Highlights from Monday's Council Meeting

Petalumans agree that their downtown is a jewel. But when it comes to figuring out how to best moderate traffic through the area, opinions abound. That much was evident Monday night as the council engaged in a long discussion over the project that would reduce Petaluma Boulevard South to a two lane road between Washington and E streets.

Called the ” it was approved 4-3 last fall. Still, debate erupted last night over whether to proceed with the plan, which proponents say will make the area safer for cars, pedestrians and bicyclists by making each lane wider, adding a turn out lane in each direction and adding a bike lane.

Others, including co-owner Linda Postenrieder and Petaluma Downtown Association board member Jeff Mayne, say it will negatively impact businesses by not adequately dealing with where delivery trucks would stop. They also worry about reduced parking between Western Avenue and Washington. However, the project would also add parking between D and E streets.

In the end, the council voted 4-3 in favor of a revised budget, meaning the project can proceed. Councilmembers Mike Harris, Gabe Kearney and Mike Healy voted against the “road diet,” citing “uncertainty in the project.”

But Teresa Barrett said that statistics from similar changes on the boulevard north of Washington Street prove the changes have been effective.

“It has reduced accidents, has increased safety, so the statistics don’t bear out the fears that this project will make traffic worse,” Barrett said.

Meanwhile, Mayor Dave Glass reminded the council that the project had already been approved and that the downtown association didn't get “veto powers” just because they took issue with it.

The other big story of the night was the budget, or rather, the lack of one for next fiscal year, which starts in less than 10 days.

City Manager John Brown laid out the grim picture of the city’s finances, noting that the budget has shrunk by a third over the past five years, prompting a sixth of city employees to be laid off and a reduction in city services.

He then explained that the budget wasn’t ready because of ongoing negotiations with various unions and asked the council to approve a temporary appropriation of $50 million to continue day-to-day operations through the end of summer.

But Councilman Mike Healy made a motion to change the amount to $30 million, saying it would likely be enough to hold the city over until a new budget was in place, hopefully by the end of summer.

Brown agreed and the council approved the move 6-1, with Councilman Chris Albertson dissenting, saying he did not agree with the positions that had been identified for layoffs. He was reminded that the vote was a temporary extension of funding and that without one the city would be without a budget come July 1.

In other meeting highlights, commissioners were appointed including new Planning Commissioner Bill Wolpert, owner of Green Building Architects. Wolpert has served on the SMART Station Advisory Committee, Petaluma Development Code Advisory Committee and the Historic & Cultural Preservation Committee. (Check our site later in the day to get a complete list of the new commissioners.)

And several speakers expressed an interest in instituting a ban on plastic bags in Petaluma and a small surcharge on paper bags, similar to what's been done in Marin County and other areas of the state. The council seemed amenable to the idea and instructed City Attorney Eric Danly to further study the issue. (We'll keep you update on that too!)

Correction: This story incorrectly identified Jeff Mayne as the president of the Petaluma Downtown Association. He is a board member. Patch regrets the error.