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Petaluma, in short
Do I need a defensible-space inspection to sell my house in Petaluma?
Only if the house is in a High or Very High fire hazard severity zone “shown on the City-adopted map”; a house in a Moderate zone alone is not covered. In those zones, the City’s new policy says the seller should generally get the defensible-space documentation before the sale, under the State’s sale rule, Civil Code 1102.19.
The story of Petaluma
Petaluma, “Fertile Ground For The Good Life”, in the City’s own words.
Petaluma was incorporated in 1858, and for nearly a hundred years, the City says, it flourished as a shipping port and railway hub. Much of its identity is tied to the dairy and poultry industries, a heritage the City sees today in street signs, buildings, parades and farm-related businesses.
State Parks says the huge adobe building of the Petaluma Adobe, on what it calls the largest private rancho in California between 1834 and 1846, “was the center of activity on one of the most prosperous private estates established during the Mexican period.”
The City’s Housing Element says Petaluma “was incorporated in 1858 and grew steadily following incorporation.”
The City’s history overview says Petaluma “flourished as a shipping port and railway hub for nearly one hundred years,” as steamers, schooners, trolleys and railcars brought the world to Petaluma and Petaluma to the world.
The overview adds that the dairy and poultry heritage is evident today in street signs, buildings, parades and many ag-related businesses “that continue to thrive here.”
The cornerstone of the Carnegie Library, now the Petaluma museum, was laid in 1904. The museum says it was designed by local architect Brainerd Jones and built from locally quarried stone.
The library’s glass dome sustained minor damage in the 1906 earthquake, just before the library opened, the museum says.
The Mystic Theatre was built in 1911 for live vaudeville; in 1992 it was renovated to host live music for up to 500 guests.
From 1918 to 1926, the Downtown Association says, booster Bert Kerrigan promoted Petaluma; his National Egg Days celebrations inspired the Butter and Egg Days Parade, and he gave the town the phrase “The World’s Egg Basket.”
Most of the memorable scenes of George Lucas’s film American Graffiti were filmed in Petaluma in 1972, say the organizers of Petaluma’s Salute to American Graffiti, which they call an annual celebration of the film; the museum holds a clapperboard from the shoot.
Downtown was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995, and design guidelines were adopted in 1999.
The Petaluma Poetry Walk was founded in 1996 by the late Geri Digiorno, a beloved poet and former Sonoma County Poet Laureate.
The City’s new General Plan, the City says, “will shape the city for the next 25 years.”
Fire safety
Your fire department
The Petaluma Fire Department says: “We provide fire, rescue, and emergency medical services (EMS) within the Petaluma city limits, Southern Sonoma County, and a portion of Marin County.” It has “three fire stations strategically placed around the city.”
Find out if you are in a fire hazard zone
The City’s Fire Hazard Severity Zone maps page says CAL FIRE released updated 2025 maps for the City of Petaluma, links the City’s 2025 map and a Fire Hazard Severity Zone Viewer, and tells owners to “Check your property’s fire hazard classification.” The City’s Fire FAQs say: “To find out whether your residence or business is located in a high fire hazard zone, review the City’s High Fire Hazard Severity Zone map.”
Pages undated, read Oct 26 2026
See 3 more
The zones follow the State’s map
The City’s municipal code designates the City’s fire hazard severity zones as the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection recommends them.
Who runs the weed and vegetation program
The Fire Prevention Bureau handles undeveloped property and open space, and the City’s Neighborhood Preservation team “handles complaints and abatement for all developed commercial and residential properties.” The program begins each year with a City Council resolution declaring weeds to be a public nuisance.
Roofs and gutters free of debris
Among its defensible-space actions, the City’s hazardous vegetation policy lists: “Keep gutters, roofs, decks, porches, and stairways free of leaves, pine needles, and other combustible debris.”
