Taking the Next Step - Opportunities to Get Involved during the Week of July 10

We may not yet be in the doldrums of summer, but they seem to be getting closer.  There is only a handful of interesting meetings next week and those are more about information than urbanist advocacy.  But information remains power, so I hope to see familiar faces as I gather information.

Meetings this Week

Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit, Monday,  July 11, 9:00am, Santa Rosa City Hall, 100 Santa Rosa Ave, Santa Rosa – SMART staff will introduce the proposals received for transit-oriented development (TOD) on the SMART-owned parcels adjoining the downtown Santa Rosa station.

My concern remains that opening day SMART ridership will be less than it should have been because SMART TOD hasn’t progressed quickly enough to create a ridership base.  But it took BART nearly forty years before TOD took hold, so at least SMART is beating that mark.

Petaluma Planning Commission, Tuesday, July 12, 7:00pm, Petaluma City Hall, 11 English Street, Petaluma - The Planning Commission will consider the site plan and architecture of the proposed Marina Apartments on Lakeville Highway, a short distance east of Highway 101.  While not an urban project, with few services within walkable distance, the apartments are well-located for train riders willing to take a short hop on Petaluma Transit to the downtown Petaluma SMART station.

Through a complicated story that needn’t be repeated here but involved a few thwacks to the head, I became invested in a possible handicap ramp between the apartments and the nearby bus stop.  I’m pleased to see it included as #37 in the proposed conditions of approval.

This is also the project that became controversial when the City Council removed a proposed bike path requirement from an earlier approval.  I don’t believe in imposing all possible exactions on proposed land developments, but did support retaining the bike path condition.  The issue may again be raised during this hearing.

Petaluma Urban Chat, Wednesday, July 13, 7:00pm, Aqus Café, 2nd and H Streets, Petaluma – Urban Chat will discuss the proposed Petaluma Boulevard South road diet and other local walkable urban opportunities.  We’ll also establish a schedule of discussion topics for future meetings.  As always, everyone with an interest in the future of Petaluma is welcome.

Meetings in the Weeks and Months to Follow

Sonoma County Board of Supervisors, Tuesday, July 19, 8:30am, Board of Supervisors' Chambers, 575 Administration Drive, Santa Rosa – The Supervisors will take up proposed revisions to the Sonoma County community separators, lands that are limited to less intensive uses to retain agricultural and open space between communities.  Community separators and urbanism are two sides of the same coin, with the separators pushing development toward urban areas and urbanism being the study of how to accommodate that development.

I participated in a meeting earlier this week with one of the supervisors.  The summary is that the supervisors are broadly supportive of the proposed revisions, although details about the duration of the protections and the possibilities of exemptions are still being ironed out.

The Greenbelt Alliance continues to push hard for citizen support.

Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit Board, Wednesday, July 20, 1:30pm, 5401 Old Redwood Highway, Petaluma – The agenda for the SMART Board meeting won’t be announced for another week, but with the testing of the full schedule looming closer, to be closely followed by revenue service, the agenda is likely to include items of urbanist interest.

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 increased density occurring around BART stations.

Other Opportunities to Get Involved

Petaluma Boulevard South – Bikeable/walkable revisions to Petaluma Boulevard South recently flickered onto and off of the Petaluma City Council agenda.  A group of citizens was energized by the flicker and is organizing to ensure that the subject of calming Petaluma Boulevard South returns to the City Council with enough votes to approve it.

If you’re interested in advocating for improvements to Petaluma Boulevard South that will make the boulevard friendlier for non-motorists while also creating better connectivity across the boulevard, let me know.  I’ll put you in touch with the group, in which I’m participating.

Digging Deeper into Urbanism - Many readers attended three evening of talks by Chuck Marohn of StrongTowns and Joe Minicozzi of Urban3 last January in Santa Rosa.  They spoke about the theory of why suburbia often fails and the data that supports the theory.  Initial conversations are underway for a return visit by Marohn and Minicozzi to the North Bay later this year, a visit that is tentatively expected to include time in Petaluma and other Sonoma County communities.

Petaluma was well-represented at the January meetings, but it was largely urbanists who were already familiar with the work of Marohn and Minicozzi.  If we organize properly, having the two of them visit Petaluma can educate others, including those who hold positions from which they can make a difference.  Having the visit during the election season can make the event additionally pivotal.

I’ll need folks to assist with organizational and fund-raising efforts.  Please let me know if you’re willing to lend a hand.

Lots of opportunities to get involved.  Please grab at least one and hopefully more.

When I next publish, it will be to return to CNU 24 for more highlights.

As always, your questions or comments will be appreciated.  Please comment below or email me.  And thanks for reading. - Dave Alden (davealden53@comcast.net)

Taking the Next Step - Opportunities to Get Involved during the Week of July 3

Pedestrian bridge toward
downtown Petaluma

Next week will be a short week, but concludes on a high note with another opportunity to hear Chuck Marohn in the Bay Area.  A pedestrian/bicycle meeting in Petaluma also offers chances for meaningful discussion, with many urbanist-related topics on its agenda.  As always, it’s a great time to add your voice to the urbanist conversation.

