The SMART Real Estate Committee is recommending a site along Guerneville Road over the previous prefered station site on Jennings Avenue, for the north Santa Rosa SMART station. The full SMART board will discuss the station site at its June 16 meeting.
SMART committee selects Guerneville Road site for train station | PressDemocrat.com.
The City of Santa Rosa is in the process of updating their General Plan. One recommendation in the draft General Plan update would change the way affordable housing is financed in the city. Currently, most builders pay a fee based on square footage of each residential unit they build, which gets deposited into a fund that the city distributes mostly to nonprofit developers to build the affordable housing. However, the housing has been built mostly on the west side of town, where land prices are cheaper. The proposed recommendation is to require that the affordable housing be built as part of all new subdivisions. The proposed changes will be presented to the City Council again next month.
A 15-block stretch along Humboldt Avenue in Santa Rosa is the city’s first “bicycle boulevard.” In order to foster a safe environment for all users, motorists, pedestrians, and cyclists, the Santa Rosa Police Department and the Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition were at the site providing safety tips and educating users about how to properly use the boulevard.
The Santa Rosa City Council showed support for considering variable parking meters and garage rates. Discussions will continue over the next several months. More details will be presented to the Council by the end of the year.
Donald Shoup weighs in on the debate in Santa Rosa over whether or not more parking is needed in downtown, and how paid parking fits into the equation.
In describing the relevance of Pasadena’s experience for Santa Rosa – with increased parking rates in high-demand areas and the use of the extra revenue for renovation efforts and regular cleaning and maintenance – The Press Democrat quotes Shoup as saying:
I don’t think the future of cities are dirty sidewalks and free parking. I think the future is in clean sidewalks and paid parking.
California housing bond funds awarded to Santa Rosa Railroad Square developer will support housing and retail near future SMART station.