Adega Apartments in northwest Rohnert Park. [Photo courtesy Development Services Department, City of Rohnert Park]
Rohnert Park stands out in Sonoma County and the North Bay as a city that is attracting a variety of talented developers and completing multiple residential developments on schedule. The key to these achievements has been following the city’s 2000 general plan, says Rohnert Park Mayor Susan Hollingsworth Adams, who is also city councilmember for District 5.
“The 2000 plan outlined the specific development areas like the University District, close to Sonoma State University, where developers are still constructing housing today. Determining where development should take place and having infrastructure to support new homes allows the city to grow in a stable and predictable way,” says Hollingsworth Adams.
As of fall 2024, Rohnert Park is discussing plans for a 28-acre downtown. The area will include a mixed-use center of retail shops, restaurants, a boutique hotel and 450 residential units. This part of town will be built in partnership with El Segundo-based developer CenterCal Properties. The city also continues to encourage private development of housing east and west of Highway 101.
“In addition, we’re turning our focus to constructing Sonoma Mountain Village, a 200-acre campus on the south end of town. As multiple projects—like units in Village North and Village South near Golf Course Drive West—near completion, I’ve seen residents enjoy building community,” says Rohnert Park Vice Mayor Gerard Giudice, also city councilmember for District 3.
Giudice says in recent years Rohnert Park has become extremely ethnically diverse, with a large Asian American and Pacific Islander population and many Turkish and Kurdish residents.
“The new housing, the parks and recreation options, amenities like the Green Music Center at Sonoma State University and the proximity of vacation spots like Lake Tahoe combine to draw residents from throughout Sonoma County and other areas, including San Francisco and Portland,” says Giudice.
Steady through the ebbs and flows
Rohnert Park’s progress is due to the steady construction of residential units. This action has been underway for over two decades, with a slowdown during the 2008 recession.
“Everything came to a screeching halt during that period. The real estate market picked up gradually. We were really going again by 2015, when interest rates dropped and developers returned,” says Hollingsworth Adams.
In the years since 2008, Rohnert Park has gained momentum in construction by adhering to its roots as a planned city modeled after Levittown, Pennsylvania. It has also continued to implement smart planning principles.
Such work ensures long-time residents of the city are supportive of the expansion.
“I receive regular feedback on development by attending community events, talking with our community development team and interacting with constituents,” says Hollingsworth Adams.
Hollingsworth Adams’ deep understanding of Rohnert Park comes in part from her family history. Her parents, Art and Sandy Hollingsworth, moved to the city in 1961 when she was 3. As Rohnert Park grew, Art Hollingsworth came to serve as president of the Rohnert Park Chamber of Commerce, chairman of the Rohnert Park Planning Commission and member of the city council. He also served several years as mayor. Hollingsworth Adams has worked as the director of operations in her family’s insurance business since 1997. Before she was elected to the Rohnert Park City Council in 2018, she served for 14 years on the city’s Planning Commission.
Hollingsworth Adams says the formation of a cooperative, efficient management team is another reason Rohnert Park has moved forward.
“We are blessed with talented leadership: Rohnert Park City Manager Marcela Piedra, who worked for seven years as a city manager in El Centro; Director of Development Services Ali Giudice [no relation to the vice mayor]; and city engineer Vanessa Garrett, our director of public works. [They] help us achieve our goals on time in ways that are responsive to the community,” says Hollingsworth Adams.
Solutions to minimize delays
One of the other reasons Rohnert Park is seeing high amounts of residential development is it has gradually reduced application- and permit-processing times.
For example, the city has seen an uptick in construction of Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) since 2017. Prior to that year, less than 10 applicants submitted plans for ADUs. For the past four years, the total number has been close to 60. Property owners are building ADUs all over the city.
“Based on this interest, we’ve combined the two steps of the permitting process: the planning review, which involves the city looking over factors like setback, height and water capacit; and the Building Department’s pulling of permits,” says Alicia Giudice.
Before the shift in late October, the first step took three to four weeks. The second step took about three weeks. Combining the steps has reduced the total processing time to three weeks, on average.
“The city has been working with the Napa Sonoma ADU Center, a local nonprofit that helps property owners plan to build ADUs. This year they will be assisting us with developing a program to offer property owners in Rohnert Park pre-approved plans for ADUs and raising awareness about the advantages of ADUs,” says Giudice.
Rohnert Park’s standard procedures also include closely monitoring population growth, employment data and worker commute times. These actions allow the city to encourage development that keeps pace with workers’ needs.
The U.S. Census Bureau’s current population estimate for Rohnert Park is 44,546, as of July 2023. In 2010, the population was 40,971, a number that reflected the problematic housing market. The city’s population had been 42,236 in 2000. Since academic year 2019-2020, the Cotati-Rohnert Park Unified School District has seen increased enrollment of between 1% and 4% every year. The 2024-2025 enrollment is 6,365, a 3% jump from last year.
