Santa Rosa planners outline Transit Oriented Communities push to protect grant eligibility and cut transport emissions

Amy Nicholson, supervising planner for Santa Rosa, told the Climate Action Subcommittee that the Metropolitan Transportation Commission's Transit Oriented Communities (TOC) policy, adopted in 2022, requires local jurisdictions to meet four broad categories of standards to score highly for regional grants.

"Today's presentation is focused on what's called transit oriented communities policy," Nicholson said, outlining the policy's four parts: minimum residential density and office intensity, affordable-housing production/preservation/protection, parking management, and transit station access and circulation. She said Santa Rosa has two TOC areas, at North Station and the downtown smart station, and noted the city has already secured regional funding for related projects.

Nicholson cited recent regional grant awards and local grants as examples of why compliance matters. "In the last funding cycle, the city received over $13,000,000 [from OBAG] that has been applied to infrastructure projects," she said, and added that the city received a $300,000 MTC grant to update the North Station area plan.

On parking, Nicholson warned that state law limits the use of parking minimums for new development in station areas, but TOC compliance would add parking maximums and increase required bicycle parking. "State law actually does not allow any parking minimums to be applied for new development in either station areas unless the city makes a very specific finding that there would be an adverse impact to public health and safety," she said.

Committee members pressed staff on timing and staffing. Council member Bermudez thanked staff and asked how the city would plan amid timeline uncertainty; Nicholson said MTC staff expects to clarify adoption deadlines in the coming weeks and that Santa Rosa is coordinating an internal working group and uploading documentation of progress to remain eligible for funding. "Our understanding is that we would need to be in compliance by really the end of this year," Nicholson said, while adding that many items will likely come before the council in 2027.

A member of the subcommittee who works on the small TOC team said it is "pretty unlikely" implementation will occur in 2026 and that 2027 is the more probable adoption year, but added Santa Rosa is farther along than many Bay Area jurisdictions.

Nicholson also described station-area planning actions the city expects to take, including potential land-use changes in the North Station area that would require amending the 2012 North Station area specific plan, creation of transportation-demand-management strategies, and planning for mobility hubs and active-transportation connections between stations and destinations.

The presentation concluded with staff noting some TOC-related tasks are grant-funded and others will rely on city planning and housing staff or consultant assistance; the committee discussed bringing a study session to the full council for decision points later in the year.

The subcommittee did not take formal action on the TOC policy at the meeting. The committee will receive more information as MTC clarifies deadlines and as city staff prepares a June study session for council consideration.