CSEC: No dogs on the Sonoma Plaza

Commission foresees ‘more problems’ if Plaza pooch prohibition was lifted, calls for better enforcement.|

The Sonoma Community Services & Environment Commission on Wednesday considered a slate of issues affecting downtown events and Plaza use and are sending several recommendations to the City Council – including the creation of a city commission to address climate change.

As to a recent suggestion to enact a trial period of allowing leashed dogs on the Sonoma Plaza – none of the CSEC members bit.

The CSEC met Feb. 9 to narrow its focus and offer guidance on a variety of ongoing issues, as part of the Sonoma City Council’s effort to more clearly define the roles of the city’s lower commissions.

From allowing leashed dogs and the addition of bike racks on the Plaza to redefining the roles of such subcommittees as the Tree Committee and the Joint Climate Action Committee, the following are CSEC recommendations for future action by the Sonoma City Council:

Dogs on the Plaza

Currently, dogs are not allowed on the Plaza. But the policy is difficult to enforce, according to city staff, and can result in conflict with uncooperative dog owners who “can become argumentative or passive-aggressive when informed of the restriction.” To avoid ongoing conflicts, staff sought guidance from the CSEC on a potential pilot period of allowing “dogs on leash” on the Plaza, with the exceptions of children’s playground areas and during the Tuesday Night Market during the summer.

But CSEC members were dubious to the proposition, contending that if enforcing dog behavior was difficult under the current prohibition, abandoning the prohibition altogether would only make matters worse.

“We should not throw up our hands and say, ‘Goodness gracious, Jimmy and Janie don’t like enforcement,’” said Commissioner David Morell. “The challenge is to do enforcement… we need to find a way to enforce the current rule.”

The concept of a “temporary” period of allowing dogs would be impossible to scale back, said Commissioner Matt Metzler.

“After six months or a year, if we rescinded it and went back (to the prohibition), once this horse is out of the barn, or this dog is on the Plaza, it’s going to be really hard to get it back in,” Metzler said. “We would be creating more problems.”

Commissioner Richard Weiss said he’d conducted an informal survey of residents in recent weeks and out of about 100 people he’d asked, 6 to 1 have been against repealing the dog prohibition.

No members of the public spoke in favor of allowing leashed dogs on the Plaza, with resident Charles Estudillo commenting that if the trial run on dogs were enacted, children would need to be confined in the playground area.

“You’d be favoring dogs over families and over children,” said Estudillo.

With none of the CSEC members warm to the proposal for a leashed-dog trial period, the commission took no action on the proposal, but directed staff to consider improved signage and enforcement in regard to the dog prohibition, and to consider other opportunities for dog owners to enjoy the city – but not on the Plaza.

Climate Action Committee

The City Council has asked the CSEC to clarify its role when it comes to the city’s Climate Action Plan. Currently, climate action is under the purview of the Joint Climate Action Subcommittee, which is composed of two members of the CSEC and two members of the City Council. On Wednesday, the commissioners recommended handing responsibilities around mitigating climate change to a separate Climate Action Committee, which could dedicate its entire focus to the issue.

“All of our other responsibilities are not existential in terms of potential repercussions, unlike climate,” said Weiss. “There’s a certain diminution of importance by having it subsumed under our aegis.”

Commissioner Metzler agreed that an entirely separate committee dedicated to climate action was preferable, though he cautioned that it would need to have real teeth if it intends to have a meaningful impact. Metzler compared the city’s current dedication to mitigating climate change to reorganizing deck chairs on a sinking ship.

“The public is in denial of the seriousness of the problem, which presents (City) Council members with a difficult choice: either enact unpopular policies which may make reelection difficult or continue with the current ineffective half measures,” said Metzler. “Unless council members are willing to undertake aggressive action, regardless of their effect on chances of being reelected, questions about the makeup of the climate action committee are moot.”

In the end, the commission called for the City Council to form a new Climate Action Committee composed of one CSEC member, one City Council member and five community members, at least four of whom live within the city limits.

Update special events policy

Commissioners were largely in approval of the city’s special events policy as it stands – with city Events Manager Lisa Janson handling the on-the-ground details of events and enforcement of regulations, while alerting the commission when a regular event falls out of good standing. With an eye on mitigating greenhouse gas emissions created by special events, CSEC members recommended that surveying event attendees about their mode of transportation to an event be added to the policy.

The Tree Committee

The city Tree Committee consists of two members of the CSEC and one certified arborist — and reviews the potential impacts of proposed development to existing trees on or adjacent to a project site. In January, the City Council discussed the possibility of having staff, with the assistance of a certified arborist, assume the responsibilities of the Tree Committee. “The primary benefit is the reduction in staff time needed to support the activities of the Tree Committee,” according to the city staff report for the Feb. 9 meeting.

Longtime Tree Committee member Kimberly Blattner conceded that in the several years she’s served on the committee, the CSEC members of the committee have invariably adhered to the arborist’s recommendation on tree removal.

“I’m not sure how valuable we have been outside of the expertise of the arborists,” said Blattner. Still, she and other commissioners stressed the importance of having citizen oversight of tree removal, at least for residential applications.

The commission recommended that the CSEC continue its participation in the Tree Committee in regard to homeowner applications for tree removal, but allow larger development proposals to fold their tree-removal requests into applications before the Design Review board or Planning Commission.

Adding bike racks on the Plaza

The commissioners were in favor of expanding the bike rack capacity of the Plaza, with CSEC members pointing out that a bike plan for the Plaza was developed in 2018, but never implemented. The commission recommended the 2018 bike plan be brought back before the City Council for consideration.

Email Jason Walsh at Jason.walsh@sonomanews.com.

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