Retired Santa Rosa resident struggles with bureaucracy trying to remove debris blocking Santa Rosa Creek

Wearing rubber wading boots and holding a sturdy walking stick, Jacob Boudewijn, 74, carefully makes his way down the bank of the Santa Rosa Creek behind his home on Fair Oaks Avenue.

He heads toward a dam of debris trapped behind several large trees that toppled across the creek during last October’s atmospheric river.

It’s not his mess, but in recent days, Boudewijn has been dragging his red kayak down to the creek, over ivy-covered rocks and branches, trying to clear the buildup of trash, which includes everything from brush to soccer balls to wine, liquor and water bottles, both plastic and glass.

Boudewijn, like many people who live along some portion of Santa Rosa’s 100 miles of creeks, knows it’s his responsibility to remove anything that’s impeding the flow of water — from his property line to the midstream. Though still active and strong, the retired contractor and carpenter said he could use a little help.

He said he’s spent weeks trying to enlist neighbors, Santa Rosa city and Sonoma County officials, as well as state and local wildlife conservation groups. The experience he describes is a lesson in the bureaucracy that governs the city’s natural waterways.

“I just think that we need to get a handle on this. This is more than we can handle,” said Boudewijn, standing on the north bank side of the creek. “I really believe this is our watershed, and it's a wildlife corridor. I mean, this is a beautiful creek when it's not like this.”

The debris is along the property line of one or two other homeowners on the north side of the creek. Providence Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital owns the property along the south side of the creek, where you can hear the steady hum of equipment and the frequent landings of emergency helicopters.

Further downstream, away from the garbage that’s collected behind Boudewijn’s home, minnows can be seen in shallow pools. Water striders skitter about as slightly larger fish swim beneath them in deeper pools.

“You got a red-tailed hawk that lives in this eucalyptus, great blue herons, black-crested night herons, snowy egret, white egret,” he said. “Wood ducks come every year, mallards.”

Boudewijn has rented the property on Fair Oaks Avenue for 18 years. He said his landlord is a good friend and he often does work on the property and acts as a caretaker.

Santa Rosa city spokeswoman Elise Miller confirmed in an email the debris and garbage buildup is located along a stretch of Santa Rosa Creek that flows through private properties and is therefore the “responsibility of the private property owners to maintain it.”

Miller said the city has neither the authority nor the permits required to remove debris from these properties. She said the city is “sympathetic” to Boudewijn’s desire to see the debris removed, but the responsibility for doing so is that of property owners, from the property line to the center of the creek.

“At this time, the city is not going to go in there and clean up that debris,” she said in a phone interview. “It’s the property owner’s responsibility.”

Miller added that to limit impedance of the creek flow, property owners should remove enough of the fallen vegetation from the creek so that the waterway is able to “maintain adequate flow.” But there are restrictions, she said.

Chapter 17-12 of the City Code prohibits residents from conducting work that would impair, impede or obstruct the natural flow of storm water within a creek channel. What’s more, the work Boudewijn is calling for could require emergency permits from natural resource protection agencies, including the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the North Coast Regional Quality Control Board.

Boudewijn said he’s in contact with Providence representatives, who have expressed a willingness to do their part in removing the debris. But he said he’s yet to see any significant work done by his neighbor across the creek.

Providence officials on Friday said in a statement that they are in talks with neighbors and “share their concern.” Cleanup efforts in and around the Santa Rosa Creek are a “top-priority,” hospital officials said.

“We are completely aware of the situation and have already taken action by clearing brush and trimming trees,” the statement said. “Our current focus is on addressing a number of heavy fallen trees and debris that are hindering the flow of water in the Creek.”

The hospital said it’s in conversations with the agencies that have oversight over the creek, which is part of the Russian River Watershed, to address natural resource issues before beginning more substantial cleanup activities.

“It is a substantial undertaking, and Providence Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital is working to ensure the project is done safely and in an environmentally conscious way,” the statement said. “As soon as we finish our discussions with the appropriate agencies, we will be able to start the process of removing the trees, which will make it safe to remove the smaller debris.”

Boudewijn said he would remove all the garbage if the hospital took charge of removing the natural debris of branches and brush.

Santa Rosa City Councilwoman Victoria Fleming, whose district includes Fair Oaks Avenue neighbors on the north side of the creek, said she’s been trying to help Boudewijn “advocate to get the private owners to deal with this.”

“My primary concern is for this man’s safety and potential of flood caused by debris backup,” she said, adding that Boudewijn going it alone seems like an accident “waiting to happen.”

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