Santa Rosa could start notifying nearby tenants of upcoming development projects

Santa Rosa is poised to change how it spreads word of new developments by requiring city employees to notify not just nearby property owners but also tenants.

The City Council will hold a public hearing Tuesday on the proposed zoning code changes, which also include expanding the radius of notification. The city sends notices on meetings and low-level zoning matters to properties within 300 feet - that area would double to 600 feet.

Conceptual design reviews, in which the city Design Review Board offers feedback without voting on a project, also would be subject to mailed notice. The amendment also calls for notices to be mailed to tenants living near a proposed development. Currently, only property owners are notified.

City planning commissioners unanimously endorsed the changes in late February. A city staff report acknowledged receiving “general feedback” under the current process is “inadequate.”

The city recently revamped the design of the notices it mails and emails to make them more visually appealing. The design change was meant to increase community engagement, said Amy Nicholson, a city planner.

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