Policy of April 1, 2026
Need a hand with this? Gutter guards
Petaluma this month
Storm season: the City says free sand and sandbags may be available to the public in a flood, at Hopper Street and at Prince Park.
The Petaluma blog starts when there is enough local news to keep it current.
Culture and history
A shipping port and railway hub
For nearly a hundred years Petaluma was a shipping port and railway hub. More in The story of Petaluma, below.
Butter, eggs and “The World’s Egg Basket”
Dairy and poultry are tied to the town’s identity, and a booster gave it the phrase “The World’s Egg Basket.” More in The story of Petaluma, below.
See 8 more
Butter & Egg Days Parade and Festival
The Petaluma Downtown Association holds the parade and festival downtown on the third Saturday of April; the next is Saturday, April 17, 2027, 10am to 5pm, with the parade at noon, rain or shine.
April 17, 2027; the Association’s page, read Oct 26 2026
The Petaluma museum
The Petaluma Historical Library & Museum has free admission and is open Thursday to Sunday, 10 am to 4 pm. More about its building in The story of Petaluma, below.
Hours as the museum’s page prints them, read Oct 26 2026
Downtown walking tours
Costumed docents lead walking tours of historic Petaluma, most Saturdays from May through October; the tours start from the museum steps at 10:30 a.m. The museum says they are free, “but donations are appreciated,” and that reservations should be made through Eventbrite from its events page.
May through October
Day of the Dead at the museum
Every autumn the museum holds a Day of the Dead exhibition with a community group; the museum calls it “this now-iconic Petaluma tradition,” and 2025 marked its 25th anniversary.
Autumn
The Petaluma Fair
The fairgrounds’ page shows the 2027 fair as June 17-20, 2027 and calls it “one of Petaluma’s most cherished traditions.”
June 17-20, 2027; the page, read Oct 26 2026
The Poetry Walk
The Petaluma Poetry Walk is a free, day-long celebration of live readings in downtown spaces; it typically takes place on the third Sunday of September. More in The story of Petaluma, below.
September
American Graffiti
George Lucas’s film American Graffiti was filmed in Petaluma in 1972. More in The story of Petaluma, below.
Holiday events downtown
Santa’s Riverboat Arrival is on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, November 28, 2026; the Downtown Holiday Shopping Stroll is on December 5, 2026; and the Petaluma Yacht Club hosts a Lighted Boat Parade on the Petaluma River on Saturday, December 12, 2026, 6p to 8p.
Nov 28, Dec 5 and Dec 12, 2026; the Association’s pages, read Oct 26 2026
Community
Petaluma Downtown Association
It produces the downtown’s yearly events, among them the Butter & Egg Days Parade and Festival, the Antique Faires, the Art & Garden Festival and the holiday events.
Petaluma Historical Library & Museum
Its mission is “Preserving the Unique History of Petaluma and Providing Educational and Cultural Services to the Community.” Its list of Petaluma History Spots gives a self-guided or virtual tour: “Over 20 locations in our historic downtown, and many more throughout the city.”
See 4 more
Petaluma History Room
The Sonoma County Library’s Petaluma History Room “houses books, manuscripts, newspapers, images, maps, clippings, yearbooks, City of Petaluma municipal records, and more.”
Fire Safe Sonoma
Fire Safe Sonoma says it “is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation and is the countywide Fire Safe Council serving Sonoma County since 1988.”
Cruisin’ the Boulevard
The nonprofit holds Petaluma’s Salute to American Graffiti, which it calls “an annual celebration of American Graffiti, classic American cars,” with cruising and the “happy days” of the ’50s and early ’60s.
Cinnabar Theater
A professional community theater performing in Petaluma and Rohnert Park, which is building a new home at the Petaluma Outlet Mall.
Page read Oct 26 2026
City rules and regulations
The permit list is a partial list
The City’s permit handout says “The following is only a partial list and other things that are not listed may require a permit,” and it names a roof change from flat to sloped among the projects that need one. Applications “must be submitted online through our new Permits & Planning Hub.”
