Santa Rosa designates Oakmont bypass path a city trail

The Santa Rosa City Council designated a short path across its mothballed treatment plant in Oakmont as a recreational trail Tuesday, the first step toward improving access between the large retirement community and Trione-Annadel State Park.

A portion of the path has been used for decades by people walking and bicycling from Stone Bridge Drive to Channel Drive, but a private property owner has called into question the public’s use of the plant’s driveway, which crosses his property with an easement.

To avoid the conflict, the Oakmont Village Association recently completed a new segment across open space to allow residents to bypass the private property and link up with the approximately 300-foot long path on city property, including a narrow bridge over Oakmont Creek.

Oakmont has “expressed a willingness to open a dialogue” about the city acquiring an easement across its new path to create a public pathway, and the designation will allow that conversation to continue, Jason Nutt, director of Transportation and Public Works, told the council.

The bridge is structurally sound, but may require some upgrades for accessibility, depending on just how much use the trail gets down the road, Nutt said.

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