🌱 Healdsburg Hotel Plans May Be Blocked + More Trees, Bike Lanes?

Good morning, everybody! It's a hot summer Sunday in Healdsburg and I'm back in your inbox with everything that's fit to print about what's happening locally. In today's issue, you'll learn about:

• A potential roadblock for the big hotel planned next to John & Zeke's
• A "call for justice" for the local farmworker killed in rural Healdsburg by sheriff's deputies one year ago
• How the city's climate change policy is shaping up this summer
• How the Prune Packers are doing at state championships this weekend
• And more...

Today's newsletter is sponsored by Stacey Bernd, Realtor with Healdsburg Sotheby's

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Now, your local weather forecast:

• Sunday: Mostly sunny and hot. High: 101 Low: 57.
• Monday: Mostly sunny and hot again. High: 99 Low: 52.
• Tuesday: Cooling down, with a mix of clouds and sun. High: 81 Low: 54.
• Wednesday: Mostly sunny. High: 86 Low: 56.

Air over Healdsburg:

Here are the top 3 stories today in Healdsburg:

1. You know the fancy new 16-room hotel that Piazza Hospitality wants to build next to John & Zeke's? Interesting development on that front. The Healdsburg Tribune reports that a somewhat serendipitous timing issue with their initial application to the city may end up preventing the hotel from getting built. Basically, as I understand it, city officials accepted Piazza's application on the exact same day — January 16, 2019 — that a new city ordinance went into effect "limiting the number of rooms in a new hotel at five rooms... in order to avoid an over-concentration of hotel uses within the downtown." Which would make the hotel "subject to the limitations of the new ordinance, not the previous one," according to the Tribune — effectively making their plans impossible. More from the story: "As Piazza Hospitality’s H4 project at 400 Healdsburg Ave. nears its next Planning Commission hearing sometime in August, questions have surfaced about the validity of their application to build the residential hotel they envision — 16 rooms, 37 beds, mini-kitchens in most rooms and an on-site restaurant, at the downtown corner of North Street and Healdsburg Avenue. The questions relate to the approval of Piazza’s application for the process, which was signed off on by city staff on Jan. 16, 2019 — an approval that deemed complete Piazza’s application. ... That date, Jan. 16, is significant because it is the date that the city’s new hotel rules, Ordinance No. 1181, took effect." You can read the full story in the Trib — and I'll keep you posted on what happens! (Healdsburg Tribune)
2. Family and friends of David Pelaez-Chavez, the immigrant farmworker shot to death by county sheriff's deputies one year ago in the Chalk Hill area outside Healdsburg, are "calling on District Attorney Carla Rodriguez to bring charges against the deputy involved," KRCB radio reports. Around 80 of them — supported by a local "social justice group" called the North Bay Organizing Project — protested outside Santa Rosa’s Old Courthouse Square last Saturday, on the anniversary of David's death. “It’s been 365 days, justice for David Pelaez-Chavez,” one sign read. Here are some more details from the KRCB report: "Pelaez-Chavez was shot and killed after a 45-minute foot pursuit through rocky and wooded terrain east of Healdsburg.. Body camera footage shows Pelaez-Chavez was barefoot and behaving erratically. His family claims he was in crisis, and toxicology reports show he was under the influence of methamphetamine. Deputy Dietrick alleges Pelaez-Chavez was threatening him with a rock and gardening tools before fatally shooting him three times in the head and chest. The other officer on the scene fired his taser. Now, a year later, David’s brother Jose Pelaez says the family fears the public is forgetting his story. In an impassioned speech, he urged the district attorney to bring charges against the officer involved." (Northern California Public Media)
3. The Press Democrat has the latest on Healdsburg's latest efforts to shape local environmental policy in response to the threats of climate change. From the PD: "Should Healdsburg plant more trees? What if the city took steps to divert 90% of its solid waste from landfills? Should the city pay for a study to see how it can decrease tourists’ car use? These are some of the questions Healdsburg residents responded to during a July 26 workshop at the city’s community center. ... 'It's so exciting. It's really thrilling to be in a town this size where a room is filled on a Wednesday night with people who deeply, deeply care about our climate emergency, and it gives me a lot of hope,' said Rosemary Jordan, a Healdsburg resident. Attendees used green dots to identify ideas they liked and red dots to note their disapproval . The plans were posted on the community center’s walls. Translators were also present and walked around the room with a group of Spanish-speaking participants to read the measures written in English." Some of the most popular proposals — grouped under the categories "building energy, transportation, water, solid waste, carbon sequestration and other" — reportedly included "a tree protection ordinance to increase the city’s carbon stock and carbon sequestration" and "continued infrastructural improvements to Healdsburg’s bike and pedestrian pathways" such as "adding protected bike lanes and reducing car lanes on Healdsburg Avenue." City staffers will now take all this feedback and incorporate it into their Climate Mobilization Strategy. A final draft will be released in mid-August, at which point residents will have one last chance to give feedback before the City Council votes on it in September. (Press Democrat; paywall)

