Respect Roseland resistance
At least four organized groups of different Roseland residents are resisting Santa Rosa development plans being pushed through by the city Planning and Economic Development department staff at this time. Underlying the discontent which has been brewing in Roseland for many years is the city approach of “TINA.” “There is no alternative!” This tyrannical top-down approach by the city of Santa Rosa, and also the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors, has long rankled many Roseland residents.
What is raising the hackles of many folks in Roseland now is the fact the city is STILL following the mandates of the 30-year-old Southwest Area Plan (SWAP). Though many more people now live in the 1.2 square mile Roseland area the city, and the paid consultants leading many of the development plans for the city do not want to recognize there is real displeasure with the city plans. Many people feel the 5-year-old Roseland Specific Plan was just a renewal of the same old SWAP plan without making any real improvements for the residents living in Roseland now.
The city has been running roughshod over Roseland for so many years the staff does not seek out true authentic community engagement in the planning process for developments or public policy decision making. The traffic concerns accompanying the rapid population increase in Roseland is very bothersome to many residents.
Some have contacted Roseland Review with complaints and seeking information about how to perhaps have any influence in the city's top down decision making process and local politics. At this point in time all the advice the Roseland Review can give is to band together, and fight your fight all the way through the legal process. You can win, but you must stay resolute for Roseland.
Roseland Village Shopping Center has been under assault by Sonoma County officials working with Mid-Peninsula Housing Development Corporation seeking to build housing on taxpayer owned land at the Sebastopol Road end of West Ave. But because the government officials are seeking to invalidate an over 50-year-old contract between the original builders of the shopping center and the current owner's ancestors there is a legal fight going on in the Sonoma County court system.
John Paulsen is the owner of the smaller portion of 4 acres next to the 7 acres owned by us taxpayers. The bureaucrats at the Sonoma County Community Development Committee are seeking to overwhelm Paulsen by saying their priorities will override the previous signed contract by his father with local developer Hugh Codding, by forcing him to fight "them" in court. The court dates have been for June 18, 2021, with a possible continuance to June 21, 2021. Paulsen says he is resolute and will fight the county staff as long as he can.
This leads to the discussion of the other four groups working to oppose Santa Rosa city development projects who are watching the Roseland Village saga to prepare for the resistance to the city staff efforts. There is a group formed close to 2 years ago to fight the 1400 Burbank Ave. housing development project. Calling themselves Residents First Roseland, these residents have been in discussions with other Roseland residents on how to fight the city staff in what many see as a "rigged" system favoring the developers without fairly looking at the concerns brought up by residents.
The 1400 Burbank project was approved by the Santa Rosa Planning Commission over an appeal for denial by many local residents. When residents pointed out in city hearings the proponents of the project, and city staff, were falsifying information the Planning Commission shrugged off the dishonesty. The City Council then rubber stamped the approval for the development. This left many residents resentful.
The current city plans for a development project on Hearn Ave. known as Dutton Meadows has drawn organized opposition gearing up for the residents to fight the officials. Another project known as Stony Point Flats on Stony Pt. Road just north of Roseland Creek is also being fought by a group of local neighbors from both Trombetta St. as well as Burbank Ave. and Hearn Ave. residents. This complements a group effort starting up to go against a project planned for Old Stony Point Road at Hearn Ave. This one is still in the design stages technically, but the city has been fast tracking projects in Roseland under the designation of a "Priority Development Area" for the southwest area of the city to get funding from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) for more development in this area.
These three development projects are projects to add only a few hundred cars to the area but as anyone familiar with Roseland knows many more cars come with each new housing unit built. Just look at all of the Burbank Housing projects built in the area in the last decades with parking overflowing onto local streets all over the areas nearby. because of these negative effects from the rapid urbanization of the area many Roseland residents came together decades ago to try and save some areas of nature before the city destroys it all.
The Friends of Roseland Creek NeighborWood have worked for over 20 years to try and have the city help Roseland citizens have a better quality of life by saving nature such as is done for the wealthy neighborhoods on the east side of the city. But unfortunately many residents of the Burbank Ave. and Sunset Ave. neighborhoods feel the city is trying the cheat the Roseland area out of more parks and nature for our youth here now and into the future. Therefore local residents have fought the city every step of the way as the city staff seek to force their plans onto the residents no matter what. These local residents put up a good long fight, and they have stalled the city staff plans while waiting for the newly elected city council person Eddie Alvarez to get into the supportive mode for residents and voters with their desires for Roseland first. Now he has been in office for enough time to learn the process and "ropes" at City Hall he should "get into the game" on the side of the residents, first and foremost.
The developers already have the city on their side, so many Roseland people voted for Alvarez to try and get some kind of voice in the development process of disadvantaged, overburdened underserved Roseland. Time to step up and help the people of Roseland now, Councilman Alvarez.
