A changing Healdsburg
EDITOR: We are adding our voices to the other Healdsburg residents who are concerned with the proposed new hotel being planned for the 400 block of Healdsburg Avenue.
Oh, Healdsburg, how you’ve changed from the picturesque little town we enjoyed when we moved here in 1964. Unfortunately, the iconic City Hall had already been demolished. But the town had a feeling of charm and grace with its Victorian and Craftsman style homes and an occasional mansion — like the Passalacqua house on Fitch Street. And then, what happened? We began to see the modern box style house built next to a Victorian or Queen Anne. Nothing showing from the street but a wall. So we are saying good-bye, iconic old town that draws the tourists from the Bay Area. Let’s build high rise hotels and restaurants that they’re accustomed to. What has it produced? More tourists, more traffic, and, hopefully, more revenue for the merchants. But what has it done for those of us who live here? We know locals who are reluctant about going downtown. The Plaza area has been taken over by tourists and large delivery trucks. Good-luck finding a parking space.
So now, we are being faced with the possibility of another high-rise hotel complex. Do we want more hotel rooms, more traffic, more delivery trucks? We applaud Vesna Breznikar, Healdsburg Planning Commission co-chair, for her statement of concern for this project: “Those (proposed) buildings look like towers and they look blocky and monolithic. The height and the design don’t reflect Healdsburg in any way.”
We agree.
Lew and Elaine Sbrana
Healdsburg