City handout of May 8, 2025
Replacing a removed tree
When a tree that is not exempt is removed, replacement is required by planting new trees, paying an in-lieu fee, or a combination of the two.
Handout updated May 18, 2026
See 8 more
Trimming and pruning
The City’s tree chapter says “No permit shall be required for regular maintenance,” except that topping is prohibited, and pruning more than 25 percent of a tree’s above-ground mass in a year is prohibited unless an arborist finds it necessary for the tree’s health and preservation.
Trees that need no removal permit
The tree chapter exempts six nuisance species from the removal permit: Tree of Heaven, Acacia, Italian Cypress, Plum, Privet and Lombardy Poplar. For an exempt tree the City does not require notification, but it strongly recommends keeping records that show how the exemption applies.
Street trees
The City says it “requires an Encroachment Permit to trim and/or remove trees in the public right-of-way (usually trees in the planter strip between the curb and sidewalk).”
Page undated, read Oct 26 2026
Heritage trees
The City keeps a register of designated heritage and landmark trees and invites owners to nominate their trees, so that they can be protected from removal.
Where roof water may go
For permit applications that need a site plan, the City’s grading and drainage handout says: “Note that roof drainage must be connected to an approved storm drainage system.”
Handout listed April 30, 2026
When you buy or sell Which map decides
To decide whether the sale rule applies, the City’s policy says not to rely on an insurance map, a generalized wildfire-risk map or closeness to vegetation; it points to the map the City has adopted.
When you buy or sell Who gets the documentation, and when
Generally, the seller should obtain the required documentation before the sale. The State’s rule also allows the buyer and seller, under specified circumstances, to agree in writing to transfer the responsibility to the buyer, with documentation generally required within one year after the close of escrow. For a home in those zones, the policy tells owners to contact Petaluma Fire Prevention.
When you buy or sell What the inspector looks at
Among the items the City’s policy lists for the inspector are “Leaves, needles, or other combustible material on or near structures” and “Vegetation and tree limbs near chimneys or stovepipes.” The State’s sale disclosure, as the City’s policy describes it, also identifies home-hardening conditions, among them “Rain gutters without metal or noncombustible gutter covers.” The policy adds that such a condition “is not automatically a Petaluma Fire Code violation.” Separately, the City says wildfire-risk-reduction information may include low-cost measures such as “noncombustible gutter covers, closing gaps that permit ember intrusion, improved glazing, ignition-resistant materials, and reducing combustible material immediately adjacent to structures.”
Need a hand with this? Roofing
Storms, flood and drainage
Sand and sandbags in a flood
The City says: “In the event of floods, sand and sandbags may be available to the public at one or all of the following locations,” among them Hopper Street, next to the Hopper Street railroad crossing, and Prince Park. The City asks: “When gathering sandbags, bring your own shovel and please be a good neighbor – take only what you need.”
Page undated, read Oct 26 2026
Keep gutters and drains clear
The City advises: “Clean gutters and drains around your home and place leaves in your green bin rather than in the street, where they can block drainage.” It adds: “Keep drainage areas and pipes around your property clear of debris that could cause flooding.” The City’s sentence does not say whether it means roof gutters or the street gutter.
Page undated, read Oct 26 2026
See 3 more
Storm drains
The City says the storm drain system “is NOT the sewer”; its purpose is “to carry rainfall runoff from city streets to local waterways,” and anything that goes into it flows to the Petaluma River and, eventually, San Pablo Bay. The City also asks: “Do not rake or blow leaves, grass clippings, or yard waste into the street or gutters.”
Page undated, read Oct 26 2026
Is your home in the floodplain?
The City calls the area “the Petaluma floodplain” and says “most of our floodplain has experienced some level of flooding during significant storms.” Its flood pages send residents to the “FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) for Petaluma” to find out whether they live or work in the floodplain, and the City has also adopted flood and sea-level-rise maps of its own as part of the new General Plan.
