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Plan Our Future Together
Santa Rosa General Plan 2050
Draft | June 2023
Santa Rosa General Plan 2050
SUMMARY OF GOALS, POLICIES, AND ACTIONS
Attachment 4
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN GOALS, POLICIES, AND ACTIONS
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN 2050 1
Land Use
Goals, Policies, and Actions
Policy 2-1.1: Encourage development that
supports community health and
quality of life and fosters
complete neighborhoods in both
established and emerging
neighborhoods.
Action 2-1.1: Implement and update the
following Specific Plans, as
necessary to address changing
economic and market conditions
and/or changing community
visions for these areas:
• Downtown Station Area
Specific Plan
• North Santa Rosa Specific Plan
• Roseland Specific Plan
Action 2-1.2: Update the Zoning Code to
require industrial development
adjacent to residential areas to
provide buffers, landscaping, and
screening to minimize noise, light,
glare, and other impacts.
Action 2-1.3: Require residential developments
within 500 feet of U.S. Route 101
and California Route 12 to include
construction measures that
mitigate future resident
exposures to ozone, particulate
matter, and other toxic air
contaminants (TAC) identified by
CARB.
Action 2-1.4: Address the need for gathering
places by providing amenities
such as parks, community
centers, and cultural facilities for
community members in all
neighborhoods, prioritizing EPAs
and Areas of Change.
Action 2-1.5: Address the need for access to
outdoor activity/recreation in
urban core areas by encouraging
the creative integration of such
spaces or uses in public and
private development.
Action 2-1.6: Encourage retail and housing
development in mixed-use
developments along regional
transportation routes and in
areas that serve community
members, with a focus on Areas
of Change.
Action 2-1.7: Amend the Zoning Code
regulations related to community
care facilities, including updating
the definition of community care
facility; address neighborhood
compatibility in the context of
residential neighborhoods; and
explore opportunities for
streamlining.
Action 2-1.8: Address the infrastructure and
service needs of disadvantaged
unincorporated communities.
Policy 2-1.2: Facilitate future annexations
with a thoughtfully designed
and transparent strategy that
ensures the City’s ongoing fiscal
health and supports a high
quality of life for community
members.
Action 2-1.9: Prepare a specific plan prior to
annexation of land in south Santa
Rosa, south from the current City
Goal 2-1: Ensure that growth and change
serve community needs, protect the
environment, improve fiscal stability, and
enhance quality of life for all members of
the community.
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN GOALS, POLICIES, AND ACTIONS
2 SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN 2050
boundary to the UGB, to identify
and accommodate needs related
to City services, such as Fire and
Police, water, wastewater,
stormwater, transportation, and
parks.
Action 2-1.10: Require a fiscal impact analysis
for proposed annexations that
exceed 10 acres to ensure a full
accounting of infrastructure and
public service costs and confirm
whether revenue enhancement
mechanisms are necessary to
ensure net fiscal balance.
Action 2-1.11: Only allow annexations or City
utility connections if they are
consistent with the General Plan
and do not adversely impact the
City’s fiscal viability,
environmental resources,
infrastructure and services, and
quality of life.
Action 2-1.12: Limit annexations to land in the
UGB with adequate services
available, including
unincorporated islands within the
city limits.
Action 2-1.13: Work with LAFCO to require all
proposed annexations within a
County island to prepare a
sentiment survey of all properties
within the island to determine the
ability of annexing the full County
island.
Action 2-1.14: Prioritize the processing of
proposed annexations when
applicants provide funding for
dedicated staff time.
Policy 2-1.3: Promote and participate in
cooperative planning efforts
with surrounding jurisdictions
and the County, especially
related to Countywide and
subregional issues such as
transportation, waste
management, and affordable
housing.
Action 2-1.15: Conduct regular meetings with
County of Sonoma staff to
coordinate land use issues of
mutual concern within the UGB.
Policy 2-1.4: Ensure that City policy, codes,
programming, and practices
support a range of viable land
uses that are consistent with the
General Plan.
Action 2-1.16: Maintain an inventory of
industrial lands and sites zoned
appropriately for the retention
and expansion of key
manufacturing and industrial
businesses/employers.
Action 2-1.17: Maintain sufficient land in areas
zoned for industrial uses to
accommodate a wide range of
production, distribution, and
repair-oriented light industrial
uses, including research and
development, manufacturing,
and food processing.
Action 2-1.18: Consider updating the Zoning
Code to allow for compatible
residential and commercial uses
in office parks, light industrial
areas, and other similar areas.
Such compatible uses could
include Live-Work units, artisan
studios/shops, brew pubs, coffee
shops, tasting rooms, and event
spaces.
Action 2-1.19: Identify necessary policy changes
to enable the retention or
conversion of sites with light
industrial / light manufacturing
uses located in appropriate areas,
and implement changes as
feasible and appropriate.
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN GOALS, POLICIES, AND ACTIONS
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN 2050 3
Action 2-1.20: Update the UGB so that it is
coterminous with the city’s
Sphere of Influence.
Action 2-1.21: Update the Zoning Code to:
1. Rezone parcels to ensure
consistency with the General
Plan.
2. Create development
standards for Missing-Middle
Housing types.
3. Rezone Planned Development
communities into appropriate
zoning districts consistent
with General Plan Land Use.
Policy 2-2.1: Support development of
complete neighborhoods in all
Areas of Change, ensuring they
offer 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.
Action 2-2.1: Consider development incentives
and update the Zoning Code to
require new developments in
Areas of Change to include on-
site and proximal access to goods
and services that support daily
life, including, but not limited to,
fresh-food stores, recreation,
community gathering, and
infrastructure that supports
active transportation and transit.
Action 2-2.2: Require design of mixed-use
projects to focus residential uses
in the upper stories or toward the
back of parcels, with retail and
office activities fronting the
regional/arterial street. Site
design with residential uses at the
rear is intended to reduce
potential for housing units to
exceed maximum noise levels
along a regional/arterial street.
Action 2-2.3: Work with Sonoma County and
potential developers to redevelop
sites in the unincorporated
stretch of Santa Rosa Avenue
with mixed-use, limiting and
discouraging the expansion of
existing single-use, auto-oriented
commercial establishments.
Action 2-2.4: Allow for regional and
neighborhood shopping centers
to integrate amenities, events,
and programming that enhance
the destination and its
attractiveness as a shopping
location and community
gathering space.
Action 2-2.5: Allow farmers markets by right in
shopping centers.
Action 2-2.6: Allow temporary, community-
oriented / community-amenity
uses on sites slated for
redevelopment that activate
those spaces prior to
entitlement/construction.
Policy 2-2.2: Encourage a compact rather
than a scattered development
pattern for new development
proposals, particularly in Areas
of Change.
Action 2-2.7: Require compact development
that includes services within one-
Goal 2-2: Promote city-centered growth
and investment with a neighborhood-
focused approach to create complete and
connected communities that provide
community members' daily needs within
easy walking or biking distance.
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN GOALS, POLICIES, AND ACTIONS
4 SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN 2050
half mile walking and biking
distance of residential
neighborhoods.
Action 2-2.8: For all private development,
capital improvement projects,
and preparation of detailed area
plans, require close land
use/transportation relationships
to promote use of alternative
transportation modes and
discourage travel by automobile.
Action 2-2.9: Encourage the creation of shared
parking areas and shared
driveways / vehicle access points
in private development.
Policy 2-2.3: Ensure mixed use developments
along regional/arterial streets
are designed to reduce impacts
to community members;
encourage redevelopment with
mixed use in areas that do not
meet the community's vision.
Action 2-2.10: Maintain Priority Development
Area designations in accordance
with Plan Bay Area to maintain
consistency with regional
planning efforts.
Policy 2-3.1: Ensure that residential
developments, including
subdivisions and neighborhoods,
are designed to foster livability
and maintain a diversity of
neighborhoods and varied
housing stock to satisfy a wide
range of needs and retain local
character.
Action 2-3.1: Evaluate new development
through the development review
process to ensure neighborhood
identities are maintained.
Action 2-3.2: Update the Zoning Code to allow
residential and mixed-use
development in the Retail and
Business Services and Office land
use designations.
Action 2-3.3: Identify barriers and/or incentives
to redevelopment with mixed use
in areas that do not meet the
community's vision, and
mitigate/implement these, as
feasible.
Action 2-3.4: Work with Sonoma County and
potential developers to redevelop
sites in the unincorporated
stretch of Santa Rosa Avenue
with mixed use, limiting and
discouraging the expansion of
existing single-use, auto-oriented
commercial establishments.
Policy 2-3.2: Ensure that residential
developments achieve the
density potential of the project
site and include a variety of
housing types with a full range
of affordability.
Action 2-3.5: Require development at the
midpoint or higher of the density
range in the Medium and
Medium High Density Residential
land use designations, unless
topography, parcel configuration,
heritage trees, historic
preservation, or utility constraints
make the midpoint impossible to
achieve.
Policy 2-3.3: Ensure that mixed use
developments along
regional/arterial streets are
designed to reduce impacts to
future residents.
Action 2-3.6: Require design of mixed-use
projects to focus residential uses
Goal 2-3: Promote livability by creating a
variety of housing types near transit to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN GOALS, POLICIES, AND ACTIONS
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN 2050 5
in the upper stories or toward the
back of parcels, with retail and
office activities fronting the
regional/arterial street. Site
design with residential uses at the
rear is intended to reduce
potential for housing units to
exceed maximum noise levels
along a regional/arterial street.
Economic Development
Goals, Policies, and Actions
Policy 2-4.1: Maintain a positive business
climate in the community and
encourage diverse job types in
Santa Rosa.
Action 2-4.1: Ensure the City’s actions and
communications convey an
organizational culture and
climate that support global
business values (e.g., productivity,
speed-to-market, flexibility,
innovation), and that the City
recognizes the value business
brings to the city.
Action 2-4.2: Institute new policies and
leverage partnerships to address
the primary drivers of an inclusive
and resilient economy,
highlighting urgent economic
challenges and improved
livability across Santa Rosa.
Action 2-4.3: Maintain an economic
development strategic plan to
guide the City’s economic
development initiatives,
periodically reviewing and
funding updates to and special
reports in support of the plan to
keep current with market
conditions and economic trends.
Policy 2-4.2: Develop and strengthen
locational assets and business
assistance programs that
support innovation and create
an entrepreneurial business
climate attractive to technology
and entrepreneurial businesses.
Action 2-4.4: Continue to promote Santa Rosa
as the North Bay’s premier
location for clean/green
technologies and entrepreneurial
businesses that create new
products and business models
that will attract national and
international interest.
Action 2-4.5: Develop and foster City-business
connections and maintain a
Business Visitation Program for a
cross-section of City staff and
officials to ensure that industry
trends and opportunities are
identified early, and City services
are meeting the needs of
business.
Action 2-4.6: Identify necessary policy changes
and new program options to
allow and support micro-
entrepreneurialism and
neighborhood-centered
businesses/jobs creation and
implement, as feasible and
appropriate.
Policy 2-4.3: Develop strategies and work
cross-departmentally on
programs and initiatives to
retain existing businesses;
enable business expansion; and
attract new employers that
contribute to the city’s
economic vitality, use the area’s
existing labor pool, and leverage
Goal 2-4: Ensure that new growth and
development are resilient to economic
cycles and forces.
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN GOALS, POLICIES, AND ACTIONS
6 SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN 2050
or expand upon the region’s
existing industry clusters.
Action 2-4.7: Monitor land use and
development trends in the city to
ensure an adequate supply of
land that offers diverse use
designations and development
intensities in support of
anticipated demand for
commercial and industrial
growth; employ regulatory
mechanisms and incentives to
maintain sites and buildings in
suitable locations to attract major
employers.
Action 2-4.8: Identify sites suitable for flexible
uses and micro-entrepreneurial
opportunities in downtown,
commercial districts, and
neighborhood centers, and
promote and market small
business opportunities in these
areas.
Policy 2-4.4: Leverage City and community-
partner technical assistance and
funding to support key-sector
business development and
growth.
Action 2-4.9: Conduct periodic, industry-
specific cluster analyses to
identify targets for retention,
expansion, and innovation, with a
focus on increasing business-to-
business commerce in Santa
Rosa.
Action 2-4.10: Work with property owners to
encourage development projects
that generate local jobs and that
further inclusive economic
development objectives.
Action 2-4.11: Consider public/private
technology infrastructure projects
that support business and
municipal efficiency.
Action 2-4.12: Work with Santa Rosa Junior
College, Sonoma State University,
and private educators to provide
job training that matches local
job opportunities, including
housing construction.
Action 2-4.13: Work to attract professional,
vocational, and technical
institutions and engage
employers in the development of
education and training systems
that equip residents with the skills
and knowledge needed to
succeed in an advanced
economy.
Policy 2-4.5: Seek innovative ways to reduce
the cost burden of infrastructure
for industrial and commercial
development, without
transferring the burden to the
residential sector.
Action 2-4.14: Use funds from the statewide
Community Infrastructure
Program and other tax increment
and/or assessment-based
financing tools to support local
improvements.
Action 2-4.15: Identify opportunities to support
innovation and growth by
fostering business incubators,
accelerators, shared working
spaces, and networking
organizations.
Action 2-4.16: Attract infill developers that build
the facilities attractive to
employers with new or alternative
workplace needs.
Policy 2-4.6: Focus business attraction efforts
on filling vacancies in
commercial and industrial
structures.
Action 2-4.17: Encourage occupancy of new
businesses in vacant commercial
and industrial buildings through
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN GOALS, POLICIES, AND ACTIONS
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN 2050 7
efforts such as low-cost loans for
tenant improvements, façade
improvements, and new business
incubation.
Policy 2-4.7: Maintain vibrant, convenient,
and attractive commercial
centers that provide a range of
goods and services that satisfy
the needs of community
members.
Action 2-4.18: Identify and mitigate barriers to
locate new local-serving retail in
Plan Areas of Change.
Action 2-4.19: Locate any new region-serving,
high-volume retail outlets within
one-half mile of Highway 101 to
minimize regional traffic on city
streets.
Action 2-4.20: Work with business park owners
to encourage new distribution
and research uses in addition to
office uses.
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN GOALS, POLICIES, AND ACTIONS
8 SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN 2050
Policy 2-5.1: Encourage retention and anti-
displacement strategies aimed
at retaining local businesses and
residents.
Action 2-5.1: Continue to maintain and
disseminate resources directing
existing smaller businesses to
training, financial assistance, and
other supportive services.
Action 2-5.2: Identify and target economic
development resources to
businesses in areas undergoing
rapid increases in commercial or
industrial rents and property sales
prices.
Action 2-5.3: Study potential adoption of
policies and programs that would
help prevent future displacement
of Santa Rosa’s longstanding
smaller businesses.
Policy 2-5.2: Support opportunities to expand
economic opportunity to all
segments of the community.
Action 2-5.4: Establish public-private
partnerships and philanthropic
initiatives to provide work
opportunities for high-risk youth
and young adults in Santa Rosa.
Action 2-5.5: Work with Santa Rosa City
Schools, Sonoma County Office of
Education, Santa Rosa Junior
College, Sonoma State University,
other educators, and the
Workforce Investment Board to
provide job training opportunities
for all segments of the population,
including high-risk youth and
young adults and Equity Priority
Populations.
Policy 2-5.3: Invest in neighborhood
entrepreneurship.
Action 2-5.6: Update the Zoning Code to allow
temporary or alternative
incubator spaces on vacant or
underutilized properties to
facilitate trial uses that may be
unique to the city.
Policy 2-5.4: Establish free citywide internet
access at a speed appropriate
for all types of businesses.
Action 2-5.7: Study the gaps in broadband
access and create a plan to
expand access where
appropriate.
Policy 2-5.5: Encourage home businesses to
support workforce participation,
decrease worker vehicle miles
traveled, and increase the
provision of goods and services
at the neighborhood scale.
Action 2-5.8: Allow and encourage home-
occupancy businesses in most
residential zones, especially EPAs,
including for uses such as family
childcare and microenterprise
home kitchen operations.
