Santa Rosa studies gas station zoning after 2022 ban; staff to return with metrics, mitigation options

Santa Rosa City Council on Jan. 14 held a study session on the city’s gas station land‑use regulations, reviewing the 2022 ordinance that bans new gas stations and expansions and asking staff to return with more targeted data before any code changes are made.

Jessica Jones, deputy director of planning, and Gabe Osborne, director of planning and economic development, told the council the city currently has an inventory of 44 gas stations. "It shows 44 stations, within the city of Santa Rosa," Osborne said while showing a map overlaid with business‑license data. Staff traced the policy history: a January 2020 climate‑emergency resolution that set carbon‑neutrality goals, a September 2021 recommendation from the Regional Climate Protection Authority to halt new/expanded stations, and a September 2022 zoning ordinance that prohibits new stations and expansions while allowing limited minor modifications for safety and environmental improvements.

Staff presented three policy pathways for the council to consider: keep the status quo; revert to the prior regime that allowed new stations and expansions in some commercial and industrial zones with a Major Conditional Use Permit; or amend the current code to allow narrowly defined relocation or expansion of existing stations…