Save Shollenberger Park

March 16th is fast upon us and that’s when the next vote to consider approving the dreaded asphalt plant project will be heard. We need to make a push RIGHT NOW, rally the community and nail home that we do not want an asphalt plant next to our parks, schools, community and as our welcome mat to Petaluma and Sonoma County. We can make it really easy for you. All you have to do is say YES, let us know your address and “poof” a lawn sign will appear. If you know of anyone else that might be able to do this please pass this information on to them. Please let us know if you can help with this. It is a wonderful way to raise awareness and show that the community is united against this awful proposal! Click here to email us your address and you'll recieve your lawn sign ASAP. Thank you!

On Tuesday March 16, 2010 the Sonoma Board of Supervisors will cast their votes on the Dutra Asphalt Plant. Dutra will try to shove this project with its inadequate EIR through to approval with their false claims, doctored maps, and their empty promises of NO smell and NO Health Risk. Have you ever been near hot asphalt that didn’t smell? Nesting season in Shollenberger Park starts in March – but will the trees still be there when the herons and egrets return? If approved, Dutra could be sending bulldozers and cut down the Eucalyptus Grove, which is home to the heron and egret nests, the very next day. CLICK HERE TO DONATE In the spring, just north of Haystack Landing and across the Petaluma River from Shollenberger Park, giant eucalyptus trees stand leafy green but devoid of any apparent life. Several weeks later, from across the river, white spots can be seen in the foliage – Every year since 2003, Great Egrets have nested in the Shollenberger colony. A healthy colony suggests a hea...

by David Keller, Petaluma River Council Most people reading this column have experienced a ‘con’ at a carnival or fair. The Shell Game, or Hide-the-Ball, is one of the most common magic tricks. A ball is hidden under one of three shells or cups, which are then shuffled skillfully by the dealer. The player gambles that they can spot where the ball is hidden. The dealer’s sleight-of-hand is designed to confuse players, and distractions by shills deflect attention from the tricks being played. A slippery dealer will never let the player find the ball. While the Shell Game looks simple, the con man always wins. Dutra is playing the Shell Game with us, obscuring the truth about their Asphalt Factory proposal. The Argus Editorial “Keep Petaluma River Traffic Moving” (1/21/10) echoes Dutra’s p.r. game designed to confuse and scare the public into believing that without Dutra, the Coast Guard will shut down our River, all dredging would cease and we’d be inundated by floods. Instead of tryi...

There are two PG&E 12" High Pressure Gas Transmission Pipelines that cross the Petaluma River in the vicinity of the Dutra Project site. These pipelines cross the Petaluma River and traverse directly through the Dutra Parcel. This location is noted briefly in the Draft Environmental Impact Report, and is verified by PG&E maps (Exhibit 10 below), 4'x8' Warning signs (Exhibits 3; 4; 5), plastic flagging on site, recorded easements (Exhibit 11), and conversations with PG&E personnel. The actual location of these Gas Pipelines on the Dutra Parcel A conflicts directly with Dutra's proposed mooring location for their barge and tug. The PG&E Warning signs read: "WARNING. DO NOT ANCHOR OR DREDGE. GAS PIPELINE CROSSING. PG&E 1-(800) 811-4111" The Draft EIR states: Dutra Haystack Landing Asphalt & Recycling Facility III. Project Description. Area A: "Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) has a high pressure gas transmission main (450 PSI) t...

By HEIDI RHYMES Published: Tuesday, January 26, 2010 Shollenberger Park in Petaluma is a park, not an industrial site. This city park is a rich and productive historic wetland area restored to support wetland species and to filter impaired water going to San Francisco Bay. It serves a dual purpose of providing an area for dredged river sediments. Does this fortunate and rare symbiotic relationship between humankind and the environment imply we should add more heavy industry, pollution, noise and visual blight to this valued resource? Should we forsake its worth as a recreational resource, tourist magnet and wildlife habitat for supposedly cheaper asphalt? Reestablishing wetlands takes money, commitment and vision. Our city, Open Space District and state have invested more than $4 million and 15 years into this valued community resource. The Petaluma River will be dredged without the Dutra asphalt plant. Click here to read the entire article

We have a city council majority which is under attack for actively protecting the city and our community against development interests who are not willing to abide by the City or County General Plan protection and guidance, who don't want close public examination of major project impacts, and who aren't really interested in finding ways to have economic development without selling out the town and our local treasures. The Argus' editorial stance over the past year reflects the anti-council sentiment fostered by these large developers' lobbyists. The efforts to shortcut public participation and city review of plans, including Dutra and Regency's mall, are what is driving the anti-incumbent campaign. Please go to the Argus Poll and let them know what you think of shortcutting the public reviews. * Online Poll has ended * thanks to those of you that contributed!

For some unknown reason, the Board of Supervisors has given Dutra yet another gift of time to paper over these latest fatal problems with their Asphalt Plant proposal, and postponed the public hearing to March 16th. Isn't it time for an up or down vote on Dutra's seriously flawed project, and spare us more months of having to get through the Dutra Fog? Now that Dutra spent the past year convincing the County to rely on their word and to ask the USCG to confirm Dutra's assertion that their barge and tug mooring plan was safe and didn't block the River's other commercial and recreational traffic, Dutra doesn't like the answer the USCG came up with after making a thorough review. Dutra submitted maps that moved the notations for the Navigable Channel location so that their barge and tug appeared miraculously out of the navigable channel, but USCG found out that Dutra's maps were "inappropriately" wrong, and got to the truth of the problems of Dutra...