Action 2-5.9: Update the Zoning Code to allow
mobile food and crafts vendors,
farmers markets, art and artisan
pop-ups, and community
gathering events in all
nonresidential zoning districts.
Action 2-5.10: Update the Zoning Code to allow
for micro-entrepreneurial uses in
residential zones, as appropriate.
Policy 2-5.6: Expand economic opportunity in
industrial zones.
Action 2-5.11: Update the zoning code to allow
for more maker mixed-use, such
Goal 2-5: Foster sustained, inclusive growth
that generates long-term, shared value in
the community and creates economic
opportunities for all residents.
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN GOALS, POLICIES, AND ACTIONS
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN 2050 9
as clothing producers and 3D
printing in all industrial areas.
Action 2-5.12: Evaluate the public procurement
process with an eye to
stimulating small business
development, targeting minority-
/women-/veteran-owned
businesses; foster more equitable
procurement practices.
Policy 2-6.1: Provide a range of commercial
services that are easily
accessible and attractive, satisfy
the needs of people who live
and work in Santa Rosa, and
attract a regional clientele.
Action 2-6.1: Encourage region-serving, high-
volume retail outlets to locate
near freeway access (generally
within one-half mile of Highway
101) to minimize traffic on city
streets. Do not allow regional-
serving uses in residential
neighborhoods.
Action 2-6.2: Allow neighborhood centers that
include small grocery stores,
cleaners, and similar
establishments where they can
be supported within walking and
biking access of residential uses.
Ensure that neighborhood
centers do not create
unacceptable traffic or nuisances
for residents due to the hours and
nature of their operation.
Encourage residential
developments that are not within
walking distance of convenience
shopping to provide small centers
on-site.
Action 2-6.3: Require buildings in
neighborhood centers and
commercial corridors to actively
engage and enhance the public
realm through such techniques
as location of parking, ground-
floor transparency, building
orientation, and build-to and
setback lines.
Action 2-6.4: Allow large grocery stores on sites
citywide and in the downtown. On
sites outside of the downtown,
proposed large grocery stores
must demonstrate that the store
will not impact the viability of a
similar use on a downtown site.
Policy 2-6.2: Maintain the economic vitality of
business parks and offices and
Santa Rosa’s role as a regional
employment center.
Action 2-6.5: Require new commercial and
industrial developments to
maintain space in business parks
for distribution and research uses,
not primarily office uses. Avoid the
intrusion of office uses that could
diminish the economic vitality of
business parks.
Action 2-6.6: Allow limited support retail and
business services—such as cafes,
delis, and dry cleaners—where the
land use classification is Office or
Business Park.
Policy 2-6.3: Protect industrial land supply
and ensure compatibility
between industrial development
and surrounding neighborhoods.
Action 2-6.7: Require industrial development
adjacent to residential areas to
provide buffers, and institute
setback, landscaping, and
screening requirements intended
to minimize noise, light, glare, and
other impacts.
Goal 2-6: Maintain vibrant, convenient, and
attractive commercial centers.
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN GOALS, POLICIES, AND ACTIONS
10 SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN 2050
Action 2-6.8: Update the Zoning Code to
require outdoor storage areas to
be screened from any public
right-of-way.
Action 2-6.9: Require any proposal to change
industrial-designated land to an
alternate land use to provide a
market analysis that supports
such a change. The market
analysis should include
documentation of the need for
such a change, the potential
impacts to the City’s industrial
land inventory citywide, and
potential mitigation.
Action 2-6.10: Preserve current industrial and
business park employment
centers by supporting the
integrity of industrial zoning
and/or allowing consideration of
new manufacturing.
Action 2-6.11: Update the Zoning Code to create
the allowance for creative mixes
of land uses that accommodate
non-noxious manufacturing and
maker-type spaces.
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN GOALS, POLICIES, AND ACTIONS
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN 2050 11
Circulation
Goals, Policies, and Actions
Policy 3-1.1 Work with MTC and applicable
partner agencies to adopt VMT
thresholds.
Action 3-1.1 Develop local guidelines for
calculating the projected VMT of
future development projects and
transportation improvements.
Action 3-1.2 Require an analysis of projected
VMT as part of the environmental
review process for projects with
the potential to increase VMT.
Action 3-1.3 Adopt and maintain screening
criteria for different land uses and
project types to determine when
a VMT analysis will be required as
part of the environmental review
process.
Action 3-1.4 Adopt and maintain thresholds to
determine when a VMT impact is
“significant” under the California
Environmental Quality Act
(CEQA).
Action 3-1.5 Continue to work with SCTA and
other local and regional partners
to reduce VMT with existing
techniques and explore feasibility
of new techniques as they arise.
Action 3-1.6 Work with SCTA and other local
and regional partners to develop
a VMT mitigation bank
alternative for eligible projects to
fund VMT reduction efforts.
Action 3-1.7 Develop a process to prioritize
projects and programs on the
capital improvement projects list,
including multimodal
components, that support VMT
reduction, particularly those in
EPAs.
Policy 3-1.2 Promote land use,
transportation demand
management (TDM), and street
design practices that reduce
VMT and dependence on single-
occupancy vehicle trips.
Action 3-1.8 Use the Urban Streets Design
Guide and the Urban Bikeways
Design Guide to plan roadway
improvements and new
development.
Action 3-1.9 Continue to reduce or eliminate
vehicle parking requirements and
increase bicycle parking to
prioritize a car-free environment
in high density areas.
Action 3-1.10 Require developers of sites within
a quarter mile of transit corridors
to integrate transit-supportive
components, such as unlimited
pass programs, transit-serving
pedestrian infrastructure, and/or
transit subsidies, as appropriate.
Action 3-1.11 Work with local employers to
expand transportation demand
management (TDM) programs
and other efforts to help meet
employee transportation needs
through alternative modes that
reduce single-occupancy
automobile trips, such as:
• Unlimited access to transit
service.
Goal 3-1: Provide an integrated land use
and transportation system with safe and
efficient movement of people and goods
for all modes of travel that prioritizes
reduction of transportation-related GHG
emissions.
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN GOALS, POLICIES, AND ACTIONS
12 SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN 2050
• Paid incentives to bike
commuters.
• Provision of bicycle facilities.
• Carpooling and vanpooling
incentives.
• Trip reduction incentive
programs.
• Car sharing programs.
• Staggered work shifts, flex
time (e.g., 9/80 work schedule),
and telecommuting.
• Paid-parking disincentives for
single-occupant vehicles.
Action 3-1.12 Continue to require TDM
measures for applicable
residential and commercial
developments to reduce VMT
generated by the development.
Action 3-1.13 Implement a TDM program for
City employees—potentially in
partnership with other local
governments, public agencies,
and transit providers—and
promote the program as a model
for local large employers.
Action 3-1.14 Establish a framework for City
transportation investment and
project decisions that prioritizes,
in order:
1. Active transportation modes,
including walking, bicycling,
and transit.
2. Other shared vehicles such as
carpool, vanpool, and
rideshare / transportation
network companies.
3. Private vehicles.
Action 3-1.15 Inventory and map the city’s
existing pedestrian network—
including sidewalks, trails, and
ADA accessibility features—to
inform future pedestrian network
improvements.
Action 3-1.16 Require multimodal and electric-
vehicle infrastructure in new
development.
Action 3-1.17 When necessary to help ensure
safety, guide travelers using
different modes to separate,
parallel streets as part of
multistreet corridors.
Action 3-1.18 Engage Santa Rosa community
members, prioritizing those in
EPAs and Areas of Change, in
planning for transportation
facilities and services.
Policy 3-1.3 Improve infrastructure, sidewalk
and bicycle linkages, and access
to transit and active modes of
transportation to better meet
daily commuting needs and
minimize VMT, especially in
EPAs and Areas of Change.
Action 3-1.19 Develop viable solutions for
regional through-traffic on north-
south corridors, such as by
extending Farmers Lane, and
travel on east-west corridors, such
as by improving the Mendocino
Avenue overcrossing of Highway
101, while remaining cognizant of
the multimodal need on each
corridor.
Action 3-1.20 Participate in discussions
addressing regional through-
traffic with SCTA, the County of
Sonoma, MTC, and other
municipalities.
Action 3-1.21 Support efforts to acquire local,
regional, State, and federal
funding for transportation
improvements, including
reconstruction of key
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN GOALS, POLICIES, AND ACTIONS
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN 2050 13
interchanges to accommodate all
modes of transportation,
including active transportation.
Action 3-1.22 Explore alternative circulation
network improvements to
accommodate regional through-
traffic, focusing on
regional/arterial street circulation
and regional transportation
routes.
Action 3-1.23 Identify and analyze high-
commute-trip corridors and
improve them by:
• Preparing and implementing
corridor plans.
• Developing Park-n-Ride lots to
encourage mixed-mode
commuting.
• Designating and
implementing mobility hubs
as defined by MTC.
Action 3-1.24 Enhance pedestrian and public
transportation routes to support
safe access to retail food
establishments.
Policy 3-1.4 Reduce traffic volumes and
speeds in neighborhoods.
Action 3-1.25 Minimize through-traffic in
residential neighborhoods and
avoid traffic volumes greater than
those dictated by street design
and classification by providing
attractive regional/arterial streets
to accommodate cross-town
traffic.
Action 3-1.26 Continue to require grid street
patterns in new residential areas
to disperse local neighborhood
traffic and limit excessive volumes
on any one street.
Action 3-1.27 Implement traffic-calming
techniques on local streets that
experience high-speed or cut-
through traffic to improve
neighborhood livability:
• Narrow streets.
• Add on-street parking.
• Add chicanes, chokers, or
diverters.
• Rough-pave crosswalks.
• Add rumble strips.
• Add planted islands.
Action 3-1.28 Include traffic calming by default
in regular paving and
maintenance projects unless
infeasible due to engineering or in
cases where transit or emergency
access may be blocked.
Action 3-1.29 Improve traffic flow and reduce
neighborhood traffic impacts in
all quadrants of the city by
completing needed
improvements on arterial and
collector streets.
Policy 3-2.1 Plan, build, and maintain a safe,
complete, continuous,
convenient, and attractive
pedestrian, bicycle, and multiuse
trail network in Santa Rosa that
is equitably accessible for all
ages and abilities.
Action 3-2.1 Monitor the proportions of travel
that use different transportation
options to track progress in
diversifying the city’s mode split.
Goal 3-2: Provide a safe and accessible
active and public transportation network
that reduces dependence on single
occupancy vehicles, prioritizing Equity
Priority Areas and Areas of Change.
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN GOALS, POLICIES, AND ACTIONS
14 SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN 2050
Action 3-2.2 Support active transportation by
pursuing available grants and
ensure that the active
transportation network, especially
approaches to schools, are safe
for cyclists and pedestrians, with
needed amenities such as
sidewalks, crosswalks, bike lanes,
and traffic calming.
Action 3-2.3 Implement and update the City’s
Bicycle and Pedestrian Master
Plan, as appropriate.
Action 3-2.4 Identify and address active
transportation deficiencies,
prioritizing EPAs.
Action 3-2.5 Continue to implement the
Sonoma County Vision Zero
Action Plan and the City of Santa
Rosa Vision Zero Implementation
Plan to eliminate collisions and
traffic fatalities.
Action 3-2.6 Upgrade streets throughout
Santa Rosa for safe and
convenient walking, including
sufficient and continuous
sidewalks and safe pedestrian
crossings at reasonable distances
to encourage access and mobility
for seniors, children, and people
with disabilities and strollers.
Action 3-2.7 If it is not feasible to provide a
continuous pedestrian route,
provide a safe alternate route
that minimizes any extra
distance.
Action 3-2.8 Prioritize pedestrian projects
along transit corridors that
provide access to transit stops.
Action 3-2.9 Link the various citywide
pedestrian paths, where possible.
Action 3-2.10 Develop and implement
standards and requirements for
sidewalks in the auto mall area.
Action 3-2.11 Integrate multiuse trails along
creek corridors, railroad rights-of-
way, and in park designs.
Action 3-2.12 Continue to upgrade curb ramps
in compliance with the Americans
with Disabilities Act.
Action 3-2.13 Provide street lighting that is
energy efficient, attractive,
appropriate to the character and
scale of the neighborhood or
district, and that contributes to
pedestrian, bicycle, and vehicular
safety.
Action 3-2.14 Update the Zoning Code to
require that building plans and
pedestrian facilities allow for easy
pedestrian access from sidewalks,
transit stops, other pedestrian
facilities, and parking lots.
Action 3-2.15 Update the Zoning Code to
require construction of attractive
pedestrian walkways and areas in
new residential, commercial,
office, and industrial
developments.
Action 3-2.16 Update the Zoning Code to
require any new developments
with cul-de-sacs or other limited
street connectivity layouts to
provide enhanced connectivity for
pedestrians and bicyclists.
Action 3-2.17 Allow sharing or parallel
development of pedestrian
walkways and bicycle paths
where safe to maximize the use of
public rights-of-way.
Action 3-2.18 Support pedestrian and bicyclist
needs by incorporating them into
regular planning activities for all
City projects, and include
pedestrian facility funding in all
appropriate funding requests.
Action 3-2.19 Expand the citywide system of
designated bikeways to better
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN GOALS, POLICIES, AND ACTIONS
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN 2050 15
serve bicyclists of all ages and
abilities and maximize bicycle use
for commuting, recreation, and
local transport.
Action 3-2.20 Develop street standards with
separated and/or protected
bicycle lanes.
Action 3-2.21 Provide bicycle lanes along all
regional/arterial streets and high-
volume transitional/collector
streets, prioritizing protected
bicycle lanes except where
infeasible due to engineering or
obstruction of access for transit or
emergency access.
Action 3-2.22 Finish or bridge incomplete or
disconnected bicycle routes.
Action 3-2.23 Maintain all roadways and bicycle
facilities so they provide safe and
comfortable conditions for
bicyclists.
Action 3-2.24 As part of the City’s Capital
Improvement Program, or street
and intersection projects
constructed by private
developers, install and construct
bicycle facilities, including Class I
paths, Class II and IIB lanes, Class
III route signs and road paint, or
Class IV separated paths.
Action 3-2.25 Improve intersections of bicycle
and pedestrian multiuse trails
with highly trafficked roads
through improvements such as
painted crosswalks, beacon lights,
or other improvements as
warranted to increase user ease
and safety. Ensure that there are
no physical barriers to bicyclists or
pedestrians as they cross high
traffic roadways at intersections
with Class I or Class IV facilities.
Action 3-2.26 Update the Zoning Code to
require the highest level of bicycle
facility protection that is
practicable, as part of the
development review and
entitlement process, to
encourage bicycle use and
comfort.
Action 3-2.27 Work with local education
providers to ensure that students
have safe pedestrian access to
school sites throughout the city.
Action 3-2.28 Support Safe Routes to School by
pursuing available grants and
ensuring that approaches to
schools are safe for cyclists and
pedestrians by providing needed
amenities such as sidewalks,
crosswalks, bike lanes, and traffic
calming on streets near schools
and community centers.
Policy 3-2.2 Increase transit ridership to
reduce GHG emissions and
provide convenient and efficient
public transportation to
workplaces, shopping, and other
destinations.
Action 3-2.29 Identify first/last mile challenges
citywide and work with transit
and rideshare companies to
provide solutions.
Action 3-2.30 Continue to require TDM
measures for new development,
including CityBus / Sonoma
County Transit / SMART waivers or
discounts for project occupants.
Action 3-2.31 Provide convenient, efficient
routes to major employment,
education, recreation,
community, and shopping
centers throughout the city,
SMART stations, and shopping
centers.
Action 3-2.32 Continue to implement and
periodically update Transit
Master Plans such as
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN GOALS, POLICIES, AND ACTIONS
16 SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN 2050
Reimagining CityBus and the
Short-Range Transit Plan, and
work with MTC and other
agencies on regional transit-
supporting initiatives.
