PD: Sebastopol plans housing, town square near Laguna

[Barry]

Article published - Oct 19, 2007
Sebastopol plans housing, town square near Laguna
Project in industrial area includes stores; traffic impact questioned

By ROBERT DIGITALE
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Bolstered by artistic renderings of three- and four-story buildings and a new civic square, Sebastopol city officials are crafting a plan that would dramatically reshape an old industrial zone on the edge of their small town.

The City Council, known for its environmentally sensitive approach to development, is considering a plan that would encourage the removal of 230,000 square feet of buildings in a flood-prone area where cannery workers once processed the annual apple harvest.

Replacing the old structures would be 300 housing units, new roads and nearly 400,000 square feet of floor space for other uses near the Laguna de Santa Rosa.

The plan is a marked departure for a city known for a long-term pattern of no growth. Sebastopol's population of 7,800 is unchanged since 2000. New home construction has averaged fewer than 12 starts a year.

The proposed mixed-use buildings are reminiscent of those built in recent years in Windsor and Healdsburg. The difference is that the Sebastopol structures might essentially be built on pedestals, or "podia," to avoid flooding. Parking spaces might be placed underneath with retail and living spaces above.

"We're talking about an exciting development," said Mayor Sam Pierce.

He said the plan has broad-based support because it could revitalize a key neighborhood near downtown, raise new sales taxes and increase public transit use by concentrating more residents in one neighborhood.

However, critics contend the development would overwhelm city streets by adding 8,000 auto trips a day. They also say the larger buildings are out of character for their town of 7,800 people, and the region may not have enough ground water to serve so much growth.
"We don't want to look like Windsor," said Helen Shane, a former city planning commissioner. She said Windsor's town green "is gorgeous, but it's so out of proportion to Sebastopol."

City officials have spent years considering how they might reinvent a 54-acre area between the Laguna and downtown. A recent city report describes the land as underused, with many of the structures "decrepit" and subject to flooding.

A draft Northeast Area Specific Plan and an accompanying environmental impact report have been the subject of city meetings in recent months. The final plan isn't expected to be approved until next year. Once approved, it could take 20 years to complete the work.

Teresa Ramondo, executive director of the chamber of commerce, said the proposal provides an opportunity to expand and enhance the downtown.

"It's one of the last large property areas in the community that has potential," she said.

In the past, Sebastopol officials have aggressively promoted solar power for their town. For this plan, they are proposing tough rules that the new buildings would add "no net fill" to the flood zone.

They said towns like Windsor, Petaluma and Healdsburg have shown how redevelopment can revitalize areas with new businesses and pedestrian-friendly streetscapes. Residents then have more reasons to shop locally rather than make their purchases in cities along Highway 101.

"There is major potential . . . to create a whole new neighborhood in Sebastopol," said Planning Director Kenyon Webster.
However, critics note that the impact report concludes that eight intersections in the city at times would reach the worst level of measured traffic congestion. That would mean drivers would wait 80 seconds or longer to get through a signalized intersection. They said the public must consider whether the plan costs outweigh the benefits and new amenities.

"Free concerts at the plaza are lovely, but not if it means 8,000 more trips a day," said Holly Downing, who lives outside Sebastopol and has attended city meetings on the plan.

The council also has drawn criticism for its study of the proposal's impact on ground water. City officials maintained the study met the spirit and letter of state law, and it concluded that the project wouldn't significantly affect ground-water levels.

But others contend that the study failed to adequately consider how the project would affect the regional ground-water supply. "They did not properly define the basin," said Jane Nielson, president of the Sebastopol Water Information Group.

This week council members agreed informally to seek an alternative to the plan's four-story "signature civic-oriented building." That structure would have backed up to Morris Street, the road that runs along the lowlands near the Laguna.

Instead, officials want their consultants to consider ways to better connect the development area with the Laguna. The city also might seek to provide a civic building or other artifice as a focal point near the existing downtown plaza at Petaluma Avenue and McKinley Street.

You can reach Staff Writer Robert Digitale at 521-5285 or [email protected].

[tommy]

This sucks. This is from the same people who bring us Laguna Vista, Walmart, and the war in Iraq: ever increasing commercialization (with a solar bow)... the gentrification of Sebastopol...which is inhumane. My vote would be to leave it the way it is, let it evolve slowly, as local groups figure out how to reuse/rehab the area for housing, social and community needs. It is not a surprise that the City government wants to develop it - that is in the nature of governments and planning commissions.

Tomas

Article published - Oct 19, 2007
Sebastopol plans housing, town square near Laguna
Project in industrial area includes stores; traffic impact questioned

By ROBERT DIGITALE
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Bolstered by artistic renderings of three- and four-story buildings and a new civic square, Sebastopol city officials are crafting a plan that would dramatically reshape an old industrial zone on the edge of their small town. ...

[marguerite]

Are the strip of business offices on Hwy 12, just entering Sebastopol, and bordering the street of the community center, being utilized fully? Is it possible for new development to happen in attachment to those pre-existing buildings, and its made sure all space gets utilized...
another concern I have is are Sebastopol and/or west county residents being utilized for the ton of expertise our area holds for sustainable housing with the environment. To me it would be a win/win if the city was willing to have the more condensed living and cultural center IF it was willing to cooperate and utilize local artists and builders including environmentally aware architecture, all at the same time. Perhaps the immediate profit goes down, but the long range sustainability, in many areas, goes up.

