A City Council meeting is tentatively set for February 8th, 2010 – please attend one of the most important meetings concerning the future of our community here in Petaluma. The Petaluma City Council will be considering the EIR and site design of Regency’s giant 400K sq. ft. shopping center at the Kenilworth site. The PCC will be reviewing this project’s EIR along with vetting concerns from the community.
This is NOT a discussion about Target. Or, where to shop. This is about proper planning and the future of our great community here in Petaluma.
Please attend and give our council the support they need to reject this EIR!
Please consider that the project, as it presently stands, does not comply with the objectives specifically laid out by our General Plan. See Chapter 2 Community Design, Character, and Green Building for a further perspective. (Link: http://cityofpetaluma.net/cdd/pdf/gp/ch2.pdf)
Some other EIR inadequacies to consider:
1) The impact analysis is incomplete relative to aesthetics, air quality, water resources, transportation, public services, utilities, and land use.
2)The DEIR uses an inconsistent definition of cumulative buildout scenario, which cripples the ability to accurately ID the cumulative impacts, as well as provide and objective comparison of
alternatives.
3) The EIR does not provide substantial evidence to support a number of its assumptions and conclusions, including citing documents not included in the DEIR, incomplete citations to City documents, and relying on documents that are now discredited, superseded or that are too old to
provide accurate information.
4) The EIR relies on documents that are not in the public record, which disqualifies them from use under CEQA.
5)The EIR fails to provide any project level impact analysis in several categories, instead simply offering up a cumulative analysis only.
6) The EIR relies on improper project segmentation, by severing the analysis from key surrounding uses and actions, such as installation of a new groundwater well, limiting pedestrian and vehicle flow from the project to only the Project site (excluding the Library and park-and-ride facility as required by the General Plan), the relocation of Little League facilities, etc.
7)The EIR has inconsistent assumptions regarding traffic flow between the Transportation section and the Population/Housing/Blight section, as well as the timing of infrastructure improvements. This then compromises the conclusions of the Air Quality analysis.
8) The EIR uses a changing and incorrect baseline for the Project Setting. CEQA requires the setting to be based upon the circumstances at the time of release of the Notice of Preparation for the EIR. In several cases, the EIR relies on older information.
link to city agenda:http://cityofpetaluma.net/cclerk/pdf/planning/plan-agenda2009nov24.pdf
Petaluma Neighborhood Association 