Calendar notes for the week of June 9, 2025.

Wednesday, June 11 (this week) – Know Before You Grow - Ali Gaylord, the Assistant Housing Director for the City of Oakland and a Petaluma resident, will talk about the future of affordable housing.  She'll wrap in pending state legislation, the increasingly constrained state budget, and the policy uncertainty in Washington, D.C.  She'll also be able to compare the affordable housing challenges in Oakland versus Petaluma.

Friday, June 13 (this week) – SMART – SMART will officially kickoff their service to Windsor with a midday party to which everyone is invited.  The grand opening of the Petaluma North station was great fun, so I encourage everyone to attend on Friday and regret that I’ll be away.

Monday, June 16 – Petaluma City Council – Among other tentative agenda items, the Council will make CCB appointments, approve a grant for rezoning of the Station Area, and continue their discussion of Areas of Change, Land Use Designations, and Land Use Alternatives for the updated General Plan.

Continue reading the weekly update here.

Calendar notes for the week of June 2, 2025.

Monday, June 2 (tonight!) – Petaluma City Council – Among other agenda items, the Council will consider acceptance of an MTC grant to revisit the zoning near the Petaluma Downtown SMART station.

Wednesday, June 11 – Know Before You Grow - Ali Gaylord, the Assistant Housing Director for the City of Oakland and a Petaluma resident, will talk about the future of affordable housing.  She'll wrap in pending state legislation, the increasingly constrained state budget, and the policy uncertainty in Washington, D.C.  She'll also be able to compare and contrast the affordable housing challenges in Oakland versus Petaluma.

Friday, June 13 – SMART – SMART will officially kickoff their service to Windsor with a midday party to which everyone is invited.  More details will be provided here and on the Urban Chat calendar (link above) as they become available.

Continue reading the weekly update here.

Calendar notes for the week of May 26, 2025.

Wednesday, May 28 (this week) – Petaluma Urban Chat – The next Urban Chat board meeting will be May 28.  These meetings are always open to the public.  The April meeting had spirited and insightful conversations about how to influence and to improve our land-use patterns.  Please join us for the May meeting.

Tuesday, May 20 (tomorrow) - Petaluma Planning - To provide a more complete understanding by the public of the proposed Downtown Overlay, Petaluma Planning will conduct a walking tour of the parcels impacted by the Overlay.

Thursday, May 29 (this week) – Petaluma City Clerk – Applications are now being accepted by the City Clerk to fill vacancies on the Petaluma Committees, Commissions, and Boards (CCBs).  Urban Chat has long advocated for readers to take advantage of this opportunity to play a role in the governance of our community.

Continue reading the weekly update here.

Calendar notes for the week of May 19, 2025.

Monday, May 19 (tonight!) – Petaluma City Council – The agenda for the Council includes a resolution on decorum, the annual Housing Element report, a workshop on the Petaluma River Trestle, and more.

Tuesday, May 20 (tomorrow) - Petaluma Planning - To provide a more complete understanding by the public of the proposed Downtown Overlay, Petaluma Planning will conduct a walking tour of the parcels impacted by the Overlay.

Wednesday, May 21 (this week) - Petaluma Planning - Petaluma Planning will conduct a second walk of the area impacted by the Downtown Overlay. It will be a repeat of the May 20 walk.

Continue reading the weekly update here.

Calendar notes for the week of May 12, 2025.

Monday, May 12 (tonight!) – Petaluma City Council – The Council will conduct a workshop on the municipal budget for fiscal year 2025-26.

Tuesday, May 13 (nope) – Petaluma Planning Commission – Despite the expectation that this Planning Commission meeting might include the SPAR hearing for the proposed Appellation Hotel, it was not to be.  Furthermore, there being no other agenda items, the meeting has been cancelled.  Next up as a possible SPAR hearing date is May 27, the next date on the standing Planning Commission calendar. 

Wednesday, May 14 (nope) - Know Before You Grow – The hope had been to begin a series of KBYG forums on housing this Wednesday.  Unfortunately, none of the targeted speakers were able to make this date work.  So, the room will remain dark and we’ll next target May 28.

Continue reading the weekly update here.

Calendar notes for the week of May 5, 2025.

Monday, May 5 (today!) – Petaluma City Council – Among other items on the agenda for this evening’s meeting, the City Council will hold a workshop on the fiscal and organizational sustainability of the City and conduct a hearing on goals and priorities for 2025-26.

