Santa Rosa bistro's trash dilemma nears resolution

A downtown Santa Rosa restaurant unable to open its doors because it had no place to put its garbage could be in business within two to three weeks.

That's the time officials estimate it will take to develop a formal agreement with Rendezvous Bistro owner Nino Rabbaa that will lead to construction of a permanent garbage enclosure within a city-owned parking garage.

Rabbaa's frustration over his inability to open his French bistro on Fourth Street had grown in recent months as he poured more than $500,000 into its renovation only to learn he would be denied the right to use a garbage enclosure inside the Third Street garage.

It is an enclosure currently used by three other downtown businesses -- Flavor, Upper Fourth and Mac's -- along with the restaurants and coffee shops that for the past 25 years occupied the same storefront Rabbaa is renovating.

But city officials pointed out that Rabbaa was warned about the garbage situation early on, and City Manager Jeff Kolin noted that he pursued "construction with no building plans and no (submitted) plans and was red-tagged."

Cheryl Woodward, deputy transit and parking director, said it has been the city's intent over the past year to shut the garbage operations within the garage because of problems with odors and flies.

About 13,000 motorists park in the garage each month.

Councilman Lee Pierce, however, said penalizing Rabbaa when past businesses were able to use the garbage enclosure was unfair and pushed for a more business-friendly solution.

"We're not talking about an expanded use here but a continuing one," he said, adding that any business willing to locate downtown should be received "with open arms."

Efforts to find a reasonable solution failed until this week when representatives for the city's garbage hauler, North Bay Corp., said enough room exists within the current enclosure to fit two 95-gallon garbage carts for the bistro's use.

That would require the elimination of a drum set aside to recycle cooking oil and an agreement by the businesses that now share use of the drum to store their cooking oils within their own businesses.

While the council agreed to pursue that avenue as an interim measure, Councilwoman Susan Gorin said it must be accompanied by a long-term solution, a scenario supported by other council members.

"The temporary solution is not a good solution because it will remain an open area. We don't want to continue with the odor problem in the garage," she said.

Woodward said a permanent solution would involve shifting the garbage bins used by the four businesses to an area closer to Third Street.

The move would provide a larger area to store more bins along with an area that could be enclosed and ventilated to rid the garage of the odor and pest problems.

Woodward said how much that enclosure will cost is not yet known but part of its cost must covered by the new bistro if it wants to open for business, she said.

It will be up to the other three businesses if they want to share the balance of costs.

If they don't, Gorin said, those businesses may be told to take their garbage elsewhere.

You can reach Staff Writer Mike McCoy at 521-5276 or mike.mccoy@pressdemocrat.com.