Petaluma council opposes asphalt plant proposal

<p>The Petaluma City Council has jumped into the fight against an asphalt plant proposed along the banks of its namesake river, just outside city limits.</p><p>The council sent a letter Monday night to the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors urging it to reject the project by Dutra Materials of San Rafael at its Feb. 3 meeting.</p><p>The council said it was concerned that fumes and noise from the facility would disrupt people and wildlife at Shollenbeger Park, which sits across the river from Dutra’s property. Also, the council said it was worried about navigation issues posed by the location and about having the plant at the city’s southern gateway, visible from the freeway.</p><p>The letter states that if problems with the plant cannot be corrected, the council opposes it. Councilmembers listed about a dozen major concerns to be included in the public record.</p><p>The letter was more strongly worded that a previous letter sent to the county Planning Commission before it approved the project.</p><p>The council said it was moved to write another letter in part because of an outpouring of criticism about the asphalt plant, which would be capable of running day and night and would produce more than 650,000 tons of material a year.</p>