Attachment 7 - Public Correspondence — Santa Rosa City Council, June 21, 2022

From: c vetrano
To: Murray, Susie
Subject: [EXTERNAL] 1226 4th street Proposal
Date: Saturday, November 27, 2021 2:42:28 PM
Project Planner,
We live at , not far from the proposed dispensary. This location is very close to Proctor Terrace School.

A dispensary attractes people who regularly use drugs and marijuana is a drug. As a retired school high school administrator,
I can tell you that most of the underage students who were regular users of this drug obtained them through friends or relatives
who were dispensary customers. I can also tell you that young people who use this drug regularly are usually terrible students
and more often involved in crime.

The argument that it is for adults for medical use is complete nonsense.

There is no benefit for marijuana use. It doesn’t make anyone a better person.

The idea of letting this happen in a family neighborhood is reprehensible.

I wish Sant aRosa would ban every dispensary but since they have not done this, then locate them far away from family neighborhoods.

Place them in Santa Rosa Avenue area where you can see homeless, prostitutes and drug users join a regular basis ruining our community.

Chris and John Vetrano
Attachment 7
From: [email protected]
To: Murray, Susie
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Feedback on Flora Terra Dispensary
Date: Sunday, August 22, 2021 7:57:49 PM
Dear Susie,
We are writing to register our disapproval of the project: Flora Terra Dispensary 1226 4th Street, Santa Rosa Avenue.

We appreciate the Neighborhood Meeting last week, and the ability to get our questions answered.

As stated by owner Alicia Wingard at the meeting, her goal is to increase use of marijuana products primarily among “soccer moms”.

Our main concern is that a Marijuana Dispensary in our neighborhood will do just that.

We expect that it would indeed increase the use of marijuana products in the neighborhood, leading to more impaired parents and drivers.

In addition, we would expect more use among younger adults and juveniles as a consequence.

As Peter pointed out at the meeting, this is a walkable neighborhood of individuals and families, and is best served by family-friendly shops, services, and restaurants.

A shop that increases impairment in the neighborhood would not be family-friendly.

Also as stated by Flora Terra employee Megan, these products can sometimes dramatically help pain in a much better way than narcotics.

In that regard, a dispensary could potentially provide a valuable product to people with chronic intractable pain, who have no other healing treatment available, or for whom healing is a long process.

The Terra Flora Dispensary already existing on Empire Industrial Court is well-situated for that in a business area.

It is not in situated in a neighborhood.

From its windows, neighborhoods can be seen across the railroad tracks and behind the parking lot, but that is not the same as being in an walkable neighborhood.

For these reasons, we think that the expansion of the Terra Flora Dispensary should be done in another industrial area, and not in a walkable Santa Rosa neighborhood.

Thank you for listening and responding to our concerns.

Sincerely,
Peter and Constance Sultana
From: Joan and Peeter
To: Murray, Susie
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Flora Terra Dispansary
Date: Monday, August 16, 2021 12:37:02 PM
Hello, Ms. Murray:

We are writing to voice our support for Alicia Wingard’s application to operate a cannabis dispensary at 1226 4th Street, not far from where we have lived on 14th Street for over 40 years.

Considering the variety of businesses that have operated in this location over the years, its commercial environment and, as far as we know, the trouble-free operation of dispensaries in general, we feel fear on the part of some McDonald Historic District residents of property value impacts is a relic of historic demonization.

As to traffic concerns, we doubt there would be much difference between the past experience with Café de Croissants (day) and Bruno’s (evening) and Flora Terra.

We hope a vocal minority will not overrule a dispassionate analysis on the application's merits.

Thanks for your attention.

Cordially,
-Peeter and Joan Vilms
1217 14th Street
From: Rochelle Nyquist
To: Murray, Susie
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Flora Terra Dispensary is ok
Date: Saturday, August 14, 2021 11:06:16 AM
Dear Ms. Murray,
I live on Spring Street, and I have no problem with the proposed dispensary.

