Petaluma to appeal Dutra ruling

<p>Petaluma's City Council decided Monday night to continue its legal fight against the Dutra Materials asphalt plant after two local groups pledged $10,000 to help fund the battle.</p><p>City Attorney Eric Danly announced after a closed-door session that the council voted 6-1 to press forward with an appeal of Sonoma County Superior Court Judge Rene Chouteau's dismissal of a lawsuit against Dutra and the county challenging the plant. </p><p>The county Board of Supervisors in 2010 approved the plant, which is to be built just outside the city limits and across Petaluma River from popular Shollenberger Park and wetlands.</p><p>The council had asked Danly to evaluate Chouteau's ruling for potentially successful legal challenges and the potential cost for an appeal.</p><p>Twenty-two residents spoke before the closed session Monday night, all but three of whom urged the council to continue the legal battle despite the cost.</p><p>Representatives of co-plaintiffs Friends of Shollenberger and Moms For Clean Air urged the city to join a group appeal, pledging $10,000 to the battle.</p><p>“We've raised it. We have it. We will give it to you,” said Cheri Chlebowski of Moms For Clean Air.</p><p>The commitment encouraged the council to continue litigation, council members said. Danly said the amount should fund about half of the appeal.</p><p>The only nay vote came from Council Member Chris Albertson, who said the case had been properly heard and the city should return its focus on the ever-tightening budget.</p><p>“We fought the good fight,” he said. “We did what we needed to do. We lost.”</p><p>None of the speakers offered specific legal reasons why the case merited an appeal, instead reiterating concerns raised in the six years since Dutra proposed the plant: It would be polluting, noisy, an eyesore at Petaluma's entrance, damaging to tourism and area businesses and a potential health threat.</p><p>David Keller of the Petaluma River Council said opposition lawyers believe the judge's ruling is flawed on several fronts.</p><p>“Judge Chouteau left us with erroneous reasoning. He left us with errors and omissions in the law, and he actually left us with a good case to go to the appeals court with,” he said.</p><p>Dutra supporters urged the council not to spend any more money on “fear, rumors and misinformation” and instead base its decision on facts.</p><p>After the vote, Aimi Dutra said she doesn't believe the vocal nonprofit groups represent the majority of Petalumans and her family will continue planning for the plant.</p><p>Dutra operated a plant in Petaluma for 20 years not far from the current site. It closed in 2007.</p><p>You can reach Staff Writer Lori A. Carter at 762-7297 or lori.carter@pressdemocrat.com.</p>