1996/04/15 City Council MinutesROHNERT PARK CITY COUNCIL MINUTES
MONDAY, APRIL 159 1996
TOWN HALL MEETING
GENERAL PLAN
The City Council of the City of Rohnert Park met this date in a Town
Hall meeting commencing at 7:00 p.m. at the Rohnert Park Community
Center, 5401 Snyder Lane, with Mayor Flores presiding
CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Flores called the meeting of the town hall meeting to order at
approximately 7:00 p.m. with Mayor Flores leading the pledge.
ROLL CALL: PRESENT (4) Council Members: Gallagher, Spiro, Vice -Mayor Eck and
Mayor Flores.
Councilman Reilly was absent due to a family emergency.
Staff present for all or part of the meeting: Planning Director Skanchy,
City Attorney, John Flitner and Recording Clerk, Maria McConnell..
NON - AGENDAED
ITEMS: Mayor Flores queried if anyone had any non - agendaed items.
Vice Mayor Eck stated he had one item.
SCHEDULED PUBLIC
APPEARANCES:
Mr. Paul Stutrud, Rohnert Park Resident, read from a prepared statement
from Chapter II, General Plan Guidelines, "Examples of Techniques for
Involving the Public" (attached hereto) which included the use of surveys,
committees, meetings and the media in the General Plan process. Mr.
Stutrud asked that several choices from each category be implemented, for
example, surveys - opinion polls, public meetings, town hall meetings,
slide shows, news letters, interviews and talk shows, all be implemented in
order to maintain public interest in the process. Mr. Stutrud distributed a
copy of the Guidelines to the Council members.
General Plan - Town Hall Meeting
April 15, 1996
Mayor Flores advised he was in receipt of a speaker card from Mr. Henry
Bills who requested to speak under scheduled public appearances.
Mr. Henry Bills, 1161 San Antonio Drive, was recognized and stated he
does not regularly attend City meetings, however, lately he has been
disturbed by what he sees going on in Rohnert Park and felt the need to
appear tonight to express his concern with the rampant growth in Rohnert
Park. He stated he moved to Rohnert Park because the City was so
attractive and well planned with something for everyone. In the last
several years he stated he has observed the deterioration of many of the
good things he moved his family here for. He stated the schools are
seriously over - crowded, the traffic is obnoxious and crime is on the
increase with a noticeable increase in gang members in the neighborhoods
and he can no longer let his children play in the school yards or the local
parks unattended Mr. Bills stated the city services are already over-
extended with the present size of the city and Public Safety can't keep up
with the increased problems. He stated he chose to live here because he
thought this was a safe place, now he no longer feels that way. He also
stated that more traffic signals are not the cure for traffic congestion and
are nothing more than a Band -Aid solution. Mr. Bills stated that the
closure of K -Mart and Price Club were due to a lack of vision and poor
planning and stated we have a City Council that does not listen to its
citizens. He stated these meetings are nothing but a formality and a
perfect example of this is the approval of the 16 screen movie project
where the City Council just did what it wanted to do and didn't listen to
the residents of Rohnert Park, the majority of which support curtailing
growth.
Mayor Flores introduced City Council members and city staff to members
of the audience and announced that members of the General Plan
Committee would be making a brief presentation and then the meeting
would proceed to hearing from members of the community which is the
main focus of tonight's meeting.
Dr. Donald Farish, of Sonoma State University, spoke regarding
"Community Vision" as outlined in the Executive Summary - General Plan
Committee Report to the City Council and further stated that no member
of the Committee supported growth for growth's sake or was in favor of
urban sprawl and all of the members wished to retain the preservation of a
rural feeling for the community,
Ms. Barbara MacKenzie, reviewed the Community Goals as outlined in
the Executive Summary - General Plan Committee Report to City Council
General Plan - Town Hall Meeting
April 15. 1996
and further stated that she has been a resident of Rohnert Park since 1979
and took great pride in the community.
