Had City Council members actually read and understood their own report, they might have discovered their pet project was probably going to ruin downtown Santa Rosa. The document was the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) related to the downtown shopping mall proposed by Los Angeles developer Ernest W. Hahn. State law requires a study be prepared […]
In the spring of 1972 a couple of notable men came to Santa Rosa. Peanuts cartoonist Charles Schulz moved here from Sebastopol and Los Angeles developer Ernest Hahn entered “exclusive negotiations” with the city to build a downtown shopping center. One fellow inspired powerful men to believe they could pull off an economic miracle for […]
By Christmas 1974, Santa Rosa City Hall was at war. Not good, but at least the bleak concrete architecture that made the government complex look like a fortified bunker now seemed fitting. The city was fighting its war on several fronts. The county was suing the city, accusing it of exploiting a loophole which would […]