Attachment 5 - Public Comments 2024 Draft General Plan 2050 — Santa Rosa City Council, June 3, 2025

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A PPENDIX F

C OMMENTS L ETTERS ON THE

D RAFT G ENERAL P LAN
Attachment 5
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Woltering, Nancy
From:

Sent:

To:

Cc:

Subject:

Attachments:

Good afternoon,
Laurel Chambers < [email protected] >
Friday, November 1, 2024 3:22 PM
Waitering, Nancy; Jones, Jessica; Nicholson, Amy
[email protected]
[EXTERNAL] Sonoma County Food System Alliance GP Engagement Food Equity Santa Rosa General Plan - Meeting Summary.pdf; Sign-in Sheet_8.22.23.pdf; Santa Rosa General Plan Revision Tracker.xlsx
I am writing on behalf of the Sonoma County Food System Alliance (SCFSA) regarding the General Plan draft released last month. We were surprised and disappointed to see that the new draft of the Food Access and Urban Agriculture has been significantly pared back and the language weakened. We complied the attached comparison spreadsheet to show how the draft policies changed over time alongside the feedback our group provided.

Santa Rosa City planners attended multiple SCFSA meetings and gathered our thoughts and feedback leading up to the first draft of the General plan released last summer. They assured us that they had reviewed the SCFSA's Food Action Plan and would incorporate its goals. We provided feedback on the draft concepts and helped shape the goals and actions that ended up in the draft. We then spent considerable time, effort, and our own funding to co-host a community engagement event on August 22nd, 2023. It was a wonderful collaboration and the planners were very appreciative of the feedback and the excellent turnout. About 50 people attended the event and 36 signed in on the sign-in sheet, but the Community Discussions Summary says there were only 17 participants and the document does not reflect the report that the facilitator prepared (see attached Meeting Summary).

Can you please explain why our input was not accurately reflected in the Community Discussions Summary and why actions were removed or changed in the most recent draft? Sincerely,
Laurel Chambers, on behalf of the Sonoma County Food System Alliance Laurel Chambers, MPH
Healthy Eating, Active Living Coordinator
Public Health Division
Cell: 408-204-0973
[email protected]
..,, sOnoma county,
!DEPARTMENT OF HE'.ALTB SERVICES
1 COMMENT LETTER GP1
SYSTEM

ALLIANCE

SONOMA COUNTY
noma FORWARD
Plan Our Future Together
Food Equity in the Santa Rosa General Plan
Workshop
August 22, 2023 6:00 - 8:00 pm
Finley Community Center I Santa Rosa, CA
Overview
This document includes a summary of the Food Equity in the Santa Rosa General Plan Event. This event was a partnership between the Sonoma County Food System Alliance, the County of Sonoma Department of Health Services (OHS), and the City of Santa Rosa, with funding from the CalFresh Healthy Living program. Ag Innovations, a 501 c3 nonprofit based in Sonoma County facilitated the event. About 50 people participated in this workshop.

Acknowledgments
• Thank you to the City of Santa Rosa for partnering in the design of the workshop, and providing the meeting space, childcare, and for welcoming a community-led event. • Thank you to the Sonoma County Food System Alliance for volunteering time in providing input, convening this workshop. A special thank you to Laurel Chambers, OHS, for hosting; to Julia Van Soelen Kim, UC Cooperative Extension, and Laurel Chambers for presenting on behalf of the SC FSA, to Wendy Krupnick for providing local goodies during the event, Helen Myers for creating the outreach materials, and to the FSA Volunteers who hosted tables, studied the general plan, and supported the convening, including: Mimi Enright, Evan Wiig, Phina Borgeson, Christine Kuehn, and Suzi Grady. Special thanks to Jessyca Avalos from the Sonoma COAD who helped with translation and table hosting. • Thank you to OHS for providing funding to support facilitation by Ag Innovations, outreach support, and logistical support.

Ag Innovations Network J 708 Gravenstein Hwy N #10151 Sebastopol, CA 95472-2808 www.aginnovations.org Food Equity in the Santa Rosa General Plan Workshop I August 22, 2023 About the Workshop
·-
Objectives • Participants understand the food-system-related sections of the Santa Rosa General Plan • Santa Rosa residents as well as other Sonoma County residents interested in the Santa Rosa .· General Plan feel heard and have a sense that their interests have been accurately captured and can influence policy making
• Santa Rosa city planners are well informed about the kind of food system policies that local residents, and in particular the FSA, want to see in the General Plan • The SCFSA has a clear understanding of next steps for following up with Santa Rosa city planners, .. workshop participants, and others, in order to carry forward the input gathered ...

Attendees There were about 50 attendees (including organizers), including 8 who participated in a Spanish-speaking breakout group.

Speakers 1. Laurel Chambers, Sonoma County & Julia Van Soelen Kim, UCCE (Presentation can be found here in English and Spanish.)

2. Genevieve Taylor, Ag Innovations (Facilitator)

3. Beatriz Guerrero Auna, City of Santa Rosa (Presentation can be found here in English and Sps1oi~h.)
.

Meeting • Link to food policy draft:

Materials https;LLwww.srcit~,konv~io,~QmLgeneral-plao-wpdi;Jte-2050-draftftparm=182 • Link to Food Action Plan: bttps:LLsonomacofus,!6!'.Qrgpress.CQOJlfQQQ-i;Jction-plirnL Summary
The following summary was developed at the end of the event, as each breakout group reported out its top three themes.

Food Equity in the Santa Rosa General Plan Event Themes

1. Healthy Food in Schools: **Note, Top Theme** - this theme was present in five out of six breakout groups.
o Strengthen the ability of schools to source locally
• Food hubs facilitate institutional purchasing from multiple producers and we need more of them
■ Need more education inside and outside of schools that is appropriate to culture and language.
■ Some suggested that schools could be hubs for community gardens (not only school gardens).

Food Equity in the Santa Rosa General Plan Workshop I August 22, 2023 ■ Instead of restricting fast food by setting limits on how close together they can be, look at the density of fast food in neighborhoods-some neighborhoods have much higher density of fast food than others
■ It's not enough to mandate all small corner stores to sell healthy food, they have to do something to increase demand for that food so it doesn't go to waste and cost the store.
■ Support local food, such as tamales and local fruit.
o Support for edible landscaping, urban fruit trees, allowing people to grow food in as many places and ways as possible.
o Excited to see community gardens in general plan-but needs more support ■ Community gardens need a coordinator and resources to prevent them from falling into neglect.
• Community Healthworkers could be a resource for supporting community gardens. • Bayer Farm and Andy's Unity Garden are neighborhood hubs and important sources of healthy food, education and community-every neighborhood should have one ■ Allow/facilitate more community gardens in parks (example: Place to Play is huge and has space for a garden) And/or a farm.
o Food waste prevention-need repurposing kitchens to meet mandates in SB 1383 to reduce greenhouse gasses as a result of food waste.
o Support for food hubs, including distribution, aggregation, and processing, alongside support for micro businesses and home kitchens and small kitchens. Suggested food hub zoning. o City should come to the neighborhoods with services as much as possible-offer office space to Cal Fresh, other food assistance so it is easier for people to sign up for benefits

3. Consider the present and future of Farming. Climate change is happening now and we need to ensure access to water for farmers.

4. Recommendations for the Food System Alliance: A number of breakout groups gave advice directed specifically to the Sonoma County Food System Alliance, including: 1) The FSA should consider telling the FSA story more clearly and publicly, 2) Identify clear calls to action and ensure that the Food Action Plan is flexible in the face of a changing future, 3) supporting these Ideas by identifying funding, research and big policy ideas or initiatives, and supporting accountability for implementation of these policies, and 4) following up on supporting healthy food In schools through building a coalition where parents can get involved. Electeds, CDFA Rep would be interested, and potentially connect it to edible food recovery efforts in the county.

Food Equity in the Santa Rosa General Plan Workshop I August 22, 2023 Breakout Group Notes
The following are "raw notes" developed from each breakout group. There are very specific and actionable ideas throughout these notes, including specific feedback on policy points in the General Plan draft. The groups were asked to review a summary of the Food Action Plan and a two page draft of the relevant section of the General Plan.

