant at the Santa Rosa Police Department, and the area that is being discussed tonight is one of the areas I am responsible for.

So when people have concerns about public safety, they can email the police department, and it gets routed to me.

Specifically regarding this project, um, I reviewed the police response to this area, and this business has not contributed to any increase in criminal activity.

Thank you.

Are there any other questions of Lieutenant Harrington?

Okay, thank you.

Um there were a lot of comments regarding only being given 10 days, the public only being given 10 days notice uh about this proposal and the whole timing around the second proposal and notification and all of that.

So can uh Nora, can you address that?

Yes, I can.

Um, so 10 days notice for a public meeting is what is required by the zoning code.

Um, this is a public hearing was elevated to the planning commission for a public hearing.

Um I can actually go back to the slide where I discuss the uh project timeline, but in October of 2022, when it's the same minor conditional use permit, minor conditional use permits go to the zoning administrator in a public meeting format, not a public hearing.

In October, on October 10th, 2022 is when a notice was distributed to all neighbors within 600 feet of the property for an October 20th, 2022 zoning administrator meeting.

So at that time, also the standard 10 days notice was given.

In that 10-day period, staff received a request to elevate to a public hearing.

Um, so the meeting was delayed because of that, and ultimately elevated to the planning commission due to the amount of public interest.

This time around, we did the same standard 10 days uh notice for the meeting.

I know there was question of why there was not a pre-application neighborhood meeting or a notice of application.

That is because the zoning code requires those four items which require a public hearing.

A minor conditional use permit does not require a public hearing and therefore does not require a neighborhood meeting or a notice of application.

Umtice was given when staff was prepared to take the item to the planning commission, just as all other minor conditional use permits.

So this was not uh necessarily needed to be heard before us.

Yeah, uh originally.

Yeah, yes.

Yes.

Minor conditional use permits are heard by the zoning administrator, which is a lower level um review authority.

A step down from the planning commission, they see smaller um permits, minor conditional use permits, planning commission sees higher level conditional use permits.

Thank you.

And then um, can you explain again why this is back before us?

Yes, um, discuss as discussed in my staff report, there were findings for denial given to us by the planning commission in the previous 2022 hearing.

Um at that time, staff's project information or sorry, staff's staff report and the applicant's project information uh did not specify or clarify very well the uh idea of medical versus non-medical use.

Uh it wasn't anticipated that that would become an issue for the project, and as discussed earlier tonight, this facility by state law cannot be classified as a non-medical or sorry, as a medical facility.

Um so the applicant has every right to submit an application again uh after a denial.

They decided to and uh came more prepared to address that uh aspect of their project.

So just because the planning commission denies a project doesn't mean it's necessarily dead, it can come back to the planning commission at a later date again.

Is that correct?

But they they have to apply again.

Right, it's a new application, and that's what this is.

It's a brand, it's a new application.

Yes, but they people could submit new applications a number of times.

Yeah, so just to clarify, so um the as NOR stated, and as the commission will recall in 2022, while staff brought forward a recommendation of approval, the commission uh wanted to deny the project and provided findings to do that because we did not have a resolution of denial before the commission.

Um the request was uh for staff to bring back a resolution of denial with the findings that the commission provided.

Uh, prior to bringing the item back, the applicant um withdrew their application because the application was no longer uh on the table, it was withdrawn.

Uh, we did not have a a project to bring forward to you for denial.

Um, whether a project is denied or withdrawn, an applicant has a right to uh reapply at any time.

There's no uh requirement or uh there uh there's nothing to say that they couldn't reapply.

Thank you.

So the other questions I have are for the applicant.

So does any maybe we I could ask my fellow commissioners if you have specific questions for staff you could do that now.

Okay.

Oh, Commissioner Horton.

Thank you so much.

Um, just one really quick question.

So about the facility that's located within a thousand feet away.

I just want to, it's just a clarifying question.

I just want to make sure I'm understanding it correctly.

The due to the mitigations or sort of conditions in the proposed minor conditional use permit, the over concentration is not considered to be an issue, right?

Um yes, and there's two reasons why.

Uh the zoning code discussion or regulations around over concentration, that thousand foot rule for facilities is for facilities that require a minor conditional use permit, which means it's between two facilities of seven or more clients, and the other facility that's located within a thousand feet of the property is a smaller facility of six or fewer clients.

So there actually is not a uh over concentration regulation between them.

But we still do explain in the staff report that even if over concentration is being questioned.

Um, it's a facility of a different nature, they offer services to people in need of transitional housing, not the addicted.

Um, it's located across highway 12, which acts as a barrier.

