February 13, 2023
Calendar Notes
More Details below provides further information, including links, for all events.
Tuesday, February 14 (tomorrow) – Petaluma Planning Commission
Commission review of Housing Element as modified in response to comments from HCD
Thursday, February 16 (this week) – Petaluma General Plan Advisory Committee
Review of Housing Element as potentially modified in response to HCD comments
Wednesday, February 22
Know Before You Grow – First 2023 forum: speakers and content are being finalized
Thursday, February 23 – Petaluma Urban Chat
Monthly agenda-free meeting
Monday, February 27 – Petaluma City Council
Scott Ranch hearing and City/SMART agreement on Corona Station
Greetings & Thoughts
February seems to be Housing Month for Petaluma. This week, the draft Housing Element will be the topic of meetings of the Planning Commission and General Plan Advisory Committee (GPAC).
As a reminder, the Housing Element is one of the elements/chapters of a General Plan. Unlike a General Plan, however, a Housing Element must be updated every eight years while most General Plans have longer lives.
For Petaluma this time around, the Housing Element is being updated as part of the General Plan update.
Last fall, the draft Housing Element was vetted by the GPAC, Planning Commission, and City Council before submission to the state Housing and Community Development Department. HCD has now returned comments. Planning has prepared their intended responses which will again be vetted by the City bodies before resubmittal to the state for final approval.
Timely approval of a Housing Element is important. If a Housing Element has expired, developers of projects that meet certain parameters have the option of proceeding with reduced city oversight. This path is called the “builders remedy”. So Planning is now pushing toward expeditious completion of the updated Housing Element.
Also on the housing topic, Know Before You Grow is talking with several housing experts about presenting to the February 22 KBYG forum. Details will be presented as soon as possible.
Before closing, I have a question. For the past few years, I’ve assumed I was the only local member of StrongTowns. At least, no other local resident since about 2016 has told me they also belonged to the organization. However, during a StrongTowns Zoom event last week, I was told there were two other StrongTowns members in Petaluma. You’re under no obligation to decloak, but if you’re willing, I’m interested in learning who the other members are and talking about how we might work together.
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.
Tuesday, February 14 – Petaluma Planning Commission
The Housing Element is the City document laying out the strategy for meeting the housing needs of the community over the next eight years, including complying with the Regional Housing Needs Allocation.
The Planning Commission previously reviewed and approved the proposed Housing Element before submittal to the state Department of Housing and Community Development for their review. HCD comments have now been received and Planning has edited the Housing Element accordingly. The Planning Commission will review the newly edited version.
The meeting will convene at 7:00pm. The link to the agenda is here. The link to the staff report on the Housing Element is here. The link to attend and to participate in the meeting is here. What better way could there be to spend Valentine’s Day?
Thursday, February 16 – Petaluma General Plan Advisory Committee
The General Plan Advisory Committee will convene for their monthly meeting. The topic will be the Housing Element, with content similar to the Planning Commission meeting two days earlier.
The meeting will convene at 6:30pm. The link to the agenda is here. The staff report is the same as provided to the Planning Commission. The link to attend and to participate in the meeting is here.
Thursday, February 23 – 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.
Monday, February 27 – Petaluma City Council
For the warm-up act, the Council will consider a proposed agreement between the City and SMART regarding the future Corona SMART station.
While this station and the development around it could be an important element of Petaluma’s future, as discussed during the Council meeting last week when the application for a grant from the MTC for a Specific Plan was approved, much of the attention at the Council meeting will be focused on the Scott Ranch hearing.
For those new to Petaluma, Scott Ranch has been roiling local politics for fifteen years. After extended negotiations involving the City and local advocacy groups, the proposed size and unit count of the project have been greatly reduced with much of the site becoming an expansion to Helen Putnam Park, but many remain convinced that any development at all is unacceptable. It will likely be a contentious hearing that will last long into the evening.
The public portion of the meeting is expected to convene at 6:30pm. Links to the agenda and to attend and participate in the meeting will be provided when published by the City.