One reason I respect our area so much is that there are so many highly skilled and environmentally aware builders, architects, engineers, and people in general. Lets keep that edge in the US by sticking with the advanced skills we have to offer in relationship to our environment.

[phooph]

The current situation in the area is that it was developed over a long period of time in a patchwork manner normal to "organic" urban development, in other words, without a sense of cohesion and integration. The buildings were often not designed to be energy efficient, and many are not what one would consider attractive. The area is underutilized and not generating the tax revenue the city needs to continue to maintain quality services. It has become somewhat of a white elephant.

It has been suggested that sections of the property be acquired through something such as a real estate investment trust, and that local talent be involved with the design and construction to create a better villiage atmosphere with social, economic, and enviromental factors being paramount. The big conundrum is the traffic issue. Creating a beautiful and attractive urban center with housing, light industry, retail business, and parks would draw traffic.

The only way I currently see to avoid adding to futher traffic problems in the city would be to use the theme park model of removing parking from the site and bringing in people by way of a footpath (nature walk) through the laguna with the option of using electric or even rickshaw transit. That would require the acquisition of even more land, probably east of the laguna, for car parking. The other option would be for the county to aggressively develop mass transit, which it needs to do anyway, and both might be needed.

Ruth

Are the strip of business offices on Hwy 12, just entering Sebastopol, and bordering the street of the community center, being utilized fully? Is it possible for new development to happen in attachment to those pre-existing buildings, and its made sure all space gets utilized...
another concern I have is are Sebastopol and/or west county residents being utilized for the ton of expertise our area holds for sustainable housing with the environment. To me it would be a win/win if the city was willing to have the more condensed living and cultural center IF it was willing to cooperate and utilize local artists and builders including environmentally aware architecture, all at the same time. Perhaps the immediate profit goes down, but the long range sustainability, in many areas, goes up.

One reason I respect our area so much is that there are so many highly skilled and environmentally aware builders, architects, engineers, and people in general. Lets keep that edge in the US by sticking with the advanced skills we have to offer in relationship to our environment.

[tommy]

This area is prone to flooding, as I recall from storms a few years ago when the Community Center was under water, and they removed the "portable" floor. Although the area floods only once every 10 years or so, no doubt one of the reasons this area has never been developed is due to the flooding. My impression of the plans for this area is that the potential for flooding is remediated is by building 3 & 4 story buildings with parking on the ground floor, where the flooding would occur.

In my opinoin, there are two problems with this plan: it creates an unfriendly towering structure overhead, and in bringing more people & commercial activity to the area, it changes the character of the town. Naturally, most developers and city officials like this idea, for financial reasons.

The big uncertainty, all seem to admit, is how to deal with the traffic, without without completely demolishing the intersection of Hwys 12 & 116, and building a grand interstate type interchange, eventually even extending the four lane Hwy 12 from Foulton Rd to Bodega & Hwy 1 on the coast. From another point of view, we are blessed with the bottleneck of Hwy 12 & 116, as it has restricted further development of Sebastopol. Existing roads can be the limiting factor on crass development of a beautiful and sensitive environment in which we live.

I am remembering the plans to build a freeway through San Rafael on what is now Sir Francis Drake, out to the coast, with subdivisions in the Muir Beach/ Lagunitas/ Olema, which were stopped years ago, thank the Goddess.

I think one of the reasons for Sebastopol's unique character - which is ultimately the people who live in this incredibly beautiful place - is that the constraints of the Hwy 12/116 intersection kept this place small, human scale, and non touristy. I've lived in tourist towns, and they suck. They become hungry ghosts, where all the organic life is sacrificed up to the almighty dollar. We are blessed not having the squares that Healdsburg and Sonoma have - I've lived in those places, and they do not have the small town affection of Sebastopol. I hope we can keep this as is.

[Helen Shane]

I’m glad we have further opportunity to comment on the Northeast Plan Process.

The United States constitution is a living document and can’t be changed without due, lengthy and participatory consideration. Well, except, perhaps, by a presidential signing statement.

The Sebastopol General Plan, too, is a living document. The update of the Plan was accomplished after the General Plan Advisory Committee, so much a part of the city’s vocabulary that it came to be known as the GPAC, held meetings in every neighborhood in town to give as many people as possible the information and opportunity to voice their opinions about what they wanted their town to be. The plan should not be vastly changed without the same deliberation and participation.

There should be prepared for publication a document stating the unmitigatible impacts in levels of service that would result from the building of the proposed northeast plan, side by side with the General Plan policy that would have to be changed to accommodate a project of this size. You would hear from a lot more Sebastopol residents expressing their desires and disappointments. I think what is apparently the grow or die ethos of the majority of the council would be substantially modified.

Let this be a project that those of us who are still around in ten years can look back at say, this is good for the community.

The Northeast plan should not be approved at its present size. We must take whatever time is necessary to inform and get input from many more people beyond the usual council watchers.