Got pollution? City wants to help

Property owners in Petaluma who’ve had trouble expanding or redeveloping the use of their land because of underground pollution could get a hand from City Hall.

Backed by $400,000 in grants from the Environmen-tal Protection Agency, the city will be knocking on the doors of 22 landowners with potential environmental problems on their property, asking if the sites can be studied further.

And, if environmental contamination is found — for example, in the soil under a former gas station — the next step could be cleaning up the property, if another federal grant is secured.

The City Council recently endorsed the program, authorizing officials to contact the 22 property owners and signing off on an application for the $1 million follow-up grant.

Project manager Jeanne Miché said removing pollution from sites around town could boost efforts to redevelop property, something that might be too expensive if property owners have to pay for the cleanup themselves.

“This is a tremendous opportunity for property owners who wish to redevelop their property,” she said.

The city hopes that the current list of 22 sites will be pared to 10 as property owners sign on.

“We’re looking for 10 properties that have great redevelopment benefits,” said Andrew Rodgers, the city’s consultant on the program.

Residential property doesn’t qualify for the program and any participation by commercial property owners is voluntary, Rodgers said.

“We’re done if a property owner isn’t interested — it’s as simple as that,” he said.

Removing pollution from a site would allow the owner to sell or redevelop the property, which could bring a higher resale value and more property tax to the city.

Many of the potential sites are within or near the Central Petaluma Specific Plan area, where redevelopment work has already given rise to the Theatre District, Downtown River Apartments, restored railroad depot, and new streets and sidewalks.

The list includes the former Pomeroy concrete plant on Hopper Street, which closed this year; small parcels in the industrial area of Petaluma Boule-vard South, and the Burdell building at Lakeville and D streets, across from the depot.

While it is not known if all the properties are indeed contaminated, environmental problems are expected to be found at all of them, the city said. Owners who take the city up on its offer of assistance will know for sure.

Although cleanup could ready a site for redevelopment, Coun-cilmember Pamela Torliatt said it should be made clear to property owners that the city is not trying to get rid of existing businesses on their land.

“I don’t want to put the message out that we’re trying to remove these types of uses from the community,” she said.

(Contact Corey Young at cyoung@arguscourier.com)