Santa Rosa City Council Agenda, January 26th

Greetings!

With appreciation to our friend, Anne Seeley, of Concerned Citizens For Santa Rosa:

Friends:  This is a key meeting.   The two issues of importance here are 1) rent stabilization options in response to our large homeless population; and 2) Courthouse Square Reunification Designs.

      

2PM 

There's a Study Session on Rent Stabilization Options.  City staff and consultants will review Council options for the implementation of Mediation/Arbitration, Just Cause for Eviction and Rent Stabilization in Santa Rosa.  Staff and consultants are looking for Council direction on any gaps in the necessary information for use in a later Council meeting.   The first link below is for the general presentation.  The 2nd is a more in-depth comparison of different approaches.   It's long, but it's important stuff.

https://santa-rosa.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=4213993&GUID=D6529083-0861-490E-A722-9809AC39136D Study Session

https://santa-rosa.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=4213225&GUID=C21A958D-A120-493C-BF00-A5BC37F9CFCE Attachment

5PM Public Hearings

14.1 Marshhawk Rezoning

Council Dinner Break

Report 

15.1   Master Plan for the Courthouse Square Reunification Project (CSR to me).   On 11/3/15, the Council approved the basic guidelines for Courthouse Square, approved the public outreach process for the square's interior design and delegated to the City Manager the authority to select a consultant team.

There have been two public meetings, both very well attended.  In the last public meeting, two main designs were presented.   You've read in the PD of the emphasis by speakers of saving the trees and about how much parking is needed.   Below are links to the staff presentation, and then the two designs they will be considering.  Finally, there are mitigation measures.

https://santa-rosa.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=4215386&GUID=CF1329E5-D655-4114-8A0D-5F344C58B96A CSR Presentation

https://santa-rosa.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=4215388&GUID=0988E80B-34C6-4CE8-A212-CBFE146FEBF7 Option 1

https://santa-rosa.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=4215389&GUID=37FBDC1C-6E4B-46AE-AA56-292BC4DCF832 Option 2

https://santa-rosa.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=4215384&GUID=25F6683C-E776-4172-ABD5-90122673D072 Mitigation Measures

20.1 Upcoming meetings:  https://santa-rosa.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=4212256&GUID=FAE3244F-BC95-44C2-9986-4703B09894E4

I'll see you there!    Anne

Santa Rosa City Council Agenda, January 19th

Greetings!

Our thanks to our friend, Anne Seeley, of Concerned Citizens For Santa Rosa.

Friends:    

There is a joint study session being held with the Council and the Planning Commission at 12PM (noon!)  The subject is "How Policy and Building Design Impact Tax Production."  The City has employed a consultant to help us understand how the variables in City policy either result in effects we don't want, or might produce more of what we want, such as affordable housing.  See the link and you won't have to come at noon, unless you want to brown-bag it:

https://santa-rosa.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=4203714&GUID=DC422FA2-74ED-4E23-8BB8-C2B353ED6792 Study Session

3PM City Council Study Session

2.2 Sonoma County Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE).    In 2009, the Council authorized Santa Rosa's participation in the Sonoma County Energy Independence Program (SCEIP), which is Sonoma County's PACE program.  In 2014 Sonoma County created the PACE Financing Marketplace, expanding the financing options available to property owners.   City Staff will present an overview of the PACE Financing Marketplace options.

https://santa-rosa.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=4204384&GUID=86938E0E-A16D-468A-A162-BE78F750F53B PACE Presentation

4PM Council meeting

Consent.  Various items, including  a donation of $220,000 from the Santa Rosa Parks Foundation to the City for the purpose of buying a new Howarth Park locomotive, while assigning all future donations for the ADA compliant rail coach.  There is also a separate item in which the Council may choose to buy this locomotive.

There is also and amendment to an agreement to include the City's Citibus in the Clipper Card, a Bay Area Transit Fare Payment Card.

