Healdsburg Challenges SMART’s Reopened Debate Over Hudson Depot Station

HEALDSBURG, CA — Healdsburg council members unanimously approved a resolution documenting their Hudson Street SMART station choice Monday, but split over how to tell its history: should the record also explain why the city asked SMART to explore downtown in 2020?

Healdsburg paused its station-area plan after SMART reopened the location question. Council members now want the rail agency’s board to recognize how the city reached its decision.

On Monday, council members unanimously approved a resolution documenting the decision they believed would guide the project.

The Nov. 2 resolution records the council’s February 2024 selection of the Hudson Street Depot and the city’s subsequent investments. It directs the city clerk to send that account to SMART’s board, but makes no new station-location determination — a decision that is the hands of the regional SMART agency.

City Documents Its Planning Commitments

The resolution traces plans for a Hudson Street station through nearly three decades of regional studies, environmental reviews, and city planning documents.

It also recounts a public process that began in August 2023, when council members considered whether to retain the depot location or pursue Vine Street.

According to the resolution, SMART representatives told the council that the Healdsburg community would determine the location.

The document cites the SMART general manager’s Aug. 21, 2023 statement: “wherever the community decides they want it, we’ll help make that happen.”

The council voted 4–1 on Feb. 20, 2024, to retain Hudson Street after additional analysis, public comment, and a community workshop.

The city then secured a $1.13 million Metropolitan Transportation Commission grant for a Station Area Specific Plan, retained a planning consultant in April 2026, and began consultant-led work in July.

SMART reopened consideration of the station location in September 2026. The resolution says the resulting uncertainty forced the city to suspend the specific plan and delayed coordinated land-use and infrastructure planning.

Earlier History

Council members expressed frustration and surprise that SMART had revisited the question more than two years after the city chose Hudson Street over an alternative near Vine Street.

To add context to the question of what prompted the redirection, Councilmember Ariel Kelley, who is also a member of the SMART board of directors, sought additional language explaining the city’s role in asking SMART to look at an alternative site to the Hudson Depot.

Kelley urged councilmembers to acknowledge that Healdsburg initiated discussions about a downtown SMART station in 2020, arguing that the history belonged in the council’s resolution documenting its later selection of Hudson Street.

“I just feel like there was a gap that we didn’t include,” Kelley said.

Kelley cited February 2020 emails in which the then-city manager approached SMART about relocating the station downtown and potentially using the depot property for affordable housing.

City officials dentified the Foley Pavilion site at 3 North Street and West Plaza as possible locations.

The council unanimously directed staff on March 2, 2020, to explore the possibility. That vote authorized a study but did not select a downtown station.

Kelley said the request explained why SMART evaluated downtown alternatives.

She acknowledged that the city subsequently decided against pursuing those options but argued that a resolution describing the historical record should include the city’s role in initiating that exploration.

Vice Mayor Ron Edwards argued that the earlier discussions did not override the council’s subsequent decision to select Hudson Street.

“Current councils get to make decisions, and we get to review what happened in the past,” Edwards said.

Edwards questioned why SMART had reopened the location debate after the city selected Hudson Street in 2024 and proceeded with planning.

He said Kelley’s account of the 2020 discussions did not explain what had changed to justify reconsidering that decision.

Councilmember David Hagele said the city explored whether a station could fit at the pavilion, received feedback that the site lacked sufficient space, and moved on.

Hagele said the later public outreach and Hudson Street selection provided the basis for the city’s subsequent work. He said he would consider SMART’s new data and feedback but had heard no compelling reason to reverse the council’s decision.

The council unanimously adopted the resolution without Kelley’s proposed additions. The resolution documented the earlier Hudson Street selection and the planning that followed; it made no new station-location determination

The adopted motion did not include Kelley’s proposed additions. She joined the unanimous vote approving the resolution.

Future Decisions

Public speakers raised concerns about how either station location could reshape surrounding neighborhoods.

Speakers questioned whether a Vine Street station would worsen parking shortages, require a parking garage, increase development pressure, or change downtown’s character.

Others warned that development near Hudson Street could increase density and create gentrification pressure around Ward Street. Supporters of the depot location welcomed the prospect of housing and infrastructure investment in the south end of town.

Speakers also requested clearer illustrations of how development around either location could change Healdsburg over the next 10–15 years.

SMART was expected to present its outreach results to the council on Dec. 7, following a survey scheduled to close Nov. 30.

City staff anticipated preparing a separate resolution for the Dec. 7 meeting that would recommend a station location to SMART’s board. The staff report said the board intended to decide the location on Dec. 16.

Monday’s resolution records the city’s understanding of its earlier decision and the work that followed. It also commits the council to considering new information from SMART’s outreach.