Petaluma council passes controversial Corona Station deal

The complex deal spans two developments totaling more than 500 units, and paves the way for a new east side SMART station.|

The Petaluma City Council voted 4-3 Monday to approve the controversial Corona Station housing development tied to the proposed east Petaluma SMART station and a 405-unit downtown apartment project.

The decision marked a turning point in the prolonged and contentious public debate over a complex deal, encompassing two housing projects, interdependent agreements with developers and a funding-for-land transaction with Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit.

The approval sets in motion steps to create more than 500 new housing units, including more than 100 new single-family homes at Corona Road and North McDowell Boulevard, and give SMART the funding and parking space it needs to begin construction on its second station in Petaluma.

Councilman Kevin McDonnell joined Mayor Teresa Barrett and Vice Mayor D’Lynda Fischer to form the minority opposed to the Corona and Downtown Station development projects. McDonnell, who had previously supported the deal, said his objections stemmed from concerns over a lack of affordable housing.

Opponents in the community sounded similar calls, pushing for more affordable housing units in both projects and a denser, mixed-use concept at the Corona Road site. The divisive debate was reflected in the council’s split vote.

“There’s nothing I like about this project,” said Fischer, who contended that elements of the Corona Road project violated the city’s General Plan. “I’ve disliked it ever since I first heard about it a year ago, actually.”

Monday’s hearing at City Hall followed the council’s decision Jan. 27 to delay an official vote and instruct developers to include more affordable apartments in the Downtown Station project.

The prospective developer, Texas-based Hines Co., complied with the request, adding 11 on-site affordable units. The remaining 50 affordable units mandated by the city will be built by Santa Rosa-based Burbank Housing near Quarry Heights on Petaluma Boulevard South.

The fate of the Corona Station project - 110 single-family homes on 6.5 acres - rested on a set of agreements involving landowner Lomas Partners and SMART.

Lomas Partners promised the rail agency a sliver of the Corona land to use as parking for the future station. In return, SMART proposed to sell the expansive parcel behind the downtown station to Lomas Partners for development, giving the rail agency needed revenue to go toward the second station’s construction.

Lomas Partners plans to sell that downtown parcel to Hines, developer of the multi-story apartment project.

For council members, the arrangement meant a vote for any single element of the project was also a vote for the others, inexorably linking Corona Station’s subdivision to the downtown apartments and long-envisioned second SMART station.

Even for the supportive council majority, the interlinked deal proved a complicating factor, with some council members voicing their discontent over the individual projects. Their desire for a SMART station on the east side of Highway 101 proved a decisive component.

“I have zero confidence in us getting a train station in the next 10 years if we don’t do this deal,” said Councilman Gabe Kearney, who voted to approve the projects.

The city and SMART remain in talks to seal an agreement for Petaluma’s proposed $2 million contribution toward construction of the new station.

A draft deal was abruptly nixed last week and a new round of negotiations are slated to begin next week.

“I think it’s fair to say that we have an agreement in principle but the language was never finalized, as it was not agreed to by both parties,” said SMART board member and Sonoma County Supervisor David Rabbitt. “But I trust we’ll get there.”

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

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