Opponents of proposed chain-store restrictions in Sonoma won a victory last week when city leaders backed away from enacting a temporary ban. But with a narrow majority on the City Council clearly favoring the concept, it’s probably only a matter of months before the city of 10,000 joins a select few nationwide that have such regulations. What, if anything, should the City Council do?

After days of making national news, Sonoma city leaders on Wednesday backed away from enacting a temporary ban on chain stores. Some saw the proposal as a way to protect the town’s character, but others said it would shut out economic development. Was it the right decision?

The city of Sonoma is moving closer to regulating so-called formula businesses, including an outright ban on the city’s historic Plaza.City staff are preparing a draft ordinance that would set limits on chain and similar businesses and where they can locate in the city of 10,000.

Sonoma City Councilman Ken Brown and his family have been living rent-free in their home for months after a bank foreclosed on the landlord. Brown, who says he made attempts to pay rent or purchase the home from the bank, is at the center of a national debate over the legal and moral requirements borne by tenants, homeowners and lenders in a housing market that has shifted views of responsibility.

Business owner and councilwoman Joanne Sanders will serve her second stint as Sonoma’s mayor after her colleagues voted unanimously Monday night to appoint her to that role. What does she want to accomplish as mayor? Shorten the City Council meetings. “I’m convinced we lose the public the later it gets,” she said.

Momentum is building once again toward bringing a community pool back to Sonoma. But as with numerous proposals, the current initiative hinges on where to put the pool — and who is going to pay for it. The Sonoma City Council set a deadline of March for members of Citizens United for a Sonoma Pool, or CUSP, to present a plan.

With incumbent Valerie Brown bowing out, the race for the 1st District seat on the Board of Supervisors is wide open and bound to get even more competitive. Two candidates are already raising money and announcing endorsements, and several others are considering jumping into the race. “What this shapes up to be is a potentially very divisive race,” SSU political science professor Dave McCuan said.

Uncertainty over the outcome of a legal challenge to Gov. Jerry Brown’s decision to disband redevelopment agencies prevented the Sonoma City Council from taking decisive action on the matter Monday night. Council members were more than an hour into their discussion on whether the city will pay to retain its redevelopment agency when City Manager Linda Kelly received a text message that altered the course of events. “It’s like the Twilight Zone in here,” said council member Ken Brown.

Millions of dollars in upgrades to Sonoma’s streets, library and community center will be funded despite legislation signed by Gov. Jerry Brown in June that could spell doom for redevelopment agencies. But other projects are on hold, including the city’s plans to sell an old fire station about a block from the Plaza to a Sacramento developer.

Sonoma city leaders Thursday night approved funding cuts for several programs that are popular with youths and seniors during a public meeting to address the city’s budget woes. The City Council is still considering proposals to raise water rates, increase taxes paid by hotel guests, and dip into the city’s reserves.