No New Gas Station Demonstration - June 18th - 7:30 am to 9am

[Pete Gang]

Dear Friends,

CONGAS (Coalition Opposing New Gas Stations) is a grassroots community group whose mission is to stop the construction of new gas stations in Sonoma County and its nine cities.

Please join CONGAS from 7:30 to 9:00 AM on Thursday, June 18th for a covid-conscious, nonviolent demonstration opposing the construction of a new gas station at 5300 Sebastopol Road (Highway 12 at Llano Road) in unincorporated Sonoma County between Santa Rosa and Sebastopol. [See below for the backstory].

Please note: There is no place to park safely at this location! Please come by bicycle! The Joe Rodota Trail runs right next to the site. Coming by bicycle will enhance our visibility and it has obvious relevance to the purpose of our demonstration.

A Sebastopol contingent will be meeting at the Sebastopol City parking lot adjacent to Hopmonk Tavern at 6:45 AM for a briefing. Rolling out along the Joe Rodota Trail at 7AM. 

If you plan to come, please read all the bullets below, as there is important logistical information you need to know!

• Safety First! Please use common sense and don't take any unnecessary risks.
• Please do not obstruct traffic. Obstructing traffic is not a part of this action.
• If you cannot come by bicycle, have someone drop you off. Please don't plan to try to park a car.
• Public transit. We checked the schedules. The SCTA Route 20 bus is the one, but the schedule is too infrequent and you would arrive too late.
• Bring your own home-made sign. If you can affix it to your bike safely so that people can see it as you ride to the demo, great! Something simple like "No New Gas Stations" would be fine. But be as creative as you want!
• The plan is to line up along the south side of Highway 12, east of Llano Road so that we are visible to morning traffic. There is ample space to stretch a line of demonstrators along the road right in front of the project site.
• Please wear a mask and maintain 6 feet of separation between you and the next demonstrator.
• It is very noisy at this location between 7:30 and 9am. Traffic noise. So we don't expect that we will be able to address the whole group and be heard easily. This means we will rely on all of you to use common sense and stay safe.
• There are no restrooms at this location.
• It is likely to be warm and sunny on June 18. Bring plenty of water, wear a hat and appropriate clothing, bring sunscreen, etc.

The backstory:

After a brief pause, the permitting process is back in action for this bad idea. The case is coming up soon at the Sonoma County Board of Zoning Adjustments. There is a June 26 deadline for comments. A virtual public hearing is tentatively scheduled for July 2. To learn more about it, see the Public Noticing Documents HERE. (In this link you will find the CEQA Initial Study (IS) / Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND) and the associated Technical Reports & Plans. Please send in a comment opposing the project, write a letter to the editor, contact your Planning Commissioners and County Supervisor and let them know we are in a climate crisis and we must stop building new gas stations! 

We are looking forward to seeing you on June 18! If you have any questions contact: congas-...@gmail.com 707-238-2298

Thanks, 

Pete (and Woody and Jenny)