Roseland Review by Duane Dewitt - March 2019
Law enforcement is something many Roseland residents want according to surveys recently done by the Community Action Partnership (CAP) in Roseland. The non-governmental organization worked with grant funding to find some of the issues local residents are concerned with now the city has annexed Roseland as of Nov. 2017.
There is also a hope “The Santa Rosa Police Department will engage the Roseland neighborhood to increase collaboration, communication, and outreach opportunities in conjunction with Roseland CBI to increase reporting and decrease criminal activity in the Roseland neighborhood.” Many people are concerned about the appearance of the Roseland Village Shopping Center which looks as if homeless people are constantly there now. The perception of many in the immediate neighborhoods along West Ave. and Sebastopol Rd. is there is an increase in theft and vandalism occurring against local property owners and residents. Speaking on condition of anonymity one long time Roseland resident told Roseland Review “Things are not better since the city and county decided to tear down our grocery store and Bowling Alley.” They went on to emphasize, “They are making a Ghetto out of this place!”
While some city and county employees meet regularly with Vince Harper through another group called the Southwest Area Health Action Chapter many local residents are not aware of those meetings. They are held on an occasional morning at the CAP headquarters building off of Stony Pt. Rd. to the northwest of Roseland. Making meetings is very difficult for many members of the community. One of the hardships is knowing when and where to attend to let your voice be heard. Often it seems like trying to hit a moving target as has been the case with the Roseland Village Neighborhood Center for three times recently. County taxpayers financed the purchase of 7.41 acres of the 11 acre shopping center many years ago. The Sonoma County Community Development Commission (CDC) maintains “control” of the land while negotiations with the MidPen Housing Corporation are underway for a sale. OnJan. 28, Feb. 14 and again on Thurs. Feb. 28, 2019 at, or after 4 pm the Santa Rosa Planning Commission has scheduled public hearings to discuss a proposed subdivision of the site into five lots.
MidPen is requesting a tentative map and a Conditional Use Permit to develop “a mixed use project including 100 market-rate housing units, 75 affordable housing units, a 25,000 square foot civic building, a 5,000 square foot market place, and a 1-acre public plaza.” To comment you can contact Andy Gustavson, Senior Planner for the city at(707) 543-3236. Email agustavson@srcity.org. There are concerns in the public about how the original plan for the 1 acre of green space for a plaza has been shifted to less than half the size. Hardscape is planned for the other half acre. Also, it appears the county is going to ignore the previous traffic and parking easement in place and steamroll over the rights of the other Roseland Village property owner Mr. John Poulsen. Research shows the issue(s) of responsible parties for the toxic contamination on site once the ground is disturbed may not have been fully addressed yet by MidPen and Sonoma County officials.
Roseland residents are already reeling from the increases in traffic causing long lines on Sebastopol Rd. throughout the day. Without the community being aware even more traffic will be coming into Roseland as more housing is being built daily in Roseland. Besides the hundreds of hundreds of housing units already in production in north Roseland along Sebastopol Rd. there are also hundreds of units being planned just south of Roseland in the Bellevue School District. The same day Roseland Village tries for a subdivision at the SR Planning Commission, there will be an effort to subdivide 18.4 acres off of Hearn Ave. into 130 “single-family lots” with an additional “Eighty-one, one-bedroom, Accessory Dwelling Units…each including a one-vehicle carport.” It would appear over 210 more cars will be traveling on Roseland roads as well as the 175 more up to the north. The roads won’t be improved, and traffic will be worsening so it would be helpful to speak out if you are able to do so.
Remember Earth Day in the Roseland Neighborhood on Saturday April 20 at 10 am. Rain or Shine! Good Fun!
