News briefs

Asphalt plant noise hearing set

The Sonoma County Planning Commission meets Thursday, April 16 to consider changes to a General Plan noise policy that would allow the creation of a controversial asphalt plant south of Petaluma.

The plant and concrete recycling facility, given a tentative approval by county supervisors on Feb. 3, would generate noise greater than currently allowed for the 38-acre site known as Haystack Landing.

Two riverside residences near the Petaluma Boulevard South property would be subject to increased noise from the plant, so the planning commission will consider a General Plan amendment allowing greater noise at the project site.

Restrictions on hours of operation and the installation of new windows paid for by the plant operator, Dutra Materials, would cut down on the noise at nearby homes, the project’s environmental impact report says.

The Board of Supervisors granted preliminary approval for the plant on a 4-1 straw vote last month, directing that the issue return for a final vote May 12.

The planning commission hearing is at 2 p.m. in the Board of Supervisors Chambers, 575 Administration Drive in Santa Rosa.

A county budget workshop will take place on April 30 at the Petaluma Veterans Building, at 1094 Petaluma Blvd. South.

The workshop is one of five two-hour workshops scheduled by the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors in local cities. The county already has made some cuts and identified other areas for reductions in its effort to address a $21 million deficit in the $443 million general fund budget.

Translation services and childcare will be provided at the workshops. For more information, call the county’s Office of Government Affairs at 565-2190.

The Meadow/Corona Creek Parent-Teachers Association is inviting current high school seniors who previously attended one of the schools to apply for a $500 academic scholarship.

Applications are available at Casa, Petaluma and St. Vincent de Paul high schools, and at Corona Creek and Meadow elementary schools. All applicants will be notified about the status of their application no later than May 18, and the scholarship will be awarded at the PTA meeting on June 1 in the Corona Creek multipurpose room.

Meadow Elementary School and Corona Creek Elementary School are in the Waugh School District.

For more information, call Amy Cramer at 765-3331 or Heather Banaszek at 762-4905.