Downtown Sebastopol creating relaxation spots with temporary parklets

The streets of downtown Sebastopol will assume a slightly different look Saturday with the transformation of four streetside parking spots into tiny public areas known as “parklets” where visitors can stop, sit and maybe enjoy a beverage or a bite to eat.

The daylong demonstration is being undertaken by the Sebastopol CORE Project, a 5 1/2-year-old effort to contribute to the revitalization of the downtown core, and provoke interest in future experiments around the central business district, organizer Paul Fritz said.

The hope is that parklet users and neighboring businesses will both see benefits, said Fritz, a local architect and member of the CORE Project steering committee.

An innovative trend popularized in San Francisco in recent years and implemented in urban centers around the country, the idea extends a town’s narrow sidewalks to create public meeting areas where usually there’s just asphalt. The San Francisco program is known as Pavement to Parks.

It’s a little harder to do in Sebastopol, since the main downtown crossroads is the intersection of two state highways, and Caltrans permits are required for almost anything. One-day encroachment permits were required for Saturday’s demonstration, for example.

But city officials have long supported the idea of reimagining public spaces and have endorsed mini-parks and parklets through policies written into the city’s General Plan.

The city also has worked with CORE on the demonstration project, as have local businesses participating in furnishing and designing the temporary parklets.

The four locations will include a short stretch of Depot Street in front of Screamin’ Mimi’s ice cream shop and three spots on Main Street: in front of the Gypsy Cafe and Sebastopol Cookie Spot at 168 North Main St.; in front of Retrograde Coffee Roasters, 130 South Main St.; and in front of West County Cycle Service, 200 S. Main St.

The plan is to use plywood structures to raise the floor of the parklets to curb level, with 4-foot walls on three sides, forming a kind of a box. Members of the business community are going to bring plants and furnishings and other decor aimed at creating welcoming and relaxing spaces, Fritz said.