2  0

6  4

6  4

Alicia Kae Herries, appointed to the planning commission by the majority that, at first, opposed this project, is a member of the D Street Neighborhood Association, which stands to receive some money from this settlement.

Should an appointed member of city government be so entwined with a lawsuit affecting city business?

Does her inside information while on the planning commission, most likely equipped with information from friendly city council members belie a conflict of interest and gross misappropriation by the Petaluma City Council Majority?

8  2

What is also troubling is that a single councilmember, who is on the short end of the vote, feels entitled to release confidential information from closed session. Mike Healy’s ethics are no better than the rest of the council.

11  2

Of the above groups, only the OWL Foundation shows up on the IRS.gov’s site as a registered charitable organization: http://bit.ly/d138zB

10  3

First there is a development project that has no place in either the 21st century or in this economy. Then the developer drags their feet, fails to get community input and uses 2003 financial numbers (including revenue from a Circuit City) to justify their project. Then it finally gets to the city council but they cave in political pressure and approve it. Then a community organization (or is it just two people, nobody really knows) files a lawsuit. Finally they get paid off and cave in too. Unless that $100,000 gets distributed to local charitible organizations, neither Matt Maguire nor Paul Francis will ever have any credibility again.

All in all the ONLY winners in this mess are the developers. The rest of will suffer from more traffic jams and the loss of other stores that Target will steal business from.

9  5

Environmental Lawsuits in California make allegations the process was unfair. Most of these lawsuits are based on allegations one neighbor cheated and is now pulling a fast one. Thy neighbot is not treating the other with the respect he wants to be treated.

Does the homeowner have the resources to hire attorney’s and pay for expert witnesses to point out how the politicans have failed him? If the developer does not improve the streets, who pays for the traffic congestion? It seems Goliath is screaming that it is unfair David has a slingshot.

7  3

The Petaluma Community Coalition is Petaluma’s version of Santa Rosa’s Accountable Development Coalition. They both are dogmatic in their insistance that all new projects need to be mixed-use smartgrowth style developments. Some people share these sentiments, others don’t. Our elected officials should be voting based on a projects merits and whether it meets legal requirements. Outside interest groups, which often are not really neighborhood groups, should not be able to dominate the public debate, effectively deciding what gets built. Now, all developers will have to think about who they will have to pay off to get a project approved. Private groups are free to settle lawsuits financially, but it seems the City of Petaluma is participating and condoning the payoffs. That’s not right. Will the Petaluma group share the $100,000 with all the people who signed the petition, or will the group’s leaders keep all the money for themselves? I expect the latter. This outcome is like a dream come true for other lobbying groups like the ADC who demand payment from developers and government agencies, including SMART, if they want their support. This is what corruption looks like.

17  4

13  4

Still, a shakedown is a shakedown. Despite denials, its success will encourage others, and government decisions, up or down, will grind ever slower while the politicians bemoan the lack of jobs.

14  3