Pages undated, read Oct 26 2026
Floods on the river
The City says Petaluma “has experienced five major floods since 1982.” Its 2015 floodplain plan adds that floods on the Petaluma River are short, lasting “a few hours to one or two days,” and that most come “between December and February after prolonged rainy periods, which fully saturate the soil.”
City plan of 2015; the flood page is undated
Need a hand with this? Gutter cleaning
Programs, loans and insurance
Rebuilding Together Petaluma: no-cost home repairs
Rebuilding Together Petaluma is a nonprofit “serving Petaluma’s neighbors in need with essential, no-cost home repairs.” Its pages say you qualify with a household income below 80% of the area median, a home you own as your primary residence and a need for repairs. Applications are accepted year-round, “however that does not guarantee repairs,” and projects are funded on a limited basis. Its pages name no roof or gutter work.
Pages read Oct 26 2026
Check back Community Wood Chipper Program: check back
The City’s program gives residents no-cost chipping: it “assists residents in maintaining defensible space by providing no-cost chipping to our community.” Its 2026 chipping days, July 19 and August 8 at the Fairgrounds, have passed, and when the page was read it showed only the 2026 dates.
Read Oct 26 2026
See 6 more
County-wide North Coast Energy Services: free weatherization
North Coast Energy Services, which describes itself as “Local, nonprofit, and not part of PG&E,” “provides free weatherization and heating repair for renters and homeowners” in six counties, Sonoma among them. Its page says the service is “Available to HEAP applicants, both renters and homeowners.”
Read Oct 25 2026
BayREN EASE Home: weatherization for income-qualified homes
BayREN “covers 80% of the cost for essential weatherization upgrades, including insulation and duct sealing,” with a customer co-pay capped at 20% of the project cost, for PG&E customers with a household income under or at 120% of area median income. BayREN’s county contact page lists Sonoma among nine counties.
Read Oct 25 2026
PG&E Energy Savings Assistance
PG&E’s program offers to “Improve the energy efficiency of your home at no cost to you” for renters and homeowners who meet its income guidelines, in a house, mobile home or apartment at least five years old. The page names no county or town; Petaluma is in PG&E’s electric and gas service territories. The income guidelines on its page are marked valid through May 31, 2027.
Read Oct 25 2026
The City’s water-saving programs
The City’s Water Conservation program offers free Water-Wise HouseCalls to City water customers, rebates for high-efficiency toilets and clothes washers, pool and spa covers and laundry-to-landscape greywater systems, and free sheet-mulching supplies (compost, cardboard, mulch) with delivery to Petaluma water customers who own the home and have at least 500 square feet of actively irrigated, high water-use turf.
Pages read Oct 26 2026
Check back Earthquake Brace + Bolt: check back
Earthquake Brace + Bolt, run by the California Residential Mitigation Program, a joint body, offers “an EBB retrofit grant of up to $3,000” to qualified homes in select ZIP codes. The program’s data lists Petaluma’s ZIP codes, 94952 and 94954, but its page says “Sign Up to be Notified When Registration Opens.” A retrofit “is only done on wood-framed, pre-1980 homes with a raised foundation.”
Read Oct 25 2026
County-wide SoCo Adapts (Wildfire Adapted): rebates ended
Permit Sonoma marks the Wildfire Adapted project’s “Phase 2: Implementation” as “(Discontinued)” and says it is “discontinuing FEMA-funded wildfire resiliency grant activities as of September 30, 2026.” The County’s current pages offer no homeowner rebate money.
