City to Debate Controversial New Development Monday

On Monday, City Council will hold a hearing on the Deer Creek Village, a 345,000 square foot shopping center on North McDowell Boulevard and Rainier Avenue and one of the most controversial development projects in recent years that has split public opinion in Petaluma.

Sonoma County home improvement store Friedman’s has signed on to the project, but other tenants are not known, although the developer has said the shopping center would include a gym, five to seven restaurants, retail and offices.

There will also be walking paths and space for a farmer’s market that proponents say will become a community hub for the Eastside.

At Monday’s meeting, the council will consider whether to approve the project’s Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR), a critical document that assesses everything from noise and traffic to impacts on nearby businesses.

Proponents say the project will bring the city much needed sales revenue and at least 800 jobs. But opponents say it will increase traffic and tie up multiple intersections, including McDowell and East Washington, McDowell and Rainier and McDowell and Corona.

Critics also say the FEIR is “inadequate” because it assumes the Rainier crosstown connector (connecting North McDowell to Petaluma Boulevard North via Rainier Avenue) will be built, although with the end of redevelopment agencies in California there are no available funds.

The vote was initially scheduled for Feb. 28, but was postponed an hour before the meeting was due to start, after the developer emailed the city asking for more time to review new documents that had been submitted by critics of the project, largely about the Rainier issue.

Monday’s hearing will be held at the Petaluma City Hall in the Council chambers at 7pm.