Pulling the ‘Ripcord’ ■ Witty, sarcastic roommate play sees debut at Cinnabar. PAGE C3 Sports: Basketball playoffs on the line Local high school teams down to the wire. PAGE B1 Food: Treating your sweetheart Restaurants offer Valentine’s Day specials. PAGE D1 ArgusPETALUMA Courier California General Excellence Winner FEBRUARY 6, 2020 ■ PETALUMA360.COM An edition of The Press Democrat City approves controversial apartments Sid Commons, opposed for proximity to Petaluma sioners. The project has undergone all River wetlands, will add 180 new housing units necessary environmental im- Opponents of pact review processes and will Sid Commons, By KATHRYN PALMER The disputed development be subject to state regulations a proposed ARGUS-COURIER STAFF received the go-ahead at Mon- and permits, however, some housing de- For the second time in two day night’s meeting following citizens questioned the report’s velopment off weeks, Petaluma’s City Council significant adjustments to the accuracy. Payran, want overturned a Planning Com- project’s footprint and makeup This doubt colored much of to preserve the mission housing development since its Nov. 19 Planning Com- the project’s presentation, as wetlands, the denial, this time by approving mission hearing. It has been the city’s senior planner and oak trees and Monday the Sid Commons denounced by an avid group environmental planner spent open space. apartment project near the of citizens over environmental significant time going through Petaluma River, which has concerns, and was the prima- staff findings and recommen- spent more than 10 years in the ry point of objection among pipeline. dissenting planning commis- See SID, A5 CRISSY PASCUAL / ARGUS-COURIER STAFF ■ HOMELESS IN PETALUMA ■ Fairgrounds planning Out of the shadows process kicks off Public effort to lay out future of city property well attended By KATHRYN PALMER ARGUS-COURIER STAFF In a display of the Sono- ma-Marin Fairground’s sweeping significance, the first public meeting over future uses on the property drew more than 100 people eager to share their thoughts and connections to the city-owned site. The Jan. 31 meeting, the first to involve the public after years of obscurity, outlined what will be a months-long community outreach campaign as the city explores new options on its 64-acre property. It also marked the first public subcommittee meeting between select city council members and repre- sentatives of the fair board, following a closed-door meeting between the two groups Jan. 30. “It’s central to our communi- ty physically, and it’s an import- CRISSY PASCUAL / ARGUS-COURIER STAFF ant community resource,” City Karen Mahoney lives in an RV given to her by a friend a few months ago. She has been shelterless, living in Petaluma for the past three years. Manager Peggy Flynn said. “It touches so many aspects of our As camp in Santa Rosa is cleared, of homeless people live throughout Peta- lation, ranging from suspected crime to community, and folks came out luma, largely unseen and sometimes out routine wellness checks. and took time out of their days the homeless community in of reach of crucial services. One of those recent check-ins was with because it touches so many Petaluma is more visible “A lot of homeless encampments are 63-year-old Karen Mahoney, a Southern people’s lives.” right along the river,” Lyons said, esti- California native who moved to Sonoma The location currently hosts By KATHRYN PALMER mating up to 50 at any given day. “People County nine years ago to be near her several users and leaseholders, ARGUS-COURIER STAFF probably don’t even know these are here kids. She’s been in Petaluma for about including Live Oak Charter Only a trained eye, like that of long- as they drive down these main roads three years, sometimes living outside School, Happy Hearts Pre- time Petaluma Police Lt. Tim Lyons, can throughout town.” after she said she was made to leave the school, Playland Paintball, see the hidden spots. They are scattered As police notice an increase in the Mary Isaak Center homeless shelter. Petaluma Speedway and has throughout the city, behind a tangle of local homeless population, some fleeing A friend recently gave her a small RV long been the home to the an- bushes lining a busy road, nestled neatly Santa Rosa’s Joe Radota Trail encamp- to live in, which she parks alongside nual Sonoma-Marin Fair. The at the rear of a business and parked on ment, the constraint of an under-staffed the Wash 2 Go Express Car Wash off centrally-located property is an unassuming side street. department and lack of available re- Lakeville Street a block from the Mary approaching its 2023 lease expi- Lyons forces his gaze to notice their sources is feeling even tighter. Isaak Center. ration with the