Santa Rosa officials answering Roseland annexation questions

Residents of Roseland continue to have questions about how their lives will change when they officially become residents of the city that over decades has grown around them.

Will their taxes go up? Will they be able to keep livestock? Will taco trucks be banned? Will they be able to run for City Council?

To answer these and other questions, the city is hosting the latest set of public forums before officially asking permission to annex the 714 acres located in Roseland and four unincorporated islands in southwest Santa Rosa.

“This is an opportunity for people to get their questions answered,” said Santa Rosa planner Jessica Jones.

Next month the city is planning to formally ask Sonoma LAFCO, the Local Agency Formation Commission, to officially incorporate Roseland and four other smaller county enclaves into the city.

But before that happens city officials are making a big push to ensure residents understand what it will be like to have city police patrol their streets and city planners issue their permits. By doing so, the city hopes to limit possible objections that could drag out and even imperil the annexation effort.

If few people object to the city’s annexation request, it could be completed by fall without a vote of the residents, Jones said. But if more than 25 percent of the registered voters file formal protests, then a special vote would have to take place to determine whether the annexation should happen at all.

The city is midway through the latest set of meetings, versions of which have been ongoing for the last two years. The next one is from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday at the Roseland Village Neighborhood Center, 779 Sebastopol Road. The meeting will be in English and Spanish and food and child care for kids 3 and older will be provided.

The city will have representatives from every major department on hand to answer questions and receive input about how residents want to see the city spend money improving their neighborhood, which has a large Latino population and high poverty levels.

As for these pesky questions? Some taxes will go up, like sales tax, which will increase from 8 percent to 8.5 percent. And some new taxes will be imposed, such as the utility users tax, which places a 5 percent tax on electricity, gas, cable television and landline telephone bills.

Some livestock will continue to be allowed on rural properties with restrictions, as well as special rules aimed at preserving the rural character of the West Hearn Avenue area.

Taco trucks and other mobile food vendors, which are heavily regulated in the city, will be allowed to operate on private property along certain areas of Sebastopol Road with a use permit.

And anyone who now lives in Roseland will be able to vote for City Council members, be appointed to city boards and commissions or run for office.

In addition to Saturday’s meeting, other upcoming Roseland forums include:

from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday at Cook Middle School, 2480 Sebastopol Road

from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday at Roseland Creek Elementary, 1683 Burbank Ave.

For more information about the annexation, visit: http://srcity.org/departments/cityadmin/city_manager/roseland/Pages/FAQ_English.aspx

You can reach Staff Writer Kevin McCallum at 707-521-5207 or kevin.mccallum@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @srcitybeat.