During its recent budget deliberations, the Healdsburg City Council, in its role as Board for the Redevelpment Agency, approved funding to support a Central Healdsburg Area Study. The Study, you may recall, was one of several that are called for in the recently adopted General Plan.
With funding allocated, the Council next decided to form a Subcommittee of the Council to act as stewards of the Study process. The Subcommittee will be comprised of two Planning Commissioners (TBD), one City Council member (Tom Chambers, with Jim Wood as alternate) and two members of the general public. The Council recognized that the outcome of the Special Study Area could have significant implications for business in town, and a lively discussion ensued about the proper way to ensure the business community would have a voice in the overall process. The Council ultimately stipulated that one of the "public" members of the Subcommittee should be someone who has business interests in Healdsburg.
The opportunity to apply for one of the "public" seats on the Subcommittee has been noticed in the Tribune, with a deadline for applications of August 27.
The Planning Department has indicated its intention to complete the Subcommittee formation process (interviews and selection) during the month of September, in anticipation of the group being able to begin its work in October.
The scope and role of the Subcommittee will be finalized by the group itself, however the general purpose is to discuss and agree upon the scope and nature of the Special Study to be undertaken and to inform what will ultimately become an RFP that will solicit qualified teams to conduct the study. The Subcommittee will act, in effect, as the "client" to the consultants performing the work and be accountable to the City Council who will retain final decision making authority.
Stay tuned for further updates as the process unfolds!