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RUSE SUES HEALDSBURG OVER CODE ENFORCEMENT VIOLATION
Healdsburg, California Healdsburg, California
March 21, 2024 Date, Date, 20202020
LUXURY B&B SEEKS DOCUMENTS, CORRESPONDENCE IN SUPERIOR COURT By Christian Kallen
Photo courtesy of Town of Windsor
Healdsburg is involved in more than one lawsuit at the moment. Mercy Wellness’ suit against the city of Healdsburg over the dispensary selection process was the most recent (Feb. 8), but it was preceded by a filing in Superior Court more than four months earlier, on Oct. 27, 2023, by the owners of 891 Grove Street LLC—better known as The Ruse. A brief refresher: In the fall of 2022, The Ruse applied to expand its business to include not only the legacy right to operate a 13-room bed and breakfast, known to that point as the Honor Mansion, but to include club-like recreation and social facilities. But the permit was denied by Planning Director Scott Duiven, who said the proposal most accurately met the Healdsburg Land Use Code as a “private club, fraternal lodge and meeting hall.” That more intensive use is not permitted in the residential zone R-1-6,000, so Duiven ruled that the LLC had applied for operations that were not permitted by zoning. Most of the recreation facilities that The Ruse built during the three years of renovation fall in the residential zone, including pickleball courts, a badminton and yoga lawn, an extensive putting green, a redesigned swimming pool and other features of a luxury resort. In a way the decision hung on a technicality: the property at issue spans two city zones, the Grove Mixed Use zone that does allow such recreational uses, and the more limiting Residential zone,
AWARD WINNER The roundabout in Windsor at the Windsor/Windsor River Road Intersection won a national award from the American Council of
Engineering Contractors (ACEC), in part for its incorporation of a railroad line through the middle of the traffic circle.
Windsor Roundabout Wins National Design Award AMERICAN COUNCIL OF CONTRACTORS TAKES NOTE OF ROUNDABOUT BISECTED BY RAIL Staff Report
Even as Healdsburg was deciding that the SMART station would be located on the south side of the city’s roundabout, the town of Windsor was declared a winner in a national engineering awards competition for its own roundabout bisected by the SMART rail. The American Council of Engineering Contractors (ACEC) Awards are “an annual celebration of engineering excellence, honoring projects worldwide that demonstrate innovation, creative problemsolving, and engineering’s
The town of Windsor is this year’s overall winner, recognized for an innovative intersection improvement and multi-use pathway connector project that created a safer active transportation infrastructure for vehicles and pedestrians alike. “There was extraordinary collaboration between the Town, contractor (Ghilotti Construction Company), designers (GHD and WRT), construction management firm (Green Valley Consulting), SMART, and utility companies to complete the project and resolve unexpected issues that arose during construction,” said Jon Davis, the town manager. (Unlike Healdsburg, which is chartered as a city, Windsor was incorporated as a town in 1992.
unique ability to improve our world,” according to their own messaging. “The project showcases the successful integration of efficient planning, advanced technology, modern roundabout design, and environmental consciousness in infrastructure development,” according to the ACEC citation that named the Windsor roundabout the competition’s award winner. The awards will be presented at a black-tie event in Washington, D.C., on May 15. It brings national attention for the Windsor/ Windsor River Road Intersection Improvement and Multi-Use Path Connector Project. Public Works Director Shannon Cotulla will be in attendance, representing Windsor.
Other towns include Corte Madera, Danville, Fairfax, Los Gatos, San Anselmo and Yountville.) This intersection is a gateway to downtown Windsor and adjacent to the SMART station, which is expected to open for service in spring 2025. It is one of only seven roundabouts in the U.S. with a railroad track running through it—a number that may someday include Healdsburg, once the SMART rail gets the green light to continue north to Cloverdale. The continuation of the SMART service to Healdsburg is not expected until 2027, if then. The location of the SMART station was confirmed as the old depot on Harmon Street just last month; had a downtown location been selected, the
trains would have begun passing through the roundabout when service begins. “The installation of roundabouts is intended to reduce and calm traffic while improving traffic flow by encouraging lower vehicle speeds,” Davis said. “This in turn lowers the risk of collisions and makes it safer for pedestrians and cyclists.” Research shows a reduction of 72%-80% of injury crashes at intersections converted to roundabouts. Figures for traffic incidents at Healdsburg’s roundabout, both prior to and following its construction, are being compiled by Healdsburg Police Chief Matt Jenkins. If available, that information will be included in this article online, at healdsburgtribune.com.
represented everybody we serve,” said Kathryn Hecht, executive director of what until next month will be known as AVFilm—itself a short form of Alexander Valley Film Festival, its original tag (and still its legal name). “Alexander Valley wasn’t the name anymore, it was AVFilm,” Hecht said. “But people weren’t able to really connect with that. We heard from stakeholders; they didn’t know what it meant and who it represented. Was it geographic? Was it audio visual?” True West is not, perhaps surprisingly, the name of a Western movie. It is the title of a Sam Shepard play about sibling rivalry, a play that, however successful it’s been on stage, has never been made into a movie for theatrical release. “We knew we needed something that was distinct
and unifying and geographically representative, but also energetic and representative of our drive,” Hecht said. The divorce from its Alexander Valley roots, however, cannot be discounted. When the Clover Theater shut down last year, the building was left in poor condition, and many locals were disgruntled. Hecht denied association with the theater, however, saying, “I don't have anything to say about my personal relationship because it is not relevant to the name change for AVFilm or the film festival.”
➝ The Ruse, 4
AVFILM FEST CHANGES ITS NAME, NOT ITS FOCUS 10TH ANNUAL AV FILM FESTIVAL TO BE LAST UNDER THAT NAME By Christian Kallen
Photo by Israel Valencia
RAPT AUDIENCE Attendees at closing night of the 2023
AV Film Festival included Scott and Mary Newman, in front, with Carrie Brown behind them.
With the annual AV Film Festival preparing for a 10-day cinematic circus, the news that the festival, school and projected Healdsburg cinema would be changing its name was a bit of a shocker. “We needed a name that better reflected the driving energy behind the organization, and something that
Moving On
In addition to the annual festival, AVFilm also runs an education program with after-school programs and a summer film camp, in both Healdsburg and Cloverdale. Moreover, ➝ AV Film Festival, 2