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Healdsburg pic of the day:

Want to see one of your own pics in the newsletter? Send it to me here for consideration. Please just confirm in your email that you took the photo, and that Patch has permission to republish it. Thanks! 📸

Coming up in Healdsburg:

Sunday, August 6

• Yard Sale at 990 Grove St. (8AM-1PM)
• Lambert Bridge Winery Hosts Vineyard Hike & Lunch Al Fresco (11AM-2PM)
• Celebration of Life for Deceased Healdsburg Resident Virgil Junior "JR" Cowan at Johnson's Alexander Valley Wines (12PM)
• Sundays in the Plaza, Featuring Live Latin Jazz by the David Correa Trio (1-3PM)
• Spike Sikes & His Awesome Hotcakes Live at the Elephant in the Room (6-9PM)

Monday, August 7

• Yoga in the Vineyard at 32 Winds, Followed by Glass of Wine (Weekly, 5:30-6:30PM)
• Healdsburg City Council Meeting (6PM)
• Sam Burton Live at Little Saint (7-10PM)

Tuesday, August 8

• Healdsburg Farmers Market on the Plaza (9AM-12:30PM)
• August Aquatics Class for Adults at the Healdsburg Pool (Twice Weekly, Aug. 8-31, 9:30-10:15AM)
• Food Distribution at the Healdsburg Community Center (Weekly, 9:30-10:30AM)
• Alternative Hip-Hop Artist Tru Lyric Live at the Luther Burbank Center (5:30-7:30PM)
• Tuesdays in the Plaza, Featuring Live Music by Americana Rock Band Danny Click & The Hell Yeahs (6PM)
• Healdsburg City Planning Commission Meeting (6PM)
• Healdsburg Running Company "Trail Sisters" Host Chiquita Run to Blanchard Family Wines (6PM)

Wednesday, August 9

• Food Distribution at Healdsburg City Hall (4PM)
• "What Moves You?" Spiritual Reflection & Communal Meal at THE 222 (Monthly, 5:30PM)
• PG&E Hosts Virtual Town Hall on Sonoma County Fire Season (5:30-7PM)
• City of Healdsburg Parks & Rec Commission Meeting (6PM)
• Canon Book Group Meeting at the Healdsburg Library: "Never Let Me Go" by Nobel Prize Winner Kazuo Ishiguro (6PM)
• Trivia Night at Coyote Sonoma (Weekly, 7-8PM)

From my notebook:

• The Healdsburg Prune Packers, our team in California's summer baseball league for college players, have their final state championship game today at noon down in SoCal. Looks like they're tied 1-1 in the series so far with the Arroyo Seco Saints. Lez gooo... (Healdsburg Prune Packers via Facebook)
• Dozens of people reportedly stood in a line "stretching as far as halfway down Matheson" to see the Stanley Cup, hockey's top trophy, in the plaza on Friday. The mayor was there, too. She posted a pic with the cup on Facebook and wrote: "Congratulations to local Healdsburg resident Bill Foley’s Las Vegas Golden Knights for their championship season." (Ariel Kelley via Facebook & Press Democrat; paywall)
• The first day of school is this Thursday! To get in the mood, here's a good article from the Trib on the high school's new principal, Francisco Manriquez. (Healdsburg Tribune)
• Heads up — University Street will be closed between Matheson and Tucker all this week, from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily, while city crews do some electrical work. (Healdsburg Patch)
• One of the three "American Viticultural Areas" or AVAs that surround Healdsburg, the Dry Creek Valley AVA, just celebrated its 40th anniversary. (Sonoma County Winegrowers via Facebook)

You're all caught up for now. I'll be back a little later this week! Stay cool out there, Healdsburg 💙

— Simone Wilson

About me: I was born and raised in Healdsburg, CA, where I was the editor of the Healdsburg High School Hound's Bark. I have since worked as a local journalist for publications in San Diego, Los Angeles, New York City and the Middle East. I'm currently a senior product manager for Patch.

Have a news tip or suggestion for an upcoming Healdsburg Patch newsletter? Contact me at [email protected]