Planners eye downtown Petaluma project

The two five-story buildings will add more than 400 units of housing, next to the SMART station, but commissioners worry the 622-space parking garage won’t fly with council or members of the public who want fewer cars on the road.|

A multistory housing development planned for a central downtown space, which is set to be one of the largest in recent memory, is moving forward as Petaluma officials begin to scrutinize the 402-unit site plan.

The five-story Downtown Station Project led by global real estate development and management firm Hines Company will transform the vacant 4.5-acre parcel bordered by Copeland, East D, and Washington streets behind the downtown SMART rail station.

It is tied to the east side Corona Station development project and planned second SMART station through a tangle of agreements, which all told, will construct more than 500 units of new housing along two transportation hubs.

Planning Commissioners Tuesday spent more than 2 hours in a study session discussing the development’s plans and architectural elements, with parking, traffic circulation and retail space viability rising to the fore.

The evening meeting marks a first step in a pipeline of reviews and feedback that will ultimately end with the City Council having the final say, likely in several months. Members of the public caught their first glimpse of the project at an informal March 11 developer-led presentation at the Petaluma Regional Library.

"We want to facilitate some discussion and feedback on this project so the feedback can get back to staff and the applicant, in what is now an early stage,“ Senior Planner Aaron Hollister said.

The mixed-use project will erect two five-story buildings bisected by an 82-foot-wide pedestrian and bicycle through-way in the middle.

Previous plans intended for this space to be a transverse street that would empty into the downtown SMART parking lot and compliment a similar middle thoroughfare in the Haystack Development opposite Copeland Street. However, those plans have been scrapped by Hines Company after unsuccessful attempts to establish a way to connect the SMART-owned parking lot with the street, after city council deemed the cost of acquiring access from SMART was “prohibitive.”

This change to convert the intended transverse street to a public pedestrian and bicycle walkway has been a point of contention for development advocates in the city, and raises questions over traffic and circulation in an already-congested area.

Of the 402 units, 11 will be reserved for affordable pricing as required by the city’s inclusionary affordable housing policy. Approximately 5,000 square feet of ground floor space will be retail, and current plans carve out 622 parking garage spaces and 152 bike parking spaces.

Commissioners, along with Councilman Kevin McDonnell, raised concerns over the number of vehicle parking spaces, which is 215 more than the minimum 407-space limit.

“I would encourage the applicant really come prepared to defend the amount of parking proposed,” Planning Commission Chair Patrick Streeter said, referring to upcoming project reviews. “You will hear from this commission, you will also hear from our various boards and committees, the council and especially the public – a lot of pushback about having more parking than might be necessary in this location.”

The project is slated to go before the Pedestrian and Bicycle Advisory Committee for their review and feedback Sept. 2.

(Contact Kathryn Palmer at kathryn.palmer@arguscourier.com, on Twitter @KathrynPlmr.)

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