Front row to Highway 12 stirs traffic worries

Rick Hill, a 62-year-old general contractor from Los Angeles, and his wife, Marna, an artist and designer, were first lured to the upper Sonoma Valley by its beautiful topography and weather, along with a solid job offer.

Like many refugees from Southern California, they moved to Santa Rosa in the 1970s. In 1989, Rick built a spec house on a 200-foot hilltop across from Oakmont. When it didn’t sell, the couple moved in and made it their home.

The area is now known as Annadel Gap, a two-lane stretch of Highway 12 on the outskirts of Santa Rosa between Melita and Pythian roads.

Three winery projects are located within a half-mile of their home: Sugarloaf Custom Crush, which opened last year; Annadel Estate Winery, which has a permit to expand; and Westwood’s Annadel Gap property, which has a permit for a winery yet to be built.

The couple is concerned about highway congestion caused by ever-expanding senior developments on the south side of Highway 12 as well as winery and events projects on the north side.

The Hills’ home, accessed through a long, shared road at the intersection of Highway 12, offers a front-row seat for ongoing development in east Santa Rosa, particularly along the busy, two-lane corridor of Annadel Gap.

“Most people drive the highway and don’t get to see a bird’s-eye view,” Rick said. “Oakmont has continued to expand despite the fact that the highway may never be widened.”

Plans for the Highway 12 extension over Spring Lake were in place around the time the first homes were built in Oakmont. That aspect of Highway 12 is no longer part of the county or city’s general plan.

“Three winery/events centers are planned on this half-mile section,” Hill said. “What will happen with respect to noise and traffic when those events occur on the same day?”

Over the past two decades, Hill has appeared at county hearings for wineries and other projects and corresponded with city planners about new subdivisions within Oakmont.

Frustrated by planners’ failure to acknowledge the needs of local residents, he spends his free time building fountains to drown out the sirens on Highway 12, where more than 1,000 ambulances make the trip from Santa Rosa to Oakmont and back each year, according to the Coast Valleys EMS Agency.

“For many daily needs, people in this area rely on Highway 12,” Hill said. “Twenty-five years ago, we knew the road was treacherous, but it’s become more so, and growth seems to continue unabated.”

Diane Peterson