Action 3-2.33 Establish standards that require
new development to provide
transit improvements to meet
demand from the project,
including but not limited to:
• Direct, paved pedestrian
access to transit stops.
• Bus turnouts and weather-
protected shelters.
• Bus-ready travel lanes.
Action 3-2.34 Improve the reliability, efficiency,
frequency, and travel time of
transit service to meet or exceed
performance standards of the
most recent Santa Rosa CityBus
Short Range Transit Plan and
improve transit service along
corridors where increased
densities are planned.
Action 3-2.35 Work with local and regional
transportation agencies to
coordinate multimodal
connections throughout the city,
including timed transfers
connecting different transit
routes and future rail service,
bicycle parking and lockers at
transit centers, and transit stops
at park-and-ride lots.
Action 3-2.36 Identify and develop
opportunities to improve
pedestrian, bicycle, micromobility
(such as bike or scooter share),
and bus transit connections
between existing transit stations,
to SMART stations, and to future
mobility hubs.
Action 3-2.37 Encourage ridership on public
transit systems through
marketing and promotional
efforts and incentives.
Action 3-2.38 Coordinate plans for transit
system changes and expansions
with local land use planning to
ensure consistency with adopted
transit service allocation, service
design, and equity policies.
Action 3-2.39 Work with private and public
sector partners on “safe ride
home” transit programs and
advertising campaigns targeting
wine industry tourists or anyone
under the influence of alcohol.
Action 3-2.40 Work with SCTA and MTC to
promote Safe Routes to Transit
projects and programs and
submit applications for funding of
local Safe Routes to Transit
projects and programs.
Action 3-2.41 Expand the hours of transit
service, including during nights
and weekends.
Action 3-2.42 Invest resources to ensure that
the Transit Mall, Downtown
SMART Station, and North SMART
Station are active, safe, and
efficiently accessed by local
transit.
Action 3-2.43 Support the integration of transit
services in Sonoma County and
the region for the benefit of the
riding public, including but not
limited to, integrating passenger
information, real-time arrival, fare
structures, and coordinating
service planning.
Policy 3-2.3 Ensure that the transit system
serves all members of the
community equitably, especially
in EPAs.
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN GOALS, POLICIES, AND ACTIONS
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN 2050 17
Action 3-2.44 Evaluate local transit services to
identify and address any
accessibility barriers, including for
children, seniors, those with
disabilities, and nonnative English
speakers.
Action 3-2.45 Reduce the cost of transit,
especially for low-income
individuals and those residing in
EPAs, by expanding the unlimited
Pass Program that serves
students through grade 12, SRJC
students, City employees,
paratransit users, and veterans.
Action 3-2.46 Develop an accumulator transit
pass that reduces the cost burden
for frequent riders.
Action 3-2.47 Work with SCTA and local transit
operators to explore financial
incentives, reduced fares for
public transportation, and a
subregional or countywide
universal basic mobility program.
Action 3-2.48 Identify strategies to increase
low-income residents’ access to
transit hubs, jobs, and areas with
goods and services, such as by
enhancing existing transit hubs,
constructing new transit hubs,
and/or providing new first/last
mile services.
Policy 3-2.4 Continue to support SMART rail
service.
Action 3-2.49 Support efforts to construct future
SMART stations in Santa Rosa,
including in south Santa Rosa.
Action 3-2.50 Preserve options for future SMART
rail stations by zoning land in
proximity to the potential station
sites for higher residential
densities and/or mixed-use
development.
Action 3-2.51 Support SMART efforts to promote
tourist rail excursions as well as
rail service for commuting and
other travel purposes.
Action 3-2.52 Support SMART efforts to provide
multi-use trails adjacent to new
rail lines creating a regional trail
network for active transportation
and recreation.
Policy 3-3.1 Make sure that new
development does not impede
efficient, safe, and free-flowing
circulation.
Action 3-3.1 Require traffic studies for
development projects that may
have a substantial impact on the
circulation system.
Action 3-3.2 Monitor level of service (LOS) at
intersections to ensure that
improvements or alterations to
improve corridor LOS do not
cause severe impacts at any
single intersection.
Action 3-3.3 In areas other than the
downtown, strive to meet
intersection LOS D to maintain
adequate operations of the street
network and minimize cut
through traffic on residential
streets.
Action 3-3.4 Monitor regional/arterial street
LOS at regular intervals to
determine if local LOS goals are
being met, and provide
information needed to maintain a
calibrated citywide traffic model.
Action 3-3.5 Coordinate transportation plans
with those of Sonoma County,
MTC, and the State of California.
Goal 3-3: Ensure that traffic-related
impacts of proposed land uses are
evaluated and mitigated.
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN GOALS, POLICIES, AND ACTIONS
18 SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN 2050
Action 3-3.6 Revise the Zoning Code to require
site design to focus through-
traffic on regional/arterial streets,
and employ the following design
techniques to increase driver
safety and traffic efficiency:
• Reduce the number of
driveways and intersections.
• Combine driveways to serve
numerous small parcels.
• Avoid residential access.
• Install and facilitate timing of
traffic signals.
• Ensure continuous sidewalks.
Action 3-3.7 Construct or require roundabouts
in lieu of stop/signal-controlled
intersections, where appropriate,
to improve safety, reduce delay
and idling time, and lower vehicle
emissions.
Action 3-3.8 Periodically update City impact
fees to require that development
projects pay a fair share of costs
for multimodal transportation
systems improvements and
ensure the adequacy of funding
for needed transportation system
improvements.
Action 3-3.9 Favor transportation alternatives
to reduce demand on existing
facilities in lieu of widening
roadways and further impacting
the natural environment.
Policy 3-3.2 Identify, preserve, and enhance
City-designated scenic roads
throughout Santa Rosa in both
rural and developed areas.
Action 3-3.10 Update the Zoning Code to
develop standards for scenic
roadways identified in the
General Plan that do not have
corresponding development
standards in the Zoning Code,
including:
• Highway 12 (from Highway 101
west to Fulton Road)
• Highway 12 (from Farmers
Lane to Calistoga Road)
• Fountaingrove Parkway
• Bennett Valley Road (south of
Farmers Lane)
• Montgomery Drive (from
Mission Boulevard to Melita
Road)
• Chanate Road (from
Mendocino Avenue to
Fountaingrove Parkway)
• Petaluma Hill Road (from
Colgan Avenue to the UGB)
• Highway 101 (contiguous from
northern to southern City
limit)
• Newanga Avenue
• Channel Drive
• Wright Road South
• Ludwig Avenue
Action 3-3.11 Provide bikeways along scenic
roads where right-of-way exists or
where its acquisition will not
jeopardize roadway character.
Action 3-3.12 Discourage on-street parking
along scenic roads; bus stops or
scenic overlooks may be provided
at appropriate intervals.
Action 3-3.13 Ensure that the size, number, and
placement of signage along
scenic roads does not detract
from the area’s scenic character
as much as feasible.
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN GOALS, POLICIES, AND ACTIONS
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN 2050 19
Open Space and
Conservation
Goals, Policies, and Actions
Policy 3-4.1 Maximize the benefits of open
space, including by supporting
recreation and conservation
where possible.
Action 3-4.1 Cooperate with public and private
entities to create new multiuse
trails and public access pathways
to parks, open spaces, and
drainage ways in and near the
city.
Action 3-4.2 Monitor and support the progress
of the Sonoma County
Agricultural Preservation and
Open Space District in acquiring
Santa Rosa properties.
Action 3-4.3 Coordinate with public and
private entities to link open
spaces with a network of paths
and trails, including Sonoma
Water access roads and the Bay
Area Ridge Trail.
Action 3-4.4 Collaborate with regional
agencies and private landowners
to link inaccessible open spaces
where such linking would benefit
the protection of special
environments and life systems
such as wetlands, plant
communities, and wildlife
habitats and corridors.
Action 3-4.5 Promote the use of properties
unsuitable for development due
to hazards or other safety
constraints—as defined in
Chapter 5, Safety, Noise, and
Public Services and Facilities—for
open space uses if they can be
safely integrated and do not
require infrastructure, such as
fishing, wildlife observation uses.
Action 3-4.6 Preserve, enhance, and expand
an integrated network of open
space to support other uses and
benefits, such as habitat,
recreation, natural resources,
historic and tribal resources,
water management, nature-
based climate resilience, and
aesthetics.
Policy 3-4.2 Conserve agricultural land and
soils.
Action 3-4.7 Ensure the City’s Natural
Resources Program prioritizes
land management techniques
and agricultural practices that
reduce erosion and soil loss on
City-owned properties.
Action 3-4.8 Conduct a carbon sequestration
feasibility study of City-owned
open space, parks, agricultural
lands, and other conservation
lands, and implement the
recommendations as feasible.
This study should assess carbon
storage potential by land use type
and identify strategies to
facilitate carbon sequestration.
Action 3-4.9 Encourage the Sonoma County
Agricultural Preservation and
Open Space District to acquire
open space in and surrounding
Santa Rosa, including:
• The Community Separator
between Santa Rosa and
Rohnert Park.
• Taylor Mountain.
Goal 3-4: Protect, expand, maintain, and
restore natural resources, open space, and
agricultural land.
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN GOALS, POLICIES, AND ACTIONS
20 SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN 2050
• Areas west and north of the
UGB.
• The Santa Rosa Creek corridor.
Action 3-4.10 Support Sonoma County efforts to
preserve unincorporated lands
adjacent to and near the Santa
Rosa UGB as viable agricultural
resources and to support the
agriculture economy and
environmental quality.
Policy 3-4.3 Conserve creeks, wetlands,
vernal pools, wildlife
ecosystems, rare plant habitats,
and waterways.
Action 3-4.11 Use existing (and/or restore
historical) natural features and
ecosystem processes for
conservation, preservation, or
sustainable management of
open space, including, but not
limited to, aquatic or terrestrial
vegetated open space, systems
and practices that use or mimic
natural processes, and other
engineered systems to provide
clean water, conserve ecosystem
values and functions, and provide
a wide array of benefits to people
and wildlife.
Action 3-4.12 Continue to implement existing
regulations and procedures,
including subdivision guidelines,
zoning, design review, and
environmental law, to conserve
wetlands and rare plants, riparian
habitat and other sensitive
natural communities, and
essential habitat for special-
status species; use the
environmental review process
and comply with the applicable
regulations and standards, such
as federal policy of no net loss of
wetlands; use mitigation
measures such as:
• Avoidance of sensitive habitat.
• Clustered development.
• Transfer of development
rights.
• Compensatory mitigation,
such as restoration or creation.
Action 3-4.13 Require a qualified biologist to
conduct a biological resource
assessment as part of
environmental review for
proposed development on sites
with natural habitat conditions
that may support special-status
species, sensitive natural
communities, or regulated
wetlands and waters. The
biologist should determine the
presence or absence of any
sensitive resources that could be
affected by proposed
development, assess potential
impacts, and define measures for
protecting the resource and
surrounding buffer habitat, in
compliance with City policies and
State and federal laws.
Action 3-4.14 Continue to require that potential
significant impacts on special-
status species, occurrences of
sensitive natural communities, or
regulated wetlands and waters
be minimized during the
environmental review process
through adjustments and
controls on the design,
construction, and operations of a
proposed project, or require
appropriate compensatory
mitigation where such impacts
are unavoidable.
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN GOALS, POLICIES, AND ACTIONS
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN 2050 21
Action 3-4.15 Continue to require that
development activities avoid
nests of native birds when in
active use to ensure compliance
with the State Fish and Game
Code and the federal Migratory
Bird Treaty Act when construction
is initiated on development sites.
If initial vegetation removal and
site disturbance cannot be
restricted outside the nesting
season (September 1 through
January 31), require that a
preconstruction survey for nesting
birds be conducted by a qualified
biologist during the bird-nesting
season (February 1 through
August 31). Where an active nest
is found on the site, an adequate
setback should be established
around any nest of a native bird
species when it is in active use
until the young have fledged and
are no longer dependent on the
nest. The nest setback distance
should be defined by a qualified
biological consultant with input
from the California Department
of Fish and Wildlife, with the
setback zone fenced or flagged,
and all construction disturbance
restricted from this zone until the
qualified biologist has confirmed
the nest is no longer in use.
Action 3-4.16 Inventory wetlands, floodplains,
marshlands, and adjacent lands
that could potentially support
climate adaptation (e.g., through
flood management, filtration, or
other beneficial ecosystem
services) and mitigation (e.g.,
carbon sequestration).
Action 3-4.17 Protect high quality wetlands and
vernal pools from development or
other activities.
Action 3-4.18 Implement the Citywide Creek
Master Plan and promote a “one
water” approach that teaches
preservation and stewardship of
local creeks and water resources.
Action 3-4.19 Establish and annually evaluate
mitigation fees for
environmentally sensitive
resource lands and/or
endangered species habitat
areas that are subject to
development and apply
mitigation fees, as appropriate.
Action 3-4.20 Periodically review the status of
local creeks and plan for ongoing
restoration, planning, and
stewardship.
Action 3-4.21 Seek funding to maintain and
restore citywide creeks, including
for recreational opportunities
linked to creeks as well as for
flood control.
Action 3-4.22 Continue to consult with the
California Department of Fish
and Wildlife to identify significant
environments and priorities for
acquisition or maintenance of
open space areas based on
biological and environmental
concerns and develop a strategy
for maintaining areas that will
preserve the populations of plants
and animals currently found
within the UGB.
Action 3-4.23 Implement storm water pollution
prevention outreach to increase
community awareness of
pollution impacts to creeks and
preserve waterways.
Action 3-4.24 Do not create additional
channelized waterways unless no
other alternative is available to
protect human health, safety, and
welfare.
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN GOALS, POLICIES, AND ACTIONS
22 SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN 2050
Action 3-4.25 Restore channelized waterways
to a more natural condition, as
feasible, that allows for more
natural hydraulic functioning,
including connection with the
stream channel and the natural
water table; and development of
meanders, pools, riffles, and other
stream features, allowing for
growth of riparian vegetation
that effectively stabilizes banks,
screens pollutants from runoff
entering the channel, enhances
fisheries, and provides other
opportunities for natural habitat
restoration.
Action 3-4.26 Ensure that construction
adjacent to creek channels is
sensitive to the natural
environment, preserves
topography and vegetation along
the creek, does not disrupt or
pollute the waterway, and
provides an adequate setback
buffer.
Action 3-4.27 Encourage multiple use of
waterways, including:
• Flood mitigation and storage;
• Groundwater recharge;
• Opportunities for restoration
and stewardship;
• Climate adaptation;
• Wildlife habitats;
• Passive recreational open
space uses;
• Nature study;
• Pedestrian and bicycle
circulation; and
• Other compatible outdoor
uses.
Policy 3-4.4 Orient development and
buildings toward creeks while
providing privacy, security, and
an open transition between
public and private open spaces.
Action 3-4.28 Require new development along
channelized waterways to
establish an ecological buffer
zone between the waterway and
development that also provides
opportunities for multiuse trails
and recreation.
Action 3-4.29 Require new development to
maintain an adequate setback
from channelized waterways to
recognize the 100-year flood
elevation, with setbacks in the
Zoning Code as minimums and
larger setbacks encouraged in
accordance with Restoration
Concept Plans to meet
restoration and enhancement
goals.
Policy 3-4.5 Protect groundwater recharge
areas, particularly creeks and
riparian corridors.
Action 3-4.30 Identify and map groundwater
recharge areas and provide
groundwater recharge area
maps to local agencies to foster
planning that protects
groundwater supplies.
Action 3-4.31 Update the Municipal Code to
require low-impact development
measures to reduce pollutants
and runoff flows from new
development and redevelopment
projects. Develop rain gardens
and other low impact
development features to improve
water quality and biodiversity
and enhance livability.
Policy 3-4.6 Achieve and maintain ambient
air quality standards.
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN GOALS, POLICIES, AND ACTIONS
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN 2050 23
Action 3-4.32 Continue to review all new
construction projects and require
dust abatement actions from the
CEQA Handbook of the Bay Area
Air Quality Management District.