Um, so there's different uh issues going on in either neighborhood.

Um, also uh the conditions of approval on the draft resolution, state um clients of the program shall be supervised uh at all times by program staff inside or outside of the facility.

New clients will only be admitted between the hours of 9 a.m.

and 7 p.m.

staff shall be available on site 24 hours a day.

Um these conditions make it so that there is safety and security of this facility itself, and there would not be impacts of this facility that in combination of impacts of the other facility would create one larger issue.

Thank you.

Um just curious is the thousand-foot space buffer, whatever we're gonna call that, is that door-to-door or is that property line to property line?

It would be property line to property line.

Thanks.

Okay, now for the applicant.

Um there was some comments around um why there, why not in other commercial centers?

Um the short answer is because as Susie mentioned, um when we were in the process of buying that building, uh I went down to the city and we went over our plans extensively, and we felt comfortable that the city's recommendation that it was a good location.

Um also um we we looked at it when we were getting ready to buy it, and we as treatment operators thought it was a great fit for our program.

It's a beautiful location.

The residential units are isolated on the back of the building, so traffic to the businesses does not see what our residents and clients are doing, and we can provide a level of privacy there that we wouldn't be able to in most residential settings.

And uh just the short answer is it just it felt good to us, good enough that we we bought the building.

Thank you.

Yeah.

Um there was a question on staffing issue.

Can you address that?

Oh, that was raised during public comment?

Yes.

I can't um obviously recall a specific day when there may have been short staffing, and I I can't confirm or deny what that um member of the community said.

Um I will say, you know, our director of operations talked about compliance and the strict regulations that govern our facilities.

Those are all uh based around client safety and our staffing meets all the requirements of our accreditation and our license.

Okay, thank you.

Sorry, uh Chair Weeks.

Um we wanted to uh add something quickly to that.

Um, one of the proposed conditions of approval on the draft resolution is also that they are required to have a minimum of three overnight staff and six staff on site during the daytime.

And if the applicant is in violation of the conditions of approval on their permit, then they would be subject to code enforcement violations.

Thank you.

Transportation.

Uh you talked about the vans.

Yes.

Um, but then somebody in the public talked about um residents going in and out in their cars.

So can you once again clarify that?

Our clients do not drive?

They do not have vehicles on site.

So and then they're always transported by staff from that point forward.

Oh, I mean the other commercial tenants will continue to have traffic there, but yeah.

Okay.

I I know you addressed this already, but it was brought up by the public, and that's the issue of smoking.

So can you address again if a resident wants to smoke?

What happens?

Yeah, so one of the big concerns last time was smoking on the scenic corridor there on highway 12.

And we are we are more than happy to include a condition that our clients will not be smoking on highway 12 visible from the highway.

Um we're committed to finding a solution where our clients, if they do need to smoke, can smoke within the city ordinance, and without disrupting our neighbors, and that may include having them smoke at our other facility, and hopefully identifying a place where we can smoke on site that does not burden the neighborhood.

Thank you.

And those are the questions that I heard from the public, but I know I probably missed some.

So anybody have other questions that they heard from comp from the public?

Okay.

Commissioner Sanders.

Um, and not just I'm sorry, not just questions from the public, but questions that you may have.

Sure.

Well, you just said that um you may be bringing you could possibly bring a client to one of your other facilities for smoking.

But aren't you closing those to we have three other residential facilities?

We are gonna keep one open for day use.

No one will be sleeping there or residing there.

It won't be staffed overnight.

It's gonna be a place where our clients can go to get off site and have another location for treatment.

Um frankly, it's a different setting.

It has a pool, like I mentioned, it has the animals.

We do like uh um I forget exactly what it's called, but it's like animal therapy, and then clients work, they they plant herbs in the garden, and our chef uses those to cook, and so it's like uh it's another location we want to keep available to our clients, but no one will be sleeping there.

Okay, and um you mentioned that when you were uh when Chair Weeks asked about how why this location uh you mentioned your interaction with the city, and then uh I think you said something to the effect that it felt like it was just it felt like it was a good location, uh beautiful, beautiful location.

Um I'm curious, do you have any documentation that demonstrates the need for this level of expansion at this specific location?

Did you do a study that said you know what?

There is a a need for this many beds at this address.

No, we did not, okay.

Thank you.

Okay, uh any other questions for okay.

So with that, um, if we'll have comments from uh the commission after somebody uh could enter the resolution if they're willing to do so.

I can do that.

