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Roseland Review by Duane DeWitt - July 2017

August 2, 2017 at 2 pm the “Roseland Annexation” by the city of Santa Rosa will be the topic of a public hearing at the Sonoma County Local Agency Formation Committee. The meeting will be held in theSonoma County Board of Supervisors Chambers at575 Administration Drive, in Room 100 A, Santa Rosa, CA 95403. This is a Wednesday. If you want to speak up be there.

In next month’s column there will be more news you can use for concerns regarding annexation.

With the nice dry, hot weather finally back, many various construction projects are now underway again in Roseland. Starting with road work the city of Santa Rosa has begun to limit traffic on Stony Pt. Rd. in a manner which could leave unsuspecting drivers stuck in traffic on hot days so be very wary. The city has warned,“Beginning June 19, motorists and residents will experience additional traffic control during work hours and will also be required for some activities. Motorists should expect traffic delays in this vicinity.” Stony Point Rd. paving activity may disrupt driving patterns for Roseland drivers along the Stony Point widening and reconstruction project in west Roseland. According to the city, “Short-term shifts will be required for some activities and, for longer periods, the southbound lane(s) on Stony Point Road will be closed and traffic will be moved to the northbound lanes with one lane open in each direction. Alternative routes along Hwy 12 and Hwy 101 are strongly advised.”This will last for months so be forewarned.

On Tuesday June 13, 2017 the Santa Rosa City Council also went forward on the “Roseland Street Overlay” project and approved, “Spending in the amount of $2,373,476.40 to the lowest responsible bidder, Ghilotti Construction Company, Inc. of Santa Rosa, CA.” This will be to repair many Roseland streets in need of immediate repair, including Sunset Ave. in the city right behind Roseland School. By an unusual circumstance theRoseland School District is also involved in a project there to place a “pre-school” on site right at Sunset Ave. Construction there is taking out a number of the trees planted in the past on the north side of Sunset Ave. on school property to place a new driveway into the property for the school. This will lead to the modular buildings the school will be placing at the site. Because of this, the school may give the city an “easement” for the rebuild of the sidewalk in a manner better for American with Disabilities Act access and community use.

At the Wednesday June 21, 2017 meeting of the Roseland School Board they discussed the new plans for the Roseland Accelerated Middle School to be built at Roseland Creek Elementary School on Burbank Ave. Currently the RAMS, as it is called, is located in modular buildings at Sheppard Elementary School on West Ave. Discussions by the school board now are focusing on not putting the brand new school building on the small amount of green space at the school. An idea in consideration is to build the new school to the south of the existing elementary school. Traffic considerations and whether an environmental impact report will be needed are topics of discussion in the local community especially along Burbank Ave. Though the road is considered a Scenic Road by the city of Santa Rosa the school district does not have to abide by city rules.

Sonoma County Community Development Commission has been working with some local community members to begin the process of community engagement for the recently formed Roseland Brownfields Advisory Committee. This group of people will help the county officials in the interactions between local property owners and regulating agencies for redevelopment of long underutilized pieces of property in Roseland. But the committee has hardly any Roseland residents at this time. It has been stated by county officials they will “outreach” to more people.

Perhaps the county will put up an additional link to aRoseland Brownfields Project webpage on theSonoma County Community Development Commission website? This is an over one year old project at the CDC which needs better public engagement to actually achieve some of the goals the local government officials told the US Environmental Protection Agency were to be pursued in order to win $392,000.00.

Authentic community engagement has never been much of an element to the actions of the five different local government agencies mentioned here. Because new 5th District County Supervisor Lynda Hopkins has stated she wants more accountability, community engagement, and transparency in local government this may be the time for change?

Roseland Review and the Sonoma County Gazette have offered to hold a Roseland “Dinner and Dance” for local residents to have some fun. We are trying for August depending on availability of the band and the Roseland Community Center. More news you can use to follow next month.

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