S.R. City Council August 13th

Greetings!

Our friend, Anne Seeley, of Concerned Citizens for Santa Rosa, has again provided an excellent summary of this week's City Council agenda:

Friends:  At 3 PM there will be a Joint Study Session with the Planning Commission:

 4.1 General Plan Update Work Plan.  The City soon will be putting out an request for Proposals (RFP) for a consultant to help update the General Plan (GP).

  The last GP, 'Santa Rosa 2035' was adopted in 2009, and a lot has changed, including the need to address post-fire recovery, the challenge of Climate Change, Homelessness in Santa Rosa, the impact of cannabis business activity on industrial and commercial land and the annexation of Roseland.

4PM Council Meeting

9.1 Santa Rosa's City Attorney will report to the Council  on rewards in court cases as well as ongoing legal battles. a report the Council asked for on a quarterly basis.

 15.1 The Council will consider a proposal to amend the Santa Rosa Code, adding a Housing Anti-Discrimination Chapter.  This would prohibit rental housing discrimination against people using rental subsidies issued through governmental and non-profit agencies.

5PM Public Hearings

 16.1 Preferential Parking Permit Plan.  Parking on certain streets in the West End neighborhood has become constrained. Some business owners have asked the City to offer a Preferential  Permit Parking Program that would allow employees of eligible businesses to park on streets in designated areas beyond the posted parking limits.

 16.2  The Annual Santa Rosa Fire Department Weed Abatement Program Report. This is required the hear objections to the costs of requirements to abate weeds and rubbish.

To check out further details yourself, enter srcity.org in your web browser, then click Government, then City Council and then look for the date of the agenda in the long list of agendas.  For Mac users, press your Control key and select the  date 8/13/19 to be a new tab. In that tab you'll see the whole agenda.  Use the same procedure (for Mac users) to open up links within the agenda For others types of computers, I don't know your procedures.

See you there!

Anne

Homeless Action! Order for Preliminary Injunction

Greetings!

Here are Federal District Judge Vince Chhabria's:

Order Staying Litigation

Stipulation and Order for Preliminary Injunction

More Detailed Informational Press Release

S.R. City Council, April 30th

Greetings!

Thanks to our friend, Anne Seeley, of Concerned Citizens For Santa Rosa, for her analysis of the April 30th City Council agenda

Dear Friends:

  There is a 2:30 Study Session before the 4PM regular meeting.

4.1 Review  of City-Wide After-Action Report, regarding the City's actions during the October, 2017, fires.  There's an emphasis on 'Critical Recommendations.'

4PM

Under Mayor's and Council members' Reports:

11.2.1 Action to take a position on the recently-released CASA Compact on Housing.  A letter is to be sent to our local legislators from the Mayor's and Council members' Association (in which each city has representatives) reporting a unanimous vote against the Compact.  This is due to the Compact's one-size-fits-all approach to planning housing for cities of different sizes.  A suggestion is made that with modifications, the plan would be helpful to on-going efforts in each city.

11.3.1 A Request from Council member Combs for a Study Session on a $15 an Hour Minimum Wage.  Seconded by Council member Tibbetts.

Report

  15.2 Approval of a Subregional Wastewater Treatment Plant  Budget.  This Budget covers Operations and Maintenance, Capital Improvements, Debt Service and Associated Costs. The plant treat 21.34 MGD (million gallons per day in average dry weather) of what we don't like to call wastewater - but what's a better term?  In the recent heavy rains and floods, the plant had to release treated wastewater to the Laguna, as it was overwhelmed.

The System has five users: Santa Rosa, Rohnert Park, Cotati, Sebastopol, and the Sonoma County South Park Sanitation District

  After the budget is approved, allocations of costs to each participant will be determined. Then each participant will allocate costs among sewer users (us).

See you there!

Anne

S.R. Council Agenda, March 26th

Greetings!

Here is the Santa Rosa City Council agenda for March 6th, thanks to our friend, Anne Seeley, of Concerned Citizens For Santa Rosa.

Friends:

  There is a Study Session at 2PM:  CASA Compact and Related Legislative Update.

CASA is a panel of Bay Area Leaders across various sectors to address the area's housing affordability crisis.    They've produced a proposed plan involving many of the concepts you've heard of and some newer ones.    Come and listen, and comment if you'd like to.

    I plan to comment on, among other things, tightening up some of the language that is 'squishy' ; that is, it leaves too much room for interpretation and possible abuse.

  

4PM Regular meeting

10.2.1 Request for an agenda item to establish a community wildfire protection plan by     April,  2020.  Request was from Council member  Combs, seconded by Vice Mayor Chris Rogers.

10.3.1 Sonoma County Mayors and Council Members Association/ City Selection Committee.

The Council will provide direction to the Mayor on recommended appointees to 1) the Airport Land Commission; 2) the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO); the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC). 

10.3.2  The Council will provide direction to the Mayor on appointees to ABAG, the Association of Bay Area Governments.  Applicants are Santa Rosa Council member Julie Combs and Susan Adams of Rohnert Park.  Also to be considered are applicants to represent Sonoma County on the League of California Cities.

Report

  14.1 Yet another appeal of the Cannabis Policy Committee's selection of one dispensary business over another, this one on Piner Road.

  14.2 Sonoma County Water Agency (SCWA) 2019/2020 Water Transmission Budget and Rate Increases.  Ninety percent of the water provided to Santa Rosa users comes from the SCWA.  The SCWA proposes to increase water rates by 4.6%, which would result in an  increase to the average customer of 1.9%.

    The Board of Public Utilities and Santa Rosa Water Department recommend approval.  The decision ultimately will be made by the SCWA Board of Directors, who are the County Supervisors.  They are advised by the county Water Advisory Committee (WAC).