Wednesday, May 7 (not this week) – Petaluma Transit Advisory Committee – The planned special meeting of the Transit Committee has been cancelled.  Instead, the making of a recommendation to the City Council about the selection of a new operator for the Petaluma Transit bus system, including fixed route, LumaGo, and paratransit, will be considered at the regularly scheduled May 20 meeting.

Monday, May 12 – Petaluma City Council – The Council is scheduled to conduct a workshop on the municipal budget for fiscal year 2025-26.

Continue reading the weekly update here.

Calendar notes for the week of April 21, 2025.

Monday, April 21 (tonight!) - Petaluma City Council – Among other agenda items, the Council will hold a workshop on the Active Transportation Plan and conduct a hearing on the second reading of the proposed Downtown Overlay Ordinance.

Thursday, April 24 (this week) – Petaluma Urban Chat - The monthly lunch meeting of Urban Chat is almost always agenda-free, allowing an enjoyable and enlightening conversation to wander freely over the urbanist landscape.

Wednesday, April 30 – Petaluma Urban Chat – The next Urban Chat board meeting will be conducted on April 30.

Continue reading the weekly update here.

Calendar notes for the week of April 7, 2025.

Monday, April 7 (today!) - Petaluma City Council – The second reading of the revised Downtown Overlay ordinance has been pushed back to April 21.  Instead, in addition to other items, the agenda includes potential action on two affordable housing projects, Meridian at Corona and Rovina Lane.

Wednesday, April 9 (this week) – Know Before You Grow – The intended developer and operator of the proposed Appellation Hotel will talk to Know Before You Grow about the upcoming site plan and architectural review (SPAR) by the Planning Commission in late April or early May.

Given the ongoing community debate about the Overlay and the hotel, this KBYG forum will likely be well-attended.  So we ask for three favors, (1) attend in person so you can gather the full flavor of the issues, (2) arrive early so the forum can begin on time and cover maximum ground, and (3) understand that the evening is about education more than advocacy, learning all you can about the factors that affect the design so your public comment to the Planning Commission can be impactful through its thorough understanding of the project.

Continue reading the weekly update here.

Calendar notes for the week of March 31, 2025.

Monday, April 7 - Petaluma City Council – With the Downtown Overlay ordinance having been revised at the March 17 Council meeting, a second reading of the revised ordinance is again required.  In addition to other items on the tentative agenda, the Council will conduct the second reading of the revised ordinance.

Wednesday, April 9 – Know Before You Grow – In the expectation that the Downtown Overlay will be approved by the City Council two evenings earlier, the proposed hotel developer and operator will talk to Know Before You Grow about the next step, the anticipated April 22 Planning Commission hearing on the site plan and architecture.

Thursday, April 17 - Petaluma General Plan Advisory Committee – The GPAC is scheduled to resume meeting.  As the meeting that had been scheduled for February was cancelled, followed by a similar cancellation in March, it’s possible the principal April topic will be the intended topic from February, the proposed organization of the updated General Plan.  But this is only speculation.  (For those willing to do homework, the General Plan of South San Francisco has been identified as a model for our General Plan.)

Continue reading the weekly update here.

Calendar notes for the week of March 24, 2025.

Thursday, March 27 – Petaluma Urban Chat - The monthly lunch meeting of Urban Chat is almost always agenda-free, allowing an enjoyable and enlightening conversation to wander freely over the urbanist landscape.

Monday, April 7 - Petaluma City Council – With the Downtown Overlay ordinance having been revised at the March 17 Council meeting, a second reading of the revised ordinance is again required.  In addition to other items on the tentative agenda, the Council will conduct the second reading of the revised ordinance.

Wednesday, April 9 – Know Before You Grow – In the expectation that the Downtown Overlay will be approved by the City Council two evenings earlier, the proposed hotel developer and operator will talk to Know Before You Grow about the next step, the anticipated April 22 Planning Commission hearing on the site plan and architecture.

Continue reading the weekly update here.

Calendar notes for the week of March 10, 2025.

Wednesday, March 12 (this week) – Know Before You Grow – Know Before You Grow 2025 will continue with a presentation about car-free living.  Anders Engnell, who has studied car-free projects in Europe and served as a member of the development team for the car-free Culdesac Tempe, will talk about his experiences, lessons learned, and thoughts for the future.

Monday, March 17 - Petaluma City Council - In addition to other items on the tentative agenda, the Council is expected to consider a resolution for the annual Housing Element update and to consider the second reading of the ordinance for the Downtown Overlay.

