Roseland Review by Duane Dewitt - December 2017

Over 20 people from Roseland helped on the

Over 70 people of all ages were at Bayer Farm first in the morning for a quick Pancake Breakfast and warm up exercises before spreading out into Roseland. Some people worked on repainting murals on walls and fences in the Sunset Ave. area near McMinn Ave. and Roseland School. Others worked at the Bayer Farm itself and also along West Ave. near Sheppard Elementary School. Afterwards there was a community Barbeque with plenty of food for everyone who helped, plus their family and friends. It was one of the larger Make a Difference Day efforts in Roseland going back to the late 1990s into the turn of the century when Roseland residents first organized to protect the Roseland Neighbor Wood from destruction.

At the Roseland School campus, backing onto Sunset Ave., there has been a larger project to put in new curbs, gutters, and sidewalks after some modular buildings were moved there from Sheppard School to be the Apples and Bananas Pre-School. With the new construction there had been a discussion to take out the Redwood trees lining the school yard along Sunset Ave. As a result of Roseland School Board discussions only some trees were taken out to allow for new driveways to be put into place for the million dollar project. There will be a driveway into and out of the new area for the Pre-School. This has taken out a lot of the play space for the children in the now tightly cramped Roseland Elementary School grounds.

Back on Saturday September 16, 2017 at 10:00 am in the Roseland Library there had been a meeting of the Santa Rosa Recreation and Parks Department planning staff to talk with Roseland residents about the fate of the Roseland Neighbor Wood. At the time of the meetings there were a number of people there in favor of keeping the area as a Nature Preserve, though city staff want a dog park there. Also the staff want to take out the proposed Pomo Indian Interpretive Village first proposed by local community residents over a decade ago. This did not sit well with some members of the local Sonoma County Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) who attended the meeting.

The group also held a recruiting event the same day, but in the evening, at the Roseland Library. It was called “Remedies for Roseland” and featured a meal donated by Art Ibleto, the Pasta King as well as entertainment sponsored by the Sonoma County Gazette. There they talked of how “the Roseland Community” should have an opportunity to plan for parks and name parks for the people in the community who have helped Roseland in the past. Petitions were passed around for gathering signatures to support naming the new park to be built at Paseo Vista in honor of Joe and Ray Lazinni who lived nearby for over 50 years. Also there is a petition to name a park in honor of Platt Williams one of the founders of the local NAACP chapter and longtime Roseland resident and community activist before the turn of the century.

Pomo Park is another name people are seeking to have put on to the Pomo Interpretive Village at 1400 Burbank Ave. on Roseland Creek because it is easier to remember and say to your kids. Now with the entire Roseland neighborhood fully in the city limits of Santa Rosa there may be a chance to influence some of these decisions. Local residents are urged to contact the city Recreation and Parks Department as well as other departments you may have questions for.

Here is a website about the completed annexation: srcity.org/371/Roseland-Area-Annexation. Also there is an ongoing effort about the final plan for Roseland Creek Bikeway and Greenway which local residents can try to be better informed about. Currently the director of the Recreation and Parks Department position is unfilled soRoseland Review will find more news from the city about this which you can use to participate in the ongoing meetings.

Please also share news we can use by website or emails.