Effective 1/17/16, CityBus will accept the Clipper Card and there will be a grand opening of the service later in February.

https://santa-rosa.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=4205979&GUID=FC2772EB-8BD3-44D7-B45E-3168BC35049E Clipper Card

5PM Public Hearing

15.1 Zoning Code Amendment - Temporary Placeholder Ban on Commercial Cultivation of Medical Cannibis  Because of the way new State law is written, the City has until March 1, 2016 to regulate (or not) the Commercial production of Medical Cannibis.  We currently have code restrictions on where the dispensaries are located and how they may be concentrated.   Without City legislation, regulation of this industry would be limited to State control.  See below for more information:

 https://santa-rosa.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=4205973&GUID=2EB449E6-D018-4D54-BD41-1F690B33EF73 Cannibis

See you there!   Anne

2016 Rings in Changes for Santa Rosa

Greetings!

Over the past month, members of Santa Rosa Together have had the opportunity of meeting with every member of the Santa Rosa City Council and the City Manager.  Responding to our requests to help us assess the progress being made by the City to open government, encourage civic engagement, and conduct the city’s business in partnership with the community, the reports we received were that those efforts have just begun, and we’ll know more in 2016.  A year after the Council accepted the Open Government Task Force Report, many of its recommended actions are being implemented.

The Report asked the Council to improve and expand the opportunities for citizens to be heard on important public policy issues.  In 2015, the Council and City Manager responded by including civic engagement components into all significant development projects, re-instituted and re-charged the Community Advisory Board (CAB), and hired a Community Engagement Director reporting to the City Manager.  Currently engaged in conducting the City’s first, CAB-hosted participatory budgeting process for the development of the Capital Improvement Budget, and a broader Sunshine Ordinance, the Community Engagement Director is making the rounds of community groups to develop new partnerships.

In 2015, Santa Rosa and the County conducted more and better meetings to engage resident participation than in any year in recent history.  Area zoning code development, annexation planning, park master planning, transit imagining, commercial and housing redevelopment, street upgrading and traffic circulation, website expansion, and downtown square reunification all included greatly-enlarged civic engagement components.

But any assessment of the City’s progress has to go beyond meeting and participant numbers, communication capabilities, and intensity of collaboration.   2016 will provide us with opportunities to witness the outcomes of these efforts when many key recommendations for change are brought before the Council.  We'll be interested in how residents feel about whether their participation has resulted in the inclusion or consideration of their ideas and concerns.  We’ll use those moments to again evaluate the results of civic engagement and open government, and hope that we’re pleased with the answers.

Santa Rosa City Council Agenda, January 5th, 2016

Thanks to our friend, Anne Seeley, of Concerned Citizens For Santa Rosa:

Friends:

There is no study session before this meeting.

4:00 PM

During Mayor's and Council members' reports, the Council will make several appointments of representatives from the Council to local and regional Boards.  They will also appoint four members of the public to the At-Large positions on the Waterways Advisory Committee.

11.3 After the appointments the Council will consider requests from Council members for agenda items for:

11.3.1  A Closed Session (non-public) item to discuss the performance of the City Attorney.  Proposed by Wysocky, seconded by Combs

11/3/2  An agenda item regarding a review of policy on meeting cancellation and public access decisions.  Proposed by Wysocky, seconded by Combs. This follows from the incidents after the Andy Lopez shooting, with questions still unresolved over who had and has what authority.

11/3.3 An agenda item to discuss a letter of support for HR 1217 - the King-Thompson Public Safety and Second Amendment Rights Protection Act..  Proposed by Wysocky, seconded by Coursey.

Consent

13.2 Approval of Amendment #4 to the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Unit 8, Transit workers, represented by SEIU. More information is below:

https://santa-rosa.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=4184195&GUID=682FB401-716C-4F44-B3E9-540311B6B2C8 MOU w/ Transit

This is a short meeting, so if you want to speak before the Council in Public Appearances, this would be a convenient time to do it.

See you there!   Anne

Anne Seeley

aeseeley@sonic.net

526-3925

484-8722 (cell)