From: Avery Figueroa
To: CityCouncilListPublic
Subject: [EXTERNAL] City General Plan
Date: Monday, September 25, 2023 8:53:37 PM
Dear Mayor Rogers and Council Members,
There is much to be praised about the Draft General Plan you will be considering on Tuesday, September 26. However, I ask you to strongly recommend one significant revision between now and the final draft: Please include a specific and ambitious target for reducing vehicle miles traveled (VMTs).
A significant reduction in VMTs will simultaneously serve all of these city goals:
Reducing traffic congestion
Reducing GHG emissions
Reducing air and noise pollution
Reducing collisions, injuries, and deaths
Improving physical and mental health outcomes
Reducing the need for parking
Reducing the burden and cost of road maintenance
Reducing the need for expensive new road projects
Enhancing opportunities for community connections and placemaking Because of all these benefits, expenditures that help reduce VMT yield better return on investment than those that do not. We need a bold VMT goal front and center in our General Plan to guide such investments.
Thanks,
Avery Figueroa
South Hoen Neighborhood
From: Calum Weeks
To: City Council Public Comments
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Public Comment
Date: Tuesday, September 26, 2023 8:32:34 AM
Attachments: 2023 0926 Santa Rosa City Council Comment on Draft General Plan.pdf Hello -
Apologies for the delay, but please accept this public comment to the record.
Thanks so much,
--
Calum (Cal) Weeks
| Policy Director
(he/him)
Generation Housing
GenerationHousing.org
427 Mendocino Ave, Suite 100 | Santa Rosa, CA 95401
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube
From: Adrian Covert
To: Abby Arnold
Cc: CityCouncilListPublic
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Re: General Plan Update
Date: Tuesday, September 26, 2023 8:59:47 AM
Great email! Thanks Abby!
On Mon, Sep 25, 2023 at 11:13 AM Abby Arnold < > wrote:
Dear Mayor and Council members:
I am a senior citizen who recently moved to Santa Rosa. I was attracted by the City’s commitment to building housing, reducing greenhouse gases, and prioritizing non- automobile transportation. I’m especially excited about the expansion of bike lanes, which will allow me to safely travel by bike instead of using my car. I’m planning to buy an e-bike soon.
I am in full agreement with the comments of Santa Rosa YIMBY. The biggest contributor to climate change is the automobile. With good local policies and the SMART train, Santa Rosa can be a national model of the way we will all have to live in a low-carbon future.
Please adopt the changes to the General Plan update that are suggested by Santa Rosa YIMBY.
Thank you.
Abby Arnold
.
Santa Rosa, CA 95405
Abby Arnold
______________________
(she, her, hers) Here's why
--
Adrian Covert
Santa Rosa, CA
From: Ken MacNab
To: CityCouncilListPublic
Cc: Smith, Maraskeshia
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Comments on Draft Santa Rosa 2050 General Plan Date: Wednesday, September 27, 2023 8:07:34 AM
Attachments: Comment Letter on Draft 2050 General Plan.pdf Mayor Rogers, Councilmembers-
Thank you for the opportunity to complete my comments on the Draft Santa Rosa 2050 General Plan. First off, I would like to apologize if I was out of line in publicly challenging Deputy Director Jones’ comments at the end of the presentation yesterday.
Please know that as a professional colleague and
former co-worker, I have the highest level of respect for Jess. But her characterization that the City’s current policy requires preparation of a Specific Plan prior to annexation of the Todd Creek/2010 Area is not what the policy language says, its staff’s interpretation of what the policy language means.
There is a difference, and I thought it was important to clarify the point.
Attached for your consideration is a letter with a few suggested edits to the Draft General Plan for your consideration.
Please do not hesitate to contact me
if you have any questions.
Respectfully-
Ken
Ken MacNab | KMac Advising, LLC
KMac Advising, LLC
2751 Fourth St. #302
Santa Rosa, CA 95405
September 26, 2023
Ms. Natalie Rogers
Mayor
City of Santa Rosa
100 Santa Rosa Avenue
Santa Rosa, CA 95404
RE: Comments o n Santa Rosa General Plan 2050
Dear Mayor Rogers, Coun
cilmembers:
Thank you for the opportunity to provide input on the Dra� Santa Rosa 2050 General Plan. As you
are aware, there has been a long-standing i nterest by property owners in the Todd Creek area of unincorporated Southeast Santa Rosa in annexing and developing their land with needed housing. This area, approximately 250 acres in size, is perhaps the single greatest opportunity for
the City to secure its housing future. The site will accommodate a variety of housing types that will meet the needs of young adults, families, lower-income households, empty nesters, and seniors. The 2050 General Plan presents an opportunity to take pro-ac�ve steps that r
ise to the urgency of the housing crisis our community, region and state are facing.
In this spirit, we submit the following suggested edits for your considera�on.
LA
ND USE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ELEMENT
1. Modify Fig
ure 2-5 (Areas of Change) to iden�fy the Todd Creek area as an Area of Change (see atached map).