Action 3-4.33 Ensure all new development is
electric vehicle charging ready at
a minimum.
Action 3-4.34 Amend the Zoning Code to
prohibit drive-through retail and
drive-through service land uses in
all Zoning Districts and provide
incentives for legal
nonconforming drive-through
uses to discontinue their drive-
throughs.
Action 3-4.35 Review and amend the City’s
Building Code and Zoning Code
to facilitate the installation of
electric vehicle charging
infrastructure at existing
development, prioritizing
properties in EPAs.
Action 3-4.36 Support efforts to install and
operate electric vehicle charging
stations and clean fuel stations
on private property throughout
the city, including hydrogen and
sustainably sourced biofuels, as
supported by market conditions.
Action 3-4.37 Expand installation and
operation of vehicle charging
stations on City properties,
including curbside in areas of the
community where other options
are limited.
Action 3-4.38 Budget for clean fuels and zero
emission vehicles in the City’s
long-range capital expenditure
plans to transition the existing
fleet of gasoline- and diesel-
powered vehicles, and work to
make the City’s fleet among the
cleanest in the North Bay by:
• Purchasing zero-emission
vehicles whenever possible
that meet or exceed
requirements under the
California Advanced Clean
Fleets Regulation. If zero-
emission vehicles are not
available, purchase plug-in
hybrids or other vehicle types
to minimize emissions.
• Using biodiesel and pollution-
reducing fuel additives in the
City’s diesel fuel vehicles.
Action 3-4.39 Implement the City’s Wood
Burning Appliance code to reduce
particulate matter emissions from
wood-burning appliances.
Greenhouse Gas
Reduction
Goals, Policies, and Actions
Policy 3-5.1 Significantly reduce community-
wide and municipal GHG
emissions, achieving at least an
85 percent reduction of GHG
emissions from community
sources no later than 2045 with
a commitment to accelerate
reductions, as feasible, in
support of the City’s and State’s
carbon neutrality goals.
Action 3-5.1 Consider the effects of climate
change in updating or amending
the General Plan, disaster
planning, City projects,
infrastructure planning, future
policies, and City investments.
Goal 3-5: Achieve net carbon neutrality by
2030.
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN GOALS, POLICIES, AND ACTIONS
24 SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN 2050
Action 3-5.2 Eliminate the use of fossil fuels as
an energy source in all new
building construction.
Action 3-5.3 Reduce the use of fossil fuels as
an energy source in the existing
building stock at the time of
building alteration through
requirements for all-electric
appliances.
Action 3-5.4 Evaluate and adopt reach codes
and other policies to decarbonize
the building stock.
Action 3-5.5 Implement the actions in the GHG
Reduction Strategy to achieve the
City’s GHG reduction goals.
Action 3-5.6 Continue regular inventories of
community-wide and municipal
GHG emissions, at least every five
years, consistent with the GHG
Reduction Strategy and this
General Plan.
Action 3-5.7 Provide public information to
educate residents and businesses
on the GHG Reduction Strategy
and to support individual
changes in energy and water use,
transportation mode choices,
material use, and waste
reduction.
Policy 3-5.2 Reduce energy use and increase
energy efficiency in existing and
new commercial, industrial, and
public structures.
Action 3-5.8 Require regular energy audits of
existing City-owned and operated
structures, identifying levels of
existing energy use and potential
conservation and efficiency
measures.
Action 3-5.9 Develop a capital project list and
funding strategy to complete
energy efficiency projects, and
adjust the list annually to add
new programs as needed.
Action 3-5.10 Encourage energy audits and
energy-efficient retrofits of
buildings throughout the city.
Action 3-5.11 Guide project applicants toward
site planning, solar orientation,
cool roofs, and landscaping that
decrease summer cooling and
winter heating needs.
Action 3-5.12 Encourage new buildings to
exceed State energy efficiency
requirements and/or be certified
by the U.S. Green Building
Council’s LEED (Leadership in
Energy and Environmental
Design) Program or equivalent
certification, where cost-effective
and equitable.
Action 3-5.13 Require new City facilities to be
zero net energy to the extent
feasible.
Action 3-5.14 Consider updating the Zoning
Code to require use of low carbon
construction materials.
Action 3-5.15 Assess the effectiveness of the
City’s environmentally sensitive
preferred purchasing and green
fleet conversion programs and
update the programs, as needed,
to support the City’s GHG
reduction goals.
Action 3-5.16 Use education and incentives to
promote and sustain energy-
conserving design and practices.
Policy 3-5.3 Increase the use of renewable,
carbon free, and distributed
energy resources throughout
the city.
Action 3-5.17 Revise any existing codes and
policies that constrain or prohibit
the installation of
environmentally acceptable
forms of distributed energy
generation.
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN GOALS, POLICIES, AND ACTIONS
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN 2050 25
Action 3-5.18 Encourage new and existing
buildings to include battery
energy storage systems,
especially buildings with solar
energy installations and
municipal buildings that provide
essential community services.
Action 3-5.19 Participate in State and local
efforts to develop appropriate
policies and review procedures for
the installation of photovoltaic
solar and other forms of
distributed energy generation.
Action 3-5.20 Continue to participate in utility-
sponsored renewable energy
programs that allow the city to
receive a significant portion of
energy from renewable sources.
Action 3-5.21 Assist low-income homeowners
and small business owners with
identifying financing options for
installation of rooftop solar
energy systems, energy storage,
and electrification of existing
buildings.
Action 3-5.22 Support the development of local-
serving renewable energy
projects that expand the
availability of local renewable
energy, provide sustainable local
jobs, and support local and
regional housing, economic
development, and sustainability
goals and initiatives.
Action 3-5.23 Encourage the establishment of
neighborhood renewable-energy
microgrids to support resilience.
Action 3-5.24 Support State and utility efforts to
improve grid resilience and
capacity.
Policy 3-5.4 Continue the City’s role as a
leader in sustainability and
climate action.
Action 3-5.25 Integrate GHG emissions
reduction and climate resilience
into all municipal projects,
policies, and procedures as
feasible.
Action 3-5.26 Designate a Climate Action
Coordinator to lead
implementation of the City’s GHG
Reduction Strategy and climate
policies and actions in this
General Plan.
Action 3-5.27 Designate and support a Climate
Action Lead in each City
department.
Action 3-5.28 Continue to support an
Interdepartmental Climate Action
Implementation Committee.
Action 3-5.29 Support the growth of green
businesses in Santa Rosa that
support a carbon neutral
economy.
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN GOALS, POLICIES, AND ACTIONS
26 SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN 2050
Urban Design
Goals, Policies, and Actions
Policy 4-1.1: Preserve and enhance the visual
value of the city’s natural
waterways, hillsides, historic
districts, structures, and
landscapes.
Action 4-1.1: Maintain view corridors to natural
ridgelines and natural landmarks,
such as Taylor Mountain and
Bennett Mountain, by updating
the Zoning Code hillside
development standards.
Action 4-1.2: Maintain and restore the
floodplain and riparian
vegetation along the city’s
network of creeks and further
develop trails along creeks to
serve as an alternative
transportation network.
Policy 4-1.2: Strengthen and emphasize
community focal points, visual
landmarks, and features that
contribute to the identity of
Santa Rosa by applying the
design concepts and standards
of the Zoning Code, Design
Guidelines, Preservation District
Plans, Bicycle and Pedestrian
Plan, and the Citywide Creek
Master Plan, including, but not
limited to, Old Courthouse
Square, DeTurk Round Barn,
Railroad Square Water Tower, St.
Rose School, Hotel La Rose,
Santa Rosa Creek, Luther
Burbank Home and Gardens,
Juilliard Park, and views to the
hills.
Action 4-1.3: Update the City’s Design
Guidelines, Objective Design
Standards, and/or Zoning Code,
as appropriate, to:
• Expand objective standards for
residential development in
compliance with State
requirements.
• Require landscape design to
be related to the natural
setting and graded areas in
new development and
revegetated with native plants
as fire resistance allows.
• Require structures in new
developments to step with the
slope of the site and absorb
site topography through use
of split-level designs.
Policy 4-1.3: Enhance and strengthen the
visual quality of major entry
routes into the city and major
corridors that link
neighborhoods with downtown.
Action 4-1.4: Develop and implement a
strategy for gateways, depicted in
Figure 4-2, that enhances their
visual quality and supports
placemaking, economic
development, active
transportation, and other,
complementary City goals.
Action 4-1.5: Where feasible and prioritizing
EPAs and Areas of Change,
provide planting strips with large
canopy trees between the road
and sidewalk to buffer
pedestrians from traffic and help
define the street space along
Goal 4-1: Preserve and enhance Santa
Rosa’s community character through
attractive urban and environmental design
and intentional development.
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN GOALS, POLICIES, AND ACTIONS
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN 2050 27
commercial streets, and install
pedestrian amenities such as:
• Street lighting
• Seating
• Bus stop shelters
• Bicycle racks
• Mailboxes
Action 4-1.6: Update the Zoning Code to
require screening of development
along Highway 101 with dense
landscape.
Policy 4-1.4: Avoid strip patterns of
commercial development and
improve the appearance and
operation of existing
commercial strip corridors,
especially in Areas of Change.
Action 4-1.7: Work with property owners to
restructure existing strip
developments to cluster
commercial uses in neighborhood
nodes, with higher-density
housing included where possible
and lower-density residential,
office, or institutional uses that
generate less traffic located
between the nodes.
Policy 4-1.5: Create public/civic spaces at the
neighborhood, city, and regional
scale to serve residents of all
areas of the city, prioritizing
EPAs.
Action 4-1.8: Provide for new open space
opportunities throughout the city,
especially in neighborhoods that
have less access to open spaces,
including creek corridors, bicycle
and pedestrian connections, civic
spaces, and publicly accessible
conservation areas.
Action 4-1.9: Enhance pedestrian activity and
safety by requiring that streets,
buildings, pathways, and trails
have lighting and wayfinding
signage, and provide a visual
connection with public spaces,
such as parks and Santa Rosa
Creek, where possible.
Historic Preservation
Goals, Policies, and Actions
Policy 4-2.1: Protect Native American
heritage and honor the early
stewards of this land.
Action 4-2.1: Continue to review proposed
developments in conjunction with
the California Historical Resources
Information System, Northwest
Information Center, at Sonoma
State University to determine
whether project areas contain
known archaeological resources,
prehistoric and/or historic-era, or
have the potential for such
resources.
Action 4-2.2: Continue to require that project
areas found to contain significant
archaeological resources be
examined by a qualified
consulting archaeologist with
recommendations for protection
and preservation.
Action 4-2.3: Work in good faith with
interested communities to
evaluate proposed development
sites for the presence of
Goal 4-2: Protect the historic and cultural
resources of Santa Rosa and enrich the
sense of place and understanding of the
city’s history and prehistory.
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN GOALS, POLICIES, AND ACTIONS
28 SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN 2050
subsurface historic,
archaeological, and tribal cultural
resources. These efforts may
include:
• Consideration of existing
reports and studies.
• Consultation with Native
American tribes as required by
State law.
• Appropriate site-specific
investigative actions.
• Onsite monitoring during
excavation if appropriate.
Policy 4-2.2: Treat Native American human
remains with sensitivity and
dignity and ensure compliance
with the California Health and
Safety Code and the California
Public Resources Code.
Collaborate with the most likely
descendants, as identified by
the Native American Heritage
Commission.
Action 4-2.4: If cultural resources are
encountered during
development, halt work to avoid
altering the materials and their
context until a qualified
consulting archaeologist and
Native American representative (if
appropriate) have evaluated the
situation and recorded identified
cultural resources—which may
include animals, structures,
landscapes, or plants—and
determined suitable mitigation
measures.
Policy 4-2.3: Preserve Santa Rosa’s historic
structures and neighborhoods.
Action 4-2.5: Establish priorities for and pursue
designating new landmarks and
historic preservation districts,
following study by the Cultural
Heritage Board.
Action 4-2.6: Follow the Secretary of the
Interior Standards for
Preservation, Rehabilitation,
Restoration, and Reconstruction
for the treatment of historic
properties.
Action 4-2.7: Integrate the common goals of
the City’s green ordinances and
historic preservation objectives
when reviewing proposals related
to historic structures or places.
Action 4-2.8: Provide building owners of older
and historic structures clear and
cost-effective options to
measurably enhance energy
efficiency while maintaining the
structure’s historic integrity to the
greatest degree possible.
Action 4-2.9: Pursue designation as a Certified
Local Government Program by
the National Parks Service to
assist in funding local historic
preservation.
Action 4-2.10: Seek funding and establish
mechanisms, such as periodic
flyers, to educate property owners
in preservation districts about the
steps required for changes to
historic properties.
Action 4-2.11: Consider removing or simplifying
obstacles for owners of historic
properties to support
preservation, including guides for
repurposing facilities and
concurrent review of entitlement
and building permit applications.
Action 4-2.12: Update the building code to
require the preservation of
materials, such as historic
windows, doors, siding, and trim,
when historic structures are
demolished or renovated.
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN GOALS, POLICIES, AND ACTIONS
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN 2050 29
Action 4-2.13: Work with the local tourism
industry, property owners,
businesses, nonprofit
organizations, and other public
agencies to develop and promote
Heritage Tourism opportunities,
integrating efforts with ongoing
initiatives for economic
development and the creative
economy.
Art and Culture
Goals, Policies, and Actions
Policy 4-3.1: Champion artistic expression
and amplify community voices
through a diverse array of public
art experiences, especially in
Areas of Change.
Action 4-3.1: Continue to implement current
Public Art Master Plans and
Strategic Plans and update as
needed.
Action 4-3.2: Represent, include, and celebrate
diverse voices in the
programming, process, outreach,
and infrastructure of the Public
Art Program.
Action 4-3.3: Partner and build strong
relationships with culturally
diverse local and regional
community organizations and
associations.
Action 4-3.4: Infuse all neighborhoods with art
and empower community leaders
across the city to champion arts
programming.
Action 4-3.5: Integrate public art in capital
improvement projects, especially
in streetscape design on major
corridors and arterials and at
gateways, where feasible.
Policy 4-3.2: Fund and maintain public art as
a core component of
placemaking and economic
development, prioritizing public
art in EPAs and Areas of Change.
Action 4-3.6: Better leverage public art to drive
economic activity.
Action 4-3.7: Increase staff capacity and
strategic collaborations for public
art.
Action 4-3.8: Improve outreach and demystify
APPC and Public Art Program
processes.
Goal 4-3: Support an empowered, thriving,
and inclusive Santa Rosa community
connected through the power of art.
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN GOALS, POLICIES, AND ACTIONS
30 SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN 2050
Safety
Goals, Policies, and Actions
Policy 5-1.1: Ensure that new development,
redevelopment, and major
remodels avoid or adequately
mitigate seismic and geologic
hazards as part of the City’s
project review process.
Action 5-1.1: Prior to development approval,
ensure geologic studies and
analyses are deemed acceptable
by a California Certified
Engineering Geologist and/or
Geotechnical Engineer for
applicable hazard conditions.
Policy 5-1.2: Restrict development in areas
where adverse impacts
associated with known natural
or human-caused geologic
hazards cannot be effectively
mitigated, as determined by a
California Certified Engineering
Geologist and/or Geotechnical
Engineer.
Policy 5-1.3: Do not allow development of
critical facilities—hospitals, fire
stations, emergency
management headquarters,
broadcast services, sewage
treatment plants, and places of
large congregations—in high-
risk geologic hazard zones (e.g.,
Rodgers Creek Fault zone,
liquefiable soils, areas of slope
instability).
Policy 5-1.4: Better understand and
ultimately mitigate seismically
vulnerable structures in the city.
Action 5-1.2: Develop and periodically update
an inventory of seismically
vulnerable structures that
includes unreinforced masonry
construction, soft-story
construction, and nonductile
concrete construction.
Action 5-1.3: Require retrofitting and
abatement of structural hazards
to levels of risk acceptable to the
Building Official.
Action 5-1.4: Prioritize retrofitting and
abatement of City-owned
buildings in areas determined to
experience strong ground
shaking during an earthquake.