Ms. Donna Oldford, Planning Consultant reviewed the conclusions of the
Committee Report and an overview of options for City Council
considerations. She stated that the three questions presented to the
General Plan Committee were (1) What type of growth should the city
advocate. (2) What direction the sphere of influence should take. (3)
What changes should be incorporated into the General Plan. Ms. Oldford
stated that in the process of answering these questions, a need for an
economic development strategy was agreed upon by unanimous
consensus. A strong consensus was found for the sphere of influence
being extended to the east and west and an update of the General Plan
should be undertaken, rather than an entirely new General Plan effort.
Ms. Oldford reviewed a document entitled the Options for General Plan
Decisions by the Rohnert Park City Council, (Nos. 1 through 5) and stated
these are all areas that need to be reviewed and hopefully, tonight's
meeting and the public's input will help in some of these decisions.
Mayor Flores called a 15 minute break time in order for members of the
audience to review the maps that had been posted on the walls. The maps
depicted the City Limits and Present Sphere of Influence; Community
Separator & AG Preserve; and Potential Sphere of Influence Expansion
Areas.
RECESS CALLED AT 7:40 P.M.
Mayor Flores called the meeting back to order at 8:00 p.m. and opened
the Question and Answer period.
Carol Sissa, 172 Fescue Way, was recognized and read from a prepared
statement wherein she stated Rohnert Park's planning process has been
underway for a long time. She stated her family has lived in Rohnert Park
for over 35 years and the family `s history in the area goes back over 100
years. She stated she has a serious stake and financial interest in the
General Plan process. She stated that the family ranch has suffered from
the development in Rohnert Park by erosion in the creek supplying water
to their land and making it difficult to irrigate their ranch. In addition,
Ms. Sissa complained that children from the adjacent neighborhoods have
let their animals loose by opening the gates and this has happened over
200 times in the past 25 years as well as people coming by and wanting to
pet their animals and they are not running a petting zoo and she stated a
general invasion of their privacy has occurred. She stated their land is
zoned "A" Agricultural but they are unable to run their business and
cited that large hay trucks cannot come into the area due to the
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General Plan - Town Hall Meeting
April 15. 1996
congestion. Ms. Sissa stated they are looking at either opening up an
organic farm or turning their land into a pig farm with over 500 pigs on
the property. She stated they have requested that the city annex their
land.
Carol Whitmire, P.O. Box 319, Woodacre, CA was recognized and stated
she is a Planning Consultant and represents the west side property owners
numbering 50 members. She stated the property owners are all in support
of returning the sphere of influence to Stony Point Road as it was in 1989.
Ms. Whitmire felt it was critical that a decision be made on this soon as
the Sonoma County General Plan could lock up the sphere of influence for
the next 20 years as these lands are within the county's sphere of
community separators. The present sphere of influence does not provide a
natural separator between Rohnert Park and Sebastopol but Stony Point
Road would. Ms. Whitmire stated there are 22 acres in Rohnert Park's
sphere of influence. She stated that the land, as zoned for agricultural, is
no longer feasible for that use being located so close to a developed area.
For example, she stated that when the dairy farmers spread manure, they
are inundated with complaints from the surrounding residents due to the
odor. As a representative of the west side property owners, she is asking
that the city expand the sphere of influence to Stony Point Road in order
for the land to be put to use and stated she supported an economic
analysis be undertaken which would indicate such an action would be
economically beneficial to the City.
Mayor Flores asked the audience to please refrain from applauding after
each speaker, and wait until the meeting was over to applaud.
Ms. Loretta Harris, 520 Swain Avenue, was recognized and stated she has
6 acres in the open space district and within the 72 acres behind the
Scandia Fun Center. She stated she cannot get fair market value for her
property, however, she is assessed every year for $300,000 and pays
$26,000 a year in County taxes and is slipping into bankruptcy. She stated
her family are not wealthy land owners but blue collar workers and the
view from her front yard is now the rear view of Home Depot. She
stated that Santa Rosa presently has 4,000 acres in its sphere of influence
and questioned why would Rohnert Park want to lose this option for only
22 acres.
