Design Review Board upholds zoning administrator, denies appeal of planned Tierra De Rosas public plaza

The Santa Rosa Design Review Board voted 4–1 with one abstention on Feb. 12 to deny an appeal and uphold the zoning administrator’s approval of the Tierra De Rosas Public Plaza, a privately maintained public plaza that is part of a larger master development formerly known as Roseland Village.

The plaza design reviewed by the zoning administrator and appealed by neighbor John Paulson covers improvements the city described as totaling roughly 1.01 acres, including the plaza surface, pathways and adjacent sidewalks. Paulson, whose family helped develop the original Rosen Village shopping center, argued the approval conflicts with a recorded 1956 reciprocal access and parking easement and said removing surface parking would harm neighboring businesses and create a cloud on title. “How can anybody in their right mind think that they can build on a recorded easement?” Paulson said during his allotted presentation, also recounting disputes over a temporary food‑truck…