January 2, 2023
Calendar Notes
More Details below provides further information, including links, for all events.
Wednesday, January 4 (Tonight!)
Petaluma Pedestrian and Bicycle Advisory Committee – Updates on 5th Street bike boulevard, D Street traffic calming, and more
Tuesday, January 10
Petaluma Historical and Cultural Preservation Committee – Hearing on historic compliance of proposed Hotel Weaver
Friday, January 13
Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit – Deadline for applications to Citizens Oversight Committee
Monday, January 16
City of Petaluma – Deadline for applications to add new members to General Plan Advisory Committee, Transit Committee, and more
Thursday, January 19
Petaluma General Plan Advisory Committee - Monthly meeting with topic to be announced
Thursday, January 26
Petaluma Urban Chat – Monthly agenda-free meeting
Greetings & Thoughts
Happy New Year to everyone and best wishes for a better 2023.
I have several items to mention this week:
The January 10 date has been confirmed for the Historical and Cultural Preservation Committee hearing on the proposed Hotel Weaver. Urban Chat has prepared comments to be submitted to the HCPC.
Next, in this space last week, I wrote about the City accepting applicants to replace departed members of the General Plan Advisory Committee. Belatedly, I realized that applications are also being accepted for vacancies on several other City bodies.
I specifically call attention to the vacancy on the Transit Advisory Committee. Increased transit ridership would be a major step toward carbon neutrality. Having another transit proponent on the committee would be useful. (Acknowledgment: I chair the committee.)
More information on the City process is below. As always, I’m eager to chat with potential applicants about serving on City bodies. In the past decade-plus, I’ve served on six different committees.
Moving on, I remain hopeful of finding an Urban Chat member eager to serve on SMART’s Citizens Oversight Commission. From last week’s email, “The SMART announcement encourages the nominations from ‘Advocacy groups representing bicyclists, pedestrians, and passengers.’ … Urban Chat, with its focus on walkability and effective transit-oriented land-use patterns, aligns well with the needs of pedestrians and rail passengers.” More information on the SMART process is below.
Lastly, but perhaps most importantly, the Urban Chat/Know Before You Grow team has been puzzling over the many directions that KBYG can go in the new year. So, we’ve decided to ask for your thoughts. In the next day, you should receive a survey on the topic. Your responses will be much appreciated.
Questions or comments? Let me know. Dave Alden 707-338-8388
P.S. If you wish to be removed from this email list, or have folks to add, let me know.
More Details
All events are open to the public and everyone is encouraged to participate in person or on-line.
Wednesday, January 4 (Tonight!)
Petaluma Pedestrian and Bicycle Advisory Committee – The PBAC agenda includes updates on the proposed 5th Street bike boulevard, possible D Street traffic calming efforts, wayfinding, and more.
The meeting will convene at 6:30pm. The agenda is here. The link to attend and to participate in the meeting is here.
Tuesday, January 10
Petaluma Historical and Cultural Preservation Committee – The HCPC will conduct a hearing on the compliance of the proposed Hotel Weaver with the downtown historic district. The hotel would be within the district, although the former use of the site, a small footprint gas station, was not considered contributory.
The meeting will convene at 4:00pm. The link to the agenda is here. The link to the staff report is here. The link to attend and to participate in the meeting is here.
Friday, January 13
Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit - SMART is looking for additions to its reconfigured Citizens Oversight Committee. More information is provided here. Please note the application deadline. Urban Chat will likely be willing to write a letter of recommendation for any Urban Chat participant who wants to apply.
Monday, January 16
City of Petaluma – Deadline for applications to add new members to the General Plan Advisory Committee, Transit Committee, and more. More information is here.
Thursday, January 19
Petaluma General Plan Advisory Committee - The General Plan Advisory Committee will convene for their monthly meeting. The topic hasn’t yet been announced.
The meeting will convene at 6:30pm. The links to the agenda and to attend and participate in the meeting will be provided when published by the City.
Thursday, January 26
Petaluma Urban Chat – The monthly meeting of Urban Chat is almost always agenda-free, allowing an enjoyable and enlightening conversation to wander freely over the urbanist landscape.
The meeting will convene at noon. With the pandemic hopefully behind us, we’ve resumed meeting in person at the Aqus Café at 2nd and H Streets.
