Petaluma Station project introduction
Petaluma Station is the working title for a proposed multi-family mixed-use project that would adjoin the downtown SMART station and the Copeland Transit Mall. The proposed developer, Hines Interests LP, a global real estate firm, has asked to present its current concept to the Know Before You Grow community.
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ADU Workshop
The future is now! Know Before You Grow is hosting a workshop this month to answer all your top of mind questions about building your own ADU or Junior ADU.
Did you know that most homeowners can build a second unit on their property of up to 1,000 square feet?
Did you know you can now save thousands of dollars in ADU impact fees?
Did you know you can build a new detached Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU), a junior ADU inside your home, or both!
Join us to learn how you can take advantage of new state laws giving you more flexibility and cost savings to build a second unit on your property.
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Green Trips
Cars and buses alike are stuck in traffic that drives climate change. Housing and economic policies have codified inequity and exclusion. These problems are connected.
High housing costs displace low-income transit riders from urban centers to suburbs, causing longer, more expensive, polluting commutes that make traffic worse.
Outdated requirements to overbuild parking increases construction costs, decreases the space to provide more homes, and results in more car use and traffic.
Parking and traffic concerns fuel neighborhood opposition to new housing developments, perpetuating racial and economic exclusion.
Every time we approve a car-centric, multi-family development with vast expanses of parking, we lose an opportunity to do the right thing.
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Parking Reform
Cities across America are reforming their 1950s-era parking policies. By doing so, they are achieving greater prosperity, more affordable housing, less traffic congestion, and less pollution.
Parking minimums and off-street parking requirements tie us to big box urbanism and limit our ability to reuse and revitalize existing spaces.
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ADU Introduction
Join us for a discussion of Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) and the ways in which Petaluma and other Bay Area cities are working to remove obstacles to their permitting and construction. As San Jose Councilmember Pam Foley said, “It’s all about housing. We need to build more housing. Accessory dwelling units are the low-hanging fruit.”
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Historic Preservation & Petaluma's Urban Core
A look at the preservation of a historic building in downtown Petaluma as a jumping-off point for talking about the role of historic preservation!
The issues that confront city and urban planning are complex and not easily grouped as positive or negative. Historic preservation is not the least of the issues, and it naturally arises when we discuss how communities grow, evolve, and make substantive changes for a better quality of life for its inhabitants.
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Road Diet: Reimagining the southern gateway to Petaluma
It's been a few years since the implementation of the road diet on Petaluma Boulevard North. We've learned a great deal since then. The City of Petaluma is on the cusp of applying those lessons to the reimagining of Petaluma Boulevard South with its own road diet. Join us for a lively discussion of how we might best revitalize the southern gateway to Petaluma!
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The Missing Middle: When McMansions and apartments aren't enough
For many years, our zoning codes gradually diverged into only two types of housing, single-family homes and apartments, leaving behind a wealth of options such as duplexes, bungalow courts, and live-work units that had long served our communities but were now being forgotten.
Opticos Design of Berkeley noted the growing omission and described it as "missing middle housing." With the recent initiative in many cities to allow duplexes in neighborhoods formerly zoned for single-family housing only, the "missing middle" is being recognized but more remains to be done.
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The Petaluman project introduction
Join us for a chat with the applicant and architect for the downtown hotel, Ross Jones of Jones Architecture and Development. The hotel is being designed to serve the community as well as it serves its guests. Bring your curiosity and questions!
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The General Plan and Climate Change: Finding Room for a Rising River
Join Roger Leventhal (Marin County Flood Control) and local planners in a discussion of not if, but how sea level rise will impact Petaluma.
This forum, as noted above, will try to identify what actions Petaluma should take in response to the rising oceans pushing the Petaluma River upwards. It's proving to be a complex question. A host of people have weighed in with thoughts, and we are working to firm up the evening's agenda. If you have expertise on the subject and are willing to lend a hand, or if you want to bring a lay perspective to the conversation, let us know. We will finalize a forum plan within the next week.
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Haystack project introduction
Pacifica Development has worked for years on their Haystack project, on the site bounded by E. Washington Copeland, D, and Weller Streets, midway between downtown and the SMART train station. It is one of the pre-eminent infill sites in Petaluma.
Pacifica's project is now scheduled for a Planning Commission hearing on Tuesday, May 28. But Pacifica, continuing their long history of working with the community, is eager to present the project in a meeting where the conversation can be more casual and interactive. And Know Before You Grow is happy to accommodate them.
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Infill: The Right Idea at the Right Time
To paraphrase Tina Turner, "What's infill got to do, got to do with it? What's infill but a secondhand solution?"
Infill has everything to do with it! Whether housing, a corner store, or a conveniently located preschool, walkable infill lets us live more car-free, comfortable, and community-oriented lives. It also reduces carbon emissions. And it increases the ratio of private, taxable improvements to public infrastructure, strengthening a city's bottom line!
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The Public Realm: Getting to pedestrian scale
Join us for a discussion of the public realm.
We’ll tackle the big question of how to make the public space work for all of us!
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YIMBY: Yes in my backyard!
Join us for a presentation by Laura Foote, Executive Director of SF YIMBY Action, followed by Q&A. Laura will share the SF YIMBY Action perspective on making housing happen...and it may surprise you!
If you want to enhance mobility options, improve municipal finances and pushback against climate change...
If you want to reduce homelessness...
If you want teachers, nurses, and firefighters to live in your community, if you want to reduce commute times and traffic congestion, support access to housing in your neighborhood.
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Corona Station project introduction
The proposed Corona Station Housing Development: Is it right for Petaluma’s future?
Todd Kurtin, a principal of Lomas Partners, and his team will present their proposal for a high-density, single-family development at Corona Road and North McDowell Blvd.
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