County pages read Oct 25 2026
Who serves your home in Petaluma
- Fire: The City’s own Petaluma Fire Department, with three stations
- Water: The City of Petaluma supplies the water, most of it bought from Sonoma Water’s Russian River system; the City also uses its own groundwater wells
- Sewer: The City’s sewer utility, which also serves the unincorporated community of Penngrove; the wastewater goes to the Ellis Creek Water Recycling Facility
- Garbage: Recology Sonoma Marin collects garbage, recycling and organics
- Electricity: Sonoma Clean Power supplies the electricity, and Petaluma is one of the cities that governs it; PG&E delivers it
- Gas: PG&E; its service-area page lists Petaluma in both the electric and the gas territories
- Air: The Bay Area Air Quality Management District, which the County says extends throughout the southern portion of Sonoma County; the City’s wildfire page links to it
- Flood control: Sonoma Water, a special district created in 1949 by the California Legislature to provide flood protection and water supply services; its flood protection map names a Petaluma Creek Watershed
- Storm drains: The City of Petaluma; its storm drain system carries rainfall runoff from city streets to local waterways
- Assessor: Sonoma County Assessor; its page lists fire-safety and seismic safety improvements among the work that does not increase assessed value
Useful links: Petaluma City Schools · Old Adobe Union School District · City of Petaluma: Fire Hazard Severity Zone maps · City of Petaluma: Weed Abatement · City of Petaluma: Permits and the Permits & Planning Hub · City of Petaluma: Flooding and flood alerts · Nixle and SoCo Alerts (the City’s alert tools) · Recology Sonoma Marin · Sonoma Water · Sonoma Clean Power · Petaluma Historical Library & Museum · Petaluma Downtown Association · Sonoma County Library: Petaluma History Room · Sonoma County Regional Parks
The homes of Petaluma
The City’s Housing Element says homes in Petaluma “are generally of wood frame construction and finished with stucco or wood siding,” and that composition shingle and built-up roofs “are found on a large share of the community’s homes.” The City’s history overview says generations of Petalumans “have hired prominent architects and builders to design homes with style and substance.”
From the 1860s
Homes with style and substance
The City’s history overview says many of the homes that generations of Petalumans commissioned still stand, “offering a glimpse into family life from the 1860’s onward.”
1850s-1980s
Oakhill-Brewster Historic District
The City says the district, which it adopted in 1990, “encompasses one of the earliest residential neighborhoods in Petaluma,” with a mix of elaborate homes, mansions and more modest homes, and architectural styles from the 1850s through the 1980s.
1880-1910
Shingle Style, in the Oakhill-Brewster guidelines
The City’s 1990 guidelines for the Oakhill-Brewster district describe the Shingle Style’s wall cladding and original roofing as “continuous wood shingles, sometimes only above the first story.”
1860-1925
The “A” Street Historic District
The City says the district, which it adopted in 1986, holds “an eclectic mix of residences, offices, churches, and apartments nearly all built before 1925.”
Older roofs and gutters need a different hand: Gutter Repair · Roof Repair · Gutter Installation
The story of Petaluma
History and character
State Parks says the huge adobe building of the Petaluma Adobe, on what it calls the largest private rancho in California between 1834 and 1846, “was the center of activity on one of the most prosperous private estates established during the Mexican period.”
The City’s Housing Element says Petaluma “was incorporated in 1858 and grew steadily following incorporation.”
The City’s history overview says Petaluma “flourished as a shipping port and railway hub for nearly one hundred years,” as steamers, schooners, trolleys and railcars brought the world to Petaluma and Petaluma to the world.
The overview adds that the dairy and poultry heritage is evident today in street signs, buildings, parades and many ag-related businesses “that continue to thrive here.”
The cornerstone of the Carnegie Library, now the Petaluma museum, was laid in 1904. The museum says it was designed by local architect Brainerd Jones and built from locally quarried stone.
The library’s glass dome sustained minor damage in the 1906 earthquake, just before the library opened, the museum says.
The Mystic Theatre was built in 1911 for live vaudeville; in 1992 it was renovated to host live music for up to 500 guests.
From 1918 to 1926, the Downtown Association says, booster Bert Kerrigan promoted Petaluma; his National Egg Days celebrations inspired the Butter and Egg Days Parade, and he gave the town the phrase “The World’s Egg Basket.”
