Celebration gives Santa Rosa’s Roseland neighborhood a glimpse at city life to come

It was a party that was supposed to take place Nov. 3 - just two days after the historic Roseland annexation expanded Santa Rosa by about 8,000 residents and 714 acres.

But more than three months ago, the city and much of the North Bay was brought to its knees by a devastating and deadly firestorm, so there was no time for celebration.

But Saturday, under sunny winter skies, hundreds of people gathered at the site of the future Roseland Village neighborhood center on Sebastopol Road to mark the community’s incorporation into Santa Rosa.

In a large white tent, Santa Rosa and Sonoma County City officials shared a stage with Latina beauty queens, indigenous Pomo dancers, Mexican banda, poets and zumba performers.

The difficult task of truly incorporating Roseland into the city’s fold was highlighted by Supervisor Lynda Hopkins, whose 5th District includes the Roseland neighborhood.

“What’s next for me is this community still needs investment,” Hopkins said. “Just because annexation happened doesn’t mean that one’s work is done.”

Saturday’s event had to compete with women’s marches and rallies across Sonoma County, perhaps resulting in modest attendance at the Roseland celebration. The rally in Santa Rosa’s Old Courthouse Square and a similar one in Sonoma each drew? a crowd of about ?2,000 people.

But officials welcomed the chance to finally celebrate Roseland’s share in cityhood.

“We’ve been waiting for three decades for this. It’s worth the wait,” said Santa Rosa Mayor Chris Coursey. “Roseland is a great place, it’s always been a part of Santa Rosa.”

The city now has its work cut out, with calls to bring more parks to the neighborhood, take better care of Roseland roads and install curbs, gutters and sidewalks. Roseland deserves such amenities, Coursey said.

But last year’s devastating fires, which destroyed roughly 5 percent of Santa Rosa’s housing and numerous businesses, will likely delay significant investment in Roseland, he said.

“The fires that delayed this celebration today are probably going to delay some of those things,” he said. “But none of that can happen until you get started. We finally are started.”

Coursey said the Roseland neighborhood will ultimately get a voice on the City Council after the city replaces its at-large vote for council members with district elections. The change will occur piecemeal, with an election this fall to determine who represents Roseland on the council.

Representatives from a number of city agencies were on hand Saturday to provide residents with city information, including details about building permits, police services, neighborhood watch programs and upcoming ?recreation and parks meetings.

At a table set up by the Santa Rosa Fire Department, Fire Marshal Scott Moon, with the help of a translator, demonstrated the proper use of a fire extinguisher to a Spanish-speaking family.

Jessica Jones, supervising planner for the city’s Planning and Economic Development Department, showcased the area’s much-anticipated Roseland Village Neighborhood Center, a major development that promises to transform the commercial area near Sebastopol Road and West Avenue into a mixed-use residential and commercial hub.

At another table, city officials highlighted some of the work underway to bring Roseland traffic signals in line with the rest of the city.

“Basically, we just annexed a community the size of Cotati,” said Jason Nutt, Santa Rosa’s director of transportation and public works. “We’re actively working on making improvements, such as upgrading traffic signs to the current standard, refreshing roadway striping and updating signal timing of traffic signs.”

Jen Santos, deputy director of the Santa Rosa Recreation and Parks Department, showed residents plans for the Roseland Creek Community Park, a project just south of Hughes Avenue, between Burbank and McMinn avenues.

The park would be the first of its kind in southwest Santa Rosa, offering local residents a mix of protected woodland areas, a nature center, trails, as well as traditional park amenities such picnic areas, sports courts and a kids’ playground.

“In Roseland, there’s nothing else like it,” Santos said.

Santos said development plans for the park are scheduled to go before the city’s Board of Community Services on Wednesday at the Finley Community Center. The meeting, scheduled for 4 p.m., will be among the final opportunities for public comment on the plans. The board is expected to decide whether to advance the plan to the City Council.

Some Roseland residents who attended the celebration Saturday said they were thankful once-unincorporated Roseland was finally getting the attention it deserved from city officials. Many wished more people had shown up to the event.

“I don’t feel like as many people came,” said Vanessa Estrella, 25, who lives on Stonesheep Lane, which is just south of the annexed portion of Roseland.

“There was an event downtown,” Estrella said, referring to the women’s rally. “But I was expecting more people.”

You can reach Staff Writer Martin Espinoza at 707-521-5213 or martin.espinoza@pressdemocrat.com.