Posted By: Jason E. Davies (01/07/2009 11:46:24 AM)
Comment: >>Why is it that the local chorus of naysayers can't raise their voices in unison for some genuine community good? One answer is that though they be united in common anger, they can never agree about what they love.<< What an absolutely absurd point - apparently you either aren't really listening to anything but Dutra propaganda and/or you're simply misinformed. Those who are opposed to the Dutra project at Haystack Landing - including our council, Mayor - all agree that preserving Shollenberger Park and open space in our scenic corridor is vital to our community. Dressing up simplistic points with smugness doesn't make them any less simplistic. If you actually took the time to meet many of the people involved, you would quickly see how much so many of them contribute to our community. Did you know that among the "caterwaulers", as you call them, are sincere people who donate their time to clean up the park, provide a free docent service to our school children (which is critical when school budgets are being slashed), clean up trash in our river, as well as donate to some of the causes you mention? I'm sorry, but in fact those opposing the Dutra project at Hasystack Landing are very united in preserving a vital community resource - and we take pride in standing up for Petaluma's sovereignty in our voter approved urban growth boundary and scenic corridor. Dutra made a mistake - they shouldn't have decided to cash in on the old site, buy Haystack Landing as currently zoned (limited commercial/dairy/rural), and simply expect our county to amend our General Plan to allow them to proceed. Dutra is interested in one thing - making and selling as much asphalt as they can. With three asphalt plants already in our county and under capacity, the community need for another has not been demonstrated. Dutra has been cited for numerous violations - all of which impacted the community in which they operated. In Petaluma, Dutra was shut down for operating with an expired permit - a permit they chose not to renew because it required them to use best available control technologies for their emission systems. We care about our community's health and the cumulative impacts of this plant - as outlined in the EIR - are significant and unavoidable. With Dutra's history (do some research), they simply can't be trusted. No, we're not the ones "caterwauling" - that would be Dutra for not getting the rubber stamp they expected for this ill conceived project. This simply isn't smart development - and that's why it's being opposed.

Response: Thank you for your lengthy response, which despite its plethora of selective details, still failed to address the point of my comment. So I'll give you another chance. Name one genuine community challenge that the caterwaulling crowd has united behind, funded, and/or rescued from obliviion - and I mean a challenge that involves helping PEOPLE in need. So you can skip all the chest thumping about Shollenberger Park for, the last time I looked, the only shelterless, hungry and undereducated creatures hanging out there were transient birds being pestered by Peeping Toms with telescopes.