Rohnert Park council OKs more than 200 houses in next phase of SOMO Village

Plans for more than 200 new homes and four parks were approved Tuesday night by the Rohnert Park City Council, paving the way for expansion of the SOMO Village development.

The council approved the tentative site map in a 4-0 vote; Mayor Gerard Giudice recused himself, as he owns a business in SOMO Village.

Final approval of the 28.4-acre development must go through the city’s SOMO Village Design Review Board before construction can begin. The Design Review Board must OK neighborhood park design, landscaping, lighting standards and house designs, colors and materials.

It is unclear when the Design Review Board will review the plans for phase of development. Requests to the Rohnert Park city manager for upcoming agendas were not answered in time for publication of this story.

Should the development be complete within the next six years, the new housing would get the city closer to meeting its state mandate to build more housing by 2031, a process known as Regional Housing Needs Allocation.

The approved site plan comprises about 16% of the entire 176-acre SOMO Village property. Two portions of the southeast Rohnert Park property have already been developed, including the event and commercial center, which is the central focus of SOMO Village. Phase 1N, which included nearly 22 acres of residential and mixed use development, is also nearly complete.

Once complete, the entire property, which is spliced by Valley House Drive, would include 1,750 homes, 700,000 square feet of commercial and light industrial space and 38.5 acres of agricultural, park and open spaces.

Once complete, the northwest corner of the development would have 208 new homes, including 124 single-family homes, which are likely to be a mix of cottages, townhomes and detached houses. The project would also include a multifamily affordable housing development, with 84 apartments for rent.

Affordable housing options would be rented to families or individuals living at or below 80% of the area median income, which is $84,650 for individuals and $120,900 for a family of four.

Townhomes, which would be spread across the three blocks — dubbed one, six and 19 — would be three stories tall. Single-family homes, as well as a fire station, would be located in block one, which abuts Camino Colegio.

Some longtime Rohnert Park residents were concerned about the proposed height of parts of SOMO Village.

“I have the best view in Rohnert Park in my opinion,” said Erin Armstrong, a 21-year resident. “I gaze upon Sonoma Mountain. I have a kindred spirit with Sonoma Mountain. It’s a million-dollar view and now it’s going to be blocked. I don’t want to look at houses. To be honest, I don’t trust a developer as far as I can throw them.”

SOMO Village Chief Financial Officer Eric Reed assured both the City Council and residents that the developer has no plans to construct residences higher than three stories.

“I did want to point out that we do have zoning to build up to five-story apartments,” Reed said. “But I think those apartments are pretty unlikely.”

The developer is also making efforts to create green space that would help alleviate visual congestion.

The new section would also include three parks running along the west side of the property. At 1.9 acres, the northernmost park would include a baseball field, bird and wildlife viewing stations, trails and a connector path to the SMART multiuse path.

Surrounding the baseball field would be a 3.9-acre wetland preserve and observatory. Rohnert Park staff noted that the preserve and observatory would be a private park but be accessible to the public.

South of the preserve and observatory would be a .9-acre splash pad park, which would also include a shaded picnic area and discovery playground.

A fourth miniature park — .2 acres in size — would sit at the northeast corner of the development. The park would include a shaded picnic area and small open grass area.

Amie Windsor is the Community Journalism Team Lead with The Press Democrat. She can be reached at [email protected] or 707-521-5218.