Repeal of Santa Rosa’s decades-old cruising ban seen as step toward greater acceptance of lowrider community

Cruising down Sebastopol Road in her baby blue 1982 Oldsmobile Cutlass is a form of therapy for Teresa Medina, a rising senior at Santa Rosa’s Maria Carrillo High School.

Drawn by the intricate murals painted on the hoods of classic cars and the oldies music pouring out of the sound system, Medina, 16, was a toddler when she was first introduced to lowriding by her father, Juan Roman-Medina.

It has been a family pastime ever since.

But for decades, Santa Rosa has had a law on the books that made it illegal for people to cruise in their vehicles in certain parts of the city.

Though police haven’t enforced the ban in years and signs that once hung downtown notifying drivers of the prohibition have since been removed, critics of the law and similar bans across the state say it unfairly targeted the Chicano lowrider culture.

The Santa Rosa City Council unanimously repealed the law June 6 at the urging of local car enthusiasts, including the father-daughter duo, Juan and Teresa Medina

About a dozen lowriders celebrated the move with a downtown victory lap.

“This means a lot to a lot of people who are car enthusiasts in terms of having the liberty of cruising without having any restrictions or fear of getting stopped,” said Roman-Medina, president of the Sonoma County Lowrider Council, a coalition of local clubs that advocates on their behalf.

Santa Rosa’s ban was enacted in the late 1980s amid a rise in complaints from businesses and residents along Mendocino Avenue and Fourth Street. They complained about events that clogged traffic, and were reportedly dangerous, rowdy and led to vandalism and trash.

The city clampdown acted to officially curb what had been a mainstream — and Main Street — form of expression, popularized in American towns and cities especially by the post-World War II boom in auto production.

Cruise events often drew hundreds of cars and bystanders to the city’s core. It was a chance for young people to show off their tricked-out rides and meet friends.

In later decades around Santa Rosa, cruising incorporated the culture of lowriders — customized cars popularized in the Los Angeles area in the 1940s and often synonymous with Chicano culture, which has younger roots in the North Bay.

The overlap of those communities makes the repeal of Santa Rosa’s cruising ban a more significant turning point, as the city and its police department seek ways to improve relations with residents, particularly segments of the Latino population.

The move is also part of a broader statewide push to recognize the cultural significance of cruising and lowriding.

Sacramento and San Jose last year repealed their cruising prohibitions and a bill moving through the state Legislature would prohibit cities and counties from passing local bans and also repeal a state law that prohibited modifying cars to a certain height.

Lowrider champions note that among outsiders, lowriding has historically had a negative reputation, often being linked to gang activity, and more recently it has been confused with sideshows, where drivers block traffic or take over parking lots to perform various stunts.

The repeal will help dispel misconceptions that lowriders are nefarious and promote greater understanding of the local car culture, according to members of its ranks.

Narrow ban but wide ripples

Santa Rosa’s cruising ban prohibited drivers from repeatedly circling through the same intersection within two hours in an area bounded by Highway 101 to Brookwood Avenue and Steele Lane to Sonoma Avenue.

City officials had tried somewhat unsuccessfully to curb cruising downtown for years before enacting the ban.

For a while, the city implemented weekend parking restrictions on Fourth Street, which media reports from the time described as the “uncontested strip for weekend adventure.” The limits only forced drivers onto other downtown streets.

The city later instituted a 10 p.m. curfew for minors in hopes it would keep teens at home.

In January 1986, following demands from some business owners and residents to take more forceful action, the council voted 4-1 to outlaw cruising.

The ban was largely opposed by those in attendance at the meeting, many of whom urged the city to crack down on the bad actors rather than implementing a blanket ban.

Several of the youths present complained there weren’t any fun alternatives — that cruising was the best way to pass the time.

Even some of the adults then admitted to participating in the fun when they were teens.

Council member David Berto, who voted against the measure, suggested the city consider allowing sanctioned cruises four times a year and further study the issue.

His proposal wasn’t supported.

Still, with the ban in place, cruisers continued to hit the streets, with one gathering that first summer drawing a raucous crowd that led to 10 arrests and more than 100 citations for drunk driving and traffic violations, according to an Aug. 17, 1986, story in The Press Democrat.

Little enforcement

No citations for violating the anti-cruising law were issued in at least the first two years, according to Press Democrat reports, but police targeted drivers for moving violations and other infractions, which some drivers alleged wouldn’t normally lead to a ticket.

That’s a sentiment echoed today by some members of the lowrider community who say they sometimes felt racially profiled or targeted for the types of vehicles they drove.

As a teenager and young man from south Santa Rosa, Roman-Medina, said whenever an officer pulled up behind him or his friends while they were cruising, their natural reaction was to tense up in anticipation of being stopped.

“You just wondered what am I going to get pulled over for now,” he said.

The idea to repeal the local cruising law first emerged during a discussion between then-Police Chief Ray Navarro and the Lowrider Council in August 2020 as the city sought to improve relationships with the community.

The idea didn’t get much traction until Teresa Medina reached out to Council member Eddie Alvarez for help.

“I didn’t imagine he would return my call,” Medina said, believing her concerns as a high school student would be dismissed.

But he did call back, and in October Alvarez asked his council colleagues to support bringing back a discussion to repeal the ordinance.

Alvarez said fear of and unfamiliarity with the lowrider community — of which he counts himself a member — had led to similar bans across the state and the city had an opportunity to help demystify lowriding by repealing the law.

“Santa Rosa's cruising ordinance is based on the fear of not knowing a certain part of our community,” he said. “We have the opportunity to correct that.”

Lowriding a family tradition

City staff in late May introduced an ordinance to the council that would repeal the law and the council approved it during a second reading on June 6.

Members of the Lowrider Council said lifting the ban will help break down negative stereotypes people may have about lowriding.

The group, formed in 2016, represents seven different lowrider clubs in Sonoma County as well as fans not part of any official group, and members have worked to change the reputation of lowriding.

“The image and the narrative of what lowriding is and looked like was hijacked by Hollywood. It gave the public a certain perspective of how we were — the bad guys, the bank robbers, the gang members, the thugs,” Roman-Medina said.

Lowriding and cruising is about connecting with family, cultural identity and creativity, he said. It has helped keep some of its devotees out of gang trouble and provided an outlet to heal from generational trauma.

Roman-Medina said members of the Lowrider Council are professionals and many give back to their community, raising money for schools and food for those in need through car events.

He became interested in customized cars as a toddler living in Santa Ana after an older neighborhood girl jokingly offered to be his girlfriend if he gave her a ride in his uncle’s lowrider.

That first crush went away but his love of classic cars remained.

Roman-Medina said working on his cars kept him occupied.

“It taught me to set goals, the value of hard work and valuing something nice and loving something so dearly that it motivates you,” he said.

He’s built his own collection of cars since then and passed down his love to his children.

Roman-Medina said while cruising and lowriding have grown in popularity, with car clubs sprouting as far as Japan, and a current exhibition at the Sonoma County Museum showcasing lowrider art, the repeal is a big step forward in creating greater understanding and recognizing the significance of the local lowrider culture.

As for Medina, the teenager hopes the repeal ensures families like hers can continue passing down their love of cars and the tradition of lowriding.

“I feel so happy that I helped and was able to be a part of this,” she said. “I’m hoping we can create more connections because that’s what this is about, being surrounded by families and seeing how everyone comes together for their love of the car culture.”

You can reach Staff Writer Paulina Pineda at 707-521-5268 or paulina.pineda@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @paulinapineda22.