Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: One of the Dutra companies is being sued.
This time, it’s Dutra Materials, the company that wants to build an asphalt plant south of Petaluma on 37 acres across from Shollenberger Park on the Petaluma River. And in this case, Dutra has some company, as the county of Sonoma is also a plaintiff, as are Shamrock Materials, Corto Meno Sand and Gravel, and Peach Tree Terrace. Shamrock and Corto Meno are related entities, as they share the same business address in Petaluma as well as Gene Ceccoti in their front offices. According to the lawsuit, Peach Tree Terrace is a general partnership, but it isn’t listed with the California Secretary of State.
And the folks bringing the suit? It’s quite a lineup. It begins with the city of Petaluma, the Petaluma River Council, Petaluma Tomorrow, the Marin Audubon Society, Friends of Shollenberger Park and Moms for Clean Air.
While anybody who’s bumped up against Moms for Clean Air knows the meaning of fear, the city of Petaluma is the player that will bring the most to a legal battle. The plant would be built just beyond the city limit, but right across from Shollenberger, which is a city park. The City Council gave the county plenty of warning about the fact it opposed the plant. While the board voted 3-2 in favor of the Dutra project, the council voted unanimously to bring the lawsuit. It’s hard to imagine how the county could have pissed off Petaluma more.
But as much fun as it would be to see a cage match between the Board of Supervisors and the Petaluma City Council, for pure entertainment, you want a ringside seat when Bad Billy and Aggressive Aimi Dutra show up. With their San Rafael rock quarry and the running battles with the county of Marin and the neighbors next to the quarry, the Dutras have their mouthpiece on speed dial and they don’t take any prisoners, nor do they pull any punches.
The lawsuit, which is 60 pages long, alleges that the county of Sonoma failed to adequately address environmental issues as well as how the plant would impact the park and public health. The project went through a litany of changes before gaining the approval of the Board of Supervisors last year, and the legal action maintains that because so many changes took place, a new EIR is in order.
What the Moms, Birds and Petalumans need to bear in mind is that the Dutras are fresh off a victory of sorts in Marin. Last year, the county negotiated a new set of working rules for the quarry—and got the neighbors to go along with it. While it wasn’t an upset on the scale of the Giants winning the World Series, when the smoke cleared, the bookies lost some cash betting against the Dutra clan.
Only in Marin
The main drag in San Rafael has plenty of great places, from the baseball cap emporium T&B Sports to Gold Rush Jewelers, where Rick Lewis and his staff will fix your watch while you wait. Just across the street from his shop is a new eatery that’s the subject of this month’s Only in Marin item.
Pizza Orgasmica has opened in the old location of Rafters Grille and Brewery, another pizza place that was gutted by fire and stayed closed for quite a while. And while folks are happy to see pies being baked again, some have a problem with the bright yellow paint favored by the husband-and-wife team who own the place, Gina Gochez and Taylor Maia. The hue is a custom blend based on a Brazilian soccer jersey that Taylor took to Home Depot. The Fourth Street location is the fourth store they have, the other three are in San Francisco.
The city received some complaints that the paint job was louder than an episode of “Keeping Up with the Kardashians.” A local barrister who has an office facing the new pie shop complained to the Marin Independent Journal that it was so bright that it could wake the sleeping. “The color is obviously way too glaring, doesn’t match the surrounding businesses and, in my opinion, disgraces a 100-year-old building.”
Easy counselor, it’s a pizza parlor.
A few other folks complained about the color as well. And since the pie shop had gone through a design review hearing, technically, the city had the right to hold another hearing. The meeting was well attended considering it was about what color is OK for a pizza restaurant that has a menu item called “doggie style” (which, by the way, is trademarked).
Design Review Chairman Mohit Garg said, “I’m OK with a little bit of yellow, but not the massive quantity that’s ever-so-evident,” reported the IJ.
Jeff Kent, the board member not the old second baseman for the Giants, offered, “I have nothing against green and yellow. I’m not saying tan and dull but certainly not that bright and reflective.”
Thanks for almost clearing that up, Jeff.
In the end, the board asked Gochez and Maia to work with city planners to tone it down some and add a third color. Maia agreed to sit down and figure out how to work out the changes.
Still, not everyone was happy. Local realtor Lorraine Gemigniani called the look “the worst paint job I’ve ever seen.” She also was offended by the name Pizza Orgasmica. “What’s next, Taco Fellatio?”
Maybe Pizza Orgasmica could put a Lorraine sandwich on the menu. A scoop of vanilla ice cream between two slices of white bread, hold the sense of humor.
Bill Meagher is a contributing editor at NorthBay biz. He believes that sex sells, speed kills, and Marin takes itself way too seriously. You can reach him at bmeagher@northbaybiz.com.