Action 5-1.5: Require owners of potentially
vulnerable structures to report on
the progress of seismic
retrofitting.
Action 5-1.6: Ensure that seismic retrofitting of
commercial, industrial, and public
buildings meets the latest State
requirements and industry best
practices.
Action 5-1.7: Retrofit and harden water
storage facilities, wastewater
conveyance and treatment
facilities, electricity transmission
lines, roadways, water detention
facilities, levees, and other utilities
near the Rodgers Creek Fault.
Policy 5-1.5: Promote erosion-control
strategies that reduce hazards
to structures, properties, and
drainages.
Action 5-1.8: Identify enhanced erosion-control
measures for properties that
exhibit high erosion potential, are
in areas of steep slopes, or have
experienced past erosion
problems.
Action 5-1.9: Ensure the Community Wildfire
Protection Plan is periodically
Goal 5-1: Minimize community exposure to
seismic and geologic hazards.
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN GOALS, POLICIES, AND ACTIONS
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN 2050 31
updated to identify slope stability
and wildfire hazard areas and
mitigation strategies to reduce
post-wildfire erosion.
Goals, Policies, and Actions
Policy 5-2.1: Ensure land use strategies
consider flood impacts and
stormwater management tactics
to reduce the effects of future
inundation.
Action 5-2.1: Incorporate flood management
strategies into land use analysis
and development review.
Action 5-2.2: Complete and implement the
Storm Drain Master Plan;
prioritize discussions with
Sonoma Water Flood Protection
Zone Advisory Committee
regarding flood zones and land
use designations.
Action 5-2.3: Require flood mitigation
strategies in all planning activities
along creeks and waterways.
Policy 5-2.2: Promote the enhancement and
expansion of areas of open
space and, where appropriate
and safe, recreation, to use for
flood management.
Action 5-2.4: Protect floodplains by retaining
and expanding, as feasible, open
space areas that can retain
stormwater, recharge
groundwater/aquifer, and
prevent/reduce flooding.
Action 5-2.5: Limit the use of areas designated
for flood control to passive
recreation activities (e.g., hiking,
fishing, bike riding), consistent
with requirements to maintain
the integrity of these areas to
protect public safety.
Policy 5-2.3: Comply with all applicable FEMA
flood-management regulations
and requirements.
Action 5-2.6: Continue to maintain and
periodically update flood hazard
data, and coordinate with federal,
state, and local agencies
responsible for flood hazard
analysis and management
activities.
Action 5-2.7: Continue to incorporate features
and appropriate standards into
public works projects that reduce
flooding hazards, including
daylighting culverts in urban
areas such as downtown.
Policy 5-2.4: Ensure that the design of new
development in a flood zone
provides adequate flood
protection without negatively
impacting adjacent or
downstream properties.
Action 5-2.8: Require an evaluation of flood
hazards and appropriate on-site
mitigation options by a qualified
professional for any project within
a FEMA- and Department of
Water Resources (DWR)–
designated flood zone during the
development review process.
Policy 5-2.5: Protect public and private
properties from dam inundation.
Action 5-2.9: Coordinate with dam
owners/operators to ensure that
dam safety inspections are
conducted annually, as required
by the California Division of Safety
of Dams (DSOD).
Action 5-2.10: Prioritize investment in flood-
control mitigation that also
Goal 5-2: Effectively manage the potential
effects of flooding and dam failure.
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN GOALS, POLICIES, AND ACTIONS
32 SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN 2050
reduces impacts associated with
dam failure.
Policy 5-2.6: Manage, maintain, and improve
stormwater drainage and
capacity.
Action 5-2.11: Require dedication, improvement,
and ongoing maintenance of
stormwater management and
retention areas as a condition of
development approval.
Action 5-2.12: Identify the necessary
development impact fees to pay
for mitigation of stormwater
management impacts for new
development.
Action 5-2.13: Require stormwater
management improvements that
maintain and improve the storm
drainage system citywide and
prioritize areas needing
significant investment, consistent
with the Santa Rosa Citywide
Creek Master Plan goals of
preserving natural conditions of
waterways and minimizing
channelization of creeks.
Action 5-2.14: Ensure creek-side pathways,
consistent with the Citywide
Creek Master Plan and Bicycle
and Pedestrian Master Plan, are
incorporated as part of
stormwater improvement
projects along creek corridors.
Policy 5-2.7: Provide storm drainage facilities
that accommodate increased
development and enhanced
water quality.
Action 5-2.15: Cooperate with Sonoma Water
and the Northern California
Regional Water Quality Control
Board on assessments of
stormwater drainage facilities, to
ensure adequate capacity to
accommodate increases in
residential and commercial
development.
Action 5-2.16: Require implementation of best
management practices for all
new development to reduce
discharges of nonpoint-source
pollutants to the storm drain
system.
Goals, Policies, and Actions
Policy 5-3.1: Adhere to State and local
regulations and requirements of
the Community Wildfire
Preparedness Plan that address
wildfire risk and vulnerabilities.
Action 5-3.1: Continue to require new
developments and major
remodels in the Wildland Urban
Interface Fire Area to comply with
Table 15, Mitigation Actions and
City Codes, from the 2020 Santa
Rosa CWPP as the equivalent of a
Fire Protection Plan.
Action 5-3.2: Continue to require new
development and redevelopment
to incorporate fire-safe design
and comply with the CWPP, local
ordinances, and state
requirements for fire hazard
reduction around buildings and
structures.
Action 5-3.3: Continue to require conformance
with the California Fire Safe
Regulations for existing
nonconforming properties in the
Wildland Urban Interface Fire
Area (includes the very high fire
hazard severity zone).
Action 5-3.4: Continue improving the City’s
previously developed post-wildfire
Goal 5-3: Increase community resilience to
future wildfire threats.
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN GOALS, POLICIES, AND ACTIONS
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN 2050 33
recovery framework to assist with
future post-wildfire
redevelopment activities.
Action 5-3.5: Implement the fire mitigation
projects in the CWPP.
Action 5-3.6: Establish a monitoring program
to track the effectiveness of
CWPP fuel-treatment activities.
Policy 5-3.2: Promote new development in
areas of the community that
have lower risk of wildfire
hazards.
Action 5-3.7: Locate new essential public
facilities outside of identified
hazard areas (wildfire hazard
zones, flood zones, fault rupture
zones) whenever possible.
Facilities that remain in hazard
areas should be designed,
located, and constructed to
withstand the identified
hazard(s).
Action 5-3.8: Develop siting criteria for
essential public facilities,
including potential mitigation
strategies if the only feasible
location is in a recognized hazard
area.
Action 5-3.9: Consider updating the Zoning
Code to prohibit land uses in the
wildland-urban interface that
serve mobility-limited persons,
such as assisted care facilities.
Action 5-3.10: Explore the development of a
managed retreat pilot program
for areas in the wildland-urban
interface fire area.
Action 5-3.11: Create a transfer of development
rights or managed retreat
program in fire-prone areas (very
high fire hazard severity zone and
wildland-urban interface) to
proactively relocate existing
development out of high-risk
areas.
Action 5-3.12: Explore the ability to prohibit
increased densities or intensities
of uses in fire-prone areas (very
high fire hazard severity zone and
wildland-urban interface fire
area).
Policy 5-3.3: Implement the vegetation
management strategies and
enhanced roadway standards of
the CWPP throughout fire-prone
areas.
Action 5-3.13: Develop mitigation standards
and thresholds for vegetation
management and roadway
standards to bring existing
nonconforming developments
into compliance with California
Fire Safe Regulations (Title 14 of
the California Code of
Regulations) in the very high fire
hazard severity zone and
wildland-urban interface fire
area.
Policy 5-3.4: Ensure all community members
and businesses are informed
and empowered to address
hazard vulnerabilities,
considering the specific needs of
Equity Priority Populations.
Action 5-3.14: Continue to conduct multilingual
and culturally appropriate
education and outreach
campaigns that assist property
owners with defensible space,
fire-safe landscaping, home
hardening, and wildfire
preparedness, as identified in the
CWPP.
Action 5-3.15: Prioritize wildfire mitigation
education and outreach efforts to
vulnerable populations who may
not receive typical outreach
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN GOALS, POLICIES, AND ACTIONS
34 SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN 2050
materials/information; provide
culturally appropriate education
content and materials in multiple
languages and formats
appropriate for people with
access and functional needs as
outlined in the CWPP.
Action 5-3.16: Identify at-risk populations/
developments in wildfire-prone
areas and ensure emergency
management planning and
training include efforts to increase
resilience in these areas.
Action 5-3.17: Develop a program that
leverages California’s Property
Assessed Clean Energy financing
through the Sonoma County
Energy Independence Program to
assist low-income households
with maintaining defensible
space around their homes and
properties.
Action 5-3.18: Update the CWPP every five years
to reflect the needs of the
community and the changing
risks in the wildland-urban
interface fire area.
Goals, Policies, and Actions
Policy 5-4.1: Reduce the potential for
hazardous materials exposure to
community members, visitors,
and employees.
Action 5-4.1: Continue to require remediation,
cleanup, and risk evaluation prior
to changes in site use in areas
where hazardous materials and
petroleum products have
impacted soil or groundwater.
Action 5-4.2: Continue to require that
hazardous materials used in
business and industry be
transported, handled, and stored
in accordance with federal, State,
and local regulations.
Action 5-4.3: Continue to restrict future siting
of businesses—including
hazardous waste repositories,
incinerators, or other hazardous
waste disposal facilities—that use,
store, process, or dispose large
quantities of hazardous materials
or wastes in areas subject to
seismic fault rupture or significant
ground shaking.
Policy 5-4.2: Ensure adequate capacity and
safeguards on routes used to
transport hazardous materials to
prevent or minimize impacts
from accidental release.
Action 5-4.4: Where applicable, ensure
regional and local routes for
transportation of hazardous
materials and waste are
adequately marked and unsafe
conditions are adequately
addressed, where feasible.
Action 5-4.5: Require that fire and emergency
personnel can easily access
routes needed for response to spill
incidents.
Policy 5-4.3: Facilitate commercial and
industrial compliance with the
Sonoma County Hazardous
Materials and Waste
Management Plan.
Action 5-4.6: Support public awareness and
participation in household waste
management, control, and
recycling through County
programs, including the Sonoma
County Household Hazardous
Waste Management Plan.
Goal 5-4: Protect all community members
and businesses from hazardous materials
exposures and releases.
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN GOALS, POLICIES, AND ACTIONS
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN 2050 35
Policy 5-4.4: Minimize risks to human health
from hazardous materials.
Action 5-4.7: Inventory brownfield sites and
identify necessary measures to
remediate hazards.
Action 5-4.8: Work with landowners and
support funding identification
and cleanup of identified
brownfield sites, particularly in
EPAs.
Action 5-4.9: Seek funding and technical
assistance to facilitate brownfield
redevelopment, including federal
Tax Incentives for brownfields
sites, DTSC Revolving Loan Fund
Program, Cleanup Loans and
Environmental Assistance to
Neighborhoods Loan Program,
Brownfields Tax Incentives, and
the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency brownfields grant and
loan programs.
Goals, Policies, and Actions
Policy 5-5.1: Encourage City staff and
community members to be
prepared for and capable of
responding to emergency
events.
Action 5-5.1: Maintain and periodically update
the City’s Emergency Operations
Plan.
Action 5-5.2: Coordinate with staff of the
Sonoma County Operational Area
(which consists of the cities,
special districts, and
unincorporated areas of the
county) to update joint
emergency response and disaster
response plans, as needed.
Action 5-5.3: Promote public awareness of the
natural hazards and potential
effects of disasters in the
Planning Area through the
Citizens Organized to Prepare for
Emergencies (COPE) volunteer
organization.
Policy 5-5.2: Continue to ensure all
community members and
businesses are informed and
empowered to address hazard
vulnerabilities, considering the
specific needs of EPAs and
Equity Priority Populations.
Action 5-5.4: Provide multilingual and
culturally appropriate
educational materials to increase
awareness of hazard risks/
vulnerabilities and strategies that
community members and
businesses can employ to
mitigate risks/vulnerabilities.
Action 5-5.5: Incorporate strategies from the
Community Wildfire Protection
Plan, Local Hazard Mitigation
Plan, and other resilience-
building plans into outreach and
educational information.
Policy 5-5.3: Promote emergency response
and preparedness training for
City staff, community members,
and businesses to increase
community resilience.
Action 5-5.6: Participate in emergency
response exercises in the
Operational Area that involve key
hazards of concern for the city.
Policy 5-5.4: Prioritize projects and strategies
that mitigate hazards and
increase community resilience.
Action 5-5.7: Implement the Local Hazard
Mitigation Plan and update it
every five years.
Goal 5-5: Santa Rosa is prepared for future
emergencies.
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN GOALS, POLICIES, AND ACTIONS
36 SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN 2050
Action 5-5.8: Integrate mitigation actions and
strategies into the City’s Capital
Improvements Program and
annual budgeting process.
Action 5-5.9: Develop a tracking methodology
for potential funding sources to
support retrofitting publicly and
privately owned structures.
Policy 5-5.5: Ensure coordination with the
City and Operational Area
continuously improves to meet
the changing risks of the
community.
Action 5-5.10: Continue to implement mutual
aid, automatic aid, and
California’s Mutual Master Aid
System to provide effective
emergency response.
Action 5-5.11: Maintain effective mutual-aid
agreements with neighboring
cities and Sonoma County to
support emergency
management.
Action 5-5.12: Continue to execute mutual-aid
agreements with public and
private entities to support
community emergency
management.
Policy 5-5.6: Prioritize investments that
expand and enhance evacuation
capacity and capabilities.
Action 5-5.13: Require all new development
projects to provide adequate
access for fire and emergency
response personnel.
Action 5-5.14: Prohibit the creation of new
single ingress/egress roadway
conditions in the city.
Action 5-5.15: Retrofit existing single-access
residential neighborhoods to
include additional access routes
or other provisions to increase
evacuation safety.
Action 5-5.16: Analyze the capacity, viability,
and safety of evacuation routes
for areas in wildfire-prone
locations (wildland-urban
interface fire area) and
incorporate the results into the
City’s Emergency Operations
Plan.
Goals, Policies, and Actions
Policy 5-6.1: Support legislative and
regulatory items that further
climate resilience.
Action 5-6.1: Ensure all current and future City
plans and updates include
climate change considerations—
include specific plans, Bicycle and
Pedestrian Master Plan, Design
Guidelines, Hazard Mitigation
Plan, Citywide Creek Master Plan,
Municipal Climate Action Plan,
Urban Water Management Plan,
Water Shortage Consistency Plan,
“Our Water Future” Water Supply
Alternatives Plan, Community
Wildfire Protection Plan, and
others.
Action 5-6.2: Update the City’s Climate Change
Vulnerability Assessment with
new climate projections and data
during each Safety Element
update.
Action 5-6.3: Evaluate a Zoning Code update
that will include a Resilient City
code to increase adaptation and
resilience in the city.
Policy 5-6.2: Support neighborhood resilience
during extreme weather events.
Goal 5-6: Santa Rosa is a resilient city able to
adapt to, recover from, and thrive under
changing climate conditions.
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN GOALS, POLICIES, AND ACTIONS
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN 2050 37
Action 5-6.4: Invest in community predisaster
planning efforts and exercises.
Policy 5-6.3: Elevate extreme heat to a major
hazard of concern in Santa Rosa.
Action 5-6.5: Develop a plan, consistent with
the California Extreme Heat
Action Plan, that includes
establishing community cooling
centers, weatherizing City
buildings, and planning cooling
strategies for persons engaged in
outdoor work and persons
experiencing homelessness.
Action 5-6.6: Continue to build public
awareness about extreme
weather events through
multilingual targeted
communications campaigns
focusing on EPAs and Equity
Priority Populations.
Action 5-6.7: Coordinate with Sonoma County
Transit, Santa Rosa Transit and
CityBus, and SMART to increase
shading and heat-mitigating
materials on pedestrian
walkways at transit centers,
transit stops, and train stations.
