1994/10/04 City Council MinutesCALL TO ORDER
Pledge
ROLL CALL
General Plan
Review Process
ROHNF..RT PARK CTTY COUNCTL MTNUTFS
October 4, 1994
The Council of the City of Rohnert. Park met this
date in special session commencing at 6:37 p.m. in
the City Offices, 6750 Commerce Boulevard, Rohnert
Park, with Mayor Reilly presiding.
Mayor Reilly called the General Plan Update Work
Session to order at approximately 6:37 p.m.
Mayor Reilly led the audience in the Pledge of
Allegiance.
PRESENT: (5)
ABSENT: (0)
Councilmembers Eck, Gallagher, Spiro
Hollingsworth, and Mayor Reilly
None
Staff present for all or part of the meeting: City
Manager Netter, City Attorney Flitner, and
Assistant City Manager Leivo.
Councilmembers discussed a timetable, proposed by
Councilman Eck, for the General Plan process as
listed in a memo which is hereby made a part of
these minutes.
Public Hearing Mayor Reilly opened the public hearing and asked if
any members of the public would like to make
comments regarding the Draft General Plan Update.
Linda Branscomb, 21 Anne, stated that it was time to move forward with
the plan. Amendments can be made after the
election. She opposed the proposal for a third
golf course. This plan is a step in the right
direction, particularly because the Housing Element
addresses the City's fair share of affordable
housing, but the City needs to do a complete
general plan.
Dave Mochel, 4405 Hollingsworth Circle, criticized the statement on
page 1.4 explaining that the citizen's committee
prepared the first draft. City staff controlled
the process. Staff prepared drafts of each element
and the Noise and Safety Elements were not
discussed by the citizen's committee. The
committee's debate was cut off and it never took a
final vote. The draft omits an open space border
around the City. The draft is not internally
consistent. The City should put the infrastructure
in place before approving growth.
Rohnert Park City Council Minutes
Close Hearing
There being no
Reilly closed
discussed how
element.
October 4, 1994
Page 2
one further wishing to speak,. Mayor
the public hearing. The Council
to obtain public comments for each
Content and Scope Councilmembers discussed the order of the General
Plan elements and which elements should be reviewed
first. Councilmembers also discussed whether this
General Plan, the time frame of the update, and the
scope of the General Plan.
Text Change It was a consensus of the Council to add a
reference to the sphere of influence to the first
sentence on page 1:2.
Definitions It was a consensus of the Council to add an
appendix that lists definitions of unusual
terminology.
Long Term Master
Plan Councilwoman Gallagher made a motion to prepare a
foundation for a long term master plan process and
look at land use outside the City limits within
ninety days. Councilmembers discussed the motion.
The motion died for lack of a second.
Motion Councilman Eck made a motion, seconded by
Councilwoman Spiro, to add to Purpose 4, page 1:2 a
statement that the City will address the land use
element within six months. Councilmembers
discussed the cost of the planning process,
applying the Specific Plan Ordinance, annexation,
and CEQA guidelines. No vote was taken on the
motion.
Total Population Councilmembers discussed that statement in General
Policy 1, page 1:5, that the ultimate population of
Rohnert Park should total approximately 40,000.
The City population is near this number and
additional housing construction is anticipated in
the draft plan. It was a consensus of the Council
to include a statement identifying the actual
current population and State housing construction
mandates to qualify the total population number.
Sphere of Influence It was a consensus of the Council to include a
reference to the sphere of influence in General
Policy 1 so as to be consistent with the earlier
decision.
General Plan Update It was a consensus of the Council to include
statements that the Council, in 1990, promised to
update the general play by 1995 on pages 1:2 and
1:4
Rohnert Park City Council Minutes October 4, 1994
Page 3
Implementation
Measure It was a consensus of the Council to state, on page
1:3, that an implementation measure is "A
procedure, project, program or technique intended
to carry out a General Plan policy."
School District It was a consensus of the Council to add the
Unified School District to the list of units of
government in purpose number 1, page 1:2.
Purpose Number 2 It was a consensus of the Council to request staff
to rewrite purpose number 2, page 1:2, in a more
positive fashion, stressing the need to create
partnerships in a larger area.
Participation Councilmembers discussed whether all economic
segments of the community participated in
development of the general plan update (page 1:3).
It was noted that the City Council and Planning
Commission public hearings would be held in 1995
(page 1.4).
Spelling It was noted that the word Summary was not spelled
correctly on page 1:2.
Environmental
Review Councilmembers discussed how to prepare the
environmental review. It was a consensus of the
Council to wait until the Council completes it
review of the land use and circulation elements
before deciding on a firm or individual to
undertake the environmental review. The Council
will interview Phillip Jones at that time.
Next General Plan
Update Meeting Councilmembers discussed when to hold the next
general plan review session. It was a consensus of
the Council to hold the next session on Tuesday,
October 18, 1994, beginning at 5:30 p.m. and
concluding before the scheduled Town Meeting at
7:00 p.m. The review session would be held at the
Hewlett Packard building. The Council also agreed
to place a review of the land use element at the
end of the next regular meeting agenda.
Unscheduled
Appearance Mayor Reilly asked if any members of the public
wanted to make comments.
Dave Mochel, 4405 Hollingsworth Circle, suggested that the citizen's
committee reviewed and discussed drafts of various
chapters of the General Plan (page 1:4). He
suggested that the population total should be
45,000 but that the plan should include an
explanation as to why 40,000 could not be achieved
(page 2:3). He asked if the "planning area"
designation would create legal obligations for the
Rohnert Park City Council Minutes
October 4, 1994
Page 4
City (page 2:9). He recommended that the land
north and south of Wilfred Ave. should be taken out
of the sphere of influence until the State builds
the Wilfred overpass. There is no way to mitigate
traffic impacts from commercial development in this
area. He stated that the specific plan process is
a subtle way to promote development. The specific
plan ordinance is not needed at this time. He
stated that developed on the west side were
not in the Cotati- Rohnert Park School District so
the District does not receive tax revenues. In the
future any annexation should be approved by the
School Board. The plan should uphold citizen's
strongly expressed desire for an urban growth
boundary (page 2:26). "M" Section park
improvements should be listed in the plan (page
2:30). The City does not have the money for a
civic center (Implementation Measure 14, page
2:31). Citizens do not want a third golf course
(Implementation Measure 22, page 2:31).
Implementation Measures 23 and 25, page 2:31,
should be combined.
Continue Hearing There being no one else wanting to be heard, Mayor
Reilly continued the public hearing to the next
regular City Council meeting.
Adjournment Mayor Reilly adjourned the meeting at approximately
8:37 P.M.
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