Page 36 - Sonoma County Gazette - June 2018

We held our second Lower Russian River MAC
Roseland Revitalizations Reviewed
informational meeting on Wednesday, May 9. During the meeting we shared the proposed boundary for the LRR MAC. We expect the boundary to encompass the area of Forestville, Guerneville, Rio Nido, Monte Rio, Duncans Mills and Cazadero (minus the west hills). The goal is to be more inclusive, which I know might seem a bit scary or disconcerting. We’ve heard from
many residents, “But I don’t have anything in common with someone who lives [anywhere but where I live].” While our river communities are distinct and unique, they do share very common and very real problems that need an outside of the box solution. I think the nine members of the MAC, composed
of individuals from each unique community, will be able to bring their unique experiences with common issues, including homelessness, vacation rental over- saturation, roads, affordable housing and more, and help us create an outside- of-the-box solution.
School is out and Roseland’s streets will be more active during daytime with children rushing about on foot and bicycles. Please be careful and slow down for our youth. Especially near the newly repaved section of Sunset Ave. behind Roseland School. This is because the Apples & Bananas Pre-School has been placed there on the southern side of the school yard right next to the street. New Asphalt and Gentrification were on the minds of a few readers contacting Roseland Review last month.
As for the next steps, my staff will be working with Permit Sonoma
to draw nine districts, based off of the feedback we received from our second MAC meeting, from which the LRR MAC’s representatives will come from. At the same time, staff will work with our county adminstrator’s office to finish the bylaws, policies and ‘fun stuff’ that will be presented to my Board for approval, hopefully by late July. Afterwards, we will hold another town hall to inform people of the districts and open up the application process.
Don’t worry about gentrification yet as it took the city of Santa Rosa 22 years to have this one block section of Sunset Ave. repaved after the annexation of east Roseland in 1996. The other one block long section of Sunset Ave., just now annexed in November 2017, is just as beat up and pot holed as the eastern section was. It may take 20 years for the western side to get gentrified with new asphalt. More new asphalt has been placed on the new block of Liana
For the Lower Russian River MAC, we plan on holding a caucus. The plan is to empower the communities and districts to vote for their own representative in an informal setting. My office is still looking into the the complexities and realities of holding a caucus, making sure we empower all residents living in the Lower Russian River to have a chance to vote. Due to all of the complexities accompanying a caucus, we will likely not hold the event until mid or late September. After the caucus, I will formally recommend the nine ‘elected’ representatives to the Board of Supervisors. After they are accepted, the board members will go through roughly three months of training.
The Joe Rodota Trail on the old railroad line between Santa Rosa and Sebastopol through Roseland was paved years ago and now has become a living spot for numerous individuals who were moved off the county taxpayer owned land at Roseland Village Shopping Center. About 50 people are living in tents or under tarps on both sides of the paved bike path. May’s Roseland Review pointed out U-Haul trucks were used to move some campers off of
While we aren’t looking to hold the caucus for another few months, its never too early to begin thinking about the requirements and qualifications that would make for a good MAC representative. Suggested requirements and qualifications include:
the site. A reader has stated private funds were used to enable the trucks to be rented and also the Porta Potties and fencing at the previous site. When these folks rented another Porta Pottie for the new camp along the Joe Rodota Trail the county had it removed after a day. So now we have more fecal matter back in the ditches of this neighborhood. By the time this colun is published, the trail will be shut down to remove ALL the campers, theoretically to shelters.
• Full time LRR resident
• Ability to meet once a month for three hours
• Has a good pulse of his or her local community and its needs
• An interest in civic duty
• Desire to help and represent the entire community
• Strong communication skills—isn’t afraid to speak up
• Ability to travel throughout the Lower Russian River area to attend meetings
Homeless campers cannot find housing and some people in local Roseland housing are being evicted even as the problems worsen. Ms. Debra Kelly contacted Roseland Review pointing out she is being evicted so Santa Rosa can purchase the land where she lives to destroy the houses. She has asked the city to let her stay on the land until she could move the house elsewhere.
We also want to hear from you: what requirements or qualifications do you think a MAC representative should have? Please email my field representative, Amie Windsor at Amie.windsor@sonoma-county.org with any suggestions.
I am happy to report that our Board on Tuesday, May 22, decided to request a six month extension from the state. The solution presented to us Tuesday morning wasn’t an adequate solution. It didn’t take into account the financial burden of minor nuances in language; for example, a simple turn of phrase describing septic repairs could cost homeowners $75,000. It also failed to
it would seem one way to help solve this problem would be to save the housing stock in existence while building more. At the old Fouches Junkyard on Dutton Ave. they are now revitalizing the 12 acre former “brownfield” by building a new neighborhood and making room for a park. The new place will be called Paseo Vista and have a nice view of the SMART trains passing by daily.
The SMART train has been criticized as being a growth engine for gentrification of the areas near the Highway 101 corridor of central Sonoma County. But it may also be a method to bring more housing into the areas located near train stops. Known as Transit Oriented Development there
may be an opportunity to have affordable housing for cross sections of our communities. Ms. Kelly is a senior citizen who was paying fair market rate rent for her one bedroom former garage converted into housing. She states she cannot find any place else to rent and has formally asked the Santa Rosa City Council to help her, but to no avail.
In other news:
take into account months of work, dedication and volunteer time from many west county homeowners, landlords, property owners and realtors who are concerned about striking the right balance between keeping housing and all of the accompanying maintenance affordable with the desire to preserve the safety and environmental health of our Russian River.
Santa Rosa may not be as helpful to Roseland as once thought.
Moving forward I will be working with Second District Supervisor David Rabbitt on securing an extension from the water control board and working with staff to craft a policy that makes sense for both our residents and our river.
The City Council has created voting districts where Roseland residents may be able to vote for a representative to the council in the future. But Roseland will have to wait for elections in 2020 to be able to vote for candidates who may have an interest in Roseland. This was decided by the council recently.
36 - www.sonomacountygazette.com - 6/18
Gentrification may bring voting rights into Roseland sooner than the district elections because politicians follow the money. Taxpayers’ money is the main subsidy for affordable housing and has been an element in political interest regarding Roseland. If new money comes to Roseland maybe politicians will also. But if politicians only follow the money of campaign contributors the disadvantaged, underserved, overburdened community of Roseland will be going nowhere fast.
Dr. travelling west to Burbank Ave. for the new Crossroads housing project. The new 79 units of apartments at the Crossroads development on Burbank Ave. may be a form of gentrification, but it took close to 13 years to finish the affordable housing project so not to worry yet.
For all the recent news stories about the “Housing Crisis” in Sonoma County