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Resident urges city to fund Hartwood Drive stormwater evaluation after repeated floods
Summary
A Hartwood Drive resident told the council his street has flooded multiple times in the rainy season, that a hydrologist tentatively found the storm system is a city responsibility, and he urged the city to include an engineering evaluation in the budget. City staff said public works will prioritize an assessment but no specific allocation exists yet.
Danny Hucle, a Hartwood Drive resident, told the Rohnert Park City Council during public comment that his street has flooded repeatedly this rainy season, he and neighbors have had property damage including a vehicle loss, and a hydrologist’s initial survey indicated the problem likely belongs to the city rather than adjacent fields or the county.
“...we keep trying to get responses and working with Vanessa. Vanessa has been very responsive,” Hucle said, describing multiple years of flooding and damage to structures and personal property. He asked the council to include funding to address the issue in the fiscal‑year budget.
The city manager responded that staff recognize the valley and creek corridors require attention and that public works will include storm drainage issues in its presentation. She said a preliminary evaluation could cost on the order of $500,000, though costs could be higher or lower depending on scope. Staff stressed competing priorities and noted the city will also seek external funding where possible and coordinate with county and state partners.
Public works staff later told council the city’s storm‑drain network has areas with visual inspection needs and that the city does not currently perform wide‑area camera inspections; staff said such a program and a more detailed master study could be expensive and currently lack a funding source. Council members pressed staff for options and were told a FEMA BRIC (Building Resiliency Infrastructure Communities) grant for a regional detention basin is under active discussion but that the federal award is at risk and staff are coordinating with congressional offices.
The city manager said staff would continue to prioritize storm‑drain evaluations in the capital plan and seek grant support, but emphasized the present FY 2025–26 budget contains no explicit allocation for a Hartwood evaluation. The resident’s appeal highlighted the practical tradeoffs the council is facing as it balances one‑time capital work, ongoing service needs and a structural operating gap.
The manager directed that the issue be covered in the public works presentation and noted staff would return with cost estimates and potential funding paths.
