Last week, I
wrote that the number of public meetings with urbanist overtones seemed to be
increasing as Labor Day approached. I
may have reached that conclusion too soon, with next week coming up nearly
dry. But perhaps fifth weeks of months are
always deficient on meetings that are scheduled on a monthly basis. And there are still a couple of meetings by which
to get involved, along with some longer term opportunities on the horizon.
Meetings this Week
Cotati
Design Review Committee, Monday, August 29, 4:30pm, Cotati City Hall, 201
West Sierra Avenue – With much of the surrounding land already occupied by
medium-density single family homes and industrial land uses, Cotati will have little
opportunity for transit-oriented development around the its new station on SMART
rail line. The Cotati Station Lofts and
Apartments, about 1,000 feet away, will be the only TOD, at least in the near
term. (My first foray into home
ownership, four decades ago, was a condo about 2,000 feet from a BART station. I rarely used my car from Monday through
Friday, so 1,000 feet isn’t far at all.)
Much of the
project is already constructed, but some details are still being finalized, including
consideration at this week’s Cotati Design Review Committee meeting. The agenda is sketchy on details, but it might be
interesting meeting for some to attend.
Windsor
City Council and Planning Commission, Thursday, September 1, 6:00pm,
Windsor Civic Center Council Chambers, 9291 Old Redwood Highway, Building 400 –
As I first noted last week, the Windsor City Council and Planning Commission are
conducting joint sessions to continue their consideration of the draft 2040 General
Plan. This week, they’ll focus on the transportation
and mobility elements. In the one
meeting I attended, I found the discussion high-level and engaging, so
encourage others to partake.
Meetings in the Weeks and Months to Follow
Petaluma
City Council, Monday, September 12, 7:00pm, Petaluma City Hall, 111 English
Street – The Petaluma Planning Commission recently rejected the site design for
the proposed Marina Apartments on Lakeville Highway east of Highway 101. The reasons cited were concerns over building
massing and architecture, but disappointments were also expressed about the
recent Council decision to relieve the applicant of a requirement to build a
segment of multi-use path.
The
applicant appealed the Planning Commission rejection. The appeal will be heard by the City Council
on September 12. Although the primary
focus will be the design of the building, it’s likely that the multi-use path
will also be a subject of public comment.
Legally, the City Council could re-impose the multi-use path condition,
although it’s unlikely barring a public outcry in support of the path.
Petaluma
City Council, Monday, September 19, 7:00pm, Petaluma City Hall, 111 English
Street – Petaluma staff will return to the Council for approval to submit a
grant application for street improvements.
To best conform to the standards of the granting agency, staff initially
proposed a road diet for Petaluma Boulevard South. The Council, in asking that the item be
removed from the Council agenda back in June, asked staff to look at other
possible street projects as possible subjects for the grant application.
The Petaluma
Boulevard South road diet reportedly remains the preferred project for City
staff, setting up a potentially interesting discussion when the matter returns
to the Council agenda.
I’ve been
working with a group of citizens who are passionate supporters of the Petaluma
Boulevard South road diet and have been working toward ensuring that the road
diet returns to the Council with a strong public endorsement. If you wish to help with the effort, please
email me. There is a role for additional
helping hands.
Joe
Minicozzi Digs into the Municipal Finances of Urbanism, Week of September 26
(note date change), Multiple locations - Many readers attended three evening of
talks by Chuck Marohn of StrongTowns and Joe Minicozzi of Urban3 this past
January in Santa Rosa. The two spoke
about the theory of why suburbia often fails and the data that supports the
theory. Plans are being firmed up for a
return visit by Minicozzi about a month from now.
Meetings
will be held in Santa Rosa and Windsor, with the possibility of a further meeting
elsewhere in Sonoma County. Details will
be noted here as soon as available.
I encourage
everyone to block out as much time as possible for Monday, September 26 through
Wednesday, September 28, both to listen to Minicozzi and to build relationships
with other North Bay urbanists.
Rail~Volution,
October 10-12, Hyatt Regency, San Francisco – The leading conference on the use
of rail for community building is coming to San Francisco this fall. The coming role of SMART in the North Bay
will surely be discussed, as will the increasing density around BART stations.
Lots of
opportunities to get involved. Please
grab at least one and hopefully more.
When I next
write, I won’t write. Instead, I’ll turn
this space over to an urban planner trained in bicycle transportation who will
write about road diets and bicycles. I
had the same expectation a week ago, but I’ve been assured that it’ll work out this
time.
As always,
your questions or comments will be appreciated.
Please comment below or email me.
And thanks for reading. - Dave Alden (davealden53@comcast.net)
The bicycles piece sounds exciting!
ReplyDeleteSo are the opportunities for the public to help forward urbanist measures in Sonoma County municipalities. Have you previously published the most compelling arguments to present and/or reckon with for those who may wish to prepare public comment?