Novato planning official settles lawsuit over prior dismissal

Novato’s top planning official has settled a lawsuit against her former employer, Santa Rosa, that alleged she was wrongfully dismissed.

Clare Hartman, the community development director in Novato since December 2023, led the Santa Rosa Planning and Economic Development Department from February 2022 until her termination on Sept. 18, 2023.

In August 2023, Hartman suffered a mental health crisis that prompted her to seek medical care. A health official diagnosed her with depression and suggested she enroll in a three-week outpatient program.

In a lawsuit filed about seven months later in Sonoma County Superior Court, Hartman alleged she was wrongfully terminated after requesting a reasonable accommodation to address her mental health. She also claimed her dismissal the following month stemmed from discrimination based on age, gender and disability.

Hartman said she notified City Hall officials, including Daryel Dunston, the assistant city manager, who raised concerns about how extended time off would affect her workload, she said.

She ultimately chose to request a few hours of leave once a week to attend counseling and submitted initial paperwork to have her leave covered under state and federal family medical leave. She was fired within seven days of filing for leave, she said in her suit.

Hartman also contended that as the first woman to lead the department she faced discrimination from community stakeholders who saw her appointment “as an issue” and said the city replaced her with a male colleague. She also argued her age, 52 at the time, played a role in her dismissal because it would have resulted in pension savings for the city.

City officials denied the allegations. In pretrial court declarations, City Manager Maraskeshia Smith, who stepped down Jan. 2 to take the top administrative post with the city of Sacramento, and Dunston said Hartman’s job performance wasn’t meeting expectations.

The city sought to have the lawsuit dismissed on those grounds last March. They also said that Hartman, as an at-will employee, could be fired at any time without cause.

Sonoma County Judge Oscar Pardo said in a June order that Hartman failed to show sufficient proof that age factored into her termination and dismissed that discrimination claim, but found there was enough evidence for Hartman’s other claims to proceed to trial.

Just before the case headed to trial in early December, Hartman and the city reached a settlement. Santa Rosa agreed to pay Hartman $205,000 to settle the case and avoid a trial, according to a copy of the agreement.

“I strongly believed in the merits of my suit, but the city’s settlement offer was reasonable under the circumstances and allows me to move forward,” Hartman said. “I look back on my 24 years of public service working for Santa Rosa, serving the community where my family and I continue to live, and I could not be more grateful for the experience.”

Misti Wood, a Santa Rosa spokeswoman, said the city decided to reach a deal to avoid additional legal fees, which reached $451,425, though billing for December and January hasn’t been finalized.

“The city continues to deny all liability in this case but decided to settle to avoid the additional costs of a jury trial and potential appeals,” she said.