Oakmont residents got a glimpse of what community leaders have been discussing with the city for several months at an Oct. 11 Town Hall previewing changes to Santa Rosa’s General Plan that is a blueprint for how the city develops over the next 20 years.
In her first appearance at the Berger Center, Amy Lyle, planning supervisor for the city, said the plan incorporates safety in all aspects of its review because of the threat of wildfires, flooding and earthquakes in the region.
“We’re putting as much in the plan as we can to reflect the need for safety and increased resiliency and looking at best practices,” Lyle told the live audience of 35 and 40 online.
Noting the city’s population is expected to grow exponentially between now and 2050, Lyle said the preferred alternative is a mixture of growth along the central corridors with transit a big component and expanding resources to neighborhoods. Oakmont is identified as a no change neighborhood in the plan.
The city has listed for future investment shoring up Highway 12 by widening the road from Melita to Pythian to four lanes. “This is the start of a conversation,” Lyle said, adding it may not happen since the City Council would need to fund the project.
The General Plan does not identify evacuation options for Oakmont. OVA President Jess Marzak said after the meeting that he was still optimistic because city planners clearly understand the community’s evacuation issues.
“There are very limited solutions,” Marzak said, confirming the ball was still in Oakmont’s court. “If we come up something viable, they will go out of their way to support it.”
Responding to the opportunity to speak, attendees asked questions and commented on several aspects of the proposed General Plan which is in its final stages.
“I’m really nervous about water,” Sue Carrel said. Lyle assured her the city is using less water today than it did in 1990.
Providing feedback on transit hubs, Alan Shankman said connectivity with other systems is needed in the East/West part of the city. “It’s difficult to connect with Smart Trains,” he noted.
Underlining his background as a city planner before retiring, Tony Lachowicz opined that Oakmont wants to retain its small town feel. “We don’t want malls or parking lots.”
Jeff Neuman, an OVA Board member, stressed using what we have as efficiently as possible, citing the need for improved synchronization of street signals with traffic. He also expressed concern about gas station bans since many of the gas cars today will still be on the road 20 years from now.