Frank Matyas, 4524 Langner Road, was recognized and reminded the
Council members that when they took their oath of office they became
trustees for the City of Rohnert Park and its residents. He reminded them
they were elected to make prudent judgments, provide leadership and have
a vision for the future. He stated that to not include the northwest area in
the sphere of influence would be a loss to the City of Rohnert Park as this
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General Plan - ToNNm Hall Meeting
April 15. 1996
area is a valuable asset. Mr. Matyas stated that no one can see into the
future, however, it is evident that the future demands of the community
will require this expansion. The residents of the areas 2A and 2C, as
indicated on the maps, are aware that LAFCO ultimately can limit this
area by designating it as a "community separator" and we are hopeful that
the city will include it in their General Plan so that future citizens of
Rohnert Park can look back on this Council and General Plan with
admiration.
Jim Moore, 4528 Langner Avenue, was recognized and stated he owns a 5
acre parcel on the west side and has been a homeowner there for 15 years.
He stated he has no interest in developing his land and he plans to stay
there. He stated that his family enjoyed living in a rural area for many
years, then came a large business park that he sees out of his kitchen
window, Stony Point Road has become a major thoroughfare and people
have been using the area to come and dump their garbage and basically, it
is not a very nice place to live anymore. He stated the area has changed
profoundly and now that they have a 3 year old child, they realize that the
area is totally unsuitable for children as there are deep ditches along the
road sides that were once used for irrigation, you cannot rebuild on your
property or add to it because the County does not allow septics in the area
and stated his neighbor, Mr. Dolcini, was unable to build on land he
bought due to county imposed building restrictions. Mr. Moore stated
that a few years ago a young woman who had been murdered was dumped
just a short distance from his home. He stated that the area will continue
to deteriorate and will ultimately have a negative impact on the city. He
stated he sympathized with the other speakers and would like to see a light
at the end of the tunnel. Mr. Moore stated he attended SSU in 1963 and
he remembers when Jimmie Rogers use to make sandwiches at a local deli
and he stated no one at that time envisioned that Rohnert Park would
grow the way it has and after all these years he asked that he and the
residents of his neighborhood finally be made a part of the community.
Linda Branscomb, 6585 Commerce Blvd., #188, was recognized and
stated she was pleased with certain items in the General Plan and did not
think the city needed to spend the additional revenue for a full blown 20
year General Plan. She stated she did not support the annexation of lands
to create low paying retail jobs and supported the need for the city to
work with other jurisdictions to attract higher paying employers to the
area. Additionally, the city needs to devise a plan to pay for more fire
services and she supports revenue sharing with other jurisdictions and
recommended this be looked into. Ms. Branscomb stated that the city can
not only look within but has to look at what is happening out there in the
rest of the community to develop urban green belts, mixed use housing
General Plan - ToNvn Hall Meeting
April 15. 1996
and mixed use incomes and to look forward to how the city is going to
plan for the future.
Scott Laube, 1579 Gretchen Court, was recognized and questioned when
was the last time the city conducted a survey of its residents?
Vice -Mayor Eck replied that there have been 3 surveys conducted and the
Press Democrat did the final one a couple of years ago.
Mr. Laube stated he only remembers one that was done over 6 years ago
and stated that so far tonight all we have heard about is how the people on
the west side want to make some money on their property. Mr. Laube
asked what the designation 1A through 1D stood for.
Mayor Flores stated the number /letters were used to designate the areas
on the maps.
Councilwoman Spiro stated that those requesting to speak have been so
far this evening , west side property owners and all members of the
community are welcome to speak at this time.
Vice -Mayor Eck stated that the topic being moving out the sphere of
influence to its former designation is the heart of the matter because in the
General Plan discussions, this issue kept coming up a parcel at a time and
the committee came back with a parcel map that no one on the committee
could agree upon. Vice -Mayor Eck stated that he did not support
expanding the sphere of influence and this town meeting is just the first
step in a very long process to address these issues.
Councilwoman Gallagher stated that what has not been discussed is the
costs to the current residents if we choose to expand the city's services.