See you there!

Anne

S.R. City Council Agenda, Oct 23rd

Greetings!

Thanks once again yo our friend, Anne Seeley, of Concerned Citizens For Santa Rosa, for her analysis of this week's City Council agenda.


Friends:

  There is a study session starting at 1PM, before the business meeting at 4PM.

13.1 Jennings Avenue Rail Crossing. If it feels like this controversy has been dragging on forever, it's because it has!   The City got an agreement from the California Public Utilities Commission (CalPUC) to have an at-grade crossing over the SMART tracks at Jennings Avenue, a popular east-west connection just south of Coddingtown. 

They communicated this to SMART, which agreed to commence planning.  Now SMART has issued a statement that it no longer supports an at-grade crossing.

   The alternative is a hugely expensive overpass that, in order to comply with ADA requirements would have to be extensive so as to allow wheelchair users to access it.

   Some cool heads need to find compromise.

 3.2 Climate Action Plan Activities.  Staff will give information about recent activities.

4PM

   Please understand that there are always preliminary matters on the agenda that I don't report on each week, such as reports by Council members, the City Manager and City Attorney. Lately, there is always a Fire Recovery and Rebuild Update.

12 Consent

  12.2 Rejection of all bids for the Fulton Road reconstruction from Occidental Road the West Third Street. The lowest bid was 70% over the Engineer's estimate

  12.3 Contract agreement with a Professional Arborist, American Tree Medics, Inc. in the amount of $102,036, to provide a report on street trees damaged by the fires last year.

There is one report item on possible release of a City easement to the County to build a new Behavioral Health Unit to serve the Adult Detention Facility.

See you there!

Anne

HA! Homeless Housing Research

Greetings!

In order to maximize the impact of the State funding anticipated for the development of homeless supportive housing in Sonoma County, I propose that Homeless Action! research the following information concerning potential applicants for the share of it which is received by Sonoma County:

1. Which social service agencies are interested now in considering applying to develop housing?

2. Which housing development companies (nonprofit and profit) are interested in developing housing? (local and statewide)

3. What process will the County utilize to decide on its application for state funding?

4. What the City of Santa Rosa will contribute to the funding proposals (land and funding)?

5. What process the City of Santa Rosa will utilize to determine the above?

6. Which other cities in Sonoma County are interested in using the funding for homeless housing?

Key contacts for information:
Continuum of Care Coordinators in Northern California (2,3)

Nonprofit Housing Developers in Northern California (2)

Applicants to Recently-Awarded Partnership Health Grants (1)

Margaret Van Vliet announcement in HA! Meeting (3)

? (4, 5)

Sebastopol, Healdsburg, Petaluma - ? (6)

Analysis of Sites and Zoning for Housing Element Development of Housing, California Housing and Community Development, Santa Rosa and Sonoma County (4)
List of properties owned by the City of Santa Rosa (4)

S.R. City Council Agenda, July 24th

Greetings!

Many thanks to our friend, Anne Seeley, of Concerned Citizens For Snta Rosa, for her analysis of this week's Santa Rosa City Council agenda:

Friends:   Before I tell you about the agenda for the upcoming Council meeting, I need to tell you about the Council's Goal-Setting session held on 7/19/18.

   At that session, the Council was given the information that in each of the upcoming 10 years, the City will be operating in a deficit.  They will be given a list of options for  spending reductions created by staff in September. At this session they gave staff ideas for what should and should not be considered for reduction.   

  They also learned that the City has used much of its reserves in response to the recent emergency.  By June 30,2019 the reserve fund will be $19 million under the mandated 15% level.

Council Agenda Highlights for 7/24/18

  The biggest thing on this agenda is Report item 14.3, in which the council will consider revenue-producing options they might take.

  

  Before that, at 3:30PM, a Study Session will examine A Police Department Unmanned Aerial System Program.  The department has begun studies on how law enforcement agencies could earn or maintain their community's' trust in a wide variety of law enforcement and public safety applications.  Come and hear about this!

10.2.1 The Council will discuss whether to put on a future agenda the matter of rent stabilization.  That discussion will cover all possible Council actions: whether to pass such an ordinance themselves or place on the ballot the citizen-raised measure that has likely achieved the necessary number of petition signatures. Or, something else.

14.3 City of Santa Rosa Ballot Measures for Affordable Housing AND General City Services.

   Options to be discussed are: 1) A quarter cent sales tax measure;  2) increasing the TOT (Transient Occupancy Tax) from 9% to 14%; and 3) a General Obligation Bond.   All options require voter approval.

   The City hired 2 companies to conduct an opinion survey on these options.  The Council received the results on June 26 and then asked the surveyors to conduct a poll only on the Bond Measure.

  Recommendation by the City Manager, the Finance,Housing and Community Services Departments: that the Council introduce an ordinance for establish a temporary quarter-cent sales tax for 6 years AND also to approve a resolution to submit a ballot measure for the sales tax on the November,2018 ballot.

   Additionally, they recommended an ordinance to increase the TOT to 12% and approve a ballot measure on it for voter approval in November.  

  Third, they recommend the issuance of general obligation bonds for the purpose of funding  affordable housing and by resolution, approve ballot language and an expenditure plan.

  Fourth, they recommend that the Council submit a Housing Recovery Bond for affordable rental and ownership housing to the voters in November.

After all that, at or after (likely after) 5PM, the Council will have a Public Hearing:

  15.1 Appeal of Final Design Review for the proposed Emerald Isle Community Care facility, proposed for a parcel off of Thomas Lake Harris Drive, on Gullane Drive.

  There are questions of over-concentration of community care facilities and the potential safety of occupants.

See you there!

Anne