Each group was given 45 minutes to discuss in groups of 6 the following questions: 1) What resonates about the Food Action Plan and the Food System Alliance input? 2) Based on your interests and concerns about the Sonoma County Food System, what questions do you have? 3) What are you excited to see in the General Plan? 4) What do you see missing from the General Plan? 5) Anything else you want to make sure the city planners consider as they finalize the General Plan?
Breakout Group 1
• Inform everyone of the intention of the food action plan • Basic needs are human needs. This is where all human problems are connected - eating unhealthy foods. The children are our future and they are being poisoned from unhealthy food. • The title of the plan was noteworthy for some
• Participants would like to listen to what the city has to offer and share with the community • One of the participants is a local farmer and would like to share his land. Create space for community gardens and community kitchens.
• Need to have incentives to allow local farmers and restaurant workers affordable housing • Love the pillar to limit fast food restaurants
• Add to the checklist to offer vegetarian foods
• Information for nutrition to the community with cooking classes that are accessible for everyone and are culturally sensitive
• Information needs to be in indigenous languages too
• Want support for the tamale cart not to be harassed by the police • We need better food in the schools
• Local gardens that are accessible to the community
• Educate the community on what vegetation is for each season • No chemicals / pesticides
• Fresh food (i.e. non-frozen) that is full of nutrition • Less burgers, less last, and less chemicals
• Need housing with space for vegetation and gardening - green space - to cultivate and enjoy • Community gardens - currently Land Paths have rented spaces however people have had these spaces for many years. Can they cycle and allow more people or purchase more land and make it more accessible?
• Focus on the school system lunches for a better future • City should allow the raising of livestock (goats, cows, pigs) • Educate the community about different times to grow different types of vegetables - need to be culturally accessible and to learn how to maintain the community garden areas • Education in nutrition for all!
• Streets with fruit trees, like in the Barlow
• lncentivize developer to add vegetation and landscaping that is edible • Inform the community on how to get proper food
• Offer licensing so that they are not harassed by the police Breakout Group 2
FSA Actions
Food Equity in the Santa F-?osa General Plan Workshop I August 22, 2023 • There should be a forum for parents to advocate for healthy school food / Revisit forum done for school food
Other comments
• Add community based organizations as partners
• Organic and regenerative is missing from the SRGP
• 6-6.5 - too weak. Can we get to the root of the problem? Why can't we have stronger language and mandates for healthy food?
• Can we direct City to start canvassing CBOS and other partners to work on food system issues, specifically 6-6.6
• Hubs for food to support school food and small growers • Hubs for social services - more neighborhood resource centers where people can apply for food assistance programs
• Promote gleaning and food recovery to residences and businesses Breakout Group 3
Food Action Plan (FAP)
• Pillars 3&4 relate to current work
• Social equity important - domino effects on health
• Pillars 1 and 2 important preference for SoCo products - what's cheap now has costs • Clear call to action important. How to reach those not involved? Find ways to reach people where they're at.

Questions
• What will it take for society to understand the importance of food and the food system? Pandemic-like
• Flavor can be transformational
• How to increase education at all levels. Outside of schools, neighborhood hubs. More avenues for education on food, nutrition, and health are needed. Community health workers - federal funding.

Excited to see in the GP
• Community gardens!
• Paid community health workers
• Restrictions on fast food - need carrots and sticks
• Community garden coordinators
• School gardens can be community hubs and community gardens • 6-6.2 - Collaboration - organizational.

Breakout Group 4
• Healthy food in schools
• Urban agriculture - fence restrictions make it hard to make gardens • Right to grow food
• Right to sell local produce grown at home - like setting up market booth in a driveway • Barrier to better school food
o Small kitchens
Food Equity in the Santa Rosa General Plan Workshop I August 22, 2023 o Short staffed
o Food safety
• Action 6-6.2: needs more than just requirements to stock fresh produce, or it will go to waste - they need support to sell it, show case it, promote it
• Action 6-6.8: instead of 300 ft requirement, it should be about overall neighborhood density of the fast food places
• Action 6-6.17: solid soil testing for homes and gardens too • Resources for coordination of community gardens to help them be maintained and prevented from falling into disrepair
• A method to ID vacant property for potential community gardens (addressed by 6-6.22?) • Action 6-6.2: need to assure that price points of grocery stores are varied, i.e. not just discount, not just high
• Need to keep regulations on growing/selling produce reasonable, but safe - not onerous with hoops to jump through
• lncentivize establishment of food hub and local farmers to aggregate, distribute food • Climate change impacts on farmers
• Anthropocen is shifting us away from ag - we see it happening today. We need more support for farming in the GP (water access, etc.) Prioritize water hierarchy for ag Breakout Group 5
Comments for Food System Alliance
• Connect the dots as in the Food Action Plan - reduce siloing • Access with education hand in hand with connecting the dots • Thanks to FSA for getting some of this language into the SRGP • Strengthening neighborhood connection with the local food system • How do we hold the City of Santa Rosa accountable in fulfilling the goals in the General Plan? • FSA can do more with school and parents
Group comments re: Santa Rosa General Plan
• Strengthen role of community-based organizations
• Missing language re: pesticide use and organics
• Strengthen language about people growing food in many different ways and places • Community gardens in "community parks" no just in "neighborhood parks" • Strengthen language regarding SR City, School District 6-6.5 • Review for policies that could strengthen the ability of school districts to source local food • Dedicate city space for one-stop shopping for food access help and other social services at the neighborhood level
Breakout Group 6
What resonates?
• Better definition needed on "healthy food"
• Urban ag in plan in a big way
e Community gardening is important and needs support
• Progressive but doesn't go far enough
• Language vague tp leave open for interpretation
• Creates "operating space"
• Understands healthy food access issues; affordable even better but how is it operationalized to make it affordable
• Affordability; accommodation for accessibility to fresh product; food deserts and fast food access
Food Equity in the Santa Rosa General Plan Workshop I August 22, 2023 • Income potential from sugar sweetened beverages tax? How to direct it to further GP goals? Stake it to health ... revenue from unhealthy food should go to healthy food Questions
• Precautionary principle planning considered? FAP is by nature utopian. How can it consider adverse future issues?
• Schools - with independence of schools how can we connect with the General Plan or to foster support in schools?
• How do we connect state and local government with school policy (GP 6-6.5). o Weave in state programs language
• Gentrification: how can GP ensure affordable housing in the face of current pressures Breakout Group 7
• Update zoning codes
• Save local dairy processing
• Culturally appropriate food options
• More support bringing healthy food / new initiatives to Equity Priority Areas (EPAs) • Daily farmers market at Mitote Food Park
• SB1383!
• Transportation to healthy food options, including community bikes with baskets to carry food • Save Manzana! (apple processing)
• Mobile food pantries
• Providing access to land for agriculture particularly for underrepresented farmers and to combat generational wealth
• Leveraging SRJC (Shone Farm) to introduce program for local meat processing or apprenticeship program with local butchers
• Any urban ag should support BIPOC folks with things like fast tracking permits and other incentives
• Healthy food in local school system - procuring from local sources • Centralized location to store food/ food recovery with freezers (physical spaces) • Work with SRJC culinary program (or other culinary programs) to prep healthy food for school system
o Include the Ceres Model of training students to cook with farm grown ingredients o Outreach to underrepresented communities, including things like 11 Providing childcare at meetings like this
■ Hosting meetings in EPAs
■ Increasing awareness of food assistance programs
Urban Ag Points
• Any policy should maximize "operating space" to allow actors to resolve issues of urban food production
• Society regulates activities we want to suppress and de-regulates those we want to encourage. Urban Ag ordinance should be largely an act of de-regulation. • Two myths that should be discussed:
o Food production creates residential nuisances
o Food production is an economic endeavor, i.e. it is not economically viable at the small-scale, and therefore not affordable.
o Urban Ag can survive primarily by acting within in the informal and domestic economy Food Equity in the Santa Rosa General Plan Workshop I August 22, 2023 • To meet household needs in EPAs, urban ag will need to include proteins and fats = animal husbandry
• Successful production and economic models can be found in history or nations that are monetarily poor or stressed
o Eastern Europe prior to 1990
o Balkans
o Southeast Asia
• Predicament: Good food is too expensive to buy. Food is too cheap to provide a livelihood to the farmer.
o Solution: shift production to the household and community garden level.

Miscellaneous Comments
Let's look at what's going right in other municipalities. • Santa Cruz - homeless garden projects
• Vermont - lntervale
• Detroit - farms and gardens within city limits
• Other??
• And can city employees call or write to the leaders of these projects to talk about how to implement or lay the foundations for implementation?
• And let's incentivize eerie high schooler getting out to SRJC's Shone Farm at least once before graduating
Tt1e following have interest in farm to school initiatives:
- Electeds
- CDFA Rep
- Edible food recovery
Registration--Food Equity Santa Rosa General Plan Event (Responses) Food Equity In the Santa Rosa General Plan Event 8/22/23 Amber Gonzales [email protected] ll'I
Anastacia Cruz [email protected] • t!_,
Andrea Pickett [email protected]
w
Blythe Young [email protected] •
Cathrine Wolf [email protected] t!_ 'r/
Cathryn Couch [email protected] t !(.Al
1-C_h_ri_st_in_a_D_a_v_ld ____ -+_D_av_id_c_n_11_1..;::@;,.;;g'-m_a_il._c_om ________ l--' .CC;a:1J,,.·;~ri.tiLJ·t;"' christlne Hoex [email protected] ~
David Wolterlng [email protected]
-- I
Dena Allen [email protected]
Diane Wheeler [email protected]
Elaine Walter [email protected]
Erica Llpanovlch [email protected]
Gabriela Hernandez [email protected]
Janeen Murray [email protected] ... " ...

Jasmine Hunt [email protected]
Jennie Schultz [email protected]
Jessica Rodriquez [email protected]
Jocelyn Mobley [email protected]
joey smith [email protected]
Karen Girard [email protected]
Kelly Conrad [email protected]
Kelly Smith [email protected]
-Kristen Sales [email protected]
Kyle LaRue [email protected]
.

