Waterways Advisory Committee elects new leadership, reviews training and master-plan timeline

The Santa Rosa Waterways Advisory Committee elected a new chair and vice chair during its Feb. 27 meeting and heard staff and member reminders about mandatory training and upcoming planning reviews.

The committee voted unanimously to install the committee’s longtime vice chair as chair and then unanimously approved Kevin C. as vice chair, members said during the meeting. The committee did not record objections. The chair transition took place immediately on the floor; the outgoing chair said he intended to remain on the committee but to scale back day-to-day duties.

The committee’s leadership changes came during a longer governance discussion that included reminders about the city’s two-year ethics and public service training requirement and an optional boards-and-commissions orientation scheduled for March 11. Committee members were told to check records with the city clerk if they are unsure when their reappointments are due.

Why it matters: committee leadership determines which members shepherd advisory comments on creekside development and coordinates the committee’s work with city staff. Members flagged the need to review the decades-old waterways master plan more frequently.

Members asked staff to research whether the waterways master plan—last noted in committee discussion as updated in 2013—has a required five-year review cycle. One member suggested a targeted reexamination over the next six to 12 months to align the plan with an anticipated transportation briefing and other projects.

Committee members also raised administrative concerns: whether members could get parking passes (the committee had passes in the past), and how the waterways advisory role intersects with other bodies (members serve at-large or represent planning commission, parks and recreation, or design review). The chair said only the City Council could dissolve or reorganize the committee and that he had heard no such move.