Group forms to save Sonoma-Marin Fairgrounds

With just five years before the lease for Petaluma’s beloved fairgrounds is set to expire, a grassroots group has coalesced to preserve the annual celebration of the city’s deep-rooted agricultural heritage and the surrounding event spaces.

City and fair officials declined to discuss ongoing, closed-door talks about the fate of the $1-per-year lease agreement for the more than 60-acres of city-owned land off East Washington Street. The current 50-year lease expires in 2023 and Save the Kenilworth Park and Event Center is determined to preserve, and potentially bolster the existing uses.

The group, with members such as former Sonoma-Marin Fair CEO Tawny Tesconi, Petaluma veterinarian John Zimmerman and former City Councilman Brian Sobel, is also advocating for more transparency in the discussions about the future of the fair, Tesconi said.

“Do we want the fairgrounds to stay in some form? Absolutely, we do. Do we believe the fairgrounds need a face-lift to be more inviting and open for use as a public park? Absolutely,” said Tesconi, the current executive director of the Sonoma County Farm Bureau. “But that all needs to be discussed with all the interested people who live in Petaluma at the table talking about it collectively. There are amazing minds out there that could come up with great ideas to move things forward.”

Tesconi, a Santa Rosa native who managed Petaluma’s fair from 1999 to 2007, also spent her childhood showing livestock at the fair. While the event itself is an invaluable tradition, the grounds also serve as a vital resource during emergencies, such as the October fires when the land sheltered hundreds of evacuees and their animals, she said. It’s home to a dozen entities, including the racetrack and educational facilities. It also hosts year-round events.

Existing uses could be enhanced, such as opening barns for livestock exhibitions for a few weeks a year and using the space for indoor soccer for the remaining time, she said. The group is working on outreach and spreading its message, she said.

In the early 1900s, a bond was approved by voters that deeded the land to the city, according to the group’s website. Tesconi said that means voters should have a say in what happens to the fair today.

“We are really trying to find a way to bring the public to the table and the voters of Petaluma – the ones who need to figure out what happens,” she said.

Meanwhile, a group of local urban growth enthusiasts operating under the moniker of Urban Chat are revamping an effort to bring to the city a plan for mixed-use development on the site, Petaluma civil engineer Dave Alden said. Plans were drafted about three years ago to “blend existing uses,” including homes, parking and a smaller footprint for the fair, but specifics are under wraps, he said.

Speculations about the future of the fairgrounds come as the city is facing down a deep pit of fiscal woes and considering ways to boost its ailing budget.

“Creating housing, we deal with some of our current housing crisis, and if we put people in a place where transit can easily deliver them around town and to downtown, it gets them away from having to use as many cars,” Alden said. “With fewer cars, we’re dealing with climate change and environmental impacts and dense, compact housing puts fewer demands on city hall resources, and still generates a good tax return and good property tax, and we are moving toward easing some of the financial issues.”

City Manager John Brown said discussions are considered real property negotiations, exempting them from open meeting laws. They will not be open to the public until an agreement is reached, he said, adding that the item is a top priority for the city council. He declined to speculate on a timeline for a resolution.

“Having a public discussion about that completely changes the tone and tenor,” he said. “Our approach is to try to come to an agreement that will work for both parties and at that point, I believe it’s appropriate to have a conversation with the public about what will work.”

He said the voter-approved bond expired in the 1930s, meaning that the city is not required to ask voters to approve a change of use on the land it owns. But, the city is focused on a compromise that could include a “mix of uses,” though he said it’s too soon to elaborate on what could be considered, other than to say the city is “not leaning heavily into a discussion about housing.”

“Our approach to this is to try to work cooperatively with the fair to allow the fair to continue to operate at that site,” he said. “I think that’s a positive approach.”

Sonoma-Marin Fair Board of Directors member James Burleson, said the fair, which could seek state monies for projects on the grounds, is in a holding pattern as the debate continues. While the city owns the land, the buildings are owned by the state and their future is unclear, he said. The fair is operated by the 4th District Agricultural Association, and the board of directors are appointed by the governor.

“The state is a great advocate of the fairgrounds, especially since the fires, not just our fire in Santa Rosa, but even in the Lake County fires, the fairgrounds served such an integral need,” he said. “It’s the only place that can take large animals, and so the state has all kinds of (funding) opportunities over the years that we can’t take advantage of because we don’t know the future … what really happens after 2023? I don’t know the answer, no one really knows.”

Sonoma-Marin Fair CEO Allison Keaney, who took the reins from outgoing CEO Erin Post in March, declined to comment on the negotiations. She pointed out that the fairgrounds housed 308 people, 330 animals and livestock, and served 989 hot meals over the course of more than a week during the fires.

“The ideal outcome is that the fairgrounds continue to remain and serve the community,” she said.

Last year, the fair attracted nearly 62,000 people and brought about 175 temporary jobs to the city, she said. The fairgrounds generated about $10 million spending activity in 2015, “benefiting the local economy and creating a ripple effect of economic benefits for California,” according to a report from the California Department of Food and Agriculture’s Division of Fairs and Expositions.

“The fairgrounds are a place where people can come and gather for a variety of events that just simply can’t be hosted anywhere else,” she said. “We’re able to have things there that other venues simply don’t have the capacity for and we’re also able to do year-round events in facilities. People come here because it’s a safe environment and it’s beautiful.”

Councilwoman Teresa Barrett said she hasn’t heard much from the community about the issue. She said whatever the solution might be, things must change.

“I think it has to be a compromise, I don’t think it can stay as it is,” she said. “I don’t think anyone thinks it can stay as it is.”