Santa Rosa planning commission approves Pura Vida expansion over neighborhood objections

The Santa Rosa Planning Commission on Nov. 13 approved a minor conditional use permit allowing Pura Vida Recovery Services to expand a non‑medical residential community care facility at 5761 Mountain Hawk Drive from 6 to 24 beds.

Commissioners voted 4‑2 to grant the permit after a public hearing that drew roughly 48 speakers who gave sharply divided testimony. Commissioner Sisco moved to approve the draft resolution and Commissioner Pardoe seconded; Commissioners Sisco, Horton, Pardo and Chair Weeks voted aye, while Commissioners Carter and Sanders voted no. Chair Weeks said the action is final unless an appeal is filed with the city clerk within 10 calendar days under the city’s zoning code.

The staff presentation recommended approval, saying the use fits the City of Santa Rosa zoning definition for a community care facility and is consistent with the general plan. Planner Sichanor Bisla told the commission the site has sufficient parking (staff counted 30 on‑site spaces plus 12 on‑street spaces) and that the project is categorically exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act under Class 1 and Class 32 exemptions. Bisla also summarized the project history: a 2022 application and commission denial, a withdrawal, and a new application submitted in May 2025.

Applicant Alex Wignall, one of Pura Vida’s owners, described operational controls and outreach and said the company has operated a 6‑bed program at the site for three years. "I personally owe everything I have...to my sobriety," Wignall said while urging the commission to approve the expansion. He and the applicant’s medical director, Roderick Wayne Fontenet, emphasized that the facility provides a residential, non‑medical level of care as defined by the California Health and Safety Code and that incidental medical services do not change that classification.

Opponents — including many Skyhawk neighborhood residents and families with children at nearby Austin Creek Elementary School — raised concerns about traffic, parking, proximity to a school and whether the shopping center was designed for an institutional‑scale, 24‑hour operation. Several speakers criticized the timing of the notice; multiple residents said they received about 10 days' notice of the commission hearing and questioned why the application had been in city files for many months. "Why we need to talk about this again?" one long‑time resident asked, noting the item had been before the commission in 2022.

Supporters — including people in long‑term recovery, nonprofit leaders and medical professionals — urged approval to expand local treatment capacity amid recent facility closures in Sonoma County. Micah Sawyer, co‑founder of a local nonprofit that partners with Pura Vida, said the program has produced measurable benefits and that beds are urgently needed: "We currently have a scholarship applicant that's been waiting for over 3 weeks for a bed," Sawyer said.

Santa Rosa Police Lieutenant Brenda Harrington told the commission she reviewed police responses for the area and stated the existing operation "has not contributed to any increase in criminal activity." Staff also noted proposed conditions of approval intended to reduce neighborhood impacts, including a requirement that clients be supervised by program staff at all times, new‑client admissions be limited to daytime hours, and a minimum staffing level (the draft resolution calls for at least three overnight staff and six daytime staff on site).

Commissioners split over whether the proposed intensity and siting align with neighborhood expectations. Commissioner Carter said he could not make all required findings related to compatibility and intensity and opposed the project; Commissioner Sanders likewise cited general plan consistency concerns and voted no. Commissioners who voted yes said their role is to apply the zoning code and that the application met applicable standards.

The permit approval is subject to the conditions in the draft resolution and may be appealed to the city clerk within 10 calendar days of the decision. The planning commission record identifies the project as File No. PLN25‑36 for Pura Vida Recovery Services at 5761 Mountain Hawk Drive.