Deer Creek Final Environmental Review Released

The city has released the Final Environmental Impact Report on the Deer Creek project, a proposed shopping center on North McDowell Boulevard and Rainier Avenue.

The highly anticipated document is more than 500 pages long and seeks to address issues raised by residents, various local organizations and council members, including the impact of the proposed development on traffic, noise and greenhouse gas emissions. 

Read the full report here

At the onset of the project, home improvement giant Lowe’s was set to be the main tenant of the 344,000 square foot shopping center. But in October, Lowe’s announced that it would not build in Petaluma, citing an inability to acquire permits from the city. Just two days prior, Lowe’s announced that it was closing 20 under performing stores around the country and scaling back the number of new stores due to lowered sales.

Since then, local home improvement store Friendman’s has been in negotiations with the developer, but has yet to announce any concrete plans about whether they will be open in Petaluma. Repeated calls by Patch to Vice President Barry Friedman have not been returned.

In the final report, released this Wednesday, city planners write that the shopping center, with a home development retailer as an anchor, is consistent with Petaluma’s General Plan and falls in line with the mixed use designation, meaning it would have both retail and office space.

However, critics have argued that the development is not a true mixed-use project because it doesn’t provide any residential units and is “car centric,” with a parking lot in the front that does not encourage alternative modes of transportation.

The report goes on to say that two intersections will be impacted by the development, including Rainier Avenue and North McDowell and Corona Road and McDowell. However, planners say traffic can be mitigated with a traffic signal, dual turn lanes or signalization.

Addressing concerns that increased traffic will slow down police and fire personnel who are responding to emergencies, the report states that ambulances, for example, would be able to access Petaluma Valley Hospital via Maria Drive.

An estimated 371 trips an hour are expected in the morning and almost 1,000 per hour in the afternoon and at night. The project is estimated to create some 1,250 car trips an hour on the weekends.

But David Keller, a former city council member and staunch opponent of the project, said traffic calculations are wrong because they assume an undercrossing at Rainier Avenue, which has yet to be built, will alleviate some of the congestion generated by the new shopping center.

"There is no Rainier in our future because there is no state or federal money for this project," Keller said. "None of the developers want to pony up the $50 million required to build it, but without it, we're talking about major gridlock on the Eastside."

The Planning Commission is set to discuss the report at its next meeting on Tuesday, January 10 at 7pm.