Close to Home: North Street apartments need a more traditional design

Santa Rosa’s housing crunch has been in the headlines in recent weeks, with the stories of scarce apartments, rising rents and a rush to build apartments for more housing. These efforts to alleviate the scarcity are laudable.

However, in the rush to approve apartment permits, the city must also be deliberate. Otherwise, some of the city’s history, charm and architectural heritage will be lost.

One neighborhood at risk to its heritage is the Junior College Neighborhood, one of the oldest neighborhoods in the city. A developer has proposed building two- and three-story apartments along North Street. Despite the fact that the building site is also adjacent to the McDonald Historic District, the current plans reveal a modernistic building with upswept rooflines, punched-out balconies and broad swatches of bold, contrasting colors.

A large coalition of neighbors has been opposing this design throughout the planning process, asking the architect to amend the design so that it blends with the surrounding neighborhood and so that it offers family friendly housing. To date, city officials have listened but ignored us.

The designer states that he pays tribute to the industrial roots of the site, and that he took inspiration for his butterfly roof from a chapel in France, by Corbusier, and from a laundry on Mendocino Avenue. The neighbors have asked that he look, rather, at the historic neighborhood that extends for many blocks in three directions. Within 1,000 feet, we see more than 70 two-story Victorian homes, as many Victorian bungalows and many Craftsman and bungalow styles. Rooflines are mostly hipped or gabled, dormer and bay windows abound, and wide porches or verandas are everywhere. His plan injects a post-modern design, with no connection to the surrounding residences.

Santa Rosa’s own design guidelines repeatedly state the goals of providing continuity of design in old and new development. They also speak of preserving Santa Rosa’s historic heritage. This striking design, with its “signature” roof and contrasting colors, clashes terribly with the neighborhood homes. Fairly recent construction along the east side of North Street, near Pacific Avenue, shows how thoughtful design can blend in new apartments with older ones.

Our coalition of more than 100 immediate neighbors has attended three different city meetings - overflowing the conference room on work days - to express our concerns. We have submitted paper petitions with more than 100 signatures. We have written 24 letters to the city. The neighbors are overwhelmingly concerned that these plans do not acknowledge the architectural heritage of our districts. Yet, despite our requests that this project follow city guidelines, the Design Review Board rebuffed our concerns and approved the modernistic plan.

The neighbors have paid the fee, appealed the Design Review Board’s unfortunate approval and will present our position to the City Council in the near future. There the City Council will have the special opportunity to heed the neighbors’ concerns, approve more housing for the city, and do so in a way that protects, embraces and enhances Santa Rosa’s unique architectural heritage. We urge them to do so.

Bill Vosburg wrote this on behalf of the North Street Neighbors of the Junior College Neighborhood?Association.