Thank you Santa Rosa, for sharing your vision for YOUR parks!

• 1,691 residents participated in the online surveys and virtual community meeting polls!
• 360 residents attended the virtual community meetings!
• 72  residents provided public comment during the virtual community meetings!
• 109 residents emailed City staff to share your thoughts!

Want to learn more about the community's priorities for Measure M? Read the Measure M - Parks for All Public Input Report. 

Now it is the City's turn to begin to move your vision forward.

BACKGROUND

Initial and Long-Term Priority Plan

City Council approved an Initial and Long-Term Priority Plan by Resolution #2019-142 at the September 10, 2019, meeting. The Plan has guided priorities over the last two years and anticipated a return to Council to update the Plan for years 3-10 (2021 – 2028). 

Initial priorities for years 1-2 (2019-2020):

• Fire-related parks and recreation damages from 2017 wildfire such as Coffey, Rincon Ridge, Fir Ridge, Nagasawa, and Frances Nielsen Parks
• Consultant recommendations for deferred maintenance and overall recommendations 
• Develop and implement city-wide community outreach plan

The priorities identified in the 2019 Priority Plan have been implemented and are on-going.

Collecting Citywide Feedback

After the dedication of the first two years of Parks Measure funds toward the parks fire recovery projects and the deferred maintenance project, a marketing and outreach strategy was utilized to collect feedback citywide regarding community priorities for spending Measure M funds from years 3-10 (2021-2028).

Starting in 2019, the city held thirteen meetings, which includes three Board of Community Services meetings to solicit feedback regarding community priorities. The goal was to receive a wide variety of feedback in each park quadrant and meet with interested stakeholders. The City’s park quadrants are formed by the intersection of Highways 101 and 12. The percentage of participants in each quadrant is proportionally equal to the percentage of residents and property owners shown in the 2010 census within each quadrant. 

The data collected from the community outreach showed the community priorities are as follows:

Priority 1: Improve Park Amenities (28.4%) Improve and develop athletic fields, playgrounds, restrooms, picnic areas, and visitor amenities

Priority 2: Maintain Parks (21.0%) Maintain parks and recreation facilities to ensure safe, clean, accessible visitor experiences

Priority 3: Create and Expand (13.3%) Create and expand parks, trails, bikeways, public art, and recreation and historical facilities

Priority 4: Develop Trails (10.4%) Plan and develop bike paths and trails with connections to schools, community spaces, and regional trails

Priority 5: Decrease Fire (10.2%) Decrease future fire risks, fuel loads, and invasive plants on city owned open space parks

Priority 6: Waterways (9.3%) Improve trails along waterways and riparian areas to benefit fish, wildlife habitat, and water quality

Priority 7: Programming (7.2%) Provide recreational, educational, and health programs for the community

The on-line survey allowed participants to provide written feedback in addition to selecting their preferences. Most of the written comments were requests for improved and enhanced maintenance and for specific capital projects.  

Want to learn more about the community’s priorities for Measure M? Read the entire Measure M – Parks for All Public Input Report.

Parks Measure Priority Plan Update

Based on community priorities and comments received, a strategy was developed that grouped the priorities related to capital projects into one group, as follows:

• Improve Park Amenities - Improve and develop athletic fields, playgrounds, restrooms, picnic areas, and visitor amenities
• Create and Expand - Create and expand parks, trails, bikeways, public art, and recreation and historical facilities
• Develop Trails - Plan and develop bike paths and trails with connections to schools, community spaces, and regional trails
• Waterways - Improve trails along waterways and riparian areas to benefit fish, wildlife habitat, and water quality

Then grouped the priorities related to enhanced maintenance and maintenance for fuel reduction (vegetation management), as follows:

• Maintain Parks - Maintain parks and recreation facilities to ensure safe, clean, accessible visitor experiences
• Decrease Fire - Decrease future fire risks, fuel loads, and invasive plants on city-owned open space parks

And showed recreational programing in one category.

• Programming - Provide recreational, educational, and health programs for the community

This strategy proposes approximately 50% of the Parks Measure funds projected to be received from years 3-10 are utilized towards capital improvements, approximately 40% of the funds are utilized towards enhanced maintenance and fuel reduction, and approximately 10% of the remaining funds toward enhanced recreation programming.

