Santa Rosa council rejects fence at Juilliard Park

Plans to fence off a section of Juilliard Park ran into a stone wall Tuesday when neighbors questioned whether it was even legal and the City Council unanimously rejected the proposal.

City parks officials wanted to install a black steel fence around the historic Church of One Tree to make the 2,000-square-foot Gothic structure easier to rent out for weddings and community events.

Vagrants and troublemakers have made a habit of disrupting wedding receptions and entering the building to use the bathroom when private groups are using it, Kelly Magnuson, the city’s recreation coordinator, told the council.

The approximately $30,000 fence would have blocked access to the park from Sonoma Avenue and enclosed a 3,500-square-foot area of redwoods.

But nearby residents argued the fence would cut off their access, increase problems and violate the deed restrictions placed on the property by the Juilliard family more than 80 years ago.

“The church doesn’t exist in a vacuum, it is part of a vibrant neighborhood,” said neighbor Jennifer Collins.

Residents acknowledged the area faces challenges including fights, homelessness and drug sales. Ray Killion said there seems to be an “increasing congregation of knuckleheads” in the park and the nearby Prince Memorial Park. But a fence sends the wrong message to the neighborhood, he said. “It’s put there to say ‘You’re not welcome here,’?” he said.

Perhaps the biggest hurdle facing the project was the conflict between the language in the original deed requiring the park be open to the public and the plan to enclose part of it for paying customers.

The land “shall be forever used for park purposes only and for the use and benefit of the public in general and particularly the citizens of the city of Santa Rosa.”

Neighbor Floyd Fox, who read that passage to the council, said it was clear to him that fencing in the redwood grove for private parties violated the deed and could cause the property to revert to the Juilliard heirs.

Several council members suggested the city needed a plan to focus on the underlying issues facing the area, such as more homeless outreach or increased law enforcement.

“We are in some ways defining who we are as a community here,” Councilwoman Julie Combs said.