At present, she stated, we cannot put out fires fast enough and the truth is
the city does not have the current cost figures to expand the sphere of
influence and perhaps, if we had a current survey, we would be better able
to make a recommendation.
Mr. Laube stated that he has lived in Rohnert Park since 1980 and is
employed by Hewlett - Packard and plans to retire from there and at
present has the best of both worlds, because his property is adjacent to a
green belt and he has all the city services on one hand and also a rural life
style on the other and that is also why he paid a higher price for his home
and he wants to maintain the beauty and integrity of Rohnert Park which
he feels is being usurped by run -away development. He stated he has
never come to a meeting before but is disturbed by what he sees
happening in Rohnert Park.
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April 15, 1996
Helen Dell, 4464 Graywhaler Lane, was recognized and stated she has
been sitting here listening to these land holders and their economic welfare
and how terrible it is to live in a rural area and all she can say is that there
is no guarantee that if the city annexes their property, it will make their fife
style any better or any safer. She stated that with all the homes being built
by Hewlett - Packard, the city is going to be beyond its sewer capacity and
the city is going to have to start paying fines for being over - capacity.
Additionally, 50% or more of our water supply comes from wells which
are being depleted rapidly. Ms. Dell stated she was quite shocked to learn
that the city does not have an economic development plan as part of the
General Plan. She asked what the city is going to do with all these large
empty boxes on the west side and if they are going to become blight and
questioned the rationale behind building a 16 screen theater. She stated
the city needs a vision and she does feel sorry for the people who reside
outside the city limits where the city built right up into their back yards
but Rohnert Park can't just "willy nilly" go about giving everyone what
they want.
Mayor Flores asked the audience to refrain from applauding.
John Hudson, 399 Bonnie Avenue, was recognized and stated it was a
good day when he and Vice -Mayor Eck agreed upon something and he is
sickened by the parade of greed we have seen here tonight. Mr. Hudson
stated that the General Plan Committee is loaded with special interests and
cited that the Rohnert Park residents responded to a survey conducted in
1992 wherein 67% of them stated they do not want any further
development in Rohnert Park. There are people wise enough to want to
preserve this beautiful valley and not see it being paved over. Mr. Hudson
criticized the "grow or die" mentality that has fueled Rohnert Park's
growth advocates and cited the population explosions of Mexico,
Bangladesh, China and Calcutta and observed that based on this opinion,
they should all be "enclaves of opulence ". He stated that it is not how
many people you have in one area but how educated the people are and if
and when the City of Rohnert Park gets around to asking the 67% of the
residents, they will be told they do not want the city to expand the sphere
of influence and they do not want any more subdivisions.
Joe Thibodenu, was recognized and stated he lives across from Wal -Mart
and when he first bought the land, it was a nice place to live. However,
five years ago the city annexed the land and everyone knows what
happened then. He stated along with the negatives, there has been a lot of
benefits from the development of the area, namely easy access to the retail
services and some of the residents in the area feel it has enhanced our
property alot. He stated that Rohnert Park put in improved streets, light
General Plan - Town Hall Meeting
April 15. 1996
fixtures and we are more urbanized than ever. Mr. Thibodenu stated that
even though we are zoned Agricultural, we are no longer that and he is
reminded of that when he hears the intercom finally go off at 10 p.m. at
Wal -Mart. Mr. Thibodenu stated that what we need to do at this point is
to find a solution to this very real problem as my neighbors and myself are
being forced into urbanization and in spite of the anti - development
residents of Rohnert Park, this is a situation that needs to be addressed.
Mr. Thibodenu stated he has grown to like sidewalks and street lights and
complimented the city on the addition of the new In N' Out Restaurant, he
stated he has seen people go in there, but they never come out. He asked
if his piece of property was going to stop the encroachment of Rohnert
Park and Sebastopol from merging in the years to come and if the
agricultural property in the community separator is seen as a guardian to
this fate. He stated that we can keep 101 four lanes, but people will still
keep coming. He stated that economic benefits flow both ways and the
city would benefit from rolling out the sphere of influence to Stony Point
Road. He stated that we are living in a democracy and when Jimmie
Rogers and Condiotti bought that land and developed it, they did benefit
but also the benefits flowed from the developer to the residents and the
community because of all the improvements those same developers made.