Action 5-6.8: Increase the number of Santa
Rosa Transit stops with shade
cover and shelters to provide
protection from extreme heat and
severe storms, prioritizing stops in
EPAs.
Action 5-6.9: Establish standardized
temperature or air quality
triggers for opening City-operated
community resilience and cooling
centers.
Policy 5-6.4: Encourage collaboration among
departments and with nonprofit
organizations to create a
network of equitably located
resilience centers throughout
the city.
Action 5-6.10: Partner with neighborhood
groups and nonprofit
organizations to establish a
network of equitably located and
universally accessible community
resilience centers throughout
Santa Rosa that are situated
outside of areas at risk from
hazard impacts to the extent
possible.
Policy 5-6.5: Seek funding to upgrade
existing warming and cooling
centers to have the ability to
offer refuge from extreme heat
events and poor air quality due
to regional wildfire smoke and
be equipped with renewable
energy generation and backup
power supplies.
Action 5-6.11: Seek grant funding to identify
and map existing community
facilities, such as libraries,
gymnasiums, community centers,
and auditoriums, that can serve
as community resilience centers
and support people with access
and functional needs during
hazard events.
Action 5-6.12: Continue to provide backup
power and emergency supplies at
critical City facilities, emergency
shelters, community resilience
centers, and cooling centers in
case of power and water outages.
Action 5-6.13: Coordinate with transit providers
to identify and advertise ways for
individuals with restricted
mobility to reach resilience
centers, cooling centers, and
alternate care sites.
Action 5-6.14: Evaluate updating the Noise
Ordinance to allow outdoor
workers to shift working hours to
earlier or later in the day, or
alternative days, between May
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN GOALS, POLICIES, AND ACTIONS
38 SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN 2050
and September to reduce heat-
related illnesses.
Action 5-6.15: Update the City’s Zoning Code
and Public Improvement
Standards to remove
inconsistencies for promoting and
expanding the use of drought‐
tolerant green infrastructure,
including street trees and
landscaped areas, as part of
cooling strategies in public and
private spaces.
Action 5-6.16: Conduct a community-wide tree
canopy assessment to quantify
how much of the City’s land area
is covered by trees, including the
streets with street tree canopy
cover; identify the location of
those trees, and identify
opportunities to plant trees.
Action 5-6.17: Update the Santa Rosa Street
Tree list to include native,
drought-tolerant, and low-water-
use tree species that are
appropriate for street
landscaping.
Action 5-6.18: Create and regularly update an
Urban Greening Plan, consistent
with the Climate Resilient Tree
List, to increase the urban tree
canopy, green spaces, and green
roofs to reduce the heat island
effect in the most vulnerable
areas of the city.
Policy 5-6.6: Reduce the spread of human
health hazards, including pests,
diseases, and viruses.
Action 5-6.19: Coordinate with the
Marin/Sonoma Mosquito and
Vector Control District to
minimize mosquitos, ticks,
rodents, and other vectors that
may carry or spread human
health hazards.
Action 5-6.20: Work with local employers to
provide resources to help protect
employees from environmental
hazards, including poor air quality
and pests and diseases.
Policy 5-6.7: Strengthen the community’s
ability to respond to the risks
and negative effects of power
outages, including PSPS events,
and other climate-related
threats.
Action 5-6.21: Support efforts to underground
electrical transmission
infrastructure throughout the city,
including substations, prioritizing
high-voltage transmission lines
and areas in the Wildland-Urban
Interface Fire Area.
Action 5-6.22: Work with property owners to
incorporate sustainable, energy-
efficient, water-efficient, and
environmentally regenerative
features into facilities, landscapes,
and structures.
Action 5-6.23: Collaborate with Pacific Gas &
Electric, Sonoma Clean Power,
and organizations such as the
Disability Services and Legal
Center to ensure that those who
depend on electricity supply for
medical devices and refrigerating
medication have backup energy
supplies during outages,
including during extreme heat
and extreme wind events.
Policy 5-6.8: Increase the resiliency of City-
owned structures to severe
weather events and support
homeowners and business
owners to increase the resilience
of their buildings and properties
through retrofits,
weatherization, and other
improvements.
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN GOALS, POLICIES, AND ACTIONS
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN 2050 39
Action 5-6.24: Develop a database of
information related to retrofits,
weatherization, and other
improvements.
Action 5-6.25: Install backup power, preferably
from renewable energy sources,
and water resources at
emergency shelters, resilience
centers, and cooling centers.
Noise
Goals, Policies, and Actions
Policy 5-7.1: Maintain and enforce an
acceptable community noise
level to protect the health and
comfort of people living,
working, and visiting in Santa
Rosa.
Action 5-7.1: Continue to prohibit noise-
sensitive uses in proximity to
major noise sources, with the
exception of adequately buffered
residential buildings near rail
stations to promote transit
ridership.
Action 5-7.2: Continue to require acoustical
studies prepared by qualified
acoustical consultants for:
• All new projects proposed for
areas with existing ambient
noise above 60 dBA Ldn, and
mitigation shall be required to
reduce noise levels below 45
dBA Ldn in habitable rooms
and 60 dBA Ldn in private and
shared recreational facilities
(additions to existing housing
units are exempt).
• All new projects that could
generate noise greater than
allowed by adopted City
standards.
Action 5-7.3: Use the Federal Transportation
Authority’s construction noise and
vibration thresholds to assess
impact significance at receiving
land uses surrounding new
projects sites.
Action 5-7.4: Use the Federal Transportation
Authority’s train vibration
thresholds to assess land use
compatibility for new projects
within 150 feet of train tracks.
Action 5-7.5: Require conditions of approval or
mitigation for new projects that
have the potential to create
ambient noise levels more than 5
dBA L
dn above existing
background, within 250 feet of
sensitive receptors.
Action 5-7.6: Require conditions of approval or
mitigation for existing uses to
reduce new noises exceeding
normally acceptable levels unless
the activities are specifically
exempted by the City Council on
the basis of community health,
safety, and welfare, such as
emergency medical vehicles,
helicopters, and sirens.
Action 5-7.7: Work with private parties to
reduce or eliminate nuisance
noise from industrial and
commercial sources that impact
nearby residential areas, and if
progress is not made within a
reasonable time, issue abatement
orders or take other legal
measures.
Action 5-7.8: Consider reduced speed limits,
improved paving texture, and
traffic controls to reduce roadway
Goal 5-7: Protect the community from
adverse noise impacts that can decrease
quality of life.
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN GOALS, POLICIES, AND ACTIONS
40 SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN 2050
noise to normally acceptable
levels in areas where noise
standards may otherwise be
exceeded (e.g., where homes front
regional/arterial streets and in
areas of mixed-use development).
Action 5-7.9: Use conditions of approval to
achieve measures to reduce noise
impacts primarily through site
planning, and avoid engineering
solutions for noise mitigation,
such as sound walls, if possible.
Action 5-7.10: Update the Zoning Code to
require residential developers to
provide buffers other than sound
walls and allow sound walls only
when other techniques would not
prevent projected noise levels
from exceeding adopted land use
compatibility standards.
Action 5-7.11: Work with Caltrans to assign a
high priority to traffic noise
mitigation programs and support
construction of attractive sound
walls, as necessary, along
Highway 101 and Highway 12.
Action 5-7.12: Prohibit new helipads in
developments of industrial,
commercial, office, or business
park uses, unless the helipad will
provide a significant benefit for
community health, safety, and
welfare.
Policy 5-7.2: Promote opportunities for local
music and entertainment
venues without compromising
acceptable noise levels.
Action 5-7.13: Identify noise mitigation
measures and other strategies to
allow the establishment, growth,
and/or continuation of music and
entertainment venues.
Public Services and
Facilities
Goals, Policies, and Actions
Policy 5-8.1: Ensure that a sufficient supply of
water is available to serve
existing and future needs of the
city.
Action 5-8.1: Continue to use high-quality
water from the Sonoma Water
aqueduct system as the primary
water supply.
Action 5-8.2: Continue to require that water
supply capacity and
infrastructure are in place prior to
occupancy of new development.
Action 5-8.3: Maintain water, wastewater, and
recycled water system integrity
and capacity by seeking funding
for maintenance, rehabilitation,
and replacement of existing
infrastructure.
Action 5-8.4: Decline requests for extension of
water beyond the Urban Growth
Boundary, except in cases of
existing documented health
hazards and in areas where the
City has entered into prior
contractual agreements to
provide services, in collaboration
with the County and LAFCO.
Action 5-8.5: Evaluate the City’s long-term
water supply strategies, including
development of new sources of
water supply, enhanced water
efficiency programs, expanded
use of recycled water, and
Goal 5-8: Provide adequate and high-
quality city services for water, wastewater,
recycled water, stormwater, and solid waste.
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN GOALS, POLICIES, AND ACTIONS
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN 2050 41
implementation of appropriate
growth control measures if
deemed necessary by the City.
Action 5-8.6: Work with State agencies to
identify water quality issues and
apply for remediation funds as
needed.
Action 5-8.7: Complete and implement the
Water Supply Alternatives Plan to
mitigate potential impacts of
climate change, drought, and
natural or human caused
catastrophic events by enhancing
water supply resiliency and
reliability.
Action 5-8.8: Continue working with the Santa
Rosa Plain Groundwater
Sustainability Agency to
implement the Groundwater
Sustainability Plan and achieve
sustainability of local
groundwater resources.
Policy 5-8.2: Conserve water and maintain
water quality.
Action 5-8.9: Regularly monitor water quality
to maintain high levels of water
quality for human consumption
and for other life systems in the
region.
Action 5-8.10: Require new development
projects to provide water-efficient
landscaping in accordance with
the City’s Water Efficient
Landscape Ordinance.
Action 5-8.11: Continue to educate community
members about low-cost water
efficiency improvements in
homes and businesses.
Action 5-8.12: Continue to comply with
statewide regulations for long-
term urban water use efficiency.
Action 5-8.13: Promote water efficiency through
public education, incentives,
rebates, technical assistance, and
information about indoor and
outdoor water use efficiency
measures.
Action 5-8.14: Encourage property owners to
install rainwater catchment and
greywater systems in new
developments or major retrofits.
Action 5-8.15: Encourage property owners to
install permeable paving,
bioswales, and other green
infrastructure components in new
and significantly renovated
hardscape projects.
Policy 5-8.3: Ensure water distribution lines
are adequate for existing and
future populations.
Action 5-8.16: Continue to require that
developers improve water
distribution infrastructure if
needed to serve the demands of
new development.
Action 5-8.17: Continue to identify funding
sources for water infrastructure
projects on the Capital
Improvement Program list.
Action 5-8.18: Evaluate both the upfront
(capital) and ongoing
maintenance cost commitments
of new projects and/or programs
prior to approval.
Action 5-8.19: Evaluate costs and benefits of
new and existing water projects
before diverting
funding/resources needed for
proper management of existing
infrastructure.
Action 5-8.20: Actively maintain an inventory of
existing infrastructure and
associated operations and
maintenance requirements
(staffing and budget) in addition
to capital and operations and
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN GOALS, POLICIES, AND ACTIONS
42 SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN 2050
maintenance of planned
infrastructure.
Policy 5-8.4: Ensure that adequate sewer
capacity is available to serve
existing and future needs of the
city.
Action 5-8.21: Maintain existing levels of
wastewater service by preserving
and improving infrastructure,
including replacing sewer mains,
as necessary.
Action 5-8.22: Decline requests for extension of
sewer services beyond the Urban
Growth Boundary.
Action 5-8.23: Implement the Sewer Master
Plan via projects identified in the
Capital Improvement Program.
Action 5-8.24: Regularly review wastewater
treatment and biosolids
management strategies to
accommodate growth.
Action 5-8.25: Work with regional partners
(notably Rohnert Park, Cotati,
Sebastopol, Southpark County
Sanitation District, and Sonoma
Water) to build consensus on
maintenance, rehabilitation,
modernization, and resilience
improvements at facilities that
provide service to them, such as
the Laguna Treatment Plant.
Action 5-8.26: Complete and implement the
Storm Drain Master Plan.
Action 5-8.27: Improve stormwater
management to increase
infiltration, provide treatment,
promote groundwater recharge,
reduce flood risk, capture trash,
and/or enhance the environment.
Action 5-8.28: Implement mitigation measures
to mimic the pre-development
water balance through
infiltration, evapotranspiration,
and capture and reuse of
stormwater.
Action 5-8.29: Evaluate stormwater capture and
reuse consistent with goals of the
Santa Rosa Citywide Creek
Master Plan and the MS4 NPDES
permit to preserve natural
conditions of waterways,
minimize channelization of
creeks, and protect water quality;
identify, educate, label, and
promote community awareness
that storm drains flow untreated
into creeks.
Action 5-8.30: Maintain an inventory of storm
drain facilities and maintenance
needs.
Policy 5-8.5: Meet the city’s solid waste
disposal needs, while
maximizing opportunities for
waste reduction and recycling.
Action 5-8.31: Continue public education
programs about waste reduction,
including recycling, composting,
yard waste, wood waste, and
household hazardous waste.
Action 5-8.32: Aim to achieve multibenefit
projects for a “one-water”
approach to include stormwater
quality (low impact development
features) on a large scale, flood
mitigation, creek restoration, and
increased groundwater recharge.
Policy 5-8.6: Identify and alleviate impacts
from groundwater threats and
solid waste.
Action 5-8.33: Consult with appropriate
regional, State, and federal
agencies to monitor water quality
and address local sources of
groundwater and soil
contamination, including possible
underground storage tanks,
septic tanks, and industrial uses,
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN GOALS, POLICIES, AND ACTIONS
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN 2050 43
as necessary, to achieve State
and federal water quality
standards.
Action 5-8.34: Monitor the Solid Waste
Information System (SWIS) and
Closed, Illegal, and Abandoned
(CIA) Disposal Sites Program to
identify solid waste sites and
facilities that are illegal,
abandoned, or have not met the
standards for closure. Work with
State agencies to investigate and
enforce standards for sites, with
prioritization of sites within and
near EPAs.
Action 5-8.35: Identify solid waste and
hazardous waste facilities that do
not comply with standards for
preventing contamination of air,
water, and soil with hazardous
waste. Work with owners of those
facilities to upgrade those
facilities to meet those standards,
prioritizing facilities in EPAs.
Goals, Policies, and Actions
Policy 5-9.1: Provide high-quality educational
opportunities for all members of
the community, especially
children, youth, and seniors.
Action 5-9.1: Work with schools to locate sites
and facilities to serve all
neighborhoods and the
educational needs of all sectors of
the population, including:
• Safe pedestrian and bicycle
access and traffic-calming
measures in the vicinity.
• Attractive design that
contributes to neighborhood
identity and pride.
• Partner with the Police
Department to create a safe
learning environment.
Action 5-9.2: Continue cooperation with Santa
Rosa Junior College
administration to improve
accessibility and quality of local
community college education.
Policy 5-9.2: Support the ability of physical
library facilities and online
platforms to meet the needs of
the community.
Action 5-9.3: Continue to work with County
library officials to provide a wide
range of library services through a
strong central facility plus local
branches needed to equitably
serve a growing and diverse
population.
Action 5-9.4: Support the development of
additional library facilities,
especially where needed to serve
Equity Priority Populations, and
assist the library administration in
its attempts to secure State and
federal funds for facilities and
services.
Action 5-9.5: As feasible, require community
shopping centers and other major
developments to incorporate sites
and/or building spaces for branch
facilities, pursuant to the library
administration’s Master Plan.
Goals, Policies, and Actions
Goal 5-9: Help provide superior and lifelong
educational opportunities for all community
members.
Goal 5-10: Provide efficient and effective
police and fire services for all members of
the community.
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN GOALS, POLICIES, AND ACTIONS
44 SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN 2050
Policy 5-10.1: Increase investments in
community safety.
Action 5-10.1: Maintain efficient, well-trained,
and adequately equipped police
and fire personnel.