Most of the memorable scenes of George Lucas’s film American Graffiti were filmed in Petaluma in 1972, say the organizers of Petaluma’s Salute to American Graffiti, which they call an annual celebration of the film; the museum holds a clapperboard from the shoot.
Downtown was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995, and design guidelines were adopted in 1999.
The Petaluma Poetry Walk was founded in 1996 by the late Geri Digiorno, a beloved poet and former Sonoma County Poet Laureate.
The City’s new General Plan, the City says, “will shape the city for the next 25 years.”
Petaluma, roof and gutters
The City’s 2015 floodplain plan describes the Petaluma Valley as a relatively flat alluvial plain of clay, silt and floodplain sediments, running from sea level at the Petaluma River to over 400 feet in the surrounding hills, with a Mediterranean climate.
Yearly rain averages about 27 inches, the mean of the two nearest federal weather stations with a 1991-2020 normal: Petaluma Airport (25.56 inches) and Sonoma (28.35 inches). At Petaluma Airport, February is the wettest month (5.23 inches) and July the driest (0.01 inches), and about 90 percent of the year’s rain falls from November through April.
The General Plan says that in the more urbanized parts of the city localized flooding “intensifies because of impervious surfaces such as paved roads and structures and the natural impermeability of clay soils in the Petaluma valley that prevent absorption of rainfall and runoff.”
The City’s 2016 list of approved street trees names coast live oak, holly oak and cork oak among its evergreens, and says evergreens “maintain their leaves year round with shedding of dead leaves year round,” while deciduous trees typically lose their leaves in fall.
The median Petaluma home was built in 1979. About 52 percent of the homes were built in 1979 or earlier, about 70 percent are detached single-family houses, and about 64.5 percent of occupied homes are owner occupied, by our own calculations from the Census Bureau’s 2020-2024 tables.
We have been working on Bay Area roofs and gutters since 2002. If yours hasn’t had a look in a while, we’d be glad to come by.
Landmarks and parks
Petaluma Historical Library & Museum
A neo-classical Carnegie Library with original fan-glass and leaded-glass windows, wood paneling and columns, now the town’s museum.
Petaluma Adobe State Historic Park
State Parks’ historic park around the huge adobe building of a rancho from the Mexican period.
Petaluma Historic Commercial District
The City says it takes in much of downtown, with 96 contributing buildings on about 23 acres.
Mystic Theatre
A theatre whose stage now hosts live music.
Steamer Landing Park
A park of 9.7 acres on the McNear Peninsula in the center of town, a public park since 1996.
Shollenberger Park
A 165-acre open space that the City calls both the largest and the most visited park in Petaluma, next to Alman Marsh and the Ellis Creek Water Recycling Facility.
Helen Putnam Regional Park
A Sonoma County regional park southwest of town, with 6 miles of trails across grassy hillsides and oak woodlands.
Tolay Lake Regional Park
A 3,400-acre Sonoma County regional park about 8 miles southeast of downtown, named for the seasonal lake in its valley.
How we can help in Petaluma
Why Sunshine Gutters and Roofing
- Family-owned since 2002, trusted by thousands of returning Bay Area homeowners
- Licensed (CSLB #1053780), bonded, with $2 million in general liability coverage
- Our own crew, never subcontractors
- We keep track of local regulations, fire safety rules and insurance programs
- We show you what we found, with photos, so you decide what happens next
The year in Petaluma
| February | Wettest month at Petaluma Airport, the nearest federal weather station with a normal |
|---|---|
| April | Butter & Egg Days Parade and Festival downtown, the third Saturday of April (April 17, 2027) Spring Antique Faire, the last Sunday of April (April 25, 2027) |
| May | Costumed walking tours of historic downtown, most Saturdays from May through October |
| June | Petaluma Fair at the Fairgrounds (June 17-20, 2027) |
| July | Art & Garden Festival, the second Sunday of July (July 11, 2027) |
| September | Poetry Walk, typically on the third Sunday of September Fall Antique Faire, the last Sunday of September (September 26, 2027) |
| October | Day of the Dead exhibition at the museum, every autumn |
| November | Santa’s Riverboat Arrival, the Saturday after Thanksgiving (November 28, 2026) The rainy months begin: November through April brings about 90 percent of the year’s rain at Petaluma Airport |
| December | Downtown Holiday Shopping Stroll (December 5, 2026) Lighted Boat Parade on the Petaluma River (December 12, 2026) |
Petaluma questions
What Petaluma homeowners ask us
Do I need a permit to replace my roof in Petaluma?
