Santa Rosa studies possible changes to gas-station zoning; staff to return with metrics

Jessica Jones, Director of Economic Development and Planning, told the City Council she and staff prepared a study session to review the city’s 2022 zoning ordinance that prohibits new gas stations and the expansion of existing fossil-fuel infrastructure. "Creemos que es bastante preciso y muestra 44 gasolineras dentro de la ciudad de Santa Rosa," Jones said, presenting an inventory and a map of existing locations.

The presentation described the ordinance’s history and climate context: staff noted a 2020 City resolution declaring a climate emergency and the city’s goal of carbon neutrality by 2030 as background to the 2022 zoning change. Director Osborne said that new applications for gas stations are uncommon and that most recent activity has been relocations or modernizations of existing sites. "No vemos muchas solicitudes de gasolineras de manera regular; es poco común," Osborne said.

Staff laid out three options for the Council to consider: keep the current ordinance as written; revert to pre-2022 rules that allowed conditional-use permits for new or relocated stations in commercial/industrial zones; or adopt narrowly tailored amendments to allow limited expansions, relocations or upgrades of existing stations while adding strong environmental and public-safety safeguards. The staff presentation cautioned that any change could trigger environmental review, affect pending development and carry consultant or staffing costs. Staff estimated a process timeline of roughly 6–12 months depending on the level of environmental review.

Councilmembers asked for more detail about the data and the metrics that would be used to evaluate the ordinance. Councilmember Fleming said she wanted 2019 data as the baseline and stressed the need for clear environmental and travel metrics; Councilmember Bañuelos asked staff to verify the list of approved stations and whether it was complete. Staff acknowledged limits in the location-data platform and agreed to return with clarified numbers, additional comparisons and proposed metrics for measuring the ordinance’s environmental and economic impacts.

Public commenters offered contrasting views. Scott Singer, who said he has a contract to buy property at 1425–1455 Santa Rosa Avenue, described a planned re‑location proposal and argued the work would decommission an older site and include remediation: "La gasolinera está abrumada... vamos a añadir cargas o recargas de vehículos eléctricos en el lugar antigua," he said, urging zoning changes to allow re‑location. By contrast, Jenny Blaker urged the Council not to change the ordinance and questioned whether the request to revisit rules had been prompted by a single corporate proposal; she asked the Council to explain the reasons for reopening the code.

Several public-health and environmental advocates urged keeping the prohibition, citing air‑quality and long‑term climate goals. Mead Callaway, speaking for a local conservation group, said the 2022 ordinance protects public health and noted the city should avoid rolling back hard‑won protections. "Por favor, no retrocedan este progreso," Callaway said.

What happens next: staff agreed to return with additional verification of the gas‑station inventory, clearer mobility and emissions metrics, cost estimates for any technical analysis, and a proposed agenda and schedule for a formal follow‑up study session. No code change or vote occurred at this meeting; the item was informational and the Council directed staff to prepare more detailed analysis.