Meetings this Week

Petaluma Pedestrian/Bicycle Advisory Committee, Wednesday, July 6, 6:00pm, Petaluma City Hall, 11 English Street, Petaluma – The meeting agenda includes review of a residential project adjoining the proposed location for the Corona Road SMART station, the SMART bike parking study, a possible bike-share program, and a Caltrans bike/ped plan.  Additionally, although not noted on the agenda, the City Engineer has reportedly agreed to provide update on the Pacifica transit-oriented development project and the possible Petaluma Boulevard South road diet.

Novato Design Review Commission, Wednesday, July 6, 7:30pm, Novato City Hall, 901 Sherman Avenue, Novato – A public workshop will be conducted on a proposed hotel at the corner of Redwood Boulevard and Wood Hollow Drive.  The site is far from downtown, but is only a thousand marginally walkable feet from the Atherton SMART station, giving it a faint tinge of possible urbanism.

Recession Generation Conference, Saturday July 9, 10:00am, Omni Oakland Commons, 4799 Shattuck Avenue, Oakland – Chuck Marohn of StrongTowns will speak about strategies to navigate a post-recession world.  And he’ll be speaking to a younger group than his typical audience, which might open the door to an effective question and answer session.  For anyone who hasn’t previously heard Marohn speak, this is a good opportunity.

Meetings in the Weeks and Months to Follow

Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit, Monday,  July 11, 9:00am, Santa Rosa City Hall, 100 Santa Rosa Ave, Santa Rosa – SMART staff will introduce the proposals received for transit-oriented development on SMART-owned property adjoining the downtown Santa Rosa station.

Petaluma Urban Chat, Wednesday, July 13, 7:00pm, Aqus Café, 2nd and H Streets, Petaluma – Urban Chat will discuss the proposed Petaluma Boulevard South road diet and also establish a plan of discussion topics for future meetings.

Sonoma County Board of Supervisors, Tuesday, July 19, 8:30pm, Board of Supervisors' Chambers, 575 Administration Drive, Santa Rosa – The Supervisors will take up proposed revisions to the Sonoma County greenbelts, lands that are limited to less intensive uses to retain agriculture and open spaces and to provide separations between communities.  Greenbelts and urbanism are two sides of the same coin, with greenbelts pushing development toward urban areas and urbanism being the study of how to accommodate that development.

I was briefed earlier this week by the Regional Director for Greenbelt Alliance on the status of the revisions and was pleased by how many areas were under serious consideration for new inclusion.  But it’s the Board of Supervisors, starting on July 19, who will make the final decisions.

Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit Board, Wednesday, July 20, 5401 Old Redwood Highway, Petaluma – The agenda for the SMART Board meeting won’t be announced for another couple of weeks, but with the full schedule testing looming closer and revenue service shortly after that, the agenda is likely to include items of urbanist interest.

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.

Other Opportunities to Get Involved

Petaluma Boulevard South – Bikeable/walkable revisions to Petaluma Boulevard South recently flickered onto and off of the Petaluma City Council agenda.  A group of citizens was energized by the flicker and is organizing to ensure that the subject of calming Petaluma Boulevard South returns to the City Council with enough votes to approve it.

If you’re interested in advocating for improvements to Petaluma Boulevard South that will make the street more friendly for non-motorists and will allow better connectivity between the residential areas southwest of the street and the retail/recreational opportunities to the northeast, let me know.  I’ll get you in touch with the group, in which I’m participating.

Digging Deeper into Urbanism - Many readers attended three evening of talks by Chuck Marohn of StrongTowns and Joe Minicozzi of Urban3 last January in Santa Rosa.  They spoke about the theory of why suburbia often fails and the analysis that supports the theory.  Initial conversations are underway for a return visit by Marohn and Minicozzi to the North Bay later this year, a visit that is tentatively expected to include time in Petaluma and other Sonoma County communities.

Petaluma was well-represented at the January meetings, but it was largely urbanists who were already familiar with the work of Marohn and Minicozzi.  If we organize properly, having the two of them visit Petaluma can be an opportunity to educate others who hold positions from which they can make a difference.  And having the visit fall during the election season can make the visit additionally pivotal.

I’ll need folks to assist with organizational and fund-raising efforts.  Please let me know if you’re willing to lend a hand.

Lots of opportunities to get involved.  Please grab at least one and hopefully more.

When I next publish, I’ll try to summarize recent insights about urbanism and the electoral process.

As always, your questions or comments will be appreciated.  Please comment below or email me.  And thanks for reading. - Dave Alden (davealden53@comcast.net)

Taking the Next Step - Opportunities to Get Involved during the Week of June 26

Another view of downtown Detroit

Another week is soon approaching.  With the end of the month and the holiday weekend looming at the end of the week, it’ll be a mostly quiet seven days, but there will be couple of worthwhile events.  Also, there are interesting opportunities queuing up for the weeks after the holiday.  And, with the long warm evenings settling in, many of us will also have a chance to chat with neighbors about urbanism.  As always, it’s a great time to add your voice to the urbanist discussion.