Usa Ludwigsen [email protected]
Lori Houston [email protected]
Marisol Canchola [email protected]
Marlon Javier Montoya Mejia [email protected] MM
Morgan Meadows [email protected]
Morlna Sysouvanh [email protected]
Natasha Granoff [email protected]
Nichole Warwick [email protected]
Nicole Curreri [email protected]
Nohemf Palomino [email protected]
Paola Santos [email protected]
Rebekah [email protected]
Rocio Rodriguez rocio.rodriguezcasquete@sonoma•county.org fLL Shan Magnuson [email protected]
Steve Schwartz [email protected]
Wendy Kohatsu, MD [email protected]
Registration-~Food Equity Santa Rosa General Plan Event (Responses) L.-.-...... ___ _,__ ___ -.:;att,A;ftM.,.,_._t;,:;_~ • .--.,,1 "''t~fi>r~ccA-~ CK-.

Draft Concepts shared with SCFSA in Jan.
2023 (SCFSA additions in red}
Summer 2023 Draft
Food Access and Urban Agriculture
Access to fresh foods, whole grains, and other
unprocessed or minimally processed foods is
essential to people's health. In addition to
retail stores, Santa Rosa currently features five
active community gardens that help provide
healthy food options to community members.

Community gardens play a critical role in the
city, sometimes serving as the primary food
source when costs of and/or access to retail
stores are limiting factors.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture maps
census tracts where a significant number or
share of residents is more than a specified
distance from the nearest supermarket. Figure
6-3 shows the tracts in Santa Rosa where
residents are low income and a half mile or
more from the nearest supermarket. The City
designates such areas "Healthy Food Priority
SCFSA Feedback on 2023 draft, gathered
from event on 8[22123
Oct. 2024 Draft
Food Access and Urban
Agriculture
Access to fresh foods, whole grains, and other
unprocessed or minimally processed foods is
essential to people's health.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture maps
census
tracts where a significant number or share of
residents is more than a specified distance
from
the nearest supermarket. Figure 6-2 shows
the
tracts in Santa Rosa where residents are low
income and a half mile or more from the
nearest
supermarket, as identified by the U.S.

Department of Agriculture. The City
designates
such areas "Healthy Food Priority Areas" to
target efforts to meet the nutritional needs of
Healthy food retail establishments. Promote Policy 6-6.1: Attract and support a range of Polley 6-6.1: Attract and support a range of improved access to healthy food options healthy food retailers, prioritizing EPAs and fresh food retailers, particularly that sell/serve culturally-relevant foods in Healthy Food Priority Areas, so that all in Equity Priority Areas and areas with a high concentration of less residents live within one mile of a full- Healthy Food Priority Areas, so healthy options, such as fast food chains, service grocery store, fresh produce market, that ail residents have access to liquor stores, and convenience stores. or others offering fresh produce. healthy foods within one mile of Ensure retail food establishments accept where they live. federal food benefits including CalFresh and
WIC. Action 6-6.l: Partner with Sonoma County City should come to the neighborhoods with Action 6-6.l: Encourage convenience stores, Health and Human Services to encourage services as much as possible-uffer office liquor stores, and neighborhood stores in Santa Rosa to participate in the space to Cal Fresh, other food assistance so it is markets to carry fresh produce Federal Food Assistance Program. easier for people to sign up for benefits and participate in programs such as Cal Fresh, especially in Equity
Action 6-6.2: Require convenience stores, Priority Areas and Healthy Food supermarkets, liquor stores, and neighborhood Priority Areas. and ethnic markets to carry fresh produce,
especially in EPAs and Healthy Food Priority
Areas.

Proposed farmers market policy: Identify Action 6-6.3: Update the Zoning Code to allow Action 6-62: Consider an update to the Zoning locations near city center and/or housing hubs farmers markets in all nonresidential zoning Code to allow farmers' markets in for a permanent farmers market (similar to city districts by right with standards. all nonresidential zoning districts of Davis' Central Park Farmers Market) by right with standards and where they will not be located on the
same parcel as an existing grocery
store.

Action 6-6.4: Consult with the local hospitals,
ciinics, 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.

Healthy food options. Promote healthy food Action 6-6.5: Explore programs with the Santa Action 6-6.3: Support local programs that and beverage standards and procurement Rosa City School District, Sonoma County provide healthy foods in schools policies and practices in government buildings Public Health Division, community garden and other public institutions. and government-sponsored events. Include groups, and other advocates to provide healthy nutrition standards and local food preferences. foods in schools and other public institutions.

Promote access to culturally-relevant food.

Action 6-6.6: Distribute information and Action 6-6.4: Support the distribution of educate low-income families and people information about food assistance experiencing homelessness about food programs.
assistance proqrams
Policy 6-6.2: Encourage the establishment of How do we increase demand for and access Policy 6-6.2: Encourage the establishment of local restaurants and businesses that serve to local healthy food rather than cheap fast local restaurants and businesses that serve healthy food. food? Lets make sure healthy food is healthy food.

Action 6-6.7: Update the Zoning Code to available at a neighborhood by require conditional-use-permit review for any neighborhood scale. '""Note, Top Theme** - chain restaurant with more than five outlets in This theme was present in three of six the nine-countv Bav Area. breakout groups.

Action 6-6.8: Require at least 300 feet between . Instead of restricting fast food by setting any two fast-food chain operations. limits on how close together they can be, look at the densrt_,r of fast food in
Action 6-6.9: Seek resources to facilitate neighborhoods-some neighborhoods have establishment of "microenterprise home much higher density of fast food than others kitchen operations"-that is, restaurants Not enough to mandate all small corner operated out of a private residence-in EPAs, stores to sell healthy food, have to do as allowed bv Assemblv Bill 686. something to increase demand of that food so Action 6-6.10: Develop a program to provide Action 6-6.5: Consider streamlining permitting fast-track permitting for healthy food and it doesn't go to waste and cost the store. for full-service grocerY stores in grocerY stores in Healthy Food Priority Areas • Support local food, such as tamales and Healthy Food Priority Areas and and underserved areas, as well as areas local fruit. underserved areas, as well as identified for increased residential areas identified for increased development and mixed use. residential development and
mixed use.

GOAL X. Community Food Security & Urban Policy 6-6.3: Facilitate urban agriculture, Strong support for growing food in as many Policy 6-6.3: Facilitate urban agriculture, Agriculture. Maintain and facilitate the farming, gardening, and local food different ways as possible via urban ag. farming, gardening, and local development of new forms of urban production, especially in EPAs and Healthy -Note, Top Theme** - This theme was food production, especially in agriculture, urban farming, or urban Food Priority Areas. present in three of six breakout groups. Equity Priority Areas and gardening, and community food production Healthy Food Priority Areas. in Santa Rosa, including residential gardens, Consider the present and future of Farming. community and school gardens, urban Climate change is happening now and we farms, cooperatives, rooftop farms, or other need to ensure access to water for farmers. urban farming options that provide health,
social, environmental, and economic
benefits to residents, including access to
fresh vegetables and fruits, promoting
physical activity, activating and improving
green spaces, community building, creating
social connections, and providing nutritional
education, especially in food deserts and
equity priority communities.

Action 6-6.ll: Provide the necessarY resources Action 6-6.6: Support retention of the city's to retain the city's existing community existing community gardens and gardens. encourage development of new
communitv qardens.

Equitable access to safe food-growing Action 6-6.12: Support the creation of additional Excited to see community gardens in general Action 6-6.7: Support the creation of additional opportunities: Encourage the development of community gardens or other urban agriculture plan-but needs more support community gardens or other new urban agriculture sites in low income and opportunities, particularly in EPAs and Healthy •Community gardens need a coordinator and urban agriculture opportunities, underserved neighborhoods and coordinate Food Priority Areas. resources to prevent them from falling into particularly in Equity Priority Areas efforts with parks and open space neglect. and Healthy Food Priority Areas organizations. Combine programs on urban •Community Health Workers could be a agriculture with food production safety, food resource for supporting community gardens. literacy, and nutritional education. •Bayer Farm and Andy's Unity Garden are neighborhood hubs and important sources of
healthy food, education and
community-every neighborhood should have
one
·Allow/facilitate more community gardens in
parks (example: Place to Play is huge and has
space for a garden) And/or a farm.

Revise the Zoning Code to allow urban Action 6-6.13: Consider updating the Zoning Support for edible landscaping, urban fruit Action 6-6.8: Consider updating the Zoning agriculture, in its different forms, as permitted Code to allow all forms of urban agriculture by trees, allowing people to grow food in as many Code to allow urban agriculture uses in all zoning districts of Santa Rosa, right in all zoning districts where appropriate, places and ways as possible. where appropriate. inclusive of community food production (as including community, yard, rooftop, indoor, defined in AB 1990 and AB 234) and on-site and other gardens; community food sales. Revise Zoning Code to make community production (as defined by the State); and on- food production and urban agriculture an opt site exchanges and sales. out activity instead of opt in for all zones.