Projections for the remaining funds anticipated from Measure M to the city, less the funds already allocated to date, are projected to be approximately $14 million. From the estimated total remaining funds from years 3-10, the following one-time funds are projected available per category:

• Capital projects: approximately $7 million
• Enhanced maintenance and fuel reduction: approximately $5.5 million
• Enhanced recreational programming: approximately $1.4 million

Actual amounts available from the fund will vary depending upon the tax measure funds collected annually. The amounts shown are provided as a reference should the tax measure perform financially as anticipated.

Next Steps

Pending Council approval of the Measure Updated M Priority Plan, staff will embark on the next steps to develop a specific list of capital projects, a specific plan for enhanced maintenance and fuel reduction, and a specific plan for recreational program enhancement to present to the community.  

The Parks Condition Assessment Report is anticipated to be complete in early 2022. Once received, the next steps are to present specific projects based on the condition assessment and the 2021 Measure M Updated Priority Plan to the community in early Spring 2022. 

Re-engaging with the community in early 2022 is necessary to collect the community’s specific priority projects to implement specific priority capital projects, maintenance and fuel reduction enhancements, and recreational programming for Measure M spending allocations, years 3-10. 

Upon completion of community engagement, staff will return to Council for approval of specific capital projects, maintenance enhancements, and recreational programming for years 3-10 of the Parks Measure. On an on-going basis, annual Parks Measure updates will be provided at the Board of Community Services and the Parks Measure Citizens Oversight Committee and regularly via community outreach methods. 

What is Measure M - Parks for All?

Sonoma County voters on Nov. 6, 2018 approved Measure M – Parks for All, a one-eighth cent sales tax that will help support Sonoma County’s regional and city parks. Approved by 72.6 percent of voters, the “Sonoma County Parks Improvement, Water Quality, and Fire-Safety Measure” provides dedicated funding for parks for 10 years.

Measure M – Parks for All will help to support Sonoma County and its cities with their long-term needs to maintain, protect and operate parks. The tax will generate an estimated $11.5 million annually, with an estimated $7.6 million a year going to Sonoma County Regional Parks and an estimated $3.8 million a year total going to the nine cities within Sonoma County.

An integral part of the proposed measure is its expenditure plan, which details how the revenue can be spent (use the link below in the Resources section to view the Expenditure Plan). The county and cities will individually determine how best to prioritize their funding projects, and a citizen oversight committee will ensure funds are used as intended.

What is Santa Rosa’s allocation of revenue?

As the largest city in Sonoma County, with over 50 percent of the county-wide population, Santa Rosa will receive an estimated $1.9 million per year, and a total of $19.1 million over 10 years, to help support the City’s 72 community and neighborhood parks.

How may the funds be used in Santa Rosa?

The revenue that is dedicated to the nine cities, including Santa Rosa, must be used to support local city parks and recreation needs, and may not be used to reduce existing funding for parks and recreation. The revenue is to be used within one, or all, of the following seven categories:

• Maintain parks and recreation facilities to ensure safe, clean, accessible visitor experiences
• Improve and develop athletic fields, playgrounds, restrooms, picnic areas, and visitor amenities
• Create and expand parks, trails, bikeways, public art, and recreation & historical facilities
• Plan and develop bike paths and trails with connections to schools, community spaces, and regional trails
• Provide recreation, education, and health programs for the community
• Decrease future fire risks, fuel loads, and invasive plants on city-owned open space parks
• Improve trails along waterways and riparian areas to benefit fish, wildlife habitat, and water quality

When is the funding available and what are the City’s plans?

Measure M – Parks for All funding went into effect in April 2019. The City of Santa Rosa has dedicated the first two years of funding (2019 – 2020) estimated at $3.8 million to support the restoration of city parks damaged during the 2017 Sonoma Complex Fires.

In 2020, City staff will be reaching out to engage with the community to determine citizens’ desires for how to prioritize spending the remainder of Santa Rosa’s portion of funding, estimated at $15.3 million, which is to be generated during years 3 -10 (2021 – 2028).

In 2020, community members will be asked to provide their input through a series of community meetings and workshops held throughout Santa Rosa, and through surveys and online forums.

Interested citizens are asked to submit their email address using the link (top right of this page) to receive updates on the City’s Measure M – Parks for All outreach and planning. 

Resources

• Measure M Public Input Report
• Parks for All Sonoma County Annual Report 2020-2021
• City Council Resolution 2019-142: Initial and Long Term Priority Plan
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Measure M Expenditure Plan
• Estimated Measure M Funds to Cities and County Parks