I have been in Flora Terra stores in San Francisco and here in Santa Rosa.

They are very upscale and look a lot like an Apple store or Williams Sonoma.

High prices will determine the clientele.

Sincerely,
Rochelle Nyquist
Sent from my iPad
From: ROBERT CUTTING
To: Murray, Susie
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Neighborhood Meeting
Date: Tuesday, August 17, 2021 12:43:14 PM
I voted against legalizing marijuana and do not want this in my neighborhood Shirley Cutting
From: Murray, Susie
To: "Melissa Anderson"
Subject: RE: [EXTERNAL] notice of application
Date: Monday, November 15, 2021 9:26:00 AM
Attachments: image008.png
Good morning Ms. Anderson,

Thank you for taking to provide your written comments. I will provide a copy to the Planning Commission before any action is taken. I will also include a copy of this email in the public record and provide a copy to the applicant.

P Please consider the environment before printing.

From: Melissa Anderson <[email protected]>
Sent: Wednesday, November 10, 2021 10:29 AM
To:

Murray, Susie <[email protected]>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] notice of application

Good morning Susie Murray,

I strongly oppose a cannabis club directly across the street from our Goodwill store. We are a non- profit family friendly organization and we already have a very difficult time with individuals coming into our store smelling strongly of cannabis; we have had to ask them to leave on more than one occasion. Our customers already complain about those individuals, I cannot imagine the chaos a dispensary will bring to this neighborhood; loss of business and repeat customers, and overall upset in the neighborhood. Our target market and customer base is a complete contrast to that of a cannabis dispensary.

Please consider this, I don’t know if it makes any difference but we are worried about the impact it will have on our business.

Thank you,

Melissa Anderson
Retail Store Manager
GOODWILL ~ REDWOOD EMPIRE
1300 4th Street | Santa Rosa, CA 95404
Tel: 707-527-6463 | Fax: 707-527-8360 | www.gire.org

Changing Lives and Strengthening Communities Through the Dignity and Power of Work.

CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This e-mail and any files transmitted with it are intended only for the person or entity to which it is addressed and may contain confidential material and/or material protected by law. Any retransmission or use of this information may be a violation of that law. If you received this in error, please contact the sender and delete the material from any computer.

Deanna Alexander
Project Manager
Mobile: (650) 793.2621
Fax: (707) 568.4035
1229 N. Dutton Avenue, Suite C
Santa Rosa, CA 95401
nordby.net

From: Murray, Susie
To: Dennis Hagemann
Subject: RE: [EXTERNAL] 1226 4th Street, Santa Rosa
Date: Monday, November 15, 2021 8:06:00 AM
Mr. Hagemann,
Thank you for taking time to provide your comments. I'll include them in the public record, and provide a copy to decision makers and the applicant.

I am working remotely during this time. The City
of Santa Rosa has restricted City facilities to the public and is offering in-person City Hall support by appointment only. The Planning and Economic Development Department has recently launched its Planning Application Portal which contains process checklists for the majority of planning entitlements. You can also check on the status of your permit application here. For general planning inquiries, please contact [email protected]. To submit permit application materials, please submit all required documents to [email protected].
-----Original Message-----
From: Dennis Hagemann <[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, November 5, 2021 11:19 AM
To: Murray, Susie <[email protected]>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] 1226 4th Street, Santa Rosa
I am against any and all retail of this type.

Dennis Hagemann
From: Murray, Susie
To: Holly Wheadon
Subject: RE: [EXTERNAL] 12216 4th St - OPPOSITION to Flora Terra Dispensary Date: Monday, August 16, 2021 4:06:00 PM
Attachments: image001.jpg
Ms. Wheadon,

Thank you for your comments. Tonight's meeting is a Neighborhood Meeting and is intended to introduce the conceptual plan and receive comments from neighbors and interested members of the public. I have passed your comments along to the applicant and will do my best to make sure these comments make it to the formal application file which has not been submitted yet. In order to ensure the correspondence is forwarded to the Planning Commission, please feel free to send them to me again when you receive the Notice of Application.

