‘The future’ of Petaluma arrives

(Editor’s note: This is one in an ongoing series of stories taking a close-up look at neighborhoods in Petaluma.)

Wide, open space ... peace and quiet ... beautiful countryside ...

These are just a few of the qualities that first lured people to live in a small area of northeast Petaluma, just north of what is now Leghorns Park, around a decade ago.

The area retains these qualities — albeit to a lesser extent — that drew its original residents, but it has changed significantly in many respects and now is attracting new residents for some very different reasons.

“When I bought a home here in 2000, this was a new area where houses were just being built,” said Dianna Crivello, a resident of Landsdowne Way. “I was told that this would be ‘the future’ of Petaluma, and that there was going to be a supermarket and other things here.

“I looked at a model home that was set up, and decided to have a house built on a piece of land that was all mud at the time. The area has grown a lot since then, and it’s become a more convenient location.”

“But there’s still nice open space at the end of our block, and it’s a fairly quiet neighborhood,” added Janice Moffett, who has lived on Winchester Lane since 2000.

During the past few years, open fields quickly have been transformed into homes built by Ryder Homes and Delco Builders & Developers, and the Petaluma ring trail, Leghorns Park, new Kenilworth Junior High School and G&G Supermarket — as well as other businesses — in the Parkway Plaza shopping center have sprung up. And the Santa Rosa Junior College Petaluma campus, previously a small school in a quiet, secluded area, has become three times larger than when it was built in 1995, and exponentially more active.

Seven-acre Leghorns Park, named in honor of the Leghorns football team that played in Petaluma from 1946 to 1958, has become a focal point of the neighborhood. The city-owned park has basketball and tennis courts, baseball/softball fields, a children’s playground, picnic areas with barbecues, a gazebo and a multi-use playing field. The park even has lighting for night-time recreation.

“I can walk to the park in the mornings. I really take advantage of it, and it’s always fun to see everybody enjoying themselves there,” said Phyllis Eiger, who has lived in a unit of the Capri Creek Apartments on Sestri Lane for the past five years.

Although Leghorns had a rash of graffiti and vandalism incidents shortly after it opened in November 2005, many residents describe it as a friendly, family-oriented environment.

Lisa Bennett, who moved to the neighborhood with her family three years ago, says that the park has helped to familiarize residents with each other.

“I met a couple of people there who are my good friends now,” she said, adding that her twin sons now play with another family’s twin girls there.

“And when you have kids, it’s just so nice to be able to walk to the park, and not have to get in the car,” she added.

The shopping center and strong reputation of the Waugh School District also attracted Bennett to the area.

“It’s just the whole package,” she said.

Ironically, the Bennett family found the neighborhood after noticing a man waving an advertising sign on a street corner.

“We were looking for a family-oriented place to raise our kids, and saw a guy on a corner holding a sign saying, ‘New Townhomes,’” Bennett said.

“Many young families move here because Kenilworth and Corona Creek schools are nearby. It’s very convenient for them,” said Margaret Enea-Patrizi, who has lived on Lansdowne Way for the past nine years. “The neighborhood is very nicely situated. I have taken classes at the junior college and play bocce ball at Leghorns Park.”

Barbara Lapidus, who lives on Norfolk Drive with her husband, Jay, and two boys, also praises the neighborhood’s location.

“It’s a quiet neighborhood, yet it’s close to everything. We have an easy walk to Leghorns Park and the shopping center, and my husband takes classes at the J.C. And the walking and biking trails are fabulous,” she said.

The area steadily has become busier, however, and traffic becomes congested when students go to Kenilworth in the morning and head home in the afternoon.

“There’s always a negative side to growth,” Crivello said. “We get a lot of traffic in the morning because of the junior high, and it’s kind of annoying because some drivers go so fast. And cars are lined up so that I can’t get out of my driveway.”

“The traffic going to Kenilworth has been the biggest change in this area. I’m fearful about it,” Enea-Patrizi added.

As the neighborhood was starting in the first several years of the new century, many families gathered for parties.

“Younger families used to close off the streets and have barbecues,” Enea-Patrizi said.

“The neighbors got together more in the beginning, when I moved in, just to get more familiar with each other, but they don’t that very much now,” Moffett said.

Some of the earliest residents say that many original families have moved away from the neighborhood and that it has become much more diverse.

Between 2000 and 2008, the portion of Asians increased from 8.6 percent to 11.7 percent, unusually high for a Petaluma neighborhood, and Hispanics rose from 8.6 percent to 12.8 percent. Also, during this time the percentage of residents 55 years old and over increased from 12.9 percent to 18.9 percent.

“We now have a nice diversity mix in the neighborhood, and that makes it interesting. I like the diversity,” Moffett said.

“We really enjoy the nice ethnic mix. It is wonderful for the kids,” Lapidus said.

Several residents also lauded the beauty of the neighborhood.

“I like the aesthetics here, including the flowers. Everyone takes care of their place,” Crivello said.

“We really work hard to keep our homes up,” Bennett said.

For some residents, such as Moffett, the neighborhood is an ideal place to enjoy their retirement.

“It’s a gorgeous area, and fairly quiet. I sit out on my front porch and while away the time,” she said.

(Contact Dan Johnson at dan.johnson@arguscourier.com. Corey Young, Yovanna Bieberich and John Jackson contributed to this article.)