Santa Rosa council considers final design of reunified square

The Santa Rosa City Council on Tuesday night will consider approval of a final design for a reunified Old Courthouse Square, a controversial project that has been in the making for years and has no guaranteed funding source.

A decade ago, the council adopted goals that included reunifying the downtown square, which is bisected by Mendocino Avenue between Third and Fourth streets. In February, the council approved the final environmental impact report for the $17 million project.

Council members in July considered approving a recommended design - one that includes two peripheral streets on the east and west sides that existed before 1966 - but postponed it until all members could be present.

Councilwoman Julie Combs is in France, but according to the agenda, will participate in the meeting via phone, at 1 a.m. Paris time.

The 1.5-acre site formerly housed the county courthouse, which was razed because it had been declared earthquake unsafe. The site was split in two in 1966 and Santa Rosa and Mendocino avenues were connected through its center.

Until 1966, two side streets, Hinton and Exchange avenues, were at the west and east ends of the courthouse, providing a more circuitous route for those traveling cross-town north and south.

The push to reunite the square, partly sparked by successes for similar squares in Healdsburg and Sonoma, began more than a decade ago.

But critics have opposed the project because of its cost, concerns that it is unnecessary and that it would dissuade shoppers from coming downtown.

Opponents of the idea have said eliminating the Santa Rosa/Mendocino avenue connection that accommodates 16,000 cars a day will cause many to avoid downtown.

City officials have maintained that grants, not general fund money, would be used for the project, the same approach the city used to build the $25 million Prince Memorial Greenway project.

Three design options have been discussed, with the focus on whether both Hinton and Exchange streets should be included in the final design.

Tonight, the council will discuss the staff-recommended design that includes both Hinton and Exchange streets and other architectural features identified in the certified final environmental report on the project.

Other options include no side streets or just Exchange Street on the west side of the square.

SWA Group, which won a 2007 design competition for the project, includes the reintroduction of Hinton and Exchange avenues, parking along both streets, a central plaza, a water wall, light arbor, pavilions and landscaped areas.

Some of the existing mature trees including the Bunya Bunya tree and many of the redwood trees would be retained.

The estimated cost of the entire project is $17.1 million, according to the staff report.

The meeting begins at 4 p.m. Tuesday at Santa Rosa City Hall, 100 Santa Rosa Ave.