Develop Santa Rosa's Urban Agriculture Action 6-6.14: Develop an Urban Agriculture Action 6-6.9: Consider developing an Urban ordinance. This ordinance should include ordinance that includes strategies to increase Agriculture Ordinance that strategies to increase access to healthy food, access to healthy food-particularly in EPAs includes strategies to increase particularly in healthy food priority areas and and Healthy Food Priority Areas-and access to healthy food- equity priority communities; develop urban standards for operation and soil mitigation. particularly in Equity Priority Areas agriculture physical and operational standards; and Healthy Food Priority Areas- and mitigate soil hazards. and standards for operation and soil mitigation.

Offer incentives to developers to include a Action 6-6.15: Explore the feasibility of enacting Action 6-6.10: Explore the feasibility of small farm in the development in exchange for an Urban Agriculture Incentive Zone (per enacting allowing higher density housing units. Assembly Bill 551) to allow landowners to an Urban Agriculture Incentive receive tax incentives for putting land into Zone (per Government Code agricultural use. Section 51040) to allow
landowners to receive tax
incentives for putting land into
::::iririr-1 ilt"r rr-:::il 1 1c:i:::,.

POLICY X2 Partnerships for Urban Agriculture. Action 6-6.16: Partner with the County, Strengthen the ability of schools to source Action 6-6.ll: Evaluate ways to support urban Collaborate and partner with Sonoma County, nonprofits, school districts, neighborhood locally agriculture in schools, parks, non-profits, schools, neighborhood organizations, faith-based organizations, and •Some suggested that schools could be hubs hospitals, and other public land organizations, faith-based organizations, and others to identify and develop sites for urban for community gardens (not only school and spaces where appropriate advocates to identify and develop sites with agriculture potential, and support all urban gardens]. urban agriculture potential, especially in low agriculture types in schools, parks, hospitals, income and underserved neighborhoods. correction facilities, and other public land and Support urban agriculture in schools, parks, spaces suitable for urban agriculture hospitals, correction facilities, or other public development, inciuding public easements and land suitable for urban agriculture rights-of-way.
development, inciuding public easements and
rights-of-way, where appropriate, and not in
conflict with other uses, utility infrastructure, or
needs of property owners.

Evaluate contaminants that may be harmful to Action 6-6.17: Evaluate the potential presence Action 6-6.12: Encourage landowners to human health on land proposed for urban of contaminants that may be harmful to evaluate the potential presence of agriculture including site history assessments human health on land proposed for urban contaminants that may be and soil testing. Help provide financial agriculture, including by performing site harmful to human health on land resources for soil testing and remediation. history assessments and soil testing. proposed for urban agriculture, including by performing site
history assessments and soil
Toc:+inn
Action 6-6.18: Identify financial resources for Action 6-6.13: Identify financial resources for soil testing and remediation on identified sites soil
for urban agriculture. testing and remediation on
identified sites for urban
aoriculture
Proposed policy for food hubs: Direct staff to Action 6-6.19: Work with the County Strengthen the ability of schools to source partner with Ag and Open Space to establish Agricultural Preservation and Open Space locally food hubs throughout the city where residents District to establish food hubs throughout the Food hubs facilitate institutional can meet and exchange excess home-grown city where community members can meet and purchasing from multiple producers and we produce. This would help with food waste and exchange excess home-grown produce need more of them [this comment refers to recovery goals while increasing access to commercial food hubs, which is slightly healthy food and building community. different from the community food hubs in the draft policy]
oSupport for food hubs, including
distribution, aggregation, and processing,
alongside support for micro businesses and
home kitchens and small kitchens. Suggested
food hub zoning.

POLICY X.3 Community Education on Urban Action 6-6.20: Partner with the County Strengthen the ability of schools to source Action 6-6.14: Support partner agencies in Agriculture. Collaborate with Sonoma County Department of Health Services, local schools, locally providing education about the Department of Health Services, school districts and nonprofit organizations to provide Need more education inside and outside nutritional, social, economic, and in Santa Rosa, and non-profit organizations, education about the nutritional, social, of schools that is appropriate to culture and environmental benefits of urban particularly at schools, community centers, economic, and environmental benefits of language. farming and locally grown and farmers markets, and libraries, on efforts to urban farming and locally grown and ecologically sound foods; urban educate the community on the nutritional ecologically sound foods; urban agriculture oFood waste prevention-need repurposing agriculture opportunities; food health, social, economic, and environmental opportunities; food production safety; food kitchens to meet mandates in SB 1383 to production safety; food literacy; benefits of urban farming and consuming literacy; cooking; and food waste reduction. reduce greenhouse gasses as a result of food cooking; and food waste locally grown and ecologically sound foods. waste. reduction.

Collaborate with programs on food production
safety, food literacy, cooking, food waste
reduction and nutritional education.

Ensure the Neighborhood Food Act (AB 2561) is Action 6-6.21: In accordance with the recognized, removing barriers renters and Neighborhood Food Act (Assembly Bill 2561), members of homeowners' associations (HOAs) educate landowners, apartment complexes, face when trying to grow food for themselves and homeowners associations (HOA) about the at home. benefits of urban gardening and edible
Educate landowners including owners of landscaping, and work with them to remove apartment complexes and home-owners any barriers that renters and owners with an associations about the benefits of urban HOA face when trying to grow food for self- gardening and edible landscaping. consumption, exchange, or sale.

POLICY X.6 Urban agriculture on private Action 6-6.22: Establish incentives for private Ensuring BIPOC land access and ownership. Action 6-6.15: Encourage private property propertY. lncentivize private propertY owners property owners and developers to provide The group was very aware of the dynamics of owners and developers to provide to provide opportunities for residential opportunities for residential gardening and social equity and looked at the Food Action opportunities for residential gardening, urban agriculture, and cottage food urban agriculture, and similar opportunities to Plan goal of social equity from a number of gardening and urban agriculture, businesses on privately owned land including food producers who are emerging, have different angles. and similar opportunities to food leasing to new, beginning, limited resource, limited resources, and/or are people of color. producers who are emerging, and BIPOCfood producers. have limited resources, and/or are n0nnlo r,f r-nlnr
POLICYX.4 Urban Agriculture for Personal Action 6-6.23: Require public development Consumption. Allow urban agriculture projects to provide access to sustainable food opportunities such as yard, roof-top, indoor, for residents. and other gardens that produce ecologically
sound food and culturally appropriate food for
personal consumption. lncentivize developers
to incorporate gardens and edible landscaping
on new and existing residential, commercial,
and public development projects that produce
food for residents and workers.

POLICY X.5 Agricultural land protection.

Protect and enhance the agricultural land
base, including urban gardens and peri-urban
farms and ranches within Santa Rosa's sphere
of influence, that is not planned for
urbanization in the timeframe of the General
Plan. Partner with Community Land Trusts as a
means of increasing affordability of housing
and land for food production.

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.

Action 6-6.16: Work with the County to protect
the agricultural land base in the
Sphere of Influence, including
urban gardens, farms, and
ranches.

Woltering, Nancy
From:

Sent:

To:

Cc:

Subject:

Shan Magnuson <[email protected]>
Saturday, November 2, 2024 10:57 AM
Laurel Chambers
Waitering, Nancy; Jones, Jessica; Nicholson, Amy; [email protected] [EXTERNAL] Re: [SCFSA GG] Sonoma County Food System Alliance GP Engagement Thank you, Laurel for sending this letter. I agree with all your concerns and strongly encourage the new draft of the Santa Rosa General Plan to include the language originally proposed which included recommendations from the Sonoma County Food Action Plan.

I hope the efforts of the Sonoma County Food System Alliance and the results of the Aug 22, 2023 convening, which I attended, will be accurately reflected in the draft plan.

Thanks for your attention.

Sincerely,
Shan Magnuson
On Fri, Nov 1, 2024 at 3:21 PM 'Laurel Chambers' via Sonoma County Food System Alliance <[email protected]> wrote:

Good afternoon,
I am writing on behalf of the Sonoma County Food System Alliance (SCFSA) regarding the General Plan draft released last month. We were surprised and disappointed to see that the new draft of the Food Access and Urban Agriculture has been significantly pared back and the language weakened. We complied the attached comparison spreadsheet to show how the draft policies changed over time alongside the feedback our group provided.

Santa Rosa City planners attended multiple SC FSA meetings and gathered our thoughts and feedback leading up to the first draft of the General plan released last summer. They assured us that they had reviewed the SCFSA's Food Action Plan and would incorporate its goals. We provided feedback on the draft concepts and helped shape the goals and actions that ended up in the draft. We then spent considerable time, effort, and our own funding to co-host a community engagement event on August 22 nd, 2023. It was a wonderful collaboration and the planners were very appreciative of the feedback and the excellent turnout. About 50 people attended the event and 36 signed in on the sign-in sheet, but the Community Discussions Summary says there were only 17 participants and the document does not reflect the report that the facilitator prepared (see attached Meeting Summary).