Data show Rohnert Park is home to adults who work in a wide range of fields.
“The top four are management, office and administrative support, construction and maintenance, sales and related occupations and health care. When it comes to processing permits, we bring in consultants when needed to minimize the chance of slowdowns,” says Giudice.
The price of housing has increased in the last four years.
“The higher price points are in the newer developments, such as the University District or Willow Glen. However, it’s difficult to say which areas are considered more expensive. For example, in 2024, we saw homes in the D Section, an older neighborhood, sell between $750,000 up to $1.2 million,” says Giudice.
Going forward, Rohnert Park will work with a third party to conduct a survey to rate the city’s development procedures.
“We want to hear developers’ and residents’ ideas for making our application and permitting processes more user-friendly. Then we can figure out what more to change,” says Giudice.
Keeping the city green
Rohnert Park has prevented sprawl by maintaining its urban growth boundary (UGB). This is a restriction that requires there be green open space between the city and neighboring municipalities.
Rohnert Park voters accomplished this goal in 2019 with a 90% approval of Measure B. The measure renewed the 2000 UGB lines.
“Another action that aided the city in establishing open space is that in 2024, the Federated Indians Graton Rancheria took 60 acres in the northwest part of the city. They put this land in trust. This means there will not be any development in that area,” says Jake Mackenzie, a member of the board of directors for the Greenbelt Alliance (GBA). The GBA is a nine-county Bay Area nonprofit dedicated to preserving open space.
The Greenbelt Alliance is currently watching the development proposed for downtown Rohnert Park.
Sonoma State University, a primary employer in the city, also wants the downtown to be vibrant.
“We hope Rohnert Park’s downtown will be an engaging entertainment and shopping area for our students, faculty and staff to explore. We recruit more than half of our students from out of the area. They are interested in going places that are close by, yet outside of the university,” says M. Monir Ahmed, chief financial officer and vice president for administration and finance for Sonoma State University.
For the past two years, SSU has hosted Community Partners, a twice-annual forum for local partners in the area. Attendees have included City of Rohnert Park, City of Cotati and Sonoma County administrative officers, law enforcement and fire officials, the Rohnert Park and Cotati chambers of commerce and representatives of the SMART train.
“Beyond creating space to discuss the downtown, SSU wants to help Rohnert Park remain a city where housing is not out of reach—affordable housing should continue to be built,” says Ahmed. “Jeff Keating, associate vice president of government relations and strategic communications at SSU, goes to most city council meetings. He’s there to hear what occurs and answer questions about SSU as needed.”
SSU further aids Rohnert Park by meeting the housing needs for its students. It stands out as being a university that has sufficient on-campus housing to house the undergraduate and graduate student populations that may come to the campus from outside the area.
“This is partly due to the number of students who already live in Sonoma County or the North Bay and commute to SSU,” says Ahmed.
SSU recently opened up on-campus housing to faculty, staff and non-traditional students, like students with families. This step has helped ease the housing demand in areas close to the university, in Rohnert Park, Cotati and Penngrove.
The business community is supportive of Rohnert Park’s achievements in residential development.
“One concern is whether residential development will impact traffic in town. So far, there’s been no serious concerns,” says Lisa Orloff, CEO of the Rohnert Park Chamber of Commerce.
One of the final pieces of the puzzle is the construction of new parks. The idea is for the city to have enough parks and recreational activities to meet residents’ needs.
Rohnert Park’s 2000 plan makes this possible because certain areas slated for residential development have predetermined set-asides for parks.
“This means we don’t have to plan parks on the fly. There are several steps taken when looking at the space for a new park, including communicating with the city council and residents. Together, we take into consideration what amenities new and current residents might want and what we’re missing,” says Cindy Bagley, director of community services for the City of Rohnert Park.
Since 2018, the city has used the “color dot” system at community meetings to ask for input.
“We bring out a board with a large photo blow-up of the park. Then we hand out different color dots denoting park features, like playgrounds. We ask kids ages 2 through 5, ages 5 through 12, parents with kids and people without kids to share what they want and where they want it,” says Bagley.
There is currently a lot of interest in inclusive playgrounds—play areas designed and built to accommodate people of all ages and abilities.
Rohnert Park also satisfies residents by offering a wide range of activities in parks, from youth sports leagues to yoga. It has a planned project to renovate the pickleball courts at Sunrise Park and add sound mitigation for this sport.
“Our special events are another component to connect community members. Residents take pride and find friends when they attend or volunteer with our annual Halloween Carnival, winter Holiday Lights Celebration and Party on the Plaza series, an outdoor concert series that takes place on Friday nights June through August,” says Bagley.
One of Bagley’s favorite events is the RP Jubilee, which takes place on the Fourth of July.
“I like that this year we had activities for all ages, including live music by Pride & Joy SF, family games, an outdoor escape room and 8-person video gaming,” says Bagley.
