June 19, 2023
Greetings & Thoughts
Back in Petaluma, Downtown Overlay, General Plan schedule, email problems, and much more
Ahh, it’s great to be back in Petaluma, at least for a couple of weeks. Much appreciation to Sharon Kirk for stepping into this role during the two weeks I was traveling. And I’ve asked her to jump back into the saddle when I take an unexpected trip in early July. I really appreciate people who can be so willing to help wherever needed.
There’s so much to say this week but not much time, so this will be a quick once-over. Hopefully, next Monday will allow me to dig in more deeply, including sharing insights from the two land-use conferences I attended while away.
While I was gone, the proposed Downtown Overlay District unexpectedly appeared. Like most people, I’m still learning the nuances of the proposal, including the aspects still to be refined. I’m sure this will be a continuing topic of community education and discussion.
As Sharon noted last week, the broad outlines of an updated General Plan schedule have now been shared with the GPAC and the City Council. While the month-by-month details will continue to be refined, the most significant point is that the target date for completion and approval of the updated General Plan has been moved to mid-2024.
As a member of the GPAC, I’m mostly pleased with the new schedule. Given the number of issues to be addressed in the General Plan, including the Downtown Overlay, having more time to learn the facts and to work collectively toward the best solutions is a positive.
Lastly, at least for this week, I understand we began having email delivery problems during my absence. Specifically, our bulk email service, Mailchimp, stopped talking with Comcast, so anyone with a comcast.net email address wasn’t hearing from us. (As someone with one of those email addresses, I was among the non-recipients.) Sharon is aware of the problem and has implemented an interim solution that involves having all emails from Urban Chat sent from my personal Comcast email address. We're working on a longer-term solution (with Xfinity) but in the meantime, for those of you with Comcast email addresses who have the option to provide a different email address, that would be appreciated. Please send your email address change to sharonkirk@urbanchat.org.
That’s all for this week but look for me to touch on many other topics next week. Thanks for reading.
Questions or comments? Dave will be back later this week. Feel free to reach out to either of us, Sharon Kirk, @ 707-775-5727 or Dave Alden @ 707-338-8388.
P.S. New folks can sign up for this email through the Urban Chat website.
Upcoming Meetings
All events are open to the public. Everyone is encouraged to participate in person or on-line. The link to the Urban Chat calendar, as frequently referenced below, is here.
Monday, June 19 (tonight!) – Petaluma City Council
Among other agenda items, the Council will make appointments to the City Commissions/Committees/
Boards. Among the applicants for the open positions are many recipients of this email. The willingness of Urban Chat folks to be involved in our community is much appreciated.
The public portion of the Council meeting will convene at 6:30. Other information, including the Zoom link, is provided on the Urban Chat calendar, link above.
Wednesday, June 21 (this week) – Petaluma Park and Rec Commission
The Park and Rec agenda will include a presentation by the local SDAT team on 15-minute neighborhoods. For those who missed the KBYG forum last week on this topic, this will be another opportunity to see the presentation live.
The meeting will convene at 6:00pm. Other information is provided on the Urban Chat calendar, link above.
Thursday, June 22 (This week) – 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 exchange of ideas will commence at noon. Other information is provided on the Urban Chat calendar, link above.
Tuesday, June 27 – Petaluma Health Care District
The PHCD has announced that their Petaluma Blue Zones program will be rolled out on June 27. Blue Zones is a program that largely aligns with the Urban Chat mission statement on land-use and transportation issues, although it also extends into healthy personal habits.
Registration will begin at 4:00pm, with the program beginning at 4:20pm. The presentation will be held in the Carole L. Ellis Auditorium on the Petaluma campus of Santa Rosa Junior College. Preregistration is required, the link is here.
Wednesday, June 28 – Know Before You Grow
The 15-minute neighborhood concept that was the subject of the June 14 KBYG forum has multiple aspects that we’ll examine in future forums. We’ve invited a retail consultant who formerly lived in Petaluma to talk about establishing neighborhood walkable/bikeable retail.
If this speaker is unavailable, we have backup options. Indeed, a possibility arose this morning that would be one of the most interesting and engaging KBYG forums ever. We’ll provide updates as soon as possible through KBYG emails.
Whichever forum is the result, it will convene at 7:00pm. More information, including venue, will be provided on the Urban Chat calendar, link above, as available.
Monday, July 10 – Petaluma City Council
Among other items on the tentative agenda, the Council will receive a report regarding the configuration of N. McDowell Boulevard. This roadway is currently under reconstruction. Many folks in the community, including Urban Chat members, pushed for a configuration that was more welcoming to bicyclists and pedestrians. As a condition of approving the reconstruction contract, the Council required further information regarding configuration alternatives.
Also on the agenda is initial consideration of the General Plan amendments and more that would be required for the Oyster Cove project.
The public portion of the Council meeting will convene at 6:30. Other information, including the Zoom link, will be provided on the Urban Chat calendar when published by the City.
Wednesday, July 12 – Know Before You Grow
After the June 28 forum content is finalized, we’ll resume planning for the forums of July 12 and beyond. We anticipate that most of the forums will address aspects of the 15-minute neighborhood concept that was presented at the June 14 forum. Details will follow as soon as possible. As always, the information will also be provided on the Urban Chat calendar, link above.
Thursday, July 20 – Petaluma General Plan Advisory Committee
Planning has tentatively designated the subject of this meeting as sea level rise/flooding risk. The topic likely won’t be finalized until closer to the meeting date. Also, it was previously proposed that this meeting be moved to a Saturday and be conducted in a hybrid format to allow greater community participation. It’s not known if this alternative remains under consideration.
If the meeting remains on July 20, it would convene at 6:30pm, presumably on Zoom. When updates are provided by the City, they’ll be noted on the Urban Chat calendar, link above.
Saturday, July 22 (Possible) – Petaluma General Plan Advisory Committee
As noted above, the GPAC meeting currently scheduled for Thursday, July 20 may be moved to this date. Please check the Urban Chat calendar, link above, for information regarding this possible rescheduling including a meeting time.
