Northeast Area Specific Plan July 2007 Update

After a lengthy hiatus, the Northeast Area Specific Plan process is reactivating. Workshops and meetings of City boards to review the draft Plan and its draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) will be occurring over the next six months or more.

Three key documents will be released in the coming weeks: the Water Supply Assessment for the proposed Plan, which evaluates whether there are adequate water supplies for future Northeast and other City development; and the draft Plan and draft EIR. Publication of these reports will initiate a set of workshops and other meetings to review the Plan, receive public comments, and approve a final version of the EIR and Specific Plan. Information about the meetings will be posted on the City web site when dates are set.

Background

The City of Sebastopol has initiated the process to prepare the Northeast Area Specific Plan. The Plan Area is bounded by Laguna Parkway on the north, the Laguna de Santa Rosa on the east, and the properties along the south side of Sebastopol Avenue on the south, and Petaluma Avenue on the west. This includes much of the City’s Downtown Core area, as well as a much of the area in the City that is designated for light industrial use. The Planning process has been going on for approximately two years, and has included several public meetings, as well as studies that have been available on the City web site.

A major portion of the Northeast Plan area is occupied by very large former apple-processing buildings, including those once used by the Barlow Company, Sebastopol’s last apple processor that closed doors in 2004. There are several hundred thousand square feet of existing development in the area, much of which has been urbanized for the last 100 years. Some land in the area is vacant, or like the old lumberyard on Petaluma Avenue, presently unused, and there are also active businesses located in the area. Some of the buildings in the area are dilapidated; some of the existing buildings do not conform to current City flood standards, and some of the streets, sidewalks and curbs are in poor repair. Current zoning would allow a substantial amount of development, and one of the purposes of the Specific Plan effort is to set more appropriate limits, which if adopted, would reduce the amount of possible development in the area.

The Opportunity

Development and implementation of a Northeast Area Specific Plan represents a major opportunity for transformation of the City’s older industrial area to provide dynamic and inviting public and semi-public spaces, as well as addressing a number of housing, economic development, circulation, and environmental needs in a manner consistent with Sebastopol’s character and values. Several potential developers have expressed serious interest in the City’s Plans for the area and potentially could implement the concepts of the community’s Plan.

The Plan provides an opportunity to improve circulation by extension of streets and creation of new streets in the Northeast Area, which comprises one of the key entry areas into Sebastopol. One example of possible circulation changes is extension of McKinley Avenue from Petaluma Avenue, where it presently terminates, to Morris Street. There is also an opportunity for a new north-south street in the Planning area by extending McKinley to Morris Street. Such changes have the potential to enhance circulation in the downtown area.

The Issues

This may be one of the most important Sebastopol Planning efforts in recent years. Major objectives include creating a strong, positive relationship with the downtown area to the west and the Laguna de Santa Rosa to the east; strengthening the City’s economy; creating a pedestrian-oriented district; consideration of the effect of the Plan on existing businesses; and creating an environmentally-sustainable form of development. The Plan will express the City’s objectives for land use, will establish development standards and design guidelines, and will lay out objectives for circulation in the area. Once adopted, implementation of the Plan is expected to take up to 20 years, with some uses and buildings likely not changing as a result of the Plan.

Traffic circulation and floodplain development issues are the subject of special study. Although most of the area is already developed, it is subject to flooding, and how this issue is addressed, from both an environmental as well as urban design perspective, will be an important part of the Plan. A report on flood issues is on the City web site.

Environmental issues are also critical. An extensive biological resources report has been prepared and is on the City web site. It found no significant biotic resources in the primary Plan area (which is already heavily urbanized), but did identify important resources on the periphery of the area.

There may be the opportunity to address unmet retail needs through this Plan. What businesses are we lacking that may be desired by the Sebastopol community? How might this benefit the community? What effects might there be on existing businesses? There is a retail market study on the City web site.

There will also be a special focus on community facilities that could potentially be located in the area—possibilities include a new Library, Community Center, or City Hall. There will be tradeoffs in the Plan—for example, substantial redevelopment could create added traffic—but the amount of traffic would likely be less than what could occur under current zoning. The question for the Sebastopol community will be whether the benefits of the Plan outweigh impacts.

The Plan will build on the Northeast Area Alternatives Report previously prepared by the City with significant public input. The draft Plan and its draft EIR are expected to be released in summer 2007. The City has retained Design, Community & Environment (DC&E) of Berkeley to prepare the Plan. Assisting DC&E are a team of consultants, including Fisher and Hall of Santa Rosa, who will be responsible for preparing an innovative form-based code for the area.

How to Learn More

There has been and will be an extensive community process for the Plan, including workshops and hearings. The first phase of the Plan preparation process included extensive technical studies of the area which may be found on the City’s web site, on the Planning Department page.

Once the draft Plan and its draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) are released, various workshops and meetings will be scheduled. This will include a general community workshop to present the proposed Plan; a meeting of the Design Review Board for Board members to comment on the Plan; a public input session on the EIR; a meeting of the Planning Commission for members to comment on the Plan; and formal public hearings before the Planning Commission and City Council. The EIR will be subject to a public comment period.

The Plan will be shaped by the community. If you are interested in this Plan, please Plan on attending the workshops and public hearings, or write us with your thoughts. Check the City web site for meeting and hearing dates.

Numerous reports about the Northeast Area Planning effort can be found on the Planning Department page of the City web site, located at www.ci.sebastopol.ca.us. These reports provide extensive background on Plan issues, and also include notes from several public meetings that have been conducted. Key reports that you may want to review include the March 2004 Background Report; the 2/22/05 Draft Alternatives Report; and the 1/14/06 workshop presentation documents that summarize key information and issues. There are a number of other documents on the web site that you may also want to read. We recommend you check the web site periodically for updates and new reports.

For more information or to get on the City’s mailing list, contact the Sebastopol Planning Department at 823-6167.