Santa Rosa staff report increased creek volunteerism and details for Colgan Creek restoration phase 3

Claire Myers, Stormwater manager for the City of Santa Rosa, reported to the Waterways Advisory Committee on the city’s Creek Stewardship Program results from the prior fiscal year, Creek Week participation, and the upcoming Phase 3 work in the Lower Colgan Creek restoration.

Myers said the stewardship program continues to grow: over the last fiscal year the program recorded “almost 10,000 participants, including almost 8,000 youth,” 98 volunteer creek cleanups, 92 creek restoration activities and roughly 1,100 cubic yards of trash removed. Creek Week alone registered about 375 participants and roughly 2,700 pounds of trash, and city staff events removed significant additional volumes (the staff “Trash Bash” collected 1,800 pounds in one morning from 56 participants).

The Stormwater team described Phase 3 of the Lower Colgan Creek restoration as the linking segment between earlier constructed phases; when complete the full project will restore about 1.3 miles of creek. Myers said the work is a channel realignment and reconstruction designed to increase in‑stream habitat, plant up to about 2,500 native riparian trees and shrubs, improve flood protection (from a 25‑year to a 100‑year storm standard), and add an ADA‑accessible bicycle and pedestrian path and a bridge through a new city park. Construction for Phase 3 was described as expected to begin “around June 15 or so next year.”

Myers said the project has leveraged grants and other sources to assemble more than $11 million across the three phases. She identified major grant components discussed in the meeting: Sonoma County Agricultural and Open Space (about $1.2 million for acquisition of the Bell parcel, pending finalization), the Urban Streams Restoration Program (about $4.4 million for construction), and a Wildlife Conservation Board award (over $2 million secured) that includes funds for monarch habitat plantings and community elements.

On restoration design and community impacts, Myers and staff said the project team used historical aerials and hydrologic analysis to design meanders and reduce erosion. The project designer named in the briefing is Prunuske Chatham. Myers told the committee that, because Phase 3 required acquisition of the Bell property, the project can move the creek alignment more substantially than projects constrained by adjacent buildings — but some trees within the work area will be removed. Staff said they attempted to minimize tree removal, will replant at a mitigation ratio that results in more trees planted than removed, and expect community concern when mature trees are cut down.

Myers said some elements remain to be decided by the Parks Department, which will lead the public outreach on the park concept and determine park programming and development funding. The city owns the Bell parcel; parks staff have not yet started neighborhood‑scale outreach for park design, and park construction funding is not yet determined.

Other items reported: the restoration team will include pollinator and basketry plantings in partnership with Rainforest Rising and consult local tribes on basketry plants and public art. Myers also noted biological signs the restoration is producing ecological returns: staff observed a beaver on the restored reaches several months earlier and reported otter sightings after construction in earlier phases. Steve Brady reported the city has “no historical reports of salmon or steelhead trout” for this reach.

Why it matters: the Colgan Creek work is both a flood‑protection and habitat project that changes the creek channel, restores riparian habitat and adds an accessible trail. The project’s mix of city funding, enterprise fees, and large grants determine how much of the work is built and when.