Despite wildfires, Santa Rosa still annexing Roseland

The wildfires that leveled entire Santa Rosa neighborhoods will not stop the city from moving forward with the long-planned effort to bring the Roseland neighborhood under city control.

The official annexation of Roseland and four smaller pockets of unincorporated county land inside city limits, which cleared its final hurdle early this month, is still scheduled to take effect Nov. 1.

That’s the date when Santa Rosa police officers will begin patrolling Roseland streets and City Hall will become responsible for permits, code enforcement and many other local services.

But the fires, which have killed at least 23 people in the county and destroyed nearly 3,000 homes and businesses in Santa Rosa, have forced the postponement of the annexation celebration that was previously planned for Nov. 4, city officials said.

That celebration will now likely happen in December at a time and place to be announced.

The 7,400 residents of Roseland and four other smaller islands along Brittain Lane, Victoria Drive, West Hearn Avenue and West Third Street should be receiving detailed information about the annexation from the city - in English and Spanish - in the mail the first week of November.

What remains unclear is whether the long-promised upgrades to roads, sidewalks, parks and other infrastructure in Roseland will happen as quickly as residents were promised, now that attention is turning to rebuilding devastated areas of the city.

Santa Rosa agreed to make significant long-term investments in Roseland with the caveat that services to other areas of the city should not be reduced to make it happen.

The City Council on Tuesday approved a boost to the budget to make $3.3 million available for Roseland this year. That includes $1.9 million in payments pledged from the county for startup costs like new police vehicles and new roads.

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