Petaluma City Council members are bracing for a lengthy hearing tonight on the draft environmental impact report for a controversial housing proposal on hilly land on the western outskirts of town.
Davidon Homes of Walnut Creek is seeking to build the city's biggest housing subdivision in nearly a decade on 60 acres at Windsor Drive and D Street near Helen Putnam Regional Park.
The proposal, for as many as 93 houses, is the city's largest since Quarry Heights, 274 homes off Petaluma Boulevard South.
Although the proposal officially calls for 93 homes, environmental requirements limit what could be built to between 28 and 66 homes.
At a 4?-hour hearing at the Planning Commission last month, nearly 30 critics of the subdivision urged additional examination of traffic, storm water runoff, hillside protection and noise. Several commissioners said the report was confusing and incomplete in several instances.
Neighbor Kathleen Billings said critics of the project have been working to raise awareness of the proposal and may pass out fliers or march through downtown over the weekend before tonight's hearing.
The land is former ranch land, with Kelly Creek cutting through a portion of it.
"It's walking distance to downtown. It's a wonderful jewel for Petaluma not to be destroyed," Billings said. "This is our last chance to be seen and heard about this situation."
Following Monday's hearing, comments from the public and City Council members will be added to a final report, which the council will consider later this year. Certification of the report -- which is required to document environmental consequences of the proposal and potential solutions -- is the major hurdle for the project to receive city approval.
A group called Petalumans for Responsible Planning, many of whom live in the Victoria Homes subdivision near Davidon's land, have hired an attorney to press their complaints.
Davidon attorney Marie Cooper also spoke at the last hearing. She said the company believes the project meets planning and environmental requirements.
Critics argue the former Scott Ranch farmland is too scenic to be heavily developed and such a project -- particularly south of Kelly Creek -- would bring unwelcome noise, traffic, greenhouse emissions, and environmental and habitat damage. They also want to protect an old barn along the creek.
Other issues of contention include the project's impact on scenic vistas, its effects on the California red-legged frog and its consistency with the city general plan.
It was first proposed in 2004, but stalled for several reasons. Because the proposal was deemed complete in 2005, it could be judged against the old general plan, which was updated in 2008. Critics contend it should be required to abide by any new requirements in the updated planning blueprint.
Councilman Mike Harris, who lives near the project, said he will be able to vote on it. His home is just outside the 500-foot limit that would have disqualified him from participating.
Mayor David Glass would have to recuse himself because he lives within the limit, but he is on vacation and won't attend the hearing.
The meeting begins at 7 p.m. at 11 English St.
You can reach Staff Writer Lori A. Carter at 762-7297 or lori.carter@pressdemocrat.com.
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