He asked that a survey be done to ask the residents how their lives were
improved by the infrastructure by the influx of developer's money into the
city coffers? He stated that everyone in the city benefited from what the
city did five years ago by annexing the land on the west side.
Resident of Dowdell Avenue, (no speaker card) was recognized and stated
his family has owned their land since 1910 and requested that it remain in
the city sphere of influence. He stated that at present, the land is of no use
and he is paying hefty property taxes on it and stated the County wanted
$3,500.00 just to review his application for improvements on his property.
He asked the Council to please consider the people on the west side.
Kitty Collins, resident of Rohnert Park, was recognized and stated she was
a member of the General Plan Committee and the intent of this meeting is
to get input from the public and this process is going to go on for months
and months. She stated she is neither pro - growth or no- growth and the
main topic is the expansion of the sphere of influence which the committee
recommended. Ms. Collins stated it would be totally economically
feasible to expand the sphere of influence and that no one on the
committee was for rapid growth but this is the real world and to make a
responsible decision, the emotions have to be taken out of it.
Jake MacKenzie, 1536 Gladstone Way, was recognized and stated he was
also a member of the General Plan Advisory Committee and he represents
the environmental community and other members represented various
General Plan - Town Hall Meeting
April 15, 1996
special interests and the committee was well described as not having a
general consensus. Mr. MacKenzie wished to add some factual points to
the discussion and stated that the General Plan calls for increased growth
of up to 45,000 residents; secondly, the establishment of the sphere of
influence is done by LAFCO and on November 21, 1990 they removed
this area from the sphere of influence. LAFCO uses a 20 year plan and
specifics are determined by State agencies. LAFCO would have to bring
these actions into account and the sphere of influence should be reviewed
after 5 years, therefore, we can now ask LAFCO for a full consideration.
The Board of Supervisors are putting an ordinance on the ballot for a
community separator and Rohnert Park could be included having a special
language. Mr. MacKenzie advised the Council to respond to LAFCO as
to where the city stands on this topic. He also advised the Council that
within the next five years we will have extra sewer capacity available.
Becky Rishe, 8739 Laurelwood, was recognized and stated she has lived
in Rohnert Park since 1972 and she also served on the General Plan
Committee. She stated that the group all agreed on an economic
development plan and that the city didn't need anymore retail. Ms. Rishe
stated that people need to realize that City, State and County coffers carry
us as an independent city and that Camelot does not exist. She stated she
sympathized with the residents on the west side and was surprised by the
lack of compassion shown by some members of the community and how
they couldn't understand the dilemma these people are facing. Ms. Rishe
asked where the city is going to get all the money for all these surveys and
asked why we bother to elect officials to do a job and then we don't give
them the power to do it. We need to work as a united city and address
the problems facing the community.
Mr. Sissa, speaking from the audience, asked Ms. Rishe why she felt sorry
for him as he didn't need her sympathy.
Ms. Rishe stated perhaps she used the wrong language,
Mayor Flores advised members of the audience to restrain addressing
speakers from the audience and if they had questions, to please address
the Council only.
Mike Dolcini, 5368 Stony Point Road, was recognized and stated he has a
5 acre parcel on the west side which is being considered as permanent
open space /community separator with a no growth barrier. He stated that
this is a way to condemn his land value. He stated if the city bought this
land outright, this would be a good place for a hospital. Mr. Dolcini
stated that due to the no- growth mentality, we have lost K -Mart and Price
Club and is Food -4 -Less next? He asked that the sphere of influence be
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General Plan - To «m Hall Meeting
April 15, 1996
extended and this doesn't mean the land has to be developed and Stony
Point Road would be a natural barrier. Mr. Dolcini stated it is sad to hear
people saying I got mine and too bad if you don't have yours and this is a
very selfish attitude.