I move a resolution of the planning commission and the city of Santa Rosa making findings and determinations and approving a minor conditional use permit for 24 bed community care facility located at 5761 Mountain Hawk Drive, Santa Rosa, suites two zero one through two zero seven, APN 153-180-029, file number PLN 25-0136 and wave for the reading of the text.

Thank you.

Is there a second?

Thank you.

So that was moved by Commissioner Sisko and seconded by Commissioner Pardot.

So let's go ahead and uh start comments with Commissioner Sisko.

I'm gonna keep this short.

Um I think a lot has been articulated by staff already about why we're here again tonight, and Chair Weeks always um begins our meetings by citing what our purpose is, which is to implement uh plans and city codes and zoning code for the city of Santa Rosa.

So when we're looking at these projects, that's what we're we're looking at.

And I was here in 2022, a few of us uh were also, and my concern at that point and why I um uh was interested in moving for denial was the question of non-medical use.

Um I could not see how that definition applied to this particular project.

The applicant has since come in, um, even though it might be a little counterintuitive, uh, health and safety code definition.

That's a law, and that's what we uh will be following.

So that uh that piece has been remedied for me.

The other piece for me, and I think for others was the uh smoking tent along our uh scenic highway, and um didn't feel like that was in keeping with the um the purpose of the scenic road highway that it would detract from that and actually be a nuisance.

So those were the two major findings I think that we were um uh trying to move forward, never got finalized because the applicant withdrew.

So tonight I see this project, it's uh in keeping with our our zoning code.

It's a use that can be in any zoning code area.

I think they have come forward with a very complete application.

Really appreciate Commissioner Sanders' questions to really give us a visual of how this business is operating, and I will be able to make all of the findings and we'll be voting yes.

Thank you.

Commissioner Pardot.

I'll keep it short.

Um I can make all the requiring findings, and I'm I'm in an approval of this project.

Thank you.

Commissioner Carter.

Yeah, that's okay.

Um I'm gonna need to work through all the findings to sort of get my handle on this project.

I think the staff has done an admirable job of doing the zoning and land use analysis, and I can make findings A and B that's consistent with the zoning code and the city code.

Uh that the procedure for seeking a use permit in the neighborhood commercial district was followed properly.

I think the use is consistent with the general plan.

I think that the staff's analysis that the use would is consistent with the general plan is correct.

Um where I start to have problems is with uh finding C that the design size and operating characteristics of the proposed activity would be compatible with future with existing and future land uses in this in the vicinity.

I think giving all of the residents.

Can you get a little closer?

Thank you.

Giving over all of the residential uses allowed on a neighborhood commercial use to one kind of residential use could change the nature of that neighborhood serving residential.

I'm also concerned that the intensity here is at a much higher level than what is what the um the effects that we're looking at are based upon, and I don't know that we have shown that that the intensity would not cause uh a change in the land use activity or affect uh the existing and future land use activities in those areas.

Um the finding that the site is physically suitable for the type density intensity is also difficult for me.

I've driven through the site, it's not the best parking lot to get in and out of.

I understand that there's not a lot of traffic associated with the with the actual use, and I accept the report of the transportation consultant, but I think we're looking at an intensity here that is well beyond what we're used to, and we don't know how it's gonna, how it's gonna play out at three times the size it is now.

So based on the fact that I cannot make those two findings, I will not be supporting the project.

Okay, thank you.

Commissioner Sanders.

So um staff you as are rock stars and you always uh I can always count on you to dot all the I's and cross all the T's uh with regard to applicable zoning district and uh zoning code, city code, uh parking traffic, um, and as far as I can see um through the material, um, you nailed it, and great job.

Um, so what that leaves for me is you know the general plan.

And I brought my physical copy because I'm so old school to and and you see all my my blue uh reminders of of you know things I think are interesting.

So I'm gonna start with um just sort of the uh findings that staff has come up with.

Um in the resolution uh toward the end, it says in addition, the project would further the following, um, I'm sorry, in addition, the project would further the following general plan goals and policies, and we get into economic um you uh land use and economic development.

And goal two-one, it says this: ensure that growth and change serve community needs, project uh protect the environment, improve the city's fiscal stability, and enhance quality of life for all members of the community.

Well, I would think that the six beds that are there are are doing just that.

The other two locations that you have are also doing that.

And I I took an opportunity to go to the Sonoma County Department of Health Services, the Behavioral Health Division, and just did a little snooping around.

This is their substance use disorder treatment provider directory is updated monthly, and it's there's 18 sites roughly with 14 sites uh here in Santa Rosa.

Uh Pura Vita being three uh of those sites.