Can you please explain why our input was not accurately reflected in the Community Discussions Summary and why actions were removed or changed in the most recent draft? 1 Sincerely,
Laurel Chambers, on behalf of the Sonoma County Food System Alliance Laurel Chambers, MPH
Healthy Eating, Active Living Coordinator
Public Health Division
Cell: 408-204-0973
[email protected]
noma
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2 From: Shan Magnuson
To: Laurel Chambers
Cc: Woltering, Nancy; Jones, Jessica; Nicholson, Amy; [email protected] Subject: [EXTERNAL] Re: [SCFSA GG] Sonoma County Food System Alliance GP Engagement Date: Saturday, November 2, 2024 10:57:17 AM
Attachments: image001.png
Thank you, Laurel for sending this letter. I agree with all your concerns and strongly encourage the new draft of the Santa Rosa General Plan to include the language originally proposed which included recommendations from the Sonoma County Food Action Plan.

I hope the efforts of the Sonoma County Food System Alliance and the results of the Aug 22 , 2023 convening, which I attended, will be accurately reflected in the draft plan.

Thanks for your attention.

Sincerely,
Shan Magnuson
On Fri, Nov 1, 2024 at 3:21 PM 'Laurel Chambers' via Sonoma County Food System Alliance <[email protected]> wrote:

Santa Rosa City planners attended multiple SCFSA meetings and gathered our thoughts and feedback leading up to the first draft of the General plan released last summer. They assured us that they had reviewed the SCFSA’s Food Action Plan and would incorporate its goals. We provided
feedback on the draft concepts and helped shape the goals and actions that ended up in the draft. We then spent considerable time, effort, and our own funding to co-host a community engagement event on August 22nd, 2023. It was a wonderful collaboration and the planners were very appreciative of the feedback and the excellent turnout. About 50 people attended the event and 36 signed in on the sign-in sheet, but the Community Discussions Summary says there were only 17 participants and the document does not reflect the report that the facilitator prepared (see attached Meeting Summary).

Can you please explain why our input was not accurately reflected in the Community Discussions Summary and why actions were removed or changed in the most recent draft?
Sincerely,
Laurel Chambers, on behalf of the Sonoma County Food System Alliance Laurel Chambers, MPH
Healthy Eating, Active Living Coordinator
Public Health Division
Cell: 408-204-0973
[email protected]
DHS LOGO Color
COMMENT LETTER GP2
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https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/SCFSA/PH0PR09MB8411B42D656127016F2CC8E1A4562%40PH0PR09MB8411.namprd09.prod.outlook.com .

Woltering, Nancy
From:

Sent:

To:

Ken MacNab <[email protected]>
Tuesday, November 5, 2024 12:08 PM
Waitering, Nancy
Cc: Jones, Jessica; Nicholson, Amy
Subject: Re: [EXTERNAL] Status of 2050 General Plan Update Thanks Nancy. I do have one over-arching question/ concern. In reviewing the updated Draft GP I did not see any mention or consideration of the South Santa Rosa Specific Plan process. I presume the same is true of the Draft EIR (I am just starting my review}. This is a little surprising given the scope/magnitude of the SSRSP planning effort. I am curious to know why this is and if there was any internal discussions about this during preparation of the updated draft.

Ken
Ken MacNab
KMac Advising
Sent from my mobile, please excuse typos
From: Waitering, Nancy <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, November 5, 2024 11:47:18 AM
To: Ken MacNab <[email protected]>
Cc: Jones, Jessica <[email protected]>; Nicholson, Amy <[email protected]> Subject: RE: [EXTERNAL] Status of 2050 General Plan Update Hi Ken,
We are in the process of discussing whether to include the letters, or just provide a quick summary of the comments received to date. I will clarify once we have settled on our process.

Thanks,
Nancy
From: Ken MacNab <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, November 5, 2024 10:44 AM
To: Waitering, Nancy <[email protected]>
Cc: Jones, Jessica <[email protected]>; Nicholson, Amy <[email protected]> Subject: RE: [EXTERNAL] Status of 2050 General Plan Update Thank you Nancy! Will submitted letters go out in the PC agenda packet? If yes, what is the deadline for submitting something to Amy?
Ken
Ken MacNab
KMac Advising, LLC
From: Waitering, Nancy <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, November 4, 2024 9:51 AM
1 COMMENT LETTER GP3
To: Ken MacNab <[email protected]>
Cc: Jones, Jessica <[email protected]>; Nicholson, Amy <[email protected]> Subject: RE: [EXTERNAL] Status of 2050 General Plan Update Hi Ken,
Please direct comments to Amy Nicholson, Supervising Planner. The General Plan 2050 Draft EIR will be going before the Planning Commission on November 14th • The focus of the meeting will be on the adequacy of the General Plan 2050 Draft EIR. If we receive comments on the General Plan, we will also forward them to Commissioners. Meetings on the General Plan 2050 and Final EIR will be in the Spring.

Thanks, Ken I
Best,
Nancy
Nancy Woltering, AICP CEP I Senior Planner - Advance Planning Planning & Economic Development I 100 Santa Rosa Avenue, Room 3 I Santa Rosa, CA 95404 Tel. (707) 543-4688 I Cell (707) 291-6197 I [email protected]

FORWARD
Pl•n Our fuM• TO!)lllhor
From: Ken MacNab <~kmacadvising.com>
Sent: Monday, November 4, 2024 9:45 AM
To: Waitering, Nancy <[email protected]>
Cc: Jones, Jessica <[email protected]>; Nicholson, Amy <[email protected]> Subject: RE: [EXTERNAL] Status of 2050 General Plan Update Hi Nancy-
Hope this message finds you well. We are reviewing the October update to the Draft 2050 General Plan document and will likely have some comments. I am writing to ask who our comments should be directed to. I also wanted to ask if a meeting on the updated Draft GP document has been scheduled before the PC.
'
Please let me know when you get a chance.

Thanks-
Ken
2 1
From: Altamirano, Gino <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, November 12, 2024 5:49 PM
To: Woltering, Nancy <[email protected]>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] RE: Projections for Jobs
Nancy, I am interested in the 300 sq. Ō. per employee for commercial (see below taken from the October 2024 DraŌ General Plan update) and if this projecƟon/standard will regulate the number of employees a commercial business/operator can have in a commercial area?
Thank you,
Gino
COMMENT LETTER GP4
2 From: Woltering, Nancy <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, November 12, 2024 5:38 PM
To: Altamirano, Gino <[email protected]>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Projections for Jobs
Hi Gino,
I received your phone message. The 2050 General Plan projecƟons for jobs are based on the square footage capacity* of diﬀerent uses mulƟplied by a jobs mulƟplier that is unique to each use. For example, the employee mulƟplier for new oﬃce space is 3.32 jobs per addiƟ onal 1,000 square feet. These mulƟpliers are from the SCTA model. *The jobs mulƟplier for hotels is based on the number of hotel rooms and for educaƟonal faciliƟes is based on the number of students. st
Does that answer your quesƟon? Please let me know if you have further quesƟons.

From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Comment from SRGP Website
Date: Wednesday, November 20, 2024 9:48:31 AM
Comment Submitted by:

Name: Robin North
Organization: None Given
Email: [email protected]
Comment:

Comment: What this plan seems to ignore or put on the back-burner is that urban tree cover is in a very bad state. The last attention paid to it seems to be in the '90's. The approved tree list is outdated. Any trees planted around this time are at the end of their life span and are not being replaced. In fact, the city's policy is to fill in the planting wells with more concrete. The language of this policy does not reflect the urgency of this situation. The language of the policy does not convey that the authors understand that to get people out walking our streets and neighborhoods instead of driving the streets need to be shaded.

See all comments.
https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?
url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.santarosaforward.com%2Fmail_forms%2Flisting&data=05% 7C02%7Cnwoltering%40srcity.org%7C5e2171b2c4d647da280608dd098b873c% 7C0d511985462e4402a0b038e1dadf689e%7C1%7C0%7C638677217106802247%7CUnknown %
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COMMENT LETTER GP5

Santa Rosa Planning Commission City Hall, 100 Santa Rosa Ave, Santa Rosa, CA, 95404 Via email: [email protected] Subject: Agenda Item 11.1 - Public Hearing - Santa Rosa General Plan 2050 Final EIR, General Plan

2050

and

Specific

Plan

Amendments
April 25, 2025 Dear Chair Weeks and Commissioners, Thank you for the planning department’s willingness to hear our input regarding food and agriculture

policy

Sonoma

County.

appreciate

the

planning

staff

for

reviewing

our

Food

Action

Plan

and

incorporating

our

goal

“increase

equitable

access

healthy,

affordable,

safe

and

culturally

appropriate

food

and

beverage

choices.”
As a reminder, we co-hosted a community workshop with the City of Santa Rosa on environmental

justice

and

food

access

for

the

general

plan

August

2023

with

over

50 attendees.

report

was

published

summarizing

the

findings

(see

attached).

Our comments here are regarding Farmers Markets and Community Gardens. Farmers Markets Action Item 6.6.2 “Consider an update to the Zoning Code to allow farmers’ markets in all nonresidential

zoning

districts

right

with

standards

and

where

they

will

not

located

the

same

parcel

existing

grocery

store.”