Action 5-10.2: Periodically review and update
the Santa Rosa Fire Department
Strategic Plan and Standards of
Coverage to address the following
needs if necessary:
• Staffing levels
• Station location/placement
• Changing equipment needs
• Training requirements
• Response time criteria
• Areas lacking adequate service
• Projection of future
emergency service needs
Action 5-10.3: Periodically update first
responder training requirements
to meet local, State, and federal
standards.
Action 5-10.4: Enhance police department
staffing to achieve a response
time of under 6 minutes
anywhere in the service area.
Action 5-10.5: Expand the equity and diversity of
emergency personnel to better
reflect the makeup of the city.
Action 5-10.6: Enhance employee wellness and
mental health support to enable
better service to the community
by all emergency personnel.
Policy 5-10.2: Collaborate with neighboring
communities to better serve
community members and
businesses.
Action 5-10.7: Coordinate with Sonoma County
on police and fire services to
achieve cost-effective
improvements to service levels.
Policy 5-10.3: Focus policing efforts on
community-based solutions.
Action 5-10.8: Assist neighborhoods and
increase community contact
through the Community Oriented
Policing Program.
Action 5-10.9: Study and actively pursue
infrastructure improvements as
needed, including, but not limited
to, constructing new police and
fire stations (outside of high
hazard risk areas) and acquiring
new emergency vehicles and
equipment.
Action 5-10.10: Study the opportunities and
constraints of a community
benefit fund compared to impact
fees as part of the next Fee Study
Update.
Action 5-10.11: Enhance and explore ways to
expand the InRESPONSE model
and continue to provide a high
level of mental health support to
the community.
Action 5-10.12: Enhance police services
using innovative technology and
an equitable approach for
resource allocation.
Action 5-10.13: Prioritize violent crime
reduction and traffic safety
solutions through innovative
strategies and partnerships with
key stakeholders.
Action 5-10.14: Partner with other public and
private organizations to create
public awareness of the existence
of various forms of racism and
discrimination, explicit and
implicit bias, and the health
inequities they exacerbate.
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN GOALS, POLICIES, AND ACTIONS
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN 2050 45
Health, Equity, and
Environmental Justice
Goals, Policies, and Actions
Policy 6-1.1: Promote efforts to improve
community health outcomes
and ensure that City
investments support community
health goals whenever possible.
Action 6-1.1: Apply for grants to fund programs
and projects to improve
community health outcomes.
Adopt a Health in All Policies
ordinance and strategy to
institutionalize a collaborative
approach to improving the health
of Santa Rosa residents by
incorporating health,
sustainability, and equity
considerations into City decision
making across all sectors and
policy areas.
Action 6-1.2: Work with health service
organizations, including Sonoma
County Health and Human
Services, to identify
environmental risk factors for
asthma, especially in EPAs and
areas where more than 10
percent of adults have asthma.
Action 6-1.3: Adopt a Health in All Policies
ordinance and strategy to
institutionalize a collaborative
approach to improving the health
of Santa Rosa residents by
incorporating health,
sustainability, and equity
considerations into City decision
making across all sectors and
policy areas.
Action 6-1.4: Apply Health in All Policies criteria
to all capital projects to ensure
that they promote health equity
(e.g., supporting safe and active
transportation).
Action 6-1.5: Develop a channel or protocol for
Health in All Policies City inter-
departmental collaboration,
including task forces, training,
and formal and ad hoc working
groups to coordinate
implementation of the General
Plan and other City initiatives.
Action 6-1.6: Provide training for City staff and
officials about how the built
environment and transportation
choices affect health equity,
economic opportunity, well-being,
and quality of life.
Action 6-1.7: Maintain at least one City staff
position that bridges planning,
transportation, health, and equity.
Action 6-1.8: Adopt healthy development
guidelines or checklists to track
and monitor how new
developments are incorporating
health-promoting features (such
as opportunities for physical
activity, healthy food, drinking
water, urban farming, quality
affordable housing, and
sustainable design).
Action 6-1.9: Update the Zoning Code to
require health impact
assessments for nonresidential
developments of 100,000 square
feet or more in EPAs to identify
and mitigate any potential
negative health implications of
the project.
Action 6-1.10: In annual reports on General Plan
implementation, include updates
Goal 6-1: Improve health and well-being for
all community members by emphasizing
community health in all City policies,
programs, actions, and activities.
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN GOALS, POLICIES, AND ACTIONS
46 SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN 2050
regarding community-wide
health, such as changes in life
expectancy and other relevant
metrics related to social
determinants.
Action 6-1.11: Distribute social and economic
resources equitably throughout
the city so EPAs enjoy equal
benefits of the city and are not
disproportionately burdened by
environmental pollution or other
hazards.
Action 6-1.12: Prioritize funding for services,
amenities, and infrastructure in
EPAs.
Policy 6-1.2: Ensure that all Santa Rosa
residents can easily access
primary and emergency health
care facilities and medical
services.
Action 6-1.13: Evaluate whether the circulation
network or transit system needs
changes to improve access to
medical facilities, including by
active transportation modes, for
everyone in Santa Rosa, including
transit-dependent people, low-
income community members,
seniors, and people with
disabilities.
Action 6-1.14: Explore incentives for the
establishment of neighborhood-
serving health clinics and
facilities.
Action 6-1.15: Implement any necessary
changes to the circulation
network or transit system to
ensure accessibility to medical
facilities, prioritizing EPAs.
Action 6-1.16: Participate in collaborative efforts
with Sonoma County, State
agencies, and health
organizations to provide
information and outreach about
options for accessing medical
coverage and care, prioritizing
EPAs and Equity Priority
Populations likely to have trouble
accessing care, including low-
income individuals and families,
racial or ethnic groups
experiencing disparate health
outcomes, individuals who have
limited English proficiency, and
people who are unhoused.
Policy 6-2.1: Promote awareness and
recognition of the role of social
determinants of health and
health inequities, and ensure
that City policies, services,
programs, and actions can
improve the lives and well-being
of everyone in the community,
especially in EPAs and among
Equity Priority Populations at a
higher risk for health inequities,
including low-income
individuals and families, racial or
ethnic groups experiencing
disparate health outcomes,
individuals with limited English
proficiency, and people who are
unhoused.
Action 6-2.1: Evaluate and adjust City policies,
programs, and services, including
budget allocation, to ensure that
they promote fairness, equity, and
justice, including within EPAs.
Action 6-2.2: Modify City processes, programs,
and materials, as needed, to
address social determinants of
health and support the needs of
EPAs.
Goal 6-2: Advance health equity by
understanding and addressing key social
determinants of health.
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN GOALS, POLICIES, AND ACTIONS
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN 2050 47
Action 6-2.3: Identify resource distribution gaps
and provide and distribute
internal and external City
resources in ways that are
equitable and transparent.
Action 6-2.4: Participate in Health Action
Together, the nonprofit public-
private partnership leading and
supporting cross-sector efforts to
reduce inequities across Sonoma
County identified in the 2021
Portrait of Sonoma report on well-
being and access to opportunity.
Action 6-2.5: Implement and update, as
needed, the Santa Rosa Equity
Workplan, to advance diversity,
equity, inclusion, and belonging in
the City as an employer and in
the plans, policies, and practices
that the City institutes for the
benefit of all who live, learn, work,
or play in Santa Rosa.
Action 6-2.6: Coordinate with Sonoma County
Health and Human Services and
other health organizations to
provide public outreach and
education on how lifestyle
changes can affect health
through newsletters, the City
website, and social media.
Policy 6-2.2: Encourage community, social,
and emotional health—the
ability to understand and
manage emotions and to form
social connections and
relationships—for everyone in
Santa Rosa, eliminating health
inequities due to race and
income.
Action 6-2.7: Develop and implement
standards, policies, strategies,
and practices that value and
foster an internal culture of
employee well-being,
transformation, and belonging
throughout the City organization,
as well as wellness strategies and
trauma care programs to support
physical, mental, and emotional
health.
Action 6-2.8: Implement policies, programs,
and actions that increase social
and emotional health and self-
care for everyone in Santa Rosa.
Action 6-2.9: Partner with Sonoma County
Health and Human Services and
criminal justice, school, faith-
based, and other organizations to
create public awareness and
sensitivity to the needs of people
with behavioral health challenges
and provide support for those
needing services, particularly in
EPAs and among Equity Priority
Populations.
Action 6-2.10: Develop and promote
opportunities for Santa Rosa
community members to
experience or participate in arts,
cultural, and related activities
that can enhance mental health
and connection with other
community members.
Action 6-2.11: Implement regional, State, and
national policies and best
practices that promote racial
equity.
Action 6-2.12: Continue to build organizational
and institutional skills and
commitment to advance racial
equity and eliminate institutional
and structural racism.
Action 6-2.13: Partner with other public and
private organizations to create
public awareness of the existence
of various forms of racism and
discrimination, explicit and
implicit bias, and the health
inequities they exacerbate.
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN GOALS, POLICIES, AND ACTIONS
48 SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN 2050
Policy 6-2.3: Prevent, disincentivize, and
reduce harmful addictive
behaviors.
Action 6-2.14: Restrict tobacco and alcohol
retailers near schools, youth-
populated areas, and senior
facilities, and in areas with a high
density of existing tobacco
retailers, particularly in EPAs.
Action 6-2.15: Partner with local, regional, and
State organizations to promote
public awareness about the
potential risks of opioid abuse,
and the use of alcohol, tobacco,
and other drugs that affect Santa
Rosa community members.
Action 6-2.16: Update Zoning Code sections
governing nonconforming uses to
consider phasing out
nonconforming uses over time.
Policy 6-2.4: Address conditions contributing
to risk of asthma and adverse air
quality.
Action 6-2.17: Work with Sonoma County Public
Health Division to reduce risk of
asthma through land use
planning and programs across
the city.
Action 6-2.18: Evaluate the efficacy of the City’s
existing Breathe Easy program to
minimize exposures to tobacco
and consider program
modifications, if appropriate.
Action 6-2.19: Work with Sonoma County,
surrounding agricultural
producers, and farmers to protect
areas with sensitive populations
from pesticide drift by restricting
the use of pesticides in these
areas. Promote alternatives such
as integrated pest management
and regenerative agriculture.
Action 6-2.20: Disseminate information to
tenants and property owners
about methods to reduce asthma
and other health issues by
improving indoor air quality,
including by adding air
conditioning and reducing and
preventing indoor mold growth.
Policy 6-3.1: Ensure meaningful public
engagement processes and
events that make it possible for
everyone—especially EPAs, low-
income populations, and
limited-English proficient
individuals—to participate and
influence outcomes.
Action 6-3.1: Engage all community
members—prioritizing EPAs, low-
income populations, and
individuals with limited English
proficiency—in the planning and
decision-making processes by
using culturally appropriate and
accessible channels, including:
• Provide translation services
relevant to the area.
• Provide childcare.
• Hold engagement
opportunities in different
locations throughout the
community, at different times
of the day and week, and use
different channels (e.g., in
person and online).
• Use participatory facilitation
techniques.
• Provide healthy food and
water for people who attend in
person meetings.
Goal 6-3: Promote meaningful community
engagement and empower residents
through inclusive communication, outreach,
and capacity-building to participate in City
planning and decision making.
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN GOALS, POLICIES, AND ACTIONS
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN 2050 49
• Meet in ADA-compliant
locations.
Action 6-3.2: Explore developing City guidelines
and best practices to compensate
low-income residents for
engaging in City planning and
decision making to eliminate
barriers to participation.
Action 6-3.3: Identify, evaluate, and eliminate
existing barriers—such as age,
income, and voter registration
status—for Santa Rosa residents
to serve on and engage with City
council, boards, committees, and
commissions, and prioritize
addressing barriers impacting
EPAs.
Action 6-3.4: Establish a Communication and
Public Participation Working
Group that includes staff from all
City departments to collaborate
on how to engage community
members to be part of planning
or decision-making efforts,
leverage resources, avoid
duplication of efforts, and
enhance effective and
meaningful public participation,
particularly EPAs.
Action 6-3.5: Develop City communication
standards and style guidelines
addressing writing style and
translation protocols and
including guidance for web, social
media, and printed documents,
so they are accessible to all
residents.
Action 6-3.6: Create City of Santa Rosa
community engagement
standards, including guidance for
different City departments, to
engage with all residents
considering the unique needs of
districts, EPAs, and those most
affected by a specific issue under
consideration.
Action 6-3.7: Implement an engagement
system/method to track issues
and priorities identified at the
neighborhood level to inform the
development of policies,
programs, projects, and services
and to share information across
departments.
Action 6-3.8: Consider establishing advisory
committees and commissions
that consist of EPA community
members to review policy
considerations and advise the
City Council. Consider creating ad
hoc committees to study issues
and report findings to the City
Council.
Action 6-3.9: Identify and implement strategies
to ensure that the composition of
City committees, boards, and
commissions reflect the diversity
of the community, with particular
attention to include EPA
community members.
Action 6-3.10: Create an equity evaluation
framework for the annual budget
and all policies and programs
considered by the City Council to
ensure policy decisions respond to
and are accountable to EPA
residents and needs.
Policy 6-3.2: Inform, engage, and collaborate
with residents, organizations,
the private sector, and public
agencies to develop and
implement plans and projects
that improve community health.
Action 6-3.11: Support the establishment of
neighborhood associations in
EPAs. Consider providing grants
to neighborhood groups for block
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN GOALS, POLICIES, AND ACTIONS
50 SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN 2050
parties and other neighborhood
events.
Action 6-3.12: Establish formal and ongoing
relationships with individuals or
organizations that represent and
work with EPAs to build trust with
and create reliable channels for
community participation and
input, including engagement
outside of specific projects or
policy processes.
Action 6-3.13: Partner with community-based
organizations that have
relationships, trust, and cultural
competency with non-English-
speaking and English-as-a-
second-language EPAs and
stakeholders to reach out on local
initiatives and issues.
Policy 6-3.3: Empower every resident of
Santa Rosa, prioritizing EPAs, to
participate in local decision
making and engage
meaningfully in planning efforts.
Action 6-3.14: Develop bilingual educational
content and provide training
programs and workshops about
civic involvement and processes
for Santa Rosa residents,
including how to participate in
City Council, board, committee,
and commission meeting, as well
as how to apply for City jobs and
become a City Council member.
Action 6-3.15: Support local organizations in
collaborative engagement efforts
and their specific missions by
providing technical assistance,
meeting spaces, funding, data,
and other assistance, as resources
allow.
Action 6-3.16: Seek opportunities to involve
young people, meaningfully and
authentically, particularly those in
EPAs, to develop their confidence
and leadership skills.
Action 6-3.17: Maintain and expand existing
City internship programs and
fellowships so younger
community members can get
exposure to careers in the public
sector while gaining professional
experience.
Policy 6-3.4: Ensure the City has the
necessary resources to conduct
equitable, inclusive, and
meaningful community
engagement, including staff,
technology, funding, and
systems.
Action 6-3.18: Require each public-facing
department of the City to
maintain staff to engage with
and empower residents to be part
of planning and decision-making
activities.
Action 6-3.19: Develop flexible but sustained
infrastructure for two-way
information sharing between City
and partner agencies and
community members.
Action 6-3.20: Require that all meetings,
materials, and other engagement
opportunities that use technology
are accessible by mobile devices
and support access for people
with disabilities.
Action 6-3.21: Expand digital access and
engagement opportunities by
working with other public and
private partners to invest in high-
speed internet in communities
that have low access to internet,
prioritizing access for EPAs.
Action 6-3.22: Provide free internet access in
public facilities, particularly those
in EPAs.
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN GOALS, POLICIES, AND ACTIONS
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN 2050 51
Policy 6-4.1: Ensure access to information by
identifying language diversity
gaps to continue engaging the
community in City projects,
programs, and services.
Action 6-4.1: Establish a Language Access and
Justice Working Group that can
identify barriers to language
access and justice in
communications and public
participation and define policies
and practices for translation and
interpretation for the City of
Santa Rosa.
