![]() ![]() But the prohibition exempted the council-approved Safeway project, which was authorized before the new ordinance took effect.Ĭouncil member Brian Barnacle called the end of the Safeway project “icing on the cake” to the city’s recent ban on future gas stations. The news comes just a month after Petaluma became first city in the nation to ban gas station construction in an effort to curb greenhouse gas-emissions from the fossil fuel infrastructure. “If the case is truly mooted, meaning there is no possibility Safeway could, in the future, propose a fuel station for that site, it would seem that dismissing the lawsuit as moot would be appropriate,” he said. However, the case is presently still active, and Soluri said his group is not yet in a position to withdraw the litigation, although city officials say the case should be dismissed. ![]() “Having achieved a primary goal in the litigation, we are presently evaluating our next steps.” “This is a very positive development for the health and safety of the citizens of Petaluma,” Soluri said in an email Friday. Patrick Soluri, the attorney representing NoGasHere in its challenge, said he his team was contemplating its next move after learning of Safeway’s decision late Thursday night. A month later, in an effort to derail the project, NoGasHere filed a lawsuit against the city and grocery chain centered on environmental concerns. Safeway challenged the decision, and in April 2019, the city council changed again course, voting to approve the project. The planning commission first approved the fueling center in June 2018, but a community-led coalition appealed the decision, and the city council in December 2018 voted to require more environmental review in a nod to resident demands. The project has drawn heated opposition from Petaluma residents and some local business owners since the national chain unveiled its plans for the Washington Square addition in 2013, with NoGasHere leaders objecting over potential environmental impacts and increased traffic hazards. “The city’s approval of the project on April 1, 2019, was valid for two years, and the project approvals recently expired. “We appreciate those who supported a new Safeway gas station at the Washington Square Shopping Center in Petaluma,” she said in the message. Safeway spokeswoman Wendy Gutshall confirmed the company is abandoning the project in an emailed statement to the Argus-Courier last Friday, explaining that the company is choosing not to pursue renewed project approvals from the city after they lapsed earlier this month. And it comes on the heels of the city’s first-in-the-nation ban on new gas stations, which drew national attention after it was passed March 1. The decision marks a victory for opposition group NoGasHere, which has been locked in a nearly two-year legal battle with the grocery giant and the city of Petaluma over the project. Safeway is walking away from its embattled Petaluma gas station project after years of resident-led pushback, city officials and a Safeway representative have confirmed.
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