Save Shollenberger Park

Assemblymember Jared Huffman will host a public meeting to discuss the proposed Dutra asphalt plant at Haystack Landing. The meeting will be held at the Petaluma Veterans Building on May 30th from 9am to 11:30am. WE NEED YOUR PARTICIPATION!! The event will feature a panel of proponents, followed by a panel of experts from regulatory agencies and a panel of people with other perspectives on the plant, according to Huffman Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey, State Senator Mark Leno, members of the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors and members of the Petaluma City Council are all likely to be in attendance. “It is my job to look at the bigger implications for the district,” said Huffman, who chairs the state Assembly’s Committee on Water, Parks and Wildlife and is a member of the Committee on Natural Resources. “I want to understand if existing laws are working in this case. The project has caused such concern and is happening in a very sensitive location that is a habitat for wildlife.” RSVP ON...

The Sonoma County Planning Commission approved, by one vote (3-2), a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors to allow a text amendment to the General Plan so that proposed excessive noise from barge offloading by Dutra Materials, which exceeds County noise standards and cannot be mitigated, could be allowed. This action now moves the whole project proposal back to the Board of Supervisors for a decision on June 9th. Do you find this acceptable? We need the community to STAND UP and express your concerns in any way possible. On June 9th, these five individuals will determine whether or not our community will be forced to accept an asphalt plant at Haystack Landing. Email: Click here to email the four Supervisors that previously voted to approve this plant. Call & Fax: PHONE (707) 565-2241 FAX (707) 565-3778

We need your attendance & support this Thursday at 1:00pm!! This Thursday the Sonoma County Planning Commission will make a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors on the General Plan Policy alterations proposed by Dutra Co. for their Asphalt Batch Plant at Haystack Landing. Please join us and make your opinion and voice heard! RSVP ON OUR FACEBOOK PAGE PRMD Hearing Room 2550 Ventura Ave. Santa Rosa, CA 95403

The Noise Report on Dutra’s proposed asphalt plant is in. The PRMD Staff reports that the Dutra Asphalt Plant Barge Docking and Unloading Activities will produce noise levels that exceed the allowed limits set by the General Plan. This excessive noise level cannot be mitigated. It is 14 dBs above the existing ambient noise. The human ear perceives every increase of 10 dBs as twice as loud. So the project will create a public noise nuisance, which the General Plan had the forethought to restrict, but this restriction is being tossed aside. The Dutra Asphalt Plant project has been seeking approval based on touting the environmental advantages of barging their aggregate to the site (which may or may not be a reality due to navigation issues on the river.) Seems like barging and unloading aggregate is Dutra’s Achilles heel. Despite all possible mitigations, despite the County Staff averaging decibel levels instead of looking at maximum levels, and despite the absence of any scientific ana...

By Teresa Barrett Published: Thursday, May 7, 2009 - Argus-Courier During this unprecedented period of global economic meltdown, the new Petaluma City Council is making decisions quickly, rationally and responsibly. However, according to local columnist Don Bennett, this City Council is part of a progressive machine that is ruining Petaluma. I am certainly part of the City Council that unanimously voted to oppose the Dutra asphalt plant and conserve Shollenberger Park and our city’s multi-million dollar investment in that amenity and tourist magnet. As Supervisor Mike Kerns’ appointee to the Sonoma County Planning Commiss-ion, Mr. Bennett ignored Petaluma and its elected officials and voted to recommend constructing the Dutra asphalt plant on the bank of the Petaluma River. I was also part of last term’s pro-business council that voted to determine the fiscal and economic impacts of all new major development on existing local businesses. So too, I am part of the current council that un...