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Petaluma board selects site for districtwide performing arts center, moves to next planning phase
Summary
The Petaluma City Schools board chose Option 1 — a site tucked behind Casa Grande campus near the remnant ('Cornelia') property — as the location for a districtwide performing arts center. The board approved the selection after a staff presentation weighing accessibility, noise and construction impacts; staff said next steps will include 6–12 months of planning and stakeholder engagement.
The Petaluma City Schools board voted to locate the districtwide performing arts center on the remnant property behind Casa Grande (Option 1), following a presentation from the district and the bridging architect and a period of board questions about access, parking, noise and construction impacts.
Kelly from Van Pelt, the bridging architect on the project, told the board that the team presented three general placement options and considered path‑of‑travel, Americans with Disabilities Act requirements, and noise impacts. "In a job as complex as a theater, what we wanna do is hire a bridging architect who does the programming," Kelly said, describing the step that will produce the design requirements used in a later design‑build competition.
During discussion board members asked whether the site would be accessible for community rentals and how bond funds would be allocated. A district staff member said the bond implementation plan allocates roughly one‑third of districtwide project costs to elementary and two‑thirds to secondary schools for these projects. The board debated visibility, parking availability and construction impacts near an on‑campus hatchery before a member moved and another seconded Option 1.
The motion carried on a voice vote; staff described the next phase as 6–12 months of programmatic planning with the bridging architect followed by a design‑build selection. Staff noted estimated site‑work and ADA/path upgrades for the three options presented: about $160,000 for Option 1, $273,000 for Option 2 and about $474,000 for Option 3; those figures covered path‑of‑travel and related access improvements rather than full building costs.
Board members said they expect a robust public engagement process with students, teachers and community members before design‑build proposals are requested and emphasized that chosen details will be refined in the planning phase.
