With a budget burdened by higher fuel, insurance and pension costs, Santa Rosa is increasingly relying on volunteers to keep the city’s 66 parks tidy, a service once considered a basic government function.

The developer of a proposed apartment complex south of Coddingtown mall is planning to spend $1.1 million to build a 2.7-acre city park adjacent to the project.

The Wolff Company of Scottsdale, Ariz. has approval to build 270 apartments in a 15-building development called Range Ranch.

It is the largest apartment project proposed in Santa Rosa in years and a sign of the strength of the rental housing market. Construction is anticipated to begin this summer.

Sonoma County’s Regional Parks Department has received a $1 million state grant to help purchase 297 acres in the Mark West Creek watershed north of Santa Rosa. The land is eyed for a future park and open space preserve, along with 800 acres the county has already purchased in the area.

Under stormy skies, a long-awaited trail along the eastern side of Laguna de Santa Rosa got its public debut Friday. Several dozen park supporters and local government officials huddled against intermittent sprinkles and unveiled the new 2.4-mile network at its southern trailhead off Highway 12 just east of Sebastopol.

Sebastopol is reviving the master plan for Ives Park, the city’s jewel of a recreation area for Little League, swimming and picnicking. The park is badly in need of renovation, said planning director Kenyon Webster. The City Council allocated $25,000 on Tuesday to complete the master plan for park renovations, which had been suspended last year when the city lost its redevelopment funds as part of California’s budget cutbacks.

A 1,500-foot-long boardwalk in Bodega Bay is the centerpiece of an ambitious 3.4 mile trail from Salmon Creek to Doran Beach. The $6.2 million project would make tiny Bodega Bay a safer place to walk and potentially be a boon to tourists and merchants.

Sonoma County has ended its lease with the Santa Rosa Original Certified Farmers Market and plans to have a new group run the popular market at the Santa Rosa Veterans Memorial Building. After months of negotiations, financial reports and public showdowns over a proposed rent increase at the building, county parks officials are turning the operation over to the Redwood Empire Farmers’ Markets.

Embracing the spirit of entrepreneurialism, the Sonoma County Regional Parks Department has launched a new gift card just in time for the holiday season.

State parks officials faced withering criticism Tuesday at a hearing over how they selected 70 parks for closure next year to save money. One North Coast lawmaker saying the process was so flawed the plans should be abandoned. “We need the administration to step away from this,” said Assemblyman Jared Huffman.

The Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria are set to donate $500,000 to Sonoma County as part of an agreement to support a long-term plan for Tolay Lake Regional Park and secure an advisory role in the park’s development. The deal comes just weeks after Greg Sarris, chairman of the Graton Rancheria, urged state officials to look to tribal casinos as a key source of park funding.