I’d rather have a duplicate than
inadvertently miss it.

Thanks much.

Susie

still strong_sm
P Please consider the environment before printing.

From: Holly Wheadon <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, August 16, 2021 10:49 AM
To:

Murray, Susie <[email protected]>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] 12216 4th St - OPPOSITION to Flora Terra Dispensary

Hello,

I live at 913 Spring Street, 2 blocks down the street from the proposed Cannabis Retail facility at 1226 4th Street. I am writing to express my strong opposition to allowing a dispensary to operate in this location for the following reasons:

This is one of the highest end, historic neighborhoods in Santa Rosa. This is a family-friendly neighborhood where kids are safe riding bikes and walking dogs. Allowing the dispensary to occupy this space will increase traffic on our neighborhood streets…..traffic by individuals who don’t live here and therefore don’t drive like their kids are playing on the streets. They speed with no regard for the residents.

A dispensary belongs in a commercial district, not in a neighborhood. This location is better suited to a family-friendly business such as a restaurant.

Dispensary operating hours aren’t commensurate to neighborhoods with young families that wind down early and are quiet, safe places.

Dispensaries attract individuals who would normally not be in the Historic McDonald district and aren’t welcome due to their drug habits.

Why would we want to subject our kids to this
population?
If the dispensary intends to offer delivery, this brings up another security/safety concern.

Having vehicles drive through our neighborhood that have hundreds of dollars’ worth of merchandise on board are targets for crime in a neighborhood where crime is low.

Parking is also of concern, since the lot behind 1226 4th St only accommodates 5-6 cars.

Dispensary customers will be parking on neighborhood streets and will likely loiter, leave drug paraphernalia, and bring a population into the neighborhood that has no other reason to be there.

Keep these people in the downtown SR core and out of a high end neighborhood.

All of these reasons outlined above are precisely why our entire neighborhood opposed the dispensary which was slated to go in where Urban Garden is moving next to Foster’s Freeze a few years back.

Due to COVID, there are lots of available store fronts and business retail locations in our city, so please locate this dispensary elsewhere.

Holly Wheadon
[email protected]
913 Spring St. Santa Rosa, CA 95404
Cell: 707.888.2623

From: Murray, Susie
To: susan hirshfield
Subject: RE: [EXTERNAL] Cannabis dispensary 4th. St.

Date: Tuesday, August 17, 2021 9:10:00 AM
Attachments: image001.jpg
Thank you for your comment. I’ll be sure to provide a copy of it to the Planning Commission before any decision is made.

still strong_sm
P Please consider the environment before printing.

From: susan hirshfield <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, August 17, 2021 8:32 AM
To:

Murray, Susie <[email protected]>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Cannabis dispensary 4th. St.

Is there a limit to the number of dispensaries within the City of Santa Rosa, both to protect the income of the business as well as to honor neighborhoods who don't want to host these businesses?

--
Susan J Hirshfield, Ph.D.

Mindful Life Transitions
Earle Baum Center
(707) 569-0616
[email protected]
From: Murray, Susie
To: "[email protected]"
Subject: RE: [EXTERNAL] Feedback on Flora Terra Dispensary Date: Thursday, September 30, 2021 9:25:00 AM
Attachments: image001.jpg
Mr. & Mrs. Sultana,

Thank you for your comments. I’m not sure that I haven’t already responded to this, but am doing it again just in case. I will add your comments to the file (public record) and forward them to the Planning Commission before any action is taken.

Susie

still strong_sm

P Please consider the environment before printing.

From: [email protected] <[email protected]> Sent: Sunday, August 22, 2021 7:58 PM
To:

Murray, Susie <[email protected]>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Feedback on Flora Terra Dispensary

Dear Susie,
We are writing to register our disapproval of the project: Flora Terra Dispensary 1226 4th Street, Santa Rosa Avenue.