Hello Supporters!
Just a quick update about the campaign. We have reached nearly 1,500 signatures at this writing - Thank You to all of you for sharing this petition, showing up to rally, attending the Zoning meeting and City Council meetings, and for making your voices heard!
Our story has been picked up by the local Press Democrat newspaper online - see article from Thursday, 7/18/24 (including photos of our rally event on Wednesday evening)
Plus it was a front page story on Saturday, 7/20/24 in the print edition.
We are working on appealing the Zoning Administrator / City Planning decision to approve the Minor Conditional Use Permit to allow a Planet Fitness to replace the cinemas. Does anyone in this group have a land use or municipal attorney contact or background that can help advise on pro bono / volunteer basis? If yes, email the address below. Thanks!
Our citizens committee will provide updates for our next call to action very soon.
In the meantime…
➡️ Please keep sharing the petition to gain more signatures to support this very worthy cause.
➡️ Continue to go to the movies at Summerfield Cinemas to support the Tocchini family and team - the theater operator’s local business (Santa Rosa Cinemas).
➡️ Write to the Santa Rosa City Council to ask for support and to help broker a deal with the new shopping center owner. Email all council members via this address: citycouncil@srcity.org + follow up with phone calls to voice your concern and your support of keeping this shopping center focused on local and small businesses (think Mary's Pizza Shack, East West Cafe and the many others that are in this Lakeside business district), not a Planet Fitness big box gym.
(Note: Planet Fitness is a big box franchise, NYSE traded company with 3 gyms in Sonoma County already - Petaluma, Rohnert Park and Santa Rosa).
Goal: To have new property owner listen to the community and to actively work on other options to keep the cinemas within a set of mixed use concepts instead of closure and demolition.
Have questions / comments / desire to help? Email Paul at savesummerfield@gmail.com
Thank you for your continued support!
For the love of cinema,
❤️🎥🎬🎭⭐️🍿❤️
Derek Stefan
Paul Seif
Citizens Committee to Save Summerfield Cinemas