Suggested

revision:

"Allow

farmers’

markets

all

nonresidential

zoning

districts

right

with

standards."

The proposed language does not change the owner’s ability to control the actions on their land or

language

their

leases.

merely

affirms

the

benefits

farmers

markets

for

healthy

food

access

and

can

streamline

the

permitting

process

establish

farmers

market,

all

parties

are

aligned.

This most recent version of Action 6.6.2 appears to be an over-reach and precludes all potential collaborations

between

grocers

and

farmers

markets

into

the

future.

The

suggested

language

also fails to define a grocery store and may be in direct opposition to Goal 6.6, Policy 6-6.1, and Action

6-6.1.

Furthermore,

farmers

markets

provide

important

economic

impact

our

local

economy

and

support

access

healthy

food.

Community Gardens & Urban Agriculture Community gardens are crucial resources for combating food insecurity, increasing access to culturally

relevant

foods,

well

increasing

community

resilience

the

case

natural

disasters,

particularly

equity

priority

areas.

our

stated

goal

support

existing

community

gardens

and

encourage

the

establishing

new

gardens,

especially

city

owned

properties.

Our

network

includes

potential

partners

who

are

available

help.

We feel strongly that the City of Santa Rosa should affirm its support of community gardens by “providing

necessary

resources

retain

existing

community

gardens

and

create

new

ones”

order

ensure

these

valuable

community

assets

flourish.

We are grateful to see the inclusion of active language regarding the development of an urban ag

ordinance.

would

welcome

the

opportunity

lend

our

support

and

expertise

this

endeavor.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the Sonoma County Food System Alliance membership, Phina Borgeson Interfaith Sustainable Food Collaborative Suzi Grady Petaluma Bounty Wendy Krupnick Chiatri de Laguna Farm Food Equity in the Santa Rosa General Plan
Workshop
August 22, 2023 6:00 - 8:00 pm
Finley Community Center | Santa Rosa, CA
Overview
This document includes a summary of the Food Equity in the Santa Rosa General Plan Event. This event was a partnership between the Sonoma County Food System Alliance, the County of Sonoma Department of Health Services (DHS), and the City of Santa Rosa, with funding from the CalFresh Healthy Living program. Ag Innovations, a 501c3 nonprofit based in Sonoma County facilitated the event. About 50 people participated in this workshop.

Acknowledgments
● Thank you to the City of Santa Rosa for partnering in the design of the workshop, and providing the meeting space, childcare, and for welcoming a community-led event. ● Thank you to the Sonoma County Food System Alliance for volunteering time in providing input, convening this workshop. A special thank you to Laurel Chambers, DHS, for hosting; to Julia Van Soelen Kim, UC Cooperative Extension, and Laurel Chambers for presenting on behalf of the SCFSA, to Wendy Krupnick for providing local goodies during the event, Helen Myers for creating the outreach materials, and to the FSA Volunteers who hosted tables, studied the general plan, and supported the convening, including: Mimi Enright, Evan Wiig, Phina Borgeson, Christine Kuehn, and Suzi Grady. Special thanks to Jessyca Avalos from the Sonoma COAD who helped with translation and table hosting. ● Thank you to DHS for providing funding to support facilitation by Ag Innovations, outreach support, and logistical support.

Ag Innovations Network | 708 Gravenstein Hwy N #1015| Sebastopol, CA 95472-2808 www.aginnovations.org

Food Equity in the Santa Rosa General Plan Workshop | August 22, 2023 About the Workshop
Objectives ● Participants understand the food-system-related sections of the Santa Rosa General Plan ● Santa Rosa residents as well as other Sonoma County residents interested in the Santa Rosa General Plan feel heard and have a sense that their interests have been accurately captured and can influence policy making
● Santa Rosa city planners are well informed about the kind of food system policies that local residents, and in particular the FSA, want to see in the General Plan ● The SCFSA has a clear understanding of next steps for following up with Santa Rosa city planners, workshop participants, and others, in order to carry forward the input gathered Attendees There were about 50 attendees (including organizers), including 8 who participated in a Spanish-speaking breakout group.

Speakers 1. Laurel Chambers, Sonoma County & Julia Van Soelen Kim, UCCE (Presentation can be found here in English and Spanish .)

2. Genevieve Taylor, Ag Innovations (Facilitator)

3. Beatriz Guerrero Auna, City of Santa Rosa (Presentation can be found here in English and Spanish .)
Meeting
Materials
● Link to food policy draft:
https://www.srcity.konveio.com/general-plan-update-2050-draft#page=182 ● Link to Food Action Plan: https://sonomacofsa.wordpress.com/food-action-plan/ Summary
The following summary was developed at the end of the event, as each breakout group reported out its top three themes.

Food Equity in the Santa Rosa General Plan Event Themes

1. Healthy Food in Schools: **Note, Top Theme** - this theme was present in five out of six breakout groups.
o Strengthen the ability of schools to source locally
▪ Food hubs facilitate institutional purchasing from multiple producers and we need more of them
▪ Need more education inside and outside of schools that is appropriate to culture and language.
▪ Some suggested that schools could be hubs for community gardens (not only school gardens).

2. Healthy Food Access
o Strong support for growing food in as many different ways as possible via urban ag. **Note, Top Theme** - This theme was present in three of six breakout groups. o Ensuring BIPOC land access and ownership. The group was very aware of the dynamics of social equity and looked at the Food Action Plan goal of social equity from a number of different angles.
o How do we increase demand for and access to local healthy food rather than cheap fast food? Lets make sure healthy food is available at a neighborhood by neighborhood scale. **Note, Top Theme** - This theme was present in three of six breakout groups. 2 Food Equity in the Santa Rosa General Plan Workshop | August 22, 2023 ▪ Instead of restricting fast food by setting limits on how close together they can be, look at the density of fast food in neighborhoods—some neighborhoods have much higher density of fast food than others
▪ It's not enough to mandate all small corner stores to sell healthy food, they have to do something to increase demand for that food so it doesn’t go to waste and cost the store.
▪ Support local food, such as tamales and local fruit. o Support for edible landscaping, urban fruit trees, allowing people to grow food in as many places and ways as possible.
o Excited to see community gardens in general plan—but needs more support ▪ Community gardens need a coordinator and resources to prevent them from falling into neglect.
▪ Community Healthworkers could be a resource for supporting community gardens. ▪ Bayer Farm and Andy’s Unity Garden are neighborhood hubs and important sources of healthy food, education and community—every neighborhood should have one ▪ Allow/facilitate more community gardens in parks (example: Place to Play is huge and has space for a garden) And/or a farm.
o Food waste prevention—need repurposing kitchens to meet mandates in SB 1383 to reduce greenhouse gasses as a result of food waste.
o Support for food hubs, including distribution, aggregation, and processing, alongside support for micro businesses and home kitchens and small kitchens. Suggested food hub zoning. o City should come to the neighborhoods with services as much as possible—offer office space to CalFresh, other food assistance so it is easier for people to sign up for benefits

3. Consider the present and future of Farming. Climate change is happening now and we need to ensure access to water for farmers.

4. Recommendations for the Food System Alliance: A number of breakout groups gave advice directed specifically to the Sonoma County Food System Alliance, including: 1) The FSA should consider telling the FSA story more clearly and publicly, 2) Identify clear calls to action and ensure that the Food Action Plan is flexible in the face of a changing future, 3) supporting these ideas by identifying funding, research and big policy ideas or initiatives, and supporting accountability for implementation of these policies, and 4) following up on supporting healthy food in schools through building a coalition where parents can get involved. Electeds, CDFA Rep would be interested, and potentially connect it to edible food recovery efforts in the county.

Next Steps
1) Send the summary as a comment to the City of Santa Rosa General Plan, in order to support their EJ Element in the General Plan
2) Please comment online here:
https://www.srcity.konveio.com/general-plan-update-2050-draft#page=182 3) Start Healthy School Food Coalition meetings
4) Get involved in the FSA - please contact us here ! 5) Food System Alliance will review and reflect on what was learned and let it influence the future and present of the Food System Alliance.
3 Food Equity in the Santa Rosa General Plan Workshop | August 22, 2023 Breakout Group Notes
The following are “raw notes” developed from each breakout group. There are very specific and actionable ideas throughout these notes, including specific feedback on policy points in the General Plan draft. The groups were asked to review a summary of the Food Action Plan and a two page draft of the relevant section of the General Plan.