Continue reading the weekly update here.

Calendar notes for the week of March 3, 2025.

Monday, March 3 (tonight!) - Petaluma City Council - In addition to other agenda items, the Council will conduct a hearing on a Budget Ordinance to adjust appropriations within the current fiscal year and hold a workshop on the draft Land-Use Designations for the General Plan update.

The meeting will be convened at 5:00pm.  Further details, including a link to the agenda and the Zoom link, are on the Urban Chat calendar (link above).

Friday, March 7 (this week) – Build It Green/IncDev – Build It Green with the assistance of Alli Thurmond Quinlan of the Incremental Development Alliance (IncDev) will conduct a day-long session on how to be an incremental developer.  Four Petalumans attended a recent introduction to incremental development by the same team.  They found the content exciting and worthy of further discussion.   Several are planning on attending the full-day session.  Let me know if you're thinking about the event.  Carpools are encouraged.

Continue reading the weekly update here.

Calendar notes for the week of February 24, 2025.

Monday, February 24 (tonight!) - Petaluma City Council - Among other agenda items, the Council will conduct the first hearing on the Final Environmental Impact Report and draft Ordinance for the proposed Downtown Overlay.

The meeting will be convened at 5:00pm.  Further details, including the agenda and Zoom link, are on the Urban Chat calendar (link above).

Wednesday, February 26 (this week) – Petaluma Urban Chat – With the Film Festival complete but many more Urban Chat events on the horizon, the board will have another monthly board meeting.  There will be discussions about all Urban Chat’s planned 2025 activities.

The meeting will be convened at 5:30pm.  The agenda and location will be on the Urban Chat calendar (link above) as the date nears.

Continue reading the weekly update here.

Calendar notes for the week of February 17, 2025.

Monday, February 17 (tonight!) – KRCB - As multiple readers alerted me (thank you!) and nicely aligned with the recent Film Festival, KRCB is playing “Walkable USA” this evening, depicting work toward returning walkability to the faltering town of Hammond, Indiana.

Thursday, February 20 (this week) - Metropolitan Transportation Commission and local transit agencies - Thursday morning, MTC and coordinating transit agencies will roll out a proposed regional approach to transit maps and signs.  The roll-out will begin with a Santa Rosa press conference.  Everyone is invited.

Continue reading the weekly update here.

Calendar notes for the week of February 10, 2025.

Better Cities Film Festival – After months of anticipation, the second Better Cities Film Festival is here.  Wednesday evening at 6:00, we’ll begin assembling in the lobby of the Boulevard Cinemas for conversation (and refreshments from the snack bar).  At 6:45, we’ll move into two theatres for comments from Mayor McDonnell and Councilmember Barnacle.  At 7:00, 90 minutes of inspirational films about the best current urban planning will begin.

Afterwards, everyone is encouraged to move onward to Hanks for pizza (courtesy of the Urban Chat sponsors), a no-host bar, and conversations about what we’ve seen, what we’ve learned, and what ideas we now have for our community.

Tickets are going quickly but some remain available as of this writing.  More Film Festival information, including a link to buy tickets, is here.  And the full selection of films is here.

Don’t miss this evening of community building.

Continue reading the weekly update here.

Calendar notes for the week of February 3, 2025.

Beyond parking reform, Urban Chat has multiple points of focus in the coming weeks.  It’s a busy time!  Here’s the overview.

Film Festival Tickets – Film Festival tickets are moving well but we still have tickets to sell.  And we want all the seats filled for the maximum conversations at the free pizzas afterwards.  Film Festival tickets are on sale here.  And the full selection of films is on the Urban Chat website here.

IncDev - The Incremental Development Alliance (IncDev) introduction to incremental development will be this coming Thursday, February 6 in Oakland.  For those new to the phrase, incremental development is the gradual small additions of new land uses, frequently housing.

Continue reading the weekly update here.

Calendar notes for the week of January 27, 2025.

Annual Meeting - As previously announced, the annual meeting of Urban Chat will be this Wednesday, January 29, at 5:30pm in the conference room of the McNear Building.  Seating is limited so arrive early or plan on standing.

Film Festival Tickets – For those who aren't among the first twenty arrivals or, if this is possible, have a better place to spend Wednesday evening, Film Festival tickets are now on sale here.  And the full selection of films is on the Urban Chat website here.

Continue reading the weekly update here.