Agenda Item #16.2
For Council Meeting of: November 18, 2025
CITY OF SANTA ROSA
CITY COUNCIL
TO: MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
FROM: GABE OSBURN, DIRECTOR OF PLANNING AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT SUBJECT: ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA ROSA PREZONING THE PROPERTY LOCATED AT 2299 BRUSH CREEK ROAD TO THE RURAL RESIDENTIAL (RR-20) ZONING DISTRICT, ASSESSOR’S PARCEL NUMBER 182-030-031 – FILE NUMBER ANX24-001 AGENDA ACTION: ORDINANCE INTRODUCTION
RECOMMENDATION
The Planning Commission and Planning and Economic Development Department recommend that the Council introduce an ordinance to prezone the property located at 2299 Brush Creek Road to the RR-20 (Rural Residential) zoning district, consistent with the Very Low Density Residential General Plan land use designation. This item has no impact on current fiscal year budget.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The applicant proposes to prezone the parcel located at 2299 Brush Creek Road for annexation. The purpose of the annexation is to connect to City sewer and water services for the future construction of an accessory dwelling unit. The parcel is currently developed with a single-family dwelling. The parcel is proposed to be rezoned to the RR-20 (Rural Residential) zoning district, consistent with the General Plan land use designation of very low-density residential.
GOAL
This item relates to Council Goal #2 - Invest in the Development and Maintenance of the City's Infrastructure as the future annexation is intended to connect the existing parcel to the City's sewer and water systems.
BACKGROUND/PRIOR COUNCIL REVIEW
The project involves a prezoning application, which is the initial step toward annexation. Once prezoned, LAFCO will evaluate the annexation of the parcel, which borders properties within the City limits. The goal of the annexation is to secure City utilities to support the future development of an accessory dwelling unit.
Surrounding Land Uses
North: Rural Residential (County)
South: Single-Family Residential
East: Single-Family Residential
West: Rural Residential (County)
The subject parcel is located on the corner of Heimbucher Way and Brush Creek Road. It is bounded by County rural residential uses to the north and east and abuts residential properties within the City to the south.
Existing Land Use – Project Site
The project site is currently developed with a 3,784 square-foot single-family residence.
Project History
June 24, 2024
Application Submitted
July 25, 2025
Notice of Planning Commission Public Hearing Distributed August 14, 2025
Planning Commission approved a resolution recommending that the Council introduce an ordinance to adopt a rezoning ordinance for the project.
ANALYSIS
Santa Rosa General Plan
The General Plan land use designation for 2299 Brush Creek Road is Very Low Density Residential, which allows a density range from 0.2 to 2 units per acre and is primarily intended for single-family detached uses.
The project was submitted prior to the adoption of the General Plan 2050, and, as such, was originally analyzed under the prior General Plan 2035. The following General Plan 2035 policy is applicable to this project:
LAND USE AND LIVABILITY
LUL-A-2 Annex unincorporated land adjacent to city limits and within the Urban Growth Boundary, when the proposal is timely and only if adequate services are available. Ensure that lands proposed for annexation provide a rational expansion and are contiguous to existing urban development.
Additionally, the project implements the following actions from the General Plan 2050, which was adopted by the City Council on June 3, 2025:
LAND USE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Action 2-1.7 Allow annexations or City utility connections only if they do not adversely impact the City’s viability, environmental resources, infrastructure and services, and quality of life.
Action 2-1.8 Work with LAFCO to require all proposed annexations within a county island to prepare a sentiment survey of all property owners in the island to determine the feasibility of annexing the full county island.
Staff analysis: The property proposed for prezoning is adjacent to City limits and within the Urban Growth Boundary. Adequate water and sewer service are available in the area, and the annexation will not have any adverse impacts on the City. Additionally, a sentiment survey was done by the Sonoma County Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO); no other property owners within the county island expressed interest in joining the annexation.
Zoning
The Zoning Code implements the goals and policies of the General Plan by classifying and regulating the use of land and structure development within the City. The proposed zoning for the site is RR-20 (Rural Residential). The RR zoning district is applied to areas of the City intended to accommodate residential neighborhoods with compatible agricultural uses, but where the primary uses are residential, and compatible accessory uses. The RR zoning district implements and is consistent with the Very Low-Density Residential land use designation of the General Plan.
Public Comments
Staff has received an inquiry regarding the proposed prezoning, about why only one parcel of the county island is proposed for prezoning and annexation. As discussed in the General Plan section above, LAFCO conducted a sentiment survey to determine whether owners of other properties within the county island are interested in prezoning for annexation. The survey found that there was no interest in adding other properties to the Annexation prezoning, therefore, only the subject parcel is included in the prezoning request.
Public Improvements
No improvements are required with the annexation/prezoning of the subject property.
FISCAL IMPACT
Approval of this action does not have a fiscal impact on the General Fund.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
The recommended action is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15183 because the proposed prezoning is consistent with the General Plan. The Very Low-Density Residential designation was reviewed as part of the Santa Rosa General Plan 2050 Environmental Impact Report (EIR), certified by City Council Resolution No. 2025-090, dated June 3, 2025, and the proposed prezoning to the RR-20 (Rural Residential) zoning district is consistent with the Very Low-Density land use designation. There are no impacts peculiar to the site that were not already analyzed in the EIR or would require additional analysis.
The recommended action is also exempt from CEQA pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15319(a) & (b) because the project is an annexation of existing private structures developed to the density allowed under the proposed prezoning classification, and the extension of utility services to the existing facilities would have a capacity to serve the existing facilities. None of the exceptions to the exemption under CEQA Guidelines Section 15300.2 apply because the proposed prezoning would not have a cumulative impact with successive projects; there are no unusual circumstances that would cause the project to have a significant environmental effect; the project will not result in damage to scenic or historical resources; and the project site is not a hazardous waste site.
BOARD/COMMISSION/COMMITTEE REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATIONS
On August 14, 2025, the Planning Commission approved a recommendation to Council to approve this action.
NOTIFICATION
The project was noticed as a public hearing per the requirements of Chapter 20-66 of the City Code. Notification of this public hearing was provided by posting an on-site sign, publishing notice in a newspaper of general circulation, mailed notice to surrounding property owners and occupants, electronic notice to parties that had expressed interest in projects taking place in this geographic area of Santa Rosa, and bulletin board postings at City Hall and on the City website. Pursuant to Government Code Section 65091, where necessary, the City has incorporated notice procedures to the blind, aged, and disabled communities. These procedures include audio amplifier/assistive listening device support at public meetings, closed captioning, and optical character recognition conversion of electronic notices.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment 1 - Disclosure Form
Attachment 2 - Location Map
Attachment 3 - Neighborhood Context Map
Attachment 4 - Annexation Map
Attachment 5 - Assessor's Parcel Map
Attachment 6 - Public Comments
Attachment 7 - Planning Commission Resolution, August 14, 2025 Ordinance
PRESENTER(S)
Sachnoor Bisla, City Planner
(707) 543-3223
[email protected]
PREZONING OF PARCEL LOCATED AT 2299 BRUSH CREEK ROAD TO SUPPORT FUTURE ANNEXATION AND SEWER AND WATER CONNECTIONS PAGE 3 OF 3