Each group was given 45 minutes to discuss in groups of 6 the following questions: 1) What resonates about the Food Action Plan and the Food System Alliance input? 2) Based on your interests and concerns about the Sonoma County Food System, what questions do you have? 3) What are you excited to see in the General Plan? 4) What do you see missing from the General Plan? 5) Anything else you want to make sure the city planners consider as they finalize the General Plan?
Breakout Group 1
● Inform everyone of the intention of the food action plan ● Basic needs are human needs. This is where all human problems are connected - eating unhealthy foods. The children are our future and they are being poisoned from unhealthy food. ● The title of the plan was noteworthy for some
● Participants would like to listen to what the city has to offer and share with the community ● One of the participants is a local farmer and would like to share his land. Create space for community gardens and community kitchens.
● Need to have incentives to allow local farmers and restaurant workers affordable housing ● Love the pillar to limit fast food restaurants
● Add to the checklist to offer vegetarian foods
● Information for nutrition to the community with cooking classes that are accessible for everyone and are culturally sensitive
● Information needs to be in indigenous languages too
● Want support for the tamale cart not to be harassed by the police ● We need better food in the schools
● Local gardens that are accessible to the community
● Educate the community on what vegetation is for each season ● No chemicals / pesticides
● Fresh food (i.e. non-frozen) that is full of nutrition ● Less burgers, less last, and less chemicals
● Need housing with space for vegetation and gardening - green space - to cultivate and enjoy ● Community gardens - currently Land Paths have rented spaces however people have had these spaces for many years. Can they cycle and allow more people or purchase more land and make it more accessible?
● Focus on the school system lunches for a better future ● City should allow the raising of livestock (goats, cows, pigs) ● Educate the community about different times to grow different types of vegetables - need to be culturally accessible and to learn how to maintain the community garden areas ● Education in nutrition for all!
● Streets with fruit trees, like in the Barlow
● Incentivize developer to add vegetation and landscaping that is edible ● Inform the community on how to get proper food
● Offer licensing so that they are not harassed by the police 4 Food Equity in the Santa Rosa General Plan Workshop | August 22, 2023 Breakout Group 2
FSA Actions
● There should be a forum for parents to advocate for healthy school food / Revisit forum done for school food
Other comments
● Add community based organizations as partners
● Organic and regenerative is missing from the SRGP
● 6-6.5 - too weak. Can we get to the root of the problem? Why can’t we have stronger language and mandates for healthy food?
● Can we direct City to start canvassing CBOS and other partners to work on food system issues, specifically 6-6.6
● Hubs for food to support school food and small growers ● Hubs for social services - more neighborhood resource centers where people can apply for food assistance programs
● Promote gleaning and food recovery to residences and businesses Breakout Group 3
Food Action Plan (FAP)
● Pillars 3&4 relate to current work
● Social equity important - domino effects on health
● Pillars 1 and 2 important preference for SoCo products - what’s cheap now has costs ● Clear call to action important. How to reach those not involved? Find ways to reach people where they’re at.

Questions
● What will it take for society to understand the importance of food and the food system? Pandemic-like
● Flavor can be transformational
● How to increase education at all levels. Outside of schools, neighborhood hubs. More avenues for education on food, nutrition, and health are needed. Community health workers - federal funding.

Excited to see in the GP
● Community gardens!
● Paid community health workers
● Restrictions on fast food - need carrots and sticks
● Community garden coordinators
● School gardens can be community hubs and community gardens ● 6-6.2 - Collaboration - organizational.

Breakout Group 4
● Healthy food in schools
● Urban agriculture - fence restrictions make it hard to make gardens ● Right to grow food
● Right to sell local produce grown at home - like setting up market booth in a driveway ● Barrier to better school food
○ Small kitchens
5 Food Equity in the Santa Rosa General Plan Workshop | August 22, 2023 ○ Short staffed
○ Food safety
● Action 6-6.2: needs more than just requirements to stock fresh produce, or it will go to waste - they need support to sell it, show case it, promote it
● Action 6-6.8: instead of 300 ft requirement, it should be about overall neighborhood density of the fast food places
● Action 6-6.17: solid soil testing for homes and gardens too ● Resources for coordination of community gardens to help them be maintained and prevented from falling into disrepair
● A method to ID vacant property for potential community gardens (addressed by 6-6.22?) ● Action 6-6.2: need to assure that price points of grocery stores are varied, i.e. not just discount, not just high
● Need to keep regulations on growing/selling produce reasonable, but safe - not onerous with hoops to jump through
● Incentivize establishment of food hub and local farmers to aggregate, distribute food ● Climate change impacts on farmers
● Anthropocen is shifting us away from ag - we see it happening today. We need more support for farming in the GP (water access, etc.) Prioritize water hierarchy for ag Breakout Group 5
Comments for Food System Alliance
● Connect the dots as in the Food Action Plan - reduce siloing ● Access with education hand in hand with connecting the dots ● Thanks to FSA for getting some of this language into the SRGP ● Strengthening neighborhood connection with the local food system ● How do we hold the City of Santa Rosa accountable in fulfilling the goals in the General Plan? ● FSA can do more with school and parents
Group comments re: Santa Rosa General Plan
● Strengthen role of community-based organizations
● Missing language re: pesticide use and organics
● Strengthen language about people growing food in many different ways and places ● Community gardens in “community parks” no just in “neighborhood parks” ● Strengthen language regarding SR City, School District 6-6.5 ● Review for policies that could strengthen the ability of school districts to source local food ● Dedicate city space for one-stop shopping for food access help and other social services at the neighborhood level
Breakout Group 6
What resonates?
● Better definition needed on “healthy food”
● Urban ag in plan in a big way
● Community gardening is important and needs support
● Progressive but doesn’t go far enough
● Language vague to leave open for interpretation
● Creates “operating space”
● Understands healthy food access issues; affordable even better but how is it operationalized to make it affordable
● Affordability; accommodation for accessibility to fresh product; food deserts and fast food access
6 Food Equity in the Santa Rosa General Plan Workshop | August 22, 2023 ● Income potential from sugar sweetened beverages tax? How to direct it to further GP goals? Stake it to health…revenue from unhealthy food should go to healthy food Questions
● Precautionary principle planning considered? FAP is by nature utopian. How can it consider adverse future issues?
● Schools - with independence of schools how can we connect with the General Plan or to foster support in schools?
● How do we connect state and local government with school policy (GP 6-6.5). ○ Weave in state programs language
● Gentrification: how can GP ensure affordable housing in the face of current pressures Breakout Group 7
● Update zoning codes
● Save local dairy processing
● Culturally appropriate food options
● More support bringing healthy food / new initiatives to Equity Priority Areas (EPAs) ● Daily farmers market at Mitote Food Park
● SB1383!
● Transportation to healthy food options, including community bikes with baskets to carry food ● Save Manzana! (apple processing)
● Mobile food pantries
● Providing access to land for agriculture particularly for underrepresented farmers and to combat generational wealth
● Leveraging SRJC (Shone Farm) to introduce program for local meat processing or apprenticeship program with local butchers
● Any urban ag should support BIPOC folks with things like fast tracking permits and other incentives
● Healthy food in local school system - procuring from local sources ● Centralized location to store food / food recovery with freezers (physical spaces) ● Work with SRJC culinary program (or other culinary programs) to prep healthy food for school system
○ Include the Ceres Model of training students to cook with farm grown ingredients ○ Outreach to underrepresented communities, including things like ■ Providing childcare at meetings like this
■ Hosting meetings in EPAs
■ Increasing awareness of food assistance programs
Urban Ag Points
● Any policy should maximize “operating space” to allow actors to resolve issues of urban food production
● Society regulates activities we want to suppress and de-regulates those we want to encourage. Urban Ag ordinance should be largely an act of de-regulation. ● Two myths that should be discussed:
○ Food production creates residential nuisances
○ Food production is an economic endeavor, i.e. it is not economically viable at the small-scale, and therefore not affordable.
● Urban Ag can survive primarily by acting within in the informal and domestic economy 7 Food Equity in the Santa Rosa General Plan Workshop | August 22, 2023 ● To meet household needs in EPAs, urban ag will need to include proteins and fats = animal husbandry
● Successful production and economic models can be found in history or nations that are monetarily poor or stressed
○ Eastern Europe prior to 1990
○ Balkans
○ Southeast Asia
● Predicament: Good food is too expensive to buy. Food is too cheap to provide a livelihood to the farmer.
○ Solution: shift production to the household and community garden level.

Miscellaneous Comments
Let’s look at what’s going right in other municipalities. ● Santa Cruz - homeless garden projects
● Vermont - Intervale
● Detroit - farms and gardens within city limits
● Other??
● And can city employees call or write to the leaders of these projects to talk about how to implement or lay the foundations for implementation?
● And let’s incentivize eerie high schooler getting out to SRJC’s Shone Farm at least once before graduating
The following have interest in farm to school initiatives:
- Electeds
- CDFA Rep
- Edible food recovery
8 Agricultural Community Events Farmers' Markets PO Box 113, Kenwood, CA 95452 415-999-5635 * [email protected] * www.ilovefarmersmarket.org Santa Rosa Planning Commission City Hall, 100 Santa Rosa Ave, Santa Rosa, CA, 95404 Via email: [email protected] Subject: Agenda Item 11.1 - Public Hearing - Santa Rosa General Plan 2050 Final EIR, General Plan

2050

and

Specific

Plan

Amendments
April 24, 2025 Dear Chair Weeks and Commissioners, We begin by expressing our thanks for the planning department’s willingness to hear our input regarding

food

and

agriculture

policy

Sonoma

County.

appreciate

the

planning

staff

for

reviewing

our

Food

Action

Plan

and

incorporating

our

goal

“increase

equitable

access

healthy,

affordable,

safe

and

culturally

appropriate

food

and

beverage

choices.”
Our comments here are regarding farmers' Markets and Community Gardens. Farmers' Markets Action Item 6.6.2 “Consider an update to the Zoning Code to allow farmers' markets in all nonresidential

zoning

districts

right

with

standards

and

where

they

will

not

located

the

same

parcel

existing

grocery

store.”