To replace it, yes. The City’s handout of projects that need a building permit lists “Re-roof.” The City’s fees are listed in its master fee schedule. If you wish, we can also pull the permit for you, as most of our customers ask us to.
Do I need a permit to remove a tree in Petaluma?
For a tree with a trunk diameter of six inches or greater, or any street tree regardless of its size, yes: the City’s handout says a Tree Removal Permit is required, except as the City’s Tree Preservation Ordinance exempts the tree.
Who has to clear the weeds and brush, and by when?
The property owner. The City says: “All property owners are responsible for keeping weeds and other vegetation from becoming a fire hazard.” Its policy says all hazardous vegetation and rubbish must be abated “no later than May 31 of each calendar year,” and the City says “Inspections are conducted throughout the dry season, and the property must be maintained in order to remain in compliance.” Grass must be trimmed.
How will I know if I need to evacuate in Petaluma?
If an alert or warning needs to be issued for a potential threat to the City of Petaluma, community members can receive these messages by subscribing to Nixle or SoCo Alerts.
What our customers say
Get a free estimate
We usually respond promptly within the day. Phone first for emergencies: (510) 525-0880.
Where we work
Petaluma neighbourhoods we serve
Downtown
The Petaluma Historic Commercial District takes in much of downtown, and the General Plan calls downtown “a focus of civic and cultural activity in the community.”
Oakhill-Brewster
A locally designated architectural preservation district north and west of downtown.
“A” Street
A historic district south and east of downtown, made up of residential and other properties.
Payran-McKinley
A central urban neighborhood in the General Plan, which aims to keep a diverse range of residential densities there while enhancing the creek corridors.
Washington Corridor
The General Plan says it has a mix of uses and serves “as a primary connector between the eastern, central, and western parts of the city.”
Washington Core and Fairgrounds
A neighborhood of the General Plan, whose goal is to connect the Washington Core with downtown.
Lakeville Highway
A neighborhood of the General Plan along the highway; the plan aims “to minimize the barrier it creates by presence, design, and vehicular speed.”
Petaluma Boulevard South
The General Plan says it creates “a strong sense of entry into the community” and a transition from the highway to the Central Petaluma Specific Plan area.
Petaluma Boulevard North
Beyond Cinnabar Avenue, the General Plan says, it keeps the rural character of the entry roadway with large median trees; south of Cinnabar Avenue it creates a transition from the northern rural gateway to downtown.
North McDowell Boulevard
A neighborhood of the General Plan along the boulevard, where the plan says the complex demands upon the boulevard “enhance its function and aesthetic value.”
Downtown SMART Station Area
The General Plan says the area “brings together the eastern and western portions of the city” and embraces the Petaluma River.
North East and North SMART Station Area
The General Plan describes “a rich mix of residential densities, commercial opportunities, educational facilities, and natural and public amenities.”
West Hills
The General Plan says the existing rural character and densities of the hillside neighborhoods are maintained.
South Hills
The General Plan aims to reinforce the natural character of the hillside neighborhoods by preserving topography and ridgelines.
Also serving nearby: Penngrove · Cotati · Rohnert Park · Sonoma · Santa Rosa · Sebastopol · Windsor · Healdsburