Here are updates on the three live gas station proposals in the County that we are aware of. Please chime in with any additional info or corrections. Please share this update in your network. Also, please let us know if you are aware of any other gas station proposals not mentioned below.
Petaluma: Corner of Maria Drive and South McDowell Boulevard
The Petaluma Safeway gas station proposal is still in Sonoma County Superior Court. On October 21 there was a ruling that:
– Safeway must wait on all demolition and construction until the matter is fully settled by the court.
– Save Petaluma has a case and can move forward to hopefully get a full Environmental Impact Report.
This was a favorable ruling and good news. The full ruling is available at:
https://www.opposepetalumasafewaygas.com/save-petaluma-lawsuit.html
After this ruling Safeway filed a writ of petition, claiming the judge’s decision was wrong. Long story short, the judge gave Save Petaluma another month and set a date for Dec. 19 to go over the administrative items and set to a date for another hearing. Safeway continues to try and get the case thrown out. More information is at: https://www.opposepetalumasafewaygas.com/
Unincorporated Sonoma County: 5300 Sebastopol Road (Highway 12 & Llano Rd.)
This proposal for a 12 pump gas station, car wash, mini mart, RV storage yard, with three large above ground fuel storage tanks is still slated to be on the agenda at a future Board of Zoning Adjustments meeting. Regularly scheduled meetings are on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays at 1pm every month. Special meetings may also be calendared, but we have been assured of receiving 30 days’ prior notice regardless of the date, as there will be a CEQA hearing (which requires 30 days’ notice) concurrent with the BZA meeting. The main thing needed right now are letters to the Press Democrat and other local papers. For the PD, email letters of no more than 200 words to letters@pressdemocrat.com Include your full name and home city for publication. For other local papers – Bohemian, Gazette, Sonoma West Times & News, etc., please visit their websites for instructions. Important note: we are purposely not providing a template letter. We have reason to believe that planning commissioners and others are discounting letters that appear to be from the same template. All you need to do is write a brief letter in your own words that says you are opposed to the gas station. Updates occasionally posted at: https://www.facebook.com/NoMoreGasoline/
Santa Rosa: Elm Tree Station – 874 N. Wright Rd., Santa Rosa, CA 95407
A public hearing on this proposed 12-pump station is being held “at or after” 9am on December 12. It’s important to fill the room with opponents to this short-sighted development. Especially with folks who live in Santa Rosa:
Public Hearing: Thursday, December 12, 2019, at or after 9:00 AM in Small Conference Room, 637 First Street, Santa Rosa
The notice for that meeting describes the project as a “minor subdivision to create a park site and retail parcel for gasoline, electric charging station, and a neighborhood market.” The application was filed by Dhillon Mangal (File # – CC18-004).
Once again we have a proposal for a new gas station in the Laguna, adjacent to the Joe Rodota Trail, in this case with a whopping 14 operational gas stations within 5 miles. This is due to the fact that the site is near the downtown core of Santa Rosa. Here is a statement from biologist Maya Khosla about this site: “I would argue that the place has intrinsic value, which would need to be left intact. There’s another smaller drainage (in addition to the main drainage flowing alongside the trail) and a vernal pool featuring enough water to support amphibians – although the presence of a listed species has not been confirmed. Small mammal burrows that could support amphibians during the dry seasons are also present. And the land features several legacy oaks, gorgeous trees that take over a hundred years to attain their current size. That’s just an initial assessment based on a quick survey.”
The contact person at the city of Santa Rosa is Adam Ross, City Planner, 707-543-4705 or aross@srcity.org Please send emails in opposition.
The staff report and attachments related to this project will be available as of Dec. 12 at srcity.org
Hope this is helpful,
Thanks,
-Woody