Action 6-4.2: Identify public documents, forms,
and events that require
translation and/or interpretation
and develop yearly budgets,
including staff time for in-house
services.
Policy 6-4.2: Continue to provide
interpretation and translation
services as well as assistance to
access community meetings,
services, and programs, and
direct engagement with EPAs,
low-income individuals, limited
English proficiency individuals,
and other vulnerable
populations that request
additional support.
Action 6-4.3: Develop and implement a
Language Access and Justice
Plan to recognize and address the
city’s language diversity; define
policies and practices for
translation and interpretation for
every department in the City that
engages with the public.
Action 6-4.4: Implement language assistance
measures for front desks or
counters, meetings, telephone
lines, services, events, documents,
forms, materials, website, apps,
and other points of contact with
community members.
Policy 6-5.1: Minimize displacement and
gentrification in Santa Rosa.
Action 6-5.1: Identify strategies to ensure that
future improvements in EPAs will
not result in a net loss of
affordable housing or significant
preventable displacement of
residents.
Action 6-5.2: Identify opportunities to preserve
the affordability of federal- and
State-subsidized units at risk of
conversion to market rate or
other affordable housing
resources.
Policy 6-5.2: Ensure that housing in Santa
Rosa provides safe and sanitary
environments for residents.
Action 6-5.3: Prompt property owners to repair
and rehabilitate all substandard
housing, especially in EPAs.
Action 6-5.4: Expand the focus areas
addressed by the City's
Neighborhood Revitalization
Program to include EPAs, with
the mission to improve living
conditions and safety and
increase property values.
Action 6-5.5: Seek grants and support current
efforts to improve conditions in
older homes that may have mold,
mildew, and other contaminants.
Goal 6-4: Maintain and enhance a culture
of language access and justice in City
communications and public participation in
planning and decision-making processes.
Goal 6-5: Minimize risk of displacement and
gentrification while ensuring housing is safe
and sanitary for all residents.
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN GOALS, POLICIES, AND ACTIONS
52 SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN 2050
Action 6-5.6: As the City’s housing stock ages,
pursue all available federal and
State funds to assist with housing
preservation and rehabilitation.
Action 6-5.7: Investigate and implement
programs that incentivize
landlords to maintain properties
free of Municipal Code violations.
Action 6-5.8: Require applicants for residential
remodel and rehabilitation
projects to remediate
environmental health hazards,
such as lead-based paint, mold,
mildew, and asbestos, as a
condition of approval.
Action 6-5.9: Seek funding for identifying and
remediating lead and other
environmental hazards for low-
income residents of EPAs.
Food Access and Urban
Agriculture
Goals, Policies, and Actions
Policy 6-6.1: Attract and support a range of
healthy food retailers,
prioritizing EPAs and Healthy
Food Priority Areas, so that all
residents live within one mile of
a full-service grocery store, fresh
produce market, or others
offering fresh produce.
Action 6-6.1: Partner with Sonoma County
Health and Human Services to
encourage stores in Santa Rosa
to participate in the Federal Food
Assistance Program.
Action 6-6.2: Require convenience stores,
supermarkets, liquor stores, and
neighborhood and ethnic
markets to carry fresh produce,
especially in EPAs and Healthy
Food Priority Areas.
Action 6-6.3: Update the Zoning Code to allow
farmers markets in all
nonresidential zoning districts by
right with standards.
Action 6-6.4: Consult with the local hospitals,
clinics, local school districts, Santa
Rosa Community College, and the
California State University
Extension to produce and provide
educational materials and
programs aimed at promoting
and facilitating healthier
lifestyles.
Action 6-6.5: Explore programs with the Santa
Rosa City School District, Sonoma
County Public Health Division,
community garden groups, and
other advocates to provide
healthy foods in schools and other
public institutions.
Action 6-6.6: Distribute information and
educate low-income families and
people experiencing
homelessness about food
assistance programs.
Policy 6-6.2: Encourage the establishment of
local restaurants and businesses
that serve healthy food.
Action 6-6.7: Update the Zoning Code to
require conditional-use-permit
review for any chain restaurant
with more than five outlets in the
nine-county Bay Area.
Action 6-6.8: Require at least 300 feet between
any two fast-food chain
operations.
Action 6-6.9: Seek resources to facilitate
establishment of “microenterprise
Goal 6-6: Ensure that all households and
individuals have convenient, daily access to
affordable healthy food, including fresh
produce.
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN GOALS, POLICIES, AND ACTIONS
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN 2050 53
home kitchen operations”—that
is, restaurants operated out of a
private residence—in EPAs, as
allowed by Assembly Bill 686.
Action 6-6.10: Develop a program to provide
fast-track permitting for healthy
food and grocery stores in
Healthy Food Priority Areas and
underserved areas, as well as
areas identified for increased
residential development and
mixed use.
Policy 6-6.3: Facilitate urban agriculture,
farming, gardening, and local
food production, especially in
EPAs and Healthy Food Priority
Areas.
Action 6-6.11: Provide the necessary resources
to retain the city’s existing
community gardens.
Action 6-6.12: Support the creation of additional
community gardens or other
urban agriculture opportunities,
particularly in EPAs and Healthy
Food Priority Areas.
Action 6-6.13: Consider updating the Zoning
Code to allow all forms of urban
agriculture by right in all zoning
districts where appropriate,
including community, yard,
rooftop, indoor, and other
gardens; community food
production (as defined by the
State); and on-site exchanges and
sales.
Action 6-6.14: Develop an Urban Agriculture
ordinance that includes
strategies to increase access to
healthy food—particularly in EPAs
and Healthy Food Priority Areas—
and standards for operation and
soil mitigation.
Action 6-6.15: Explore the feasibility of enacting
an Urban Agriculture Incentive
Zone (per Assembly Bill 551) to
allow landowners to receive tax
incentives for putting land into
agricultural use.
Action 6-6.16: Partner with the County,
nonprofits, school districts,
neighborhood organizations,
faith-based organizations, and
others to identify and develop
sites for urban agriculture
potential, and support all urban
agriculture types in schools, parks,
hospitals, correction facilities, and
other public land and spaces
suitable for urban agriculture
development, including public
easements and rights-of-way.
Action 6-6.17: Evaluate the potential presence
of contaminants that may be
harmful to human health on land
proposed for urban agriculture,
including by performing site
history assessments and soil
testing.
Action 6-6.18: Identify financial resources for soil
testing and remediation on
identified sites for urban
agriculture.
Action 6-6.19: Work with the County Agricultural
Preservation and Open Space
District to establish food hubs
throughout the city where
community members can meet
and exchange excess home-
grown produce.
Action 6-6.20: Partner with the County
Department of Health Services,
local schools, and nonprofit
organizations to provide
education about the nutritional,
social, economic, and
environmental benefits of urban
farming and locally grown and
ecologically sound foods; urban
agriculture opportunities; food
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN GOALS, POLICIES, AND ACTIONS
54 SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN 2050
production safety; food literacy;
cooking; and food waste
reduction.
Action 6-6.21: In accordance with the
Neighborhood Food Act
(Assembly Bill 2561), educate
landowners, apartment
complexes, and homeowners
associations (HOA) about the
benefits of urban gardening and
edible landscaping, and work
with them to remove any barriers
that renters and owners with an
HOA face when trying to grow
food for self-consumption,
exchange, or sale.
Action 6-6.22: Establish incentives for private
property owners and developers
to provide opportunities for
residential gardening and urban
agriculture, and similar
opportunities to food producers
who are emerging, have limited
resources, and/or are people of
color.
Action 6-6.23: Require public development
projects to provide access to
sustainable food for residents.
Action 6-6.24: Work with the County to protect
the agricultural land base in the
Sphere of Influence, including
urban gardens, farms, and
ranches.
Violence Prevention and
Equitable Policing
Goals, Policies, and Actions
Policy 6-7.1: Increase neighborhood safety
and promote neighborhood
development, particularly in
EPAs.
Action 6-7.1: Engage community members
and youth in communities most
affected by crime and violence
with planning through place-
based strategies/solutions for
their neighborhoods to address
safety.
Action 6-7.2: Design safe walking and biking
routes in neighborhoods and
around schools with high crime
and gang activity, using Crime
Prevention Through
Environmental Design, to ensure
that all community members can
live, work, and play without fear.
Action 6-7.3: Through collaboration between
the Violence Prevention
Partnership and the Police
Department, create
comprehensive community safety
plans that include equitable
resource allocation across the city
and strategies to prevent
violence.
Action 6-7.4: Proactively engage potential
perpetrators through fellowships
or conflict mediation facilitated
by the Violence Prevention
Partnership.
Action 6-7.5: Support community-based
initiatives to reduce violence by
promoting local economic
participation and success, such as
neighborhood job and vocational
training facilities, community
benefit districts, community
development councils, and
business improvement districts.
Action 6-7.6: Collaborate with County of
Sonoma to establish a re-entry
Goal 6-7: Ensure community safety and
foster neighborhood environments that are
welcoming to all ages, cultures, races, and
ethnicities.
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN GOALS, POLICIES, AND ACTIONS
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN 2050 55
system for formerly incarcerated
individuals that promotes a safe
and thriving community to ensure
they experience healthy
reintegration in Santa Rosa,
particularly for 2011 Assembly Bill
109 populations (individuals
sentenced to nonserious,
nonviolent, nonsex offenses).
Action 6-7.7: Continue to train City staff to
develop and implement trauma-
informed models that are
culturally relevant for Santa Rosa
community members, like the
City’s Green Spaces for All Faces
program, which was designed
with a trauma-informed lens and
leverages partnerships to provide
high-quality outdoor
programming and community
services opportunities for
probation youth.
Parks
Goals, Policies, and Actions
Policy 6-8.1: Provide parklands with
opportunities for physical
activity, recreation, and
relaxation, including those
offering trauma-informed
services (to address long-
standing health issues for
individuals), culturally
appropriate programming, and
safe spaces for everyone,
especially in EPAs.
Action 6-8.1: Facilitate equitable, authentic
community engagement in
recreation and parks planning to
identify the needs and priorities of
all segments of the community,
including individuals with special
needs, EPAs, and those unable to
attend public meetings.
Action 6-8.2: Acquire and develop new
parkland to achieve a citywide
standard of 6 acres of parkland
per thousand residents, using
Community Parks (CP),
Neighborhood Parks (NP), and
qualifying Trail and Open Space
Parks.
Action 6-8.3: Prioritize new park acquisition
and development in EPAs, Areas
of Change, and redevelopment
areas, including downtown.
Action 6-8.4: Design new parks with clear lines
of sight from adjacent streets and
neighborhoods to increase
perceived safety.
Action 6-8.5: Where feasible, consider
renovating and expanding
existing parks to provide more
acreage, increased capacity of
athletic fields for organized sports,
and a greater range of recreation
activities, while maintaining park
standards.
Action 6-8.6: Seek land and partnership
opportunities to develop large
sports complexes and/or multiuse
event venues to accommodate
tournaments, concerts, athletics,
and other community events and
activities.
Action 6-8.7: Develop new athletic fields and
retrofit existing fields to support
year-round use; include lighting
for night use; and accommodate
the growing community need for
organized sports and physical
activities by expanding the hours
and seasons of use.
Goal 6-8: Make parks the center for
improving personal and community well-
being.
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56 SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN 2050
Action 6-8.8: Pursue development of civic
spaces where provision of a
neighborhood park is not feasible,
particularly where they can be
connected to existing public
spaces using pathways, trails, or
other forms of connection.
Action 6-8.9: Develop special-purpose parks
and recreation facilities
throughout the city, including, but
not limited to, multigenerational
recreation centers, aquatic
centers, education and
community service centers, and
other unique facilities, prioritizing
facilities in EPAs, Areas of Change,
and other high growth areas.
Action 6-8.10: Develop multiuse pathways and
trail parks along creeks
designated by the Santa Rosa
Citywide Creek Master Plan.
Action 6-8.11: Create a system of
interconnected linear parks that
provide access to parks and open
space and offer passive
recreation opportunities, such as
hiking and wildlife viewing.
Policy 6-8.2: Ensure adequate funding for
parks and recreation facility
improvements and
maintenance.
Action 6-8.12: Annually evaluate the park
development impact fees allowed
under the Quimby Act to ensure
sufficient funds to acquire,
develop, and maintain parks,
consistent with General Plan
targets for park service.
Action 6-8.13: Annually evaluate park impact
fees to ensure sufficient funds for
park acquisition, development,
and maintenance from proposals
that do not meet Quimby
guidelines.
Action 6-8.14: Develop a systemwide Park
Master Plan for park and
recreation facility maintenance
that addresses core versus
noncore services, appropriate
levels of service, and factors that
affect park maintenance
practices.
Action 6-8.15: Encourage innovative
approaches for maintenance of
parks and open space areas by
maintaining and developing
partnerships with schools,
neighborhoods, and businesses.
Youth, Family, and
Seniors
Goals, Policies, and Actions
Policy 6-9.1: Create an environment where
children can grow and develop
in secure and supportive
families and neighborhoods.
Action 6-9.1: Collaborate with parents, youth,
schools, libraries, businesses,
nonprofit agencies, religious
organizations, law enforcement,
and others to prioritize needs and
establish programs and services
for children and youth, especially
in EPAs.
Action 6-9.2: Promote development of
multiuse buildings/community
centers that can be used for
seniors, youth, and teen activities
and childcare, including at parks,
strip malls, and commercial
centers.
Goal 6-9: Foster environments that support
families and community members of all
ages with high-quality, equitably accessible
amenities, programs, and services.
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN GOALS, POLICIES, AND ACTIONS
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN 2050 57
Action 6-9.3: Coordinate with community-
based organizations to promote
the provision of educational and
community services, including
child care/early education,
English as a second language
courses, after-school programs,
and recreational activities.
Policy 6-9.2: Expand childcare services to
meet the existing and future
needs of Santa Rosa.
Action 6-9.4: Update the Zoning Code to
encourage new residential
development to provide places for
childcare and youth-oriented
facilities and programs.
Action 6-9.5: Encourage school districts to
continue and expand the
provision of before- and after-
school care on or near school
sites.
Action 6-9.6: Endorse the development of new
childcare facilities in all areas of
the city, including residential
neighborhoods, employment
centers, and school sites.
Action 6-9.7: Promote development of new
childcare facilities during review
of new development projects.
Action 6-9.8: Across the park system, allow use
of a portion of city parkland for a
childcare center to be developed
and maintained by an outside
entity.
Action 6-9.9: Continue the City’s permitting fee
deferral and rebate program for
provision of childcare facilities.
Action 6-9.10: Foster partnerships between the
business community and the
childcare community to provide
information to employees about
childcare options.
Action 6-9.11: Maintain the high-quality mix of
recreation programs, classes, and
current maintenance standards
for city parks and recreational
facilities.
Action 6-9.12: Work with local sport leagues
that serve youth on facilities
planning and needs to support
increased participation in
organized and alternative posts,
especially among elementary-
aged children and teens.
Action 6-9.13: Work with local organizations
that serve the elder community,
including the Council on Aging
Sonoma County, on facilities
planning and needs to support
increased participation in
recreation programs, classes, and
maintenance standards for parks
and recreational activities.
Policy 6-9.3: Increase teen participation in
organized activities.
Action 6-9.14: Continue to solicit direct
involvement from teens in
planning future community
parks, recreational activities, and
programs for teens to provide
recreational programs geared
toward modern interests.
Action 6-9.15: Cooperate with businesses,
governmental agencies, nonprofit
groups, and educational
institutions to develop
apprenticeship programs for
teens and young adults.
Policy 6-9.4: Modernize senior services in all
areas of Santa Rosa, especially
EPAs.
Action 6-9.16: Continually monitor and analyze
the needs of the city’s senior
population and expand services
and programs to meet emerging
and changing needs.
SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN GOALS, POLICIES, AND ACTIONS
58 SANTA ROSA GENERAL PLAN 2050
Action 6-9.17: Explore designation of an age-
and dementia-friendly
community.