Property owners in Santa Rosa’s Railroad Square mull tax to spruce up station area

Railroad Square landowners are set to vote this fall on paying more property tax to spruce up area sidewalks and improve the experience of visitors to the area of the downtown train station.

The City Council on Tuesday is expected to accept a petition submitted by about 20 property owners in the Railroad Square area seeking to form a community benefit district - an entity funded by a property-based assessment that pays for local projects. A public hearing would tentatively be scheduled for Oct. 29.

Proponents of the district revised their proposal after their initial attempt couldn’t secure the requisite 30% approval.

That failure prompted advocates to retool the proposed district, shrinking its expected revenue about 40% from about $392,000 down to about $233,000, according to Rafael Rivero, a city economic development specialist.

“It’s been very challenging, but we are slightly over the 30% threshold at the moment,” Rivero said of the petition, which received 31% support.

The petition, if approved by the council, would trigger a vote among property owners in the Railroad Square district, an area centered around the downtown Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit station and the city’s Depot Park roughly between Third, Eighth, and Davis Streets and the railroad tracks. It includes a handful of parcels located west of the SMART tracks, including a roughly 5-acre site that Petaluma-based developer Cornerstone Properties, bought for $6 million in late 2018. Cornerstone also owns The Press Democrat building on Mendocino Avenue.

Property owners’ voting power is weighted based on their expected contribution to the district’s budget. People and companies who own larger properties would generally kick in more cash to the new district, so they would enjoy more voting power.

Most of the district’s expected revenue, roughly $160,000, would fund sidewalk projects focused on “safety, cleanliness, beautification, and the maintenance of an attractive appearance” in the Railroad Square district, according to city budget projections. An additional $30,000 would go to branding and advertising efforts as well as seasonal decorations and potentially a valet service, according to city documents.

Marta Koehne, who owns the Hot Couture vintage fashion shop on Third Street, said the extra payments would give Railroad Square a little boost to make it a more enticing destination and allow the square to “come into its own.”

“It’s really nice for a smaller area like this to have a little bit of funds to do things like keep our sidewalks clean and have a little more security,” she said.

Railroad Square’s efforts are modeled on endeavors by downtown business and property owners to clean up the recently reunified Old Courthouse Square area.

In both areas, property and business owners have expressed concerns about shoppers’ security and the effects of Santa Rosa’s homeless population on local commerce.

The downtown district, created in July 2018 with about 80% support, was expected to have about $534,000 to spend in the first year of its initiative, such as hiring several blue-shirted ambassadors to clean sidewalks and guide visitors in and around the square. It recently launched a series in which participating businesses offer special deals, promotions and entertainment each Friday night.

Dick Carlile, a retired civil engineer and urban planner formerly of the Carlile Macy firm on Third Street, said he hoped the district would help make Railroad Square more of a “people place,” envisioning the crowded folding chairs at New York City’s Bryant Park. He said he wasn’t surprised that the Railroad Square district had to shrink the scope of its efforts.

“That’s the way it works in these kind of community benefit districts,” he said. “Sometimes you start out too broad (and) you have to kind of whittle it down.”

You can reach Staff Writer Will Schmitt at 707-521-5207 or will.schmitt@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @wsreports.