fair’s operating signs, the tent poles sticking out behind Roughly 34% of the calls that mem- “It’s not fun being on the streets,” Ma- agency 4th District Agricul- a tree or the bright blue corner of a tarp. bers of the Petaluma Police Department tural Association, opening the They are the places a growing number respond to relate to the homeless popu- See Homeless, A5 door to new potential uses on 55 acres of the property for the first time in roughly 50 years. The city council’s subcom- mittee members are Mike Healy, Dave King and Kevin Kincade firefighters honored McDonnell, and on the fair board subcommittee sits Dom- Martin, Burris, Costa, led Petaluma Firefighter Kevin Burris said. “We learned looned to 77,000 acres, the largest wildfire inic Grossi, Michael Parks and from it and improved.” in Sonoma County history. Amazingly, Brian Sobel. response to Kincade fire, chosen as Burris was on the first Petaluma engine though, no one was killed and only 120 Third-party facilitator Petaluma Firefighters of the Year to respond to the Kincade fire, deploying to structures were destroyed, two years after Barry Long from Urban Design Healdsburg just 16 minutes after it ignited. the 2017 Tubbs fire killed 22 and torched Associates will assist in the By MATT BROWN Soon after, Petaluma would send two other 5,600 structures. end-to-end process in collecting ARGUS-COURIER STAFF engines. Captain Matt Martin deployed For their efforts, Burris, Martin and community input, reporting The Petaluma Fire Department already to the front lines on the second day, and Costa were selected as the 2019 Petaluma findings to the city and in had an engine staffed and ready to go the Battalion Chief Chad Costa coordinated Firefighters of the Year. recommending additional as- night the Kincade fire ignited near Geyser- Petaluma’s response. “The Kincade fire provided difficult sessments. The presented time ville. It was a windy Oct. 23 night, similar The Petaluma firefighters were part of challenges for all involved,” Chief Leonard line includes a 10-week listen- conditions to the first night of the North a massive inter-agency effort that made Thompson said in a statement. “Our three ing process between the city, Bay fires in 2017, and Petaluma firefighters a heroic stand to protect Windsor and Firefighter of the Year candidates showed stakeholders and community were proactive this time around. Healdsburg. “2017 was eye-opening,” Petaluma The fire, which lasted two weeks, bal- See Firefighters, A4 See Fair, A4 Petaluma Argus-Courier INSIDE WEATHER petaluma360.com Classified D5 Editorial A6 FORECAST RAINFALL C1 A4 Today Friday Saturday Sunday Community Obituaries Jan. 29: 0.01 in. Feb. 2: 0.00 in. Year to date (since Crossword D4 Police Log A4 Jan. 30: 0.00 in. Feb. 3: 0.00 in. Oct. 1): 11.43 in. Food & Drink D1 Sports B1 Jan. 31: 0.00 in. Feb. 4: 0.00 in. Last year to date: Buzz C1 Stepping Out C3 66°/40°66°/40° 64°/41°64°/41° 63°/37°63°/37° 61°/43° Feb. 1: 0.00 in. Avg. to date: 15.89 in. 12.64 in. A2 PETALUMA ARGUS-COURIER • THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2020 Your hometown newspaper since 1855 Argus Courier City starts Petaluma Proud honors Volume 164 • No. 28 • 28 Pages • 4 Sections Girl Scout troop, © 2019 Petaluma Argus-Courier petaluma360.com graffiti fighter the Sonoma Media Investments, LLC first recipients of February 6, 2020 new recognition PUBLISHER: Emily Charrier, By MATT BROWN [email protected] ARGUS-COURIER STAFF EDITOR: Matt Brown PHOTOGRAPHER: Crissy Pascual [email protected] [email protected] A graffiti-fighting vigi- SPORTS EDITOR: John Jackson ADVERTISING MANAGER: lante who manages a net- [email protected] Joanne Herrfeldt, work of 500 anti-tagging NEWS EDITOR: [email protected] volunteers, and a group Kathryn Palmer OFFICE MANAGER: of plucky Girl Scouts who [email protected] Kathi Schneider, have removed hundreds of FEATURES EDITOR: David Templeton [email protected]. [email protected] pounds of trash from Ca- pri Creek are some of the people who are cleaning up Petaluma. Girl Scout Troop 10977 was honored with the inaugural Petaluma Proud award from the city PUBLISHED: Each issue, your account will They are also the first for work cleaning up Capri Creek. Thursday by the Petaluma be charged up to $2.00 Argus-Courier, 1372 E in the billing period when recipients of the new North McDowell Blvd., the issue is delivered. This Petaluma Proud honor, a Petaluma, CA 94954. will adjust the length of city initiative to recognize Periodical postage paid at your subscription. Prices Petaluma, CA 94953. are subject to change. If citizens who go out of POSTMASTER: Send ad- payments are not received their way to make Petalu- dress changes to: Petaluma Argus-Courier, by the expiration date of the current P.O.