Santa Rosa apartment complex challenged by Schulz Museum moves forward

The developer of a proposed apartment complex on West Steele Lane that faced pushback from the Charles M. Schulz Museum and two other high-profile neighboring civic institutions has cleared a hearing before the City Council and is gearing up to submit construction plans to the city.

The team behind the 1650 W. Steele Lane project anticipates seeking a construction permit in the fall and beginning site work in spring 2024, architect Ingrid Anderson said.

The project will add 36 one- to three-bedroom units on a long-vacant 1-acre property across the street from the Schulz Museum, Snoopy’s Home Ice arena and the Children’s Museum of Sonoma County, which together opposed the project, mostly over parking concerns.

But Anderson said the project exemplifies the type of infill construction the city seeks to prioritize near existing transit lines, grocery stores, employment corridors and other amenities and the design will complement the existing character of the neighborhood.

“Our project will bring new, very high-quality housing to this area,” she said. “I think it will elevate the neighborhood and point a way to the future for multifamily development in the northwest.”

The project moves forward after a monthslong appeal over concerns that lack of parking and increased traffic would impact the three allied institutions and the neighborhood.

An appeal lodged in February by the museums and ice rink, organized under the entity Charles M. Schulz Creative Associates — and backed by one of Santa Rosa’s most famed and respected families — landed the project in front of the City Council last week.

Council members, however, denied the appeal on a 6-0 vote during an Aug. 8 hearing, upholding a prior staff approval of the project.

Council member Jeff Okrepkie, whose northwest District 6 straddles West Steele Lane, abstained from voting over a possible financial conflict of interest.

“The developer is really happy with the outcome. It couldn’t have been better than to get unanimous approval,” Anderson said.

The project, which was approved in January through a streamlined administrative process at City Hall, qualified for a density bonus that allowed the developer to double the units on site from 18 to 36 and additional concessions to reduce required parking from 52 to 36 spaces.

The appellants argued reduced on-site parking could force resident parking to spill onto the surrounding neighborhood streets, where there is already limited street parking, and into their parking lots. They asked that the developer provide 16 additional spaces.

But city planning staffers said the project met land-use requirements and recent state law bars cities from denying a project over lack of parking when it’s in proximity to public transportation.

The project also caught the attention of state housing officials, who warned that rejecting the project could violate provisions in state housing laws, which could lead to a complaint being forwarded to the Attorney General’s Office and result in fines or jeopardize state funding.

Santa Rosa-based attorney Erin Carlstrom, who represented the appellants, said her clients were let down by the council’s decision but they looked forward to welcoming the new residents.

“Obviously my clients are disappointed in the outcome but understand the position the council felt it was in given the direction from staff and pressure from the state,” she said.

During the hearing, Carlstrom, who served on the City Council from 2012 to 2016, said the approved plans failed to recognize the challenges that already exist in the neighborhood and said the project as designed will deepen the problem.

She asked the council to send the project back to the developer and require them to work with her clients and neighbors to address the problem.

“The neighborhood is asking you to say no. My clients, who represent international icons, are asking you for more concessions,” she told the council.

The Schulz museum and neighboring Snoopy’s Home Ice are both linked to late “Peanuts” creator Charles M. Schulz and his family, who are influential in Sonoma County civic and philanthropic circles. Schulz’s widow, Jean Schulz, is an original investor in Sonoma Media Investments, owner of The Press Democrat.

Carlstrom argued the state law city staff and the developer relied on to deny the appeal shouldn’t apply in this case because the project was approved before the city updated its building codes.

Though the city didn’t update its code until May, city staff said the law went into effect Jan. 1. That law, Assembly Bill 2097, prohibits cities from imposing minimum parking requirements on development projects within a quarter-mile of a rail stop or other major public transportation and limits cities’ ability to deny a project based on lack of parking.

Even so, Carlstrom said the city has flexibility to deny a project if it causes harm to existing neighbors like her clients.

Peter Spoerl, the attorney representing developer Patrick O’Neill of San Rafael, said the city had no legal justification to deny the permit and characterized the appeal as meritless.

The developer planned to provide more parking spaces than required under state law but could have requested additional concessions that would have allowed him to forego parking on site altogether, he said.

The project will include 25 parking stalls in a two-story automated garage and 11 additional covered and uncovered spaces on the site.

A parking study found the project would generate demand for 39 parking spaces during peak hours.

While the peak parking demand at the apartments is projected to be higher than the number of spaces provided, city planning officials said the bar the city must meet to deny the reduced parking concession is very high.

City planning staff recommended the council uphold the zoning administrator’s approval.

Zoning administrator Susie Murray told the council during the hearing that while she was concerned about parking when plans were first submitted, she visited the site several times throughout the day and observed that though street parking in the neighborhood was busy, some vehicles appeared to have been parked in the same spaces for extended periods and there were spaces available.

Modifications to the frontage on Steele Lane will add an additional eight parking spots which will help address demand, she said.

She said she approved the project “with a high level of confidence” because it met development standards for the North Station Area Specific Plan and residents will be in walking distance to bus and rail lines, several grocery stores, banking services, medical services, retail, entertainment venues and employment, she said.

“I want to say, considering the city’s goals, this project really nailed it,” Murray told the council.

Anderson said construction drawings are being finalized and the team plans to submit an application, which can typically take six months to review, in the coming months.

She expects to start site grading in the spring and construction is estimated to take two years.

“The owner is eager to move froward and we’re excited to finally get this off the ground,” she said.

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