SMART Challenged Over Healdsburg Station Plans Wednesday

SONOMA COUNTY, CA — Healdsburg’s fight over a future SMART station pits decades of housing and development planning around Hudson Street against arguments that a Vine Street stop would better serve the majority of passengers stepping off the train — tourists and workers.

The proposed Vine Street stop that caught residents and city officials by surprise has reopened arguments over who Healdsburg’s station should serve and where the city should grow.

On Wednesday, advocates brought those arguments to a SMART board meeting, warning that the move from Hudson Street to Vine Street will stall planning for housing and development around the historic depot.

Supporters of the Hudson Depot site also questioned whether a SMART survey, meant to collect opinions about the two sites, favor Vine Street in both wording and illustrations.

Others urged SMART’s board to prioritize regional riders, connections to jobs, and shorter walks for passengers with limited mobility.

The board took no vote on the location during the Oct. 21 discussion.

The dispute revisits the Healdsburg City Council’s February 2024 decision to support Hudson Street on a 4-1 vote. SMART staff now favors the Downtown West Plaza site on Vine Street, roughly 0.45 mile away, citing employment, pedestrian access, and travel patterns.

SMART officials have said the agency’s board holds the final authority to choose the station location. That position has frustrated residents who believed the city had settled the question after an earlier public engagement process.

Residents Challenge Survey

Healdsburg resident Mark McMullen criticized SMART’s survey as primarily a ridership questionnaire with one question about station preference. He said its illustrations misrepresent bus connections and fail to show the full effects of a Vine Street station on tracks and parking.

McMullen questioned a rendering that places buses beside the proposed Vine Street stop, saying it could give respondents an inaccurate impression of how transfers would work.

Tara Merrill, who described herself as a 40-year resident, argued that labeling one option downtown and the other the depot could steer people unfamiliar with Healdsburg toward Vine Street.

She also challenged the suggestion that Hudson Street sits too far from downtown.

“It’s not far from anything,” Merrill said.

Bill Kerr, who lives just outside Healdsburg, said SMART displayed a Hudson Street station rendering at its March open house, reinforcing his belief that the location was final.

City Pauses Planning

Driving the push to relocate the SMART station is a fear among board members to avoid past mistakes, including the Larkspur station.

Instead of being sited next to the Larkspur ferry stop, the station was built across a busy roadway. "I fear we'll have the same criticism for stopping short," SMART Board member David Rabbitt said Wednesday.

“At the end of the day, while we want to be collaborative and cooperative," he added, "we are a public transit agency that wants to maximize ridership.”

He then asked how SMART can determine which location will best serve overall ridership and avoid complaints for years to come.

Healdsburg City Manager Jeff Kay told the board that SMART had previously told officials that the station-location decision would belong to the city. The council then pursued a public engagement process lasting nearly a year.

Residents and council members considered more than existing destinations, Kay said. They examined how a station could encourage housing and shape future development.

Community Development Director Scott Duiven traced nearly three decades of planning around the Hudson Street depot, including the city’s general plan, the Central Healdsburg Avenue Plan, and SMART’s environmental planning.

“All the planning, whether it’s Healdsburg’s planning but also SMART’s planning, has pushed us in that direction, and we made a lot of decisions based on that,” Duiven said.

The city has paused its station area specific plan until SMART resolves the location question. Duiven said Healdsburg received a $1.93 million Metropolitan Transportation Commission grant for that work, which could take two to three years. The city must spend the grant funds by June 30, 2029.

The planning area extends from downtown to the South Entry area across the Russian River. Duiven described vacant and underused land there, including a nearly 80-acre former quarry property purchased for potential redevelopment.

Kay cautioned that redevelopment would require planning first. The property has industrial zoning and lacks the utilities needed for the development under discussion.

Duiven said Hudson Street would sit centrally to the areas where the city expects much of its future development. Asked whether Healdsburg had estimated which station would attract more riders, he said it had not.

Healdsburg's downtown

Adrian Covert, speaking for the Bay Area Council, North Bay Leadership Council, and Santa Rosa YIMBY, urged SMART to weigh the needs of its entire ridership.

He questioned the depot’s ability to accommodate connecting Route 60 regional buses and argued that weak connections would undermine the system.

Board members also questioned whether the longer walk from Hudson Street would discourage riders or create difficulties for people with disabilities and other mobility limitations.

Board member Victoria Fleming said the Hudson Depot was too far out of the way for visitors coming for a Saturday night in Healdsburg.

"I certainly, when I imagine going to Healdsburg on a Saturday night in my heels, can’t fathom landing at the depot and, and walking,"she said.

Even a short walking distances can present difficulties for people with limited mobility, she added.

Healdsburg resident Sei Shin supported Vine Street because of its proximity to downtown and the north end of town, along with surrounding parking.

Kay said officials have discussed shuttle service, but no firm plan exists.

He and Duiven also said Sonoma County Transit appears likely to keep Route 60 on Healdsburg Avenue under either station option, and that the planning process would bring transit agencies together to examine constraints and opportunities.

But the existing multi-use pathway connects the depot area to the roundabout and downtown in any case. “The depot side is downtown. Downtown is moving south,” Duiven said.

More Public Input Ahead

Another issue was how development near Hudson Street could affect existing residents, including lower-income households and seniors.

SMART staff said the agency launched its station-location website and survey in early October.

The survey asks where respondents live and work, why they would ride, how they would reach the station, when they need service, and which location they prefer.

SMART will hold a community meeting Thursday from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Healdsburg High School, with translation available. Its survey, offered in English and Spanish, closes Nov. 30.

Staff plans to return to the Healdsburg City Council Dec. 7 and bring public input and survey results to SMART’s board in December.