So that's why I guess I got to the question of do you have any sort of documented um something that documents the that you've researched the need for this type of expansion at this particular address.

I think that goal two one is being serviced now.

And then I can go to policy two-one point one, encourage development that supports community health, quality of life, and fosters complete neighborhoods in both established and emerging neighborhoods.

So then we go to the general plan just to nail down what we're talking about when we're talking about complete neighborhoods.

And in chapter one in the introduction, there's a definition in the little yellow box here.

Uh complete neighborhoods are areas with convenient, equitable access to goods and services needed to support daily life, such as grocery stores, recreation opportunities, community gathering places, active transportation infrastructure, and transit.

And it goes on the specific attributes of a complete neighborhood will vary depending on the unique needs of the local community.

It's also uh further defined in the chapter eight in the glossary.

I'll just go ahead and read it.

I promise I'll land this plane and hopefully it'll make sense.

Um complete neighborhoods built at the walkable and bikeable human scale, offering people of all ages and abilities, safe and convenient access to goods and services needed in daily life.

This includes a variety of housing options, grocery stores, and other commercial services, quality schools, public open spaces, and recreational facilities, transit and active transportation options.

And again, I'm kind of left with the idea that well, we're kind of we're doing that.

We're we're in Pura Vita is uh is a strong partner in that as we stand, and it great job.

Moving to goal 2.5, create business friendly, diverse, sustainable economy through the attraction of new businesses and the expansion retention and support of existing businesses.

And really, when you think about it, this is an expansion maybe of six beds because they already have you already have three sites sprinkled throughout the the city.

I think one is on uh Cleveland Avenue, and there's another one whose address I don't know um but total 18 beds so we want that we want that to expand we want you all to be successful because you clearly are providing a service that is needed and appreciated I'm moved by the number of people that have got up and took this opportunity to speak about their own journey and their relationship with Pure Vita it's it's actually really inspiring.

But we're handling that as is we move on policy uh six two um three prevent disincentivize or is that how you say that disincentivize and reduce harmful addictive behaviors which is right that's that's right what you do in the general plan it actually is related more toward educating the public on alcohol tobacco there are two action items under there that are related toward education not necessarily uh related to expansion expanding this type of facility at that particular location but I do you know concede that that is a a service that you are doing now I'm gonna keep going I promise this will be hanging there foster environments that support family and community members of all ages with high quality equitable uh accessible amenities programs and services pure Vita along with a lot of these other um colleagues are doing just that and then we're going to the last one in housing encourage the development of housing to meet all the needs of Santa Rosa residents and you know once again there we are so it gets to the question for me getting back to a question I asked a second ago what is the documented what is the um the concrete uh reason rationale that this location should be expanded to 24 beds across seven con con um condominiums residential units and I don't I don't know that I can make the findings um with this being consistent with the general plan as sort of a written um so I hope that makes sense uh but I I will not be supporting the resolution and I just wanted to mention that our interpreter has a hard stop at 8 30 so that's an hour from now so just um just wanted to mention that okay Commissioner Horton thank you um well thank you staff and and thanks to everyone who showed up tonight I I learned a lot from the comments on both sides just really appreciate everyone taking the time um I will be uh I can make all the required findings and I will be strongly supporting this I believe it's in the public interest and I'll I'll just keep my comments really brief but um to the uh comments that were just made I think I really have to respectfully disagree I mean I think what we've tried to do as a city is have a general plan and land use policy that allows private businesses to make their own discretionary decisions about what's going to allow them to survive and thrive in Santa Rosa and that's what's happening here and I don't think it's our role as the city to say well you know we think you'd be better off with your current business plan or what have you so um just a quick aside but on the whole um thank you to everyone who came out and um yes I will be uh voting in support thank you um and I would also like to thank everybody who took the time to come out um in this somewhat rainy night um I will also be supporting the project and I can make all the findings um our role as I've said repeatedly is not to make policy but rather to implement the existing land use policy um and I believe that is what we are doing when we are supporting this project um and it is, I believe it is consistent with the general plan and zoning code.

And so I will be supporting this project.

So with that, if we could um call for the vote.

Thank you, Chair.

Commissioner Carter.

No.

Commissioner Sisko.

Aye.

Commissioner Horton.

Aye.

Commissioner Pardot.

Aye.

Commissioner Sanders.

No.

Chair Weeks.

Aye.

So that passes with four ayes and two no's and one absence.

And I would like to mention that this action is final unless an appeal is filed with the city clerk's office within ten calendar days of today's decision pursuant to zoning code section twenty-sixty two.

And with that, I'll go ahead and adjourn the meeting.

Okay.