Safeway threatens lawsuit over Petaluma gas station project
The combatants on each side of the controversial Safeway gas station project are escalating their tactics as the Petaluma City Council continues to mull a decision that has baffled officials for months, and could have long-term effects on the scope of their authority.
Attorneys for Safeway and the ownership group of the Washington Square Shopping Center are preparing to sue the city if the council requires the project to complete an environmental impact report, or EIR. Safeway attorney Matthew Francois first threatened litigation at a planning commission meeting last June when the project was narrowly approved by a 4-3 margin.
The complaint alleges several abuses of power by city officials, and violations of Safeway’s constitutional right to due process in its pursuit of a fuel center with eight pumps and 16 dispensers at the intersection of South McDowell Boulevard and Maria Drive.
City Attorney Eric Danly did not respond to messages seeking comment on the complaint Tuesday.
Opponents of the project, most of which have joined the neighborhood opposition group No Gas Here, once again spent hours providing impassioned testimony at Monday’s council meeting that the project would put the children that attend nearby schools in danger. Challengers have raised concerns about health and environmental risks, sustainability and increased congestion at one of the most traffic-choked areas in Petaluma.
Some residents even called for a boycott of Safeway. As of Monday, nearly 900 people have signed a Change.org petition against the project.
Following the lengthy public comment period and a rare closed session discussion in the middle of this week’s hearing, the council voted 5-0 to delay its decision to April 1. Council members Gabe Kearney and Kathy Miller recused themselves under the direction of Danly due to allegations from Safeway of perceived bias.
“That’s a real, regularly-scheduled council meeting. It’s not an April Fool’s joke,” Danly said after the closed session. “That will allow us to provide further analysis to the council that we feel these issues and the legal arguments here tonight warrant.”
Safeway spokeswoman Teena Massingill declined to comment on the draft complaint.
“We remain committed to the Petaluma Safeway gas station and are disappointed that there was no resolution at last night’s city council hearing,” she said in a statement Tuesday. “However, we look forward to the April 1 meeting.”
Dozens of protesters aligned with No Gas Here occupied the sidewalk near the project site last weekend, holding signs and chanting slogans against the supermarket chain. For an hour on Sunday afternoon, activists also clogged parts of the shopping center with their cars to symbolize the influx of idling vehicles that would further congest the area.
“I was very happy with (the protest),” said No Gas Here co-founder JoAnn McEachin. “I’m looking forward to doing it again.”
Some of the marchers, who lined the walkways from Maria Drive to Washington Street, were school-aged children adorned in respirator masks to symbolize the potential dangers of constructing a gas station approximately 60 feet from schools like McDowell Elementary and the North Bay Children’s Center. A Little League field is also across the street.
The demonstration, which was organized by Indivisible Petaluma, was held to raise awareness about “environmental racism” that disproportionately affects schools where the vast majority of students are racial minorities, McEachin said.
According to Ed-Data figures for 2017-18, approximately 89 percent of students at McDowell Elementary are Hispanic or Latino. In all, 92 percent of the student population identifies as a racial minority.
Several commenters at this week’s council hearing called on officials to act on behalf of the Latino youth that might be disproportionately exposed to carcinogenic emissions like benzene.
Petaluma resident Brent Newell, a public interest and environmental attorney, said the council had the power to authorize a “disparate impact analysis” as an agency that receives federal funding. The regulation is designed to avoid discrimination under civil rights law.
“You have a duty under the law to make sure your decision does not disparately impact the students there at McDowell Elementary School,” Newell said to the council.
The project was first proposed in 2013, pitched as an alternative to Petaluma’s high costs for gas, and has been embraced by residents that want a cheaper option. The gas station would include a 697-square-foot convenience store, one electric vehicle charging station and upgrades to the nearby bus station.