Inclusion of th
e Todd Creek area in the General Plan as an Area of Change would provide a policy basis for moving forward with its annexa�on and help to create a more complete neighborhood for the residents of approximately 1,000 homes that currently exist along the south Santa Rosa Avenue corridor. Annexa�on and development of the Todd Creek area will provide new park space, new creek trails and new neighborhood- based stores – ameni�es that are currently lacking in this area. In addi�on, development of the Todd Creek area will help to complete long envisioned improvements to the City’s circula�on networks and will bring hundreds of new homes in close proximity to services and transit.
KMac Advising, LLC
Comments on Draft 2050 General Plan
September 26, 2023
Page | 2
2. Modify Ac�on 2-1.8 (Disadvantaged Unincorporated Communi�es) add a new ac�on that addresses the need for coordina�on between LAFCO and the City on annexing disadvantaged unincorporated communi�es.
Close coordina�on between the City and LAFCO is needed to ensure that the approach for annexa�on of disadvantaged communi�es meets LAFCO objec�ves and the requirements of SB 244 but does not create an undue fiscal burden on the City. The approach should allow for flexibility in annexa�on strategies and avoid pu�ng the City in a “all or nothing” posi�on.
3. Modify Ac�on 2-1.9 to allow flexibility in determining the level of planning effort required prior to annexa�on of land in unincorporated South Santa Rosa. Prepara�on of a Specific Plan prior to Annexa�on in South Santa Rosa.
Requiring comple�on of a Specific Plan prior to annexa�on of the Todd Creek area would unnecessarily delay the project and produc�on of needed housing.
The City has received a PDA planning grant to prepare a Specific Plan. Although the Todd Creek area is currently within the South Santa Rosa Specific Plan planning area, its development as a vacant area does not present the issues and challenges that other developed areas within the Specific Plan area do, such as addressing under-served neighborhoods or “retrofi�ng” exis�ng development along commercial corridors.
Site planning for the Todd Creek area can be accomplished through the use of a Planned Development Special Purpose Zoning District (“PD”), which will result in a more detailed land use and circula�on plan at the end of the process than a Specific Plan. The City’s interest in iden�fying and accommoda�ng needs related to City services, such as Fire and Police, water, wastewater, stormwater, transporta�on, and parks as part of the annexa�on process can be addressed through the PD/project en�tlement process as required by other Ac�ons in the Land Use and Economic Development Element (p. 2-26, stated below):
o Ac�on 2-1.10: Require a fiscal impact analysis for proposed annexa�ons that exceed 10 acres to ensure a full accoun�ng of infrastructure and public service costs and confirm whether revenue enhancement mechanisms are necessary to ensure net fiscal balance.
o Ac�on 2-1.11: Only allow annexa�ons or City u�lity connec�ons 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.
KMac Advising, LLC
Comments on Draft 2050 General Plan
September 26, 2023
Page | 3
o Ac�on 2-1.12: Limit annexa�ons to land in the UGB with adequate services available, including unincorporated islands within the city limits.
Impact fee and other revenues generated from development within the Todd Creek area poten�ally could be directed towards improvements needed in other areas within the Specific Plan area. By allowing the Todd Creek area to be annexed in advance of comple�ng a Specific Plan the City can get a jump start on genera�ng these revenues.
CIRCULATION, OPEN SPACE, CONSERVATION AND GREENHOUSE GAS REDUCTION ELEMENT
4. M odify Figure 3-4 (Planned Transporta�on Network Improvements) to show two new roads, described below.
A. The extension of Bellevue Avenue from its current terminus at Taylor Mountain Elementary School eastward to connect with Petaluma Hill Road as a new major road.
B. The extension of a new minor road southward from the vicinity of the intersec�on of Petaluma Hill Road/Old Petaluma Hill Road to connect with the extension of Bellevue Avenue described in “A” above.
The requested modifica�ons are generally consistent with the planned roads shown in Figure 5-1 of the City’s current General Plan. In addi�on, iden�fica�on of these new roads in Figure 3-4 would align with and result in internal consistency with Ac�on 3-1.19 (p. 3-16) and the proposed Class II bike improvements shown in Figure 3-6 of the Dra� 2050 General Plan (p. 3-12, Exis�ng and Planned Bicycle Network). It is unclear why these new roads are not being carried over into the Dra� 2050 General Plan.
Inclusion of these new major roads in Figure 3-4 of the 2050 General Plan will provide a basis for investment of capital expenditures, inclusion of the roads in impact fee programs, and support for pursuit of grant funding opportuni�es.
2050 GENERAL PLAN EIR
5. Iden�fy the Todd Creek area as a specific annexa�on area in the 2050 General Plan EIR.
Iden�fica�on and inclusion of the Todd Creek area in the 2050 General Plan EIR and inclusion of related environmental analysis as required by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) will help inform and guide subsequent environmental analysis.
KMac Advising, LLC
Comments on Draft 2050 General Plan
September 26, 2023
Page | 4
Thank you again for your consideration of these issues. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me if you have any questions or would like to discuss these suggestions further.
Respectfully,
Ken MacNab
KMac Advising, LLC
[email protected]
cc: Maraskeshia Smith, City Manager
Attachment