Meetings this Week

Petaluma Planning Commission, Tuesday, June 28, 7:00pm, Petaluma City Hall, 11 English Street, Petaluma – This meeting has been noted in these weekly posts several times.  The meeting has finally arrived.

The Adobe Road Winery is seeking to establish a wine-making footprint in downtown Petaluma.  But the permitting and construction steps toward that goal will be long and slow.  To make the Adobe Road name more familiar in Petaluma as the bigger project creeps ahead, the winery is seeking approval for a tasting room in the Great Petaluma Mill, at the corner of Petaluma Boulevard and B Street.

While a wine tasting room may not seem urbanist, any land uses that pull people downtown, creating a sense of activity and place, are urbanist.  A wine tasting room meets that standard.

A.G. Spanos Companies, Thursday, June 30, 6:00pm, Petaluma Women’s Club, 518 B Street, Petaluma – Spanos has been working on a development plan for the land between Petaluma Boulevard North and the Petaluma River at the current terminus of Oak Street.  In February, Spanos offered a draft plan for public review.  They’ve taken the comments they received, along with the earlier comments from the Petaluma Planning Department, and revised the earlier plan.  The plan is now ready for renewed public review.

I worked for several years on a project previously proposed for the site, a project that eventually fell victim to the recession.  It’s a challenging site, but if done well can jumpstart walkable urbanism north of E. Washington Street, perhaps helping to connect downtown to the north river district by making the walkability impediment that is E. Washington Street seem less of a barrier.

Meetings Further Out

Petaluma Pedestrian/Bicycle Advisory Committee, Wednesday, July 6, 6:00pm, Petaluma City Hall, 11 English Street, Petaluma – The agenda for this meeting currently includes review of a residential project adjoining the proposed location for the Corona Road SMART station, the SMART bike parking study, a possible bike share program, and a Caltrans bike/ped plan.  Additionally, a request has been made to include the possible Petaluma Boulevard South road diet (see below).

Novato Design Review Commission, Wednesday, July 6, 7:30pm, Novato City Hall, 901 Sherman Avenue, Novato – A public workshop will be conducted on a proposed hotel at the corner of Redwood Boulevard and Wood Hollow Drive.  The site is far from downtown, but is only a thousand marginally walkable feet from the Atherton SMART station, giving it a faint tinge of possible urbanism.

Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit, Monday,  July 11, 9:00am, Santa Rosa City Hall, 100 Santa Rosa Ave, Santa Rosa – SMART staff will introduce the proposals received for transit-oriented development on SMART-owned property adjoining the Downtown Santa Rosa station.

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.

Other Opportunities to Get Involved

Petaluma Boulevard South – Bikeable/walkable revisions to Petaluma Boulevard South recently flickered onto and off of the Petaluma City Council agenda.  A group of citizens was energized by the flicker and is organizing to ensure that the subject of calming Petaluma Boulevard South returns to the City Council with enough votes to approve it.

If you’re interested in advocating for improvements to Petaluma Boulevard South that will make the street more friendly for non-motorists and will allow better connectivity between the residential areas southwest of the street and the retail/recreational opportunities to the northeast, let me know.  I’ll get you in touch with the group, of which I’ll be a member.

Digging Deeper into Urbanism - Many readers attended three evening of talks by Chuck Marohn of StrongTowns and Joe Minicozzi of Urban3 last January in Santa Rosa.  They spoke about the theory of why suburbia often fails and the analysis that supports the theory.  Initial conversations are underway for a return visit by Marohn and Minicozzi to the North Bay later this year, a visit that may include time in Petaluma and other Sonoma County communities.

Petaluma was well-represented at the January meetings, but it was largely urbanists who were already familiar with the work of Marohn and Minicozzi.  If we organize properly, having the two of them visit Petaluma can be an opportunity to educate others who hold positions from which they can make a difference.

I’ll need folks to assist with organizational and fund-raising efforts.  Please let me know if you’re willing to lend a hand.

StrongTowns:  I usually reserve my comments about the urbanist organizations that I find worthy of membership fees to a year-end post.  But this is their membership week, I’m hopeful of Chuck Marohn visiting Petaluma later this year, and his staff asked nicely, so I’ll make an exception.

I don’t agree with everything that StrongTowns says, finding that they sometimes go too far in order to stir the pot.  But they begin conversations that need to happen and that’s an essential role.  I’m proud that they consider me within their Founding Circle and encourage all readers to consider joining StrongTowns.  If nothing else, this is the right time, with a StrongTowns visit looming, to begin reviewing the StrongTowns arguments.

Lots of opportunities to get involved.  Please grab at least one and hopefully more.

When I next publish, I’ll continue with a personal recounting of the best moments from CNU 24, the recently concluded annual meeting of the Congress for the New Urbanism.

As always, your questions or comments will be appreciated.  Please comment below or email me.  And thanks for reading. - Dave Alden (davealden53@comcast.net)