Sid Commons project takes big step forward

A state appeals court judge has upheld the certification of an Environmental Impact Report for a residential development project proposed nearly two decades ago for a plot of open land near the Petaluma River, clearing the way for the project with few remaining hurdles.

The Nov. 14 decision struck down an appeal by Save North Petaluma River and Wetlands that challenged the Sonoma County Superior Court’s decision to uphold the EIR for the Sid Commons development project, which proposes 180 apartment units to be constructed in the area of Graylawn Avenue on the west side of the river.

In its 2020 lawsuit, the local environmental advocacy group claimed that the report’s findings did not adequately address the project’s impacts to natural resources, wildlife and public safety. But the judge disagreed.

“The EIR’s analysis and the information upon which it relied allowed for intelligent decision-making concerning the project’s impacts on the identified special status bird and bat species that might forage, roost or nest on the site, as well as its impacts on special status turtle and frog species,” said Judge Carin Fujisaki in the Nov. 14 court documents.

Petaluma Assistant City Attorney Dylan Brady said the only remaining steps for the project would be to receive a site plan and architectural review permit, which is granted at the discretion of the Planning Commission.

“The Appellate Court’s decision confirms the validity of the city's approval of the project and that the environmental review for the project satisfied applicable California Environmental Quality requirements,“ Brady said.

Requests for comment sent to the Save North Petaluma River group and the project’s applicant group, Acclaim Homes, were not returned.

In 2003 the J. Cyril Johnson Investment Corporation proposed the project, originally planning for 312 apartment units to be constructed on the nearly 15.5-acre parcel of land on the northern end of Graylawn Avenue. It wasn’t until 2007 that the city began work on the draft EIR, before the project was amended to 278 units to comply with the General Plan update in 2008.

In 2015, city staff met with state fish and wildlife agencies and water quality agencies, which assisted in creating a “Habitat Mitigation Monitoring Plan” for the project, which was incorporated into the draft EIR to guide the city and developers to properly address impacts to wildlife, “increase the functions and values of existing habitat,” and “improve flood capacity to the Petaluma River,” according to court documents.

The City Council in 2018 approved a draft EIR following a public hearing, with council members agreeing to revise plans to reduce the project’s density, minimize traffic impacts, “provide an enhanced buffer between the proposed development and the riparian corridor,” and preserve the native trees and wetland features on the land.

After reducing the project once in 2019 to 205 residential units, the J. Cyril Johnson Investment Corporation submitted another revision to the project that reduced the number of units to 180 to make room for wetland preservation. The City Council approved the EIR for the revisions in February 2020 following another public hearing.

Later that month, the environmental group challenged the City Council’s decision in court, where a Sonoma County trial court judge denied the request to overturn the EIR’s certification. That was followed by the group’s appeal, which claimed the trial court “erred and abused its discretion in upholding the city’s certification of the EIR because, in their view, the EIR failed to properly analyze the project’s impacts on special status species and on public safety in the event of an evacuation.”

But the court denied that claim, citing a 70-page analysis provided in the EIR that addressed potential impacts of the project on nearby natural resources. The EIR found that a number of special status and protected bird species may be found in the area of the project site, but proposed impact mitigation measures like sending out a biologist to work with the city to find active bird nests to make sure construction does not disturb such nests.

Additionally, the court documents said, the project applicant must receive authorization and obtain permits from the U.S. Army Corps, California Department of Fish and Wildlife and other agencies prior to grading and expanding of the Petaluma River bank to minimize impacts on fish and other wildlife species in and near the Petaluma River.

Pre-construction surveys would also have to be conducted, and would require that construction may not occur in areas where California red-legged frogs and Western pond turtles are present within 48 hours of the start of grading operations.

Court documents said the EIR also found the impacts of the project on local public safety and emergency evacuation access were less than significant.

Amelia Parreira is a staff writer for the Argus-Courier. She can be reached at amelia.parreira@arguscourier.com or 707-521-5208.