Suggested

revision:

"Allow

farmers'

markets

all

nonresidential

zoning

districts

right

with

standards."

The proposed language does not change the owner’s ability to control the actions on their land or

language

their

leases.

merely

affirms

the

benefits

farmers'

markets

for

healthy

food

access

and

can

streamline

the

permitting

process

establish

farmers'

market,

all

parties

are

aligned.

This most recent version of Action 6.6.2 appears to be an over-reach and precludes all potential collaborations

between

grocers

and

farmers'

markets

into

the

future.

The

suggested

language

also

fails

define

grocery

store

and

may

direct

opposition

Goal

6.6,

Policy

6-6.1,

and

Action

6-6.1.

Furthermore,

farmers'

markets

provide

important

economic

impact

our

local

economy.

Data

from

our

organization,

Agricultural

Community

Events

farmers'

Market

(ACEFM),

which operates the farmers' market located in the parking lot Farmers Lane Plaza indicates this farmers’

market

brings

~1,500

customers

per

market

day.

These

customers

state

that

they

spend

average

$60.17

with

market

vendors

and

average

$86.43

additional

money

neighboring

businesses

(ACEFM,

Farm2Facts,

University

Wisconsin

Madison,

2025).

Thank you for your consideration. Respectfully,
Kelly Smith Executive Director Agricultural Community EventsFarmers’ Markets

1 Nicholson, Amy
From: Sher Ennis <[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, April 18, 2025 9:13 AM
To: Woltering, Nancy
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Fw: Comment/recommendation on General Plan 2050 Hello,

I didn't get your address right when I sent this the first time, so I'm trying again!

Thanks,
~Sher

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Sher Ennis <[email protected]>
To: [email protected] <[email protected]>; [email protected] <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, April 18, 2025 at 08:59:00 AM PDT
Subject: Comment/recommendation on General Plan 2050

Hello,

I recommend the General Plan 2050 document be revised to clarify that the Cultural Heritage Board is defunct and their duties are now under the purview of The Design Review and Preservation Board.

Thank you,
~Sher Ennis
~Resident of the West End Historic District
The General Plan should be revised to clarify that the duties of the Cultural Heritage Board are now under the purview of the Design Review Preservation Board

• Page 4-10, under the bullet points discussing Historic Resources: With Cultural Heritage Board guidance, the City has prepared inventories to document historic buildings and neighborhoods. The resulting Cultural Heritage Survey, prepared by Architectural Historian Ann Bloomﬁeld, is not just a list but also a narrative and pictorial summary of the city’s past that documents the architectural style of each building and historic features by neighborhood. The Cultural Heritage Board has designated especially signiﬁcant buildings and sites that have a speciﬁc historic, archaeological, cultural, or architectural value as Landmarks, and key historic neighborhoods as Preservation Districts. The district’s designation officially recognizes these places as key components of the city’s heritage.

Preservation Districts are shown in Figure 4-3. Santa Rosa has 21 Landmarks and 8 designated historic Preservation Districts, which are Burbank Gardens, Cherry Street, McDonald, Olive Park, Railroad Square, Ridgway, St. Rose, and West End. In February 2025, the Cultural Heritage Board and the Design Review Board were combined into a new board, the Design Review Preservation Board, charged with reviewing both Design Review and Landmark Alteration Agreement Permit applications.

How will the City ensure adequate water supply availability to the new developments included in GP 2050?

During average and even below average rainfall years, the City has more than adequate water supply to meet the growing needs of our urban community. Careful planning, policy, and programmatic efforts have been essential to Santa Rosa’s long range water supply management over the past three decades.

Since the 1990s, the City has been an early adopter of standards and building codes to ensure new development is more water efficient. Over the years, the City has progressively instituted stricter requirements for plumbing fixtures (faucets, showerheads, toilets), appliances, and landscapes.

Development in Santa Rosa today must achieve much higher efficiency standards than in the past. In addition, new development must also include “Low Impact Development” features for capturing stormwater so that it soaks into the ground instead of running off the site. More information is available here: https://srcity.org/1255/Low-Impact-Development
.

The City also offers free water use efficiency assistance and a wide range of rebates and incentives to help existing water customers use water wisely. For example, the City has supported the replacement of over 56,000 toilets with ultra-low-flow and high-efficiency toilets and conversion of over 4.3 million square feet of high-water use turf grass to low water use landscaping. The City’s Water Use Efficiency programs begin in 1991 and have been consistently funded and staffed since that time (in wet years and dry).

City standards for new development and water use efficiency programs for existing sites have achieved significant sustained reductions in water use. From 1990 to 2024, total water consumption citywide decreased 14% despite a 53% increase in population, and per capita water use declined 50% citywide and in the residential sector.

If the City were to experience a Stage 5 (30% shortage) or worse water emergency, new development would be required to offset its water demand to achieve a net zero impact. Santa Rosa City Council adopted the Water Demand Offset (WDO) Policy on March 29, 2022. This will allow development to continue in Santa Rosa during severe water shortage Stages 5-8 (30% or greater shortage) provided development offsets its water demand to achieve a net zero impact. More information about the demand offset program can be found at www.srcity.org/WaterDemandOffset .

If you’re interested in existing water plans, the City prepares an updated long-range (25-year) water supply plan every five years. The City’s most current plan is the 2020 Urban Water Management Plan (UWMP). The 2020 UWMP details the City's water needs and water supplies out to 2045 for normal and dry year scenarios. The analysis includes population growth projections and new development, additional housing, increased density, and climate change assumptions. The Urban Water Management Plan is available online here: www.srcity.org/uwmp
.

Additionally, for the developments included in the General Plan 2050, a Water Supply Assessment (WSA) was completed in July 2023. A WSA evaluates the water needs of the development and confirm s that sufficient water supplies are available to meet the projected demand s at buildout of the General Plan 2050, given potential future drought and climate change impacts. The WSA concludes that the City’s existing and projected water supplies are sufficient to meet the projected water demand associated with the General Plan 2050, in addition to current uses, for the 20 -year projection, with implementation of demand management measures in dry years as needed . To view the full document please visit:
https://www.santarosaforward.com/WSA
.

How will the City provide infrastructure of new roads to support the traffic? General Plan 2050
Chapter 3.0 of the General Plan notes that the Plan combines land uses changes and transportation improvements to work to achieve reductions in vehicle miles traveled (VMT) by people using private automobiles. Figure 3 -3 shows the major circulation network improvements in the General Plan 2050 that together, with its policies and actions, support more walking, wheeling, and transit use as well as the comfort and safety of all modes of travel.

Some relevant General Plan 2050 actions include:

Action 3-1.1: For all projects with the potential to increase VMT based on the City’s VMT screening criteria, the City shall require a qualified transportation engineer to prepare an analysis of projected VMT and mitigation consistent with the City’s VMT guidelines, as subsequently revised, supplemented or replaced.

Action 3 -1.2: Work with SCTA and other local and regional partners to explore developing a VMT mitigation bank alternative for eligible projects to fund VMT reduction efforts.

Action 3-2.6: Ensure that major arterials have active transportation infrastructure that accommodates all road users and does not present a barrier to regional travel for any mode.

Action 3 -4.1: Require all traffic studies for development projects that may have an impact on the circulation system and use traffic study findings to define improvements that would also support active and public transportation.

All new developments proposed within the City must include some level of traffic analysis. Projects expected to generate more than 50 new vehicle trips per day are required to submit a Traffic Operational Analysis report. This report evaluates the potential impacts of the proposed development on nearby roadways and intersections within the designated impact area.

By identifying these impacts and recommending appropriate mitigation measures, the City can assess and plan for the safety, performance, maintenance, and capacity of the current and future roadway system.

During the review process, the City's traffic engineering staff examine the anticipated effects on the transportation network and require that any identified impacts be addressed as a condition of project approval.

General Plan 2050 Draft EIR
Section 4.15 of the Draft Environmental Impact report (p. 4.15-30) notes that the proposed project would increase arterial lane miles in Santa Rosa by 17.3 miles. The changes in Arterial Lane Miles associated with the General Plan 2050 are identified in Table 4.15-3 below:

(https://www.santarosaforward.com/files/managed/Document/973/4.15_Transportation.pdf)

The City of Santa Rosa - Bulletin Detail Report
Subject: City of Santa Rosa General Plan Update / Actualización del Plan General de la Ciudad de Santa Rosa
Sent: 04/14/2025 04:53 PM PDT
Sent By: [email protected]
Sent T o: Subscribers of General Plan Update
432
Recipients
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3 98%
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432 T otal Sent
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Santa Rosa City CouncilJune 3, 2025

Santa Rosa City Council
June 3, 2025