Santa Rosa’s Southeast Greenway plans inch along as supporters wait for state approvals

Standing in a footpath carved through shin-high grass, Thea Hensel looked across an expansive property that separates Hoen and Mayette avenues in east Santa Rosa and imagined it transformed into a lively recreation area.

That long-held vision calls for community gardens where nearby residents can grow their own produce; a natural open space with a restored walnut grove; a walking and biking path that connects to the adjacent neighborhoods.

“You can see the opportunities that are out here,” said Hensel.

She is a member of a grassroots coalition that has spearheaded efforts to convert the 57-acre greenspace — once meant to carry Highway 12 east from Farmers Lane through Spring Lake Regional Park — into Santa Rosa’s very own Central Park.

More than 13 years after the group first floated the idea of purchasing the state-owned land with plans to transform it into parkland, work continues to make the project, known as the Southeast Greenway, a reality.

The proposal recently cleared a milestone when the California Department of Transportation tentatively approved survey maps for the site.

The move sets the stage for Santa Rosa to acquire most of the property, pending additional state approvals. About 10 acres have been designated for housing and commercial development and likely will be sold separately.

“This is a procedural step but a huge step forward,” said John McCaull, director of community conservation with the nonprofit Sonoma Land Trust, one of the groups behind the proposal.

“I think we’re over the hump on any major obstacles,” he said. “Now it’s a matter of putting in the time and finalizing the purchase.”

Early estimates put the cost of the park acreage at about $2 million, which will be paid for through grants and donations. The purchase must be completed by October 2024 because of timing constraints tied to funds allocated to the project.

McCaull and other park proponents said they’re confident they’ll meet that deadline, despite the prolonged process, and finally get the project built.

“The greenway is going to fundamentally transform the city in such a positive way,” McCaull said. “We are moving toward closing and are really eager to finalize the acquisition and start the planning.”

Residents who lived around the greenway, including Hensel, banded together in 2009 under the banner of the Southeast Greenway Campaign with the idea of preserving the land for a linear park.

Their work was sparked by a push to improve access to open space in urban areas.

Hensel said while the neighborhoods along Hoen and Mayette avenues have the highest concentration of schools in Santa Rosa, there are few neighborhood and community parks to serve the surrounding community.

Many of the nearby fields and playgrounds are on school property and not always accessible to the general public, she said.

Caltrans began acquiring property along the nearly 2-mile strip in the 1950s with the intention of eventually extending Highway 12.

After the state in 2014 ditched its plans for the highway extension, the resident coalition partnered with Sonoma Land Trust, the city of Santa Rosa, Sonoma County Regional Parks and other regional agencies to acquire the land, develop the park and manage the space.

The partners signed an agreement with Caltrans in 2015 that paved the way for the group to eventually purchase the property.

Proponents envision a mix of passive and active recreation along the greenway with picnic areas, ball fields or courts and other park amenities on the flat lands, The easternmost end of the property would be left largely as natural open space.

The project could include improved trail heads and crossings along three creeks that cut through the property, habitat restoration, educational opportunities for nearby schools and a new entrance to Spring Lake Regional Park at the end of the eastern end of the greenway.

A walking and bike path that extends the length of the property would connect residents from central Santa Rosa to the city’s eastern hillside and connect with other paths in the surrounding neighborhoods.

Improvements to public wells and underground water infrastructure also are proposed.

Santa Rosa in 2019 approved rezoning the greenway as park space and designated about 10 acres between Farmers Lane and Cypress Way and between Janet Way and Yulupa Avenue for housing and mixed-use development and began negotiations with Caltrans.

State transportation officials spent the past few years surveying the land and mapping out the more than 50 parcels that make up the property, plus entitlements on the site, road and creek crossings and a pipe owned by Sonoma Water that crosses beneath a portion of the greenway.

McCaull described it as one of the most complicated real estate transactions he has worked on.

Caltrans approved the tentative survey map in late 2022, an important step in acquiring the land because it defines what is park acreage and developable land, McCaull said.

Caltrans also agreed to sell the parkland to the city and hold onto the commercial land, which will be sold separately in the future. McCaull said that will help keep land costs down and speed progress on the park plans.

The map must be approved by the state Department of General Services and the California Transportation Commission. General Services officials will also have to approve any surplus land sales by Caltrans before the acquisition can be completed.

There is no timeline for General Services officials to complete its review, Santa Rosa real estate manager Jill Scott said.

Once the state approves the proposal and land sale, it will allow the partners to appraise the land, complete financing for the acquisition of the park space and develop agreements on shared use, management and responsibilities.

Sonoma Land Trust, which is operating as the fiscal agent on the project, and the greenway campaign have raised just over $1.5 million, including a $1 million grant from the Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District, a $225,000 grant from the Community Foundation Sonoma County and $285,000 in individual donations, McCaull said.

McCaull said organizers had hoped to complete the purchase last year but the pandemic and other factors delayed the project. The grants allocated to the project must be spent by October 2024 and he hopes the timing constraint puts pressure on the state to prioritize the project and act quickly.

This is the land trust’s first large-scale project within city limits, McCaull said, and it has changed how the organization approaches its conservation work. The group is now looking to champion park access and improved connections between neighborhoods and green space across Santa Rosa.

The city will embark on a robust public process to gather input on how the land will be developed once the transaction is complete.

Coalition members have urged the city to provide staff and resources to assist with the planning effort. The coalition wants to raise money to help offset city costs, Hensel said.

Santa Rosa Council member Mark Stapp, whose District 2 includes the area of the greenway west of Summerfield Road, said the project will be a benefit to the community and add needed park amenities and housing in the area.

While he noted it will be a big lift for the city to complete the project and will take balancing that with other competing priorities, city officials recognize there is an interest from many in the community to see the project through after a yearslong effort.

“The city is going to find a way to push this project forward because it is so important for the community,” he said.

For Hensel, despite delays and a lengthy and complicated approval process, she remains hopeful.

“It’s all been serendipitous. They were going to put in a freeway but never could,” she said, adding later: “I’m very excited and enthusiastic about the outcome.”

“I’m very appreciative of the support that we’ve gotten from all of the stakeholders and I think what really carries us forward after all this time, all of our supporters and contributors, we can see the wonderful value of this to the city and the county.”

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