Mr. Paul Stutrud, 712 Hudis, was recognized and stated he owns acreage
all over Sonoma County as well as property in Butte County, which
recently filed bankruptcy, so he is not unfamiliar with the problems being
expressed by the land owners present. However, he stated that annexation
costs a lot of money and he doesn't think it would be economically
feasible for Rohnert Park at this time.
Barbara MacKenzie, 1536 Gladstone, was recognized and stated she has
always tried to look at what the city needs and what is best for it. She
stated Rohnert Park needs a heart and soul and SSU needs housing. This
could be accomplished with a small amount of land just north of SSU
where a heart and soul town center could be developed with some housing
for SSU and then an environmentally friendly golf course on the other side
of Rohnert Park Expressway could be created as a habitat for wild life.
Ed Gee, resident of Canon Manor, was recognized and stated the question
he would like answered is when will there be sewer and water hook up for
the residents of Canon Manor?
Vice -Mayor Eck replied that LAFCO included Canon Manor in the city'
sphere of influence because the city is the only agency that can provide
municipal services to Canon Manor.
Councilwoman Gallagher stated that Canon -Manor is one of the areas that
the city should be responsible for. She stated that due to the
development in Rohnert Park, Canon Manor's water table was depleted
and we have a responsibility to the homeowners there to correct the
problem.
Mayor Flores stated that there may be some contamination of wells in that
area and an assessment district has been formed to address the situation.
Mr, Gee stated that if the water table is contaminated in Canon Manor, it
would also effect the water in Rohnert Park.
Councilwoman Gallagher asked just why the Council is pretending they
don't know what's going on.
Councilwoman Spiro stated that the city's growth has effected the
residents on the west side and we need to address those issues and it is
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General Plan - Town Hall Meeting
April 15, 1996
important we do something about it and if water has been contaminated in
Canon Manor by the growth in Rohnert Park and admittedly there has
been significant growth, then those issues should be addressed and
resolved also and the city is not apathetic to these problems.
Mr. Gee asked how do we go about taking care of this problem.
*CORRECTTON BELOW FROM 5/14/96 City Council meeting: Per Councilwoman Spiro (addition underlined)
Councilwoman Spiro requested that the item be put on the next regularly
scheduled Council meeting agenda *and Council should set up a Committee.
Vice -Mayor Eck suggested to Mr. Gee that he encourage as many Canon
Manor residents as possible to participate in pressuring the County to act
on the problem as soon as possible.
Mayor Flores advised Mr. Gee to put his request in writing and submit it
to the City Council for review.
A resident of Canon Manor, speaking from the audience, (no speaker
card) stated he gave Mr. Ron Brust, City Engineer, a petition with over
120 signatures on it requesting action be taken in this regard and has not
received a response or acknowledgment from the city.
Councilwoman Gallagher advised that she hoped he made a copy of the
petition before he gave it to Ron Brust.
Mayor Flores advised there was no one else wishing to speak and closed
the question and answer period and asked the Council Members for their
comments. He stated that the Council is looking at a 20 year plan and will
be looking at a general statement regarding annexation.
Councilwoman Spiro stated that she felt it is important to move the sphere
of influence out to Stony Point Road. She stated she supported bringing it
back in 5 years ago and in retrospect now realizes that was a mistake. She
stated that with the city not having a sphere of influence, gives us no
flexibility. She stated that as far as an economic advisory plan, a 5 year
budget was done based on K -Mart and Price Club's sales tax revenues
and it was unforeseen they would be closing at the time this was done.
Councilwoman Spiro stated that the city presently has sufficient fire
services and contrary to criticism, the city's response time to the recent
fire was under 4 minutes. She stated that without a sphere of influence, if
a prospective large employer came along, there would no place for them
to look at for development.
Councilwoman Gallagher stated that she wanted to clarify her statement
made earlier and that she had spoken with the homeowners who lost their
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General Plan - Town Hall Meeting
April 15, 1996
homes and that almost 11 minutes passed before the first drop of water
touched their house. She stated you cannot believe those bureaucrats at
City Hall because it is a he that they were there in 4 minutes and there is
plenty of proof of this. Councilwoman Gallagher stated this is a fact and
she is not casting aspirations and this is a recipe for disaster. She stated
she is not against planned growth but she is against crowded schools,
stress on fire services and other city services and asked just what does the
Council think will happen if the city continues growing as it has ?. The
bureaucrats are going to protect their highly paid fire service staff. She
stated the Council should take a lesson from the Japanese because they at
least honor the land and they have 5 times our population. She
recommended the Council ask anyone from Fish and Game how adversely
the land is effected by paving over everything with concrete and how it
causes flooding among other problems. She stated it was the "growth
attitude" that wanted the big box stores on the west side and it is the
"growth attitude" that caused their death and the city developed the
shopping center on Southwest Blvd. and then forgot about it. She stated
the city has no plans for redevelopment or taking care of the older areas
of town which need to be upgraded. She asked if the Council ever really
looks at what it costs to continue building homes and stated the city can't
keep writing checks when they don't have any money in the bank. She
stated that the city is very close to bankruptcy and advised the residents
not to be fooled.
Vice Mayor Eck stated he complimented Councilwoman Gallagher's
commentary, especially her suggestions for an economic plan. Vice
Mayor Eck stated he agreed with a comment made by Linda Branscomb
regarding revenue sharing and stated this is a crucial issue and at some
point will have to be applied. In response to the property owners outside
the city, he stated the city would be looking at $ 160 million for a new
sewer plant, $40 million bond float and this would all represent a massive
fiscal responsibility of about 1/2 billion dollars. He stated he supported
Option #4 in the community guidelines and possibly Option #6 and he
would like to see an economic element in a technical General Plan with the
goal being additional employers. He stated the city is in good shape with
the General Plan and that he did not agree that we randomly move the
sphere of influence back out to Stony Point Road without some
expectation for economic return for Rohnert Park and didn't think the city
could even justify that decision. He stated he would like to move away
from the amoebae plan and would like to see the ABAG requirements
met. He suggested that specific plan areas 2A and 2B be lumped together,
sub- divided and reassessed and give everyone a fair share return and get
rid of partial annexations. Vice-Mayor Eck stated he would support that
these suggestions all be put to the vote of the people. Involving the 22
acres, the city needs to work with the residents to alleviate their problems
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General Plan - Town Hall Meeting
April 15. 1996
and the same with the residents of Canon -Manor and the citizens of that
area need to work together with the city and this border line hostility has
one on too long nd has gotten us no where.
*CORRECTIONS BELOW FROM 5/14/96 City Council meeting: Per Mayor Flores (deletions lined out
additions underlined)
Mayor Flores stated he first wanted to comment regarding a statement
made that castsU as/ ersio PA e Services Department that is
incorrect and felt that the fire that occurred in "L" section should not be
used for political exploitation. He stated that a significant loss of time
occurred because the residents did not call the Fire Department until the
fire was quite underway and it was an unfortunate thing that happened and
it is not appropriate to talk about this issue at this meeting as it was not a
topic of the General Plan. He stated that the city is in a very tenuous
situation and we do need to maintain our level of service to the
community. He agreed that without the 22 acres, the city would not have
anything to offer a large employer who approached us and at the same
time the Council needs to also look at the needs of our residents as well as
the quality of life. He stated that the Council are all in agreement that we
are not looking at massiv$e2�ion . He stated he is in support of
Option #3 and*9 he financial ability of the city. He
*CHANGE: to reminded the members of the audience that this town hall meeting is just a
$200,000 and first step in a lengthy process towards a General Plan and supports and
ADD: encourages public input at all meetings of the City Council.
which is the amount Council had projected for the General Plan.
ADJOURNMENT: There being no further discussion, Mayor Flores adjourned the Town Hall
meeting at 10:00.
Mayor
Recording Clerk
13