Barry
10-09-2006, 01:28 PM
Branding Sebastopol
By KATY HILLENMEYER ([email protected])
PRESS DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT - Picture Sebastopol's emblematic apple, and imagine every person with a stake in the city's new slogan taking a bite.
Forget the core. There'd be nothing left but seeds.
"This branding thing, I don't see how they're going to do it," said Margaret Conner, a transplant from Los Angeles who co-owns Art & Soul of Sebastopol, a North Main Street art supply shop. "This community is so diverse ... (a slogan) is limiting."
Nonetheless, a Tennessee consultancy has a $48,000 contract to coin a phrase that unifies Sebastopol's many strands — from artsy environmentalism to alternative medicine to apple farming. The Nashville company, North Star Destination Strategies, also is revamping Santa Rosa's motto.
Starting Wednesday, Sebastopol residents can log on to www.sebastopol.org to link to North Star's communitywide survey. It seeks to identify the city's strengths, weaknesses, challenges and opportunities.
The Web site could get deluged.
In this city of 7,800, "we have 90 percent voter turnout," said Ryn Longmaid, economic development specialist at the Sebastopol Area Chamber of Commerce, which launched the effort with city leaders' OK. "We have a very engaged community, sometimes to the point where movement and change is difficult because everybody's so vocal."
Though some outsiders often jokingly characterize Sebastopol as a left-leaning enclave of latter-day hippies, many locals see their community as a retirement, tourist and bicycling destination - and a place where 50,000 west county residents shop.
It is these conflicting images that make the branding effort such a challenge.
In one respect, the city is pulling together to help locally owned businesses continue to thrive. Those mom-and-pop shop owners feel the pressure of big-box expansion in Santa Rosa, Cotati and Rohnert Park, where discount prices draw seniors and families with kids.
At the same time, city planners are plotting how 52 acres surrounding the former Barlow Co. apple-processing plant should be redeveloped in northeast Sebastopol. That, too, could reshape the community.
Last week, the chamber held its annual economic summit, where 75 professionals converged with the goal of "creating prosperity."
While participants sipped Sebastopol-based Taylor Maid Farms' organic coffee at the Veterans Memorial Building, shoppers on Main Street found "25 percent off" liquidation sale signs at R.S. Basso's flagship home furnishings store, one of downtown's most visible nongrocery anchors.
Down the block, where artisan chocolatier Veronica Bowers features locally produced coffees, teas and gelato at La Dolce V, the proprietor said she is watching what moves in to replace Basso.
"I hope they find the right business to fill that niche that isn't a chain, like they did with the Starbucks and the Subway down the road," Bowers said. "I'd rather see an independent."
Sebastopol, known for its free thinkers, also is burnishing its reputation for healthy living. This year, Outdoor Magazine named it tops in wellness (https://outside.away.com/outside/destinations/200608/best-outside-towns-2006-5.html).
City boosters hope to capitalize on that ranking, along with what Longmaid, of the Chamber of Commerce, called the county's "largest piece of natural capital," the Laguna de Santa Rosa wetlands.
Developers and environmentalists continue to clash over Laguna protections, while anti-war protests also turn off some tourists. One man contacted the chamber this summer to voice displeasure about demonstrators on the sidewalks.
"Don't punish the merchants," responded Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Teresa Ramondo. "You lost out by not stopping and experiencing (the city)."
Analy High School junior Jordan Hilley hopes market researchers embrace that activism in their slogan pitch.
"We're just out here trying to stand for a cause," the 16-year-old said last week during a student walkout protesting President Bush's policies. "If people don't agree with us, they're just as able to ignore us as acknowledge us."
The anything-goes energy in Sebastopol fosters a community where many parents want to raise kids. But with the high cost of housing, and household incomes that average $65,000, many can't afford to do so.
"It's a Catch 22," said Sue Ungewitter, a single mom who raised three children in Sebastopol before opening a Curves for Women gym here. "I'm not saying that we should only let big-box stores in, but there is a need for bargain shopping in this community."
A Graton mom, Paloma Engel, leased out a former Discount Alley store to open Sebastopol's Kidspot, a playcenter popular with preschoolers and parent groups. She also sells toys and organic kids clothing, and introduced a lower-priced garment line in response to customer feedback.
"There are a lot of people who aspire to shop in their community, but there are so many things that are not obtainable in Sebastopol," Engel said, admitting she heads to Santa Rosa Avenue once a month.
"It would be nice to have clothing stores in town where you could go and do all your back-to-school shopping affordably. ... And there is a need for reasonably priced, family-friendly restaurants."
Tax data shows robust growth in Sebastopol's retail sales from 1997 through 2001, but decreasing sales since then, according to Economic & Planning Systems, a company advising the city about redeveloping the northeast side.
Grocers, drugstores and automotive-related shops showed strong performance, the company reported. But residents and researchers said there's also demand for men's clothing, sporting goods, entertainment, kitchenwares, high-end B&B lodging and other goods and services.
Inventory at the 40-year-old Sebastopol Hardware Center changes often to fill such gaps. After a downtown bike shop closed, a display of bicycle tires and inner tubes went up at the Gravenstein Highway store. Fishing tackle and rods line shelves, too, for anglers bound for the Russian River or coast.
"We sell everything from ice cream to dog biscuits," co-manager Lyle Carpenter said. "It's not just a nuts-and-bolts place anymore."
News Researcher Michele Van Hoeck contributed to this report. You can reach Staff Writer Katy Hillenmeyer at 521-5274 or [email protected].
By KATY HILLENMEYER ([email protected])
PRESS DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT - Picture Sebastopol's emblematic apple, and imagine every person with a stake in the city's new slogan taking a bite.
Forget the core. There'd be nothing left but seeds.
"This branding thing, I don't see how they're going to do it," said Margaret Conner, a transplant from Los Angeles who co-owns Art & Soul of Sebastopol, a North Main Street art supply shop. "This community is so diverse ... (a slogan) is limiting."
Nonetheless, a Tennessee consultancy has a $48,000 contract to coin a phrase that unifies Sebastopol's many strands — from artsy environmentalism to alternative medicine to apple farming. The Nashville company, North Star Destination Strategies, also is revamping Santa Rosa's motto.
Starting Wednesday, Sebastopol residents can log on to www.sebastopol.org to link to North Star's communitywide survey. It seeks to identify the city's strengths, weaknesses, challenges and opportunities.
The Web site could get deluged.
In this city of 7,800, "we have 90 percent voter turnout," said Ryn Longmaid, economic development specialist at the Sebastopol Area Chamber of Commerce, which launched the effort with city leaders' OK. "We have a very engaged community, sometimes to the point where movement and change is difficult because everybody's so vocal."
Though some outsiders often jokingly characterize Sebastopol as a left-leaning enclave of latter-day hippies, many locals see their community as a retirement, tourist and bicycling destination - and a place where 50,000 west county residents shop.
It is these conflicting images that make the branding effort such a challenge.
In one respect, the city is pulling together to help locally owned businesses continue to thrive. Those mom-and-pop shop owners feel the pressure of big-box expansion in Santa Rosa, Cotati and Rohnert Park, where discount prices draw seniors and families with kids.
At the same time, city planners are plotting how 52 acres surrounding the former Barlow Co. apple-processing plant should be redeveloped in northeast Sebastopol. That, too, could reshape the community.
Last week, the chamber held its annual economic summit, where 75 professionals converged with the goal of "creating prosperity."
While participants sipped Sebastopol-based Taylor Maid Farms' organic coffee at the Veterans Memorial Building, shoppers on Main Street found "25 percent off" liquidation sale signs at R.S. Basso's flagship home furnishings store, one of downtown's most visible nongrocery anchors.
Down the block, where artisan chocolatier Veronica Bowers features locally produced coffees, teas and gelato at La Dolce V, the proprietor said she is watching what moves in to replace Basso.
"I hope they find the right business to fill that niche that isn't a chain, like they did with the Starbucks and the Subway down the road," Bowers said. "I'd rather see an independent."
Sebastopol, known for its free thinkers, also is burnishing its reputation for healthy living. This year, Outdoor Magazine named it tops in wellness (https://outside.away.com/outside/destinations/200608/best-outside-towns-2006-5.html).
City boosters hope to capitalize on that ranking, along with what Longmaid, of the Chamber of Commerce, called the county's "largest piece of natural capital," the Laguna de Santa Rosa wetlands.
Developers and environmentalists continue to clash over Laguna protections, while anti-war protests also turn off some tourists. One man contacted the chamber this summer to voice displeasure about demonstrators on the sidewalks.
"Don't punish the merchants," responded Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Teresa Ramondo. "You lost out by not stopping and experiencing (the city)."
Analy High School junior Jordan Hilley hopes market researchers embrace that activism in their slogan pitch.
"We're just out here trying to stand for a cause," the 16-year-old said last week during a student walkout protesting President Bush's policies. "If people don't agree with us, they're just as able to ignore us as acknowledge us."
The anything-goes energy in Sebastopol fosters a community where many parents want to raise kids. But with the high cost of housing, and household incomes that average $65,000, many can't afford to do so.
"It's a Catch 22," said Sue Ungewitter, a single mom who raised three children in Sebastopol before opening a Curves for Women gym here. "I'm not saying that we should only let big-box stores in, but there is a need for bargain shopping in this community."
A Graton mom, Paloma Engel, leased out a former Discount Alley store to open Sebastopol's Kidspot, a playcenter popular with preschoolers and parent groups. She also sells toys and organic kids clothing, and introduced a lower-priced garment line in response to customer feedback.
"There are a lot of people who aspire to shop in their community, but there are so many things that are not obtainable in Sebastopol," Engel said, admitting she heads to Santa Rosa Avenue once a month.
"It would be nice to have clothing stores in town where you could go and do all your back-to-school shopping affordably. ... And there is a need for reasonably priced, family-friendly restaurants."
Tax data shows robust growth in Sebastopol's retail sales from 1997 through 2001, but decreasing sales since then, according to Economic & Planning Systems, a company advising the city about redeveloping the northeast side.
Grocers, drugstores and automotive-related shops showed strong performance, the company reported. But residents and researchers said there's also demand for men's clothing, sporting goods, entertainment, kitchenwares, high-end B&B lodging and other goods and services.
Inventory at the 40-year-old Sebastopol Hardware Center changes often to fill such gaps. After a downtown bike shop closed, a display of bicycle tires and inner tubes went up at the Gravenstein Highway store. Fishing tackle and rods line shelves, too, for anglers bound for the Russian River or coast.
"We sell everything from ice cream to dog biscuits," co-manager Lyle Carpenter said. "It's not just a nuts-and-bolts place anymore."
News Researcher Michele Van Hoeck contributed to this report. You can reach Staff Writer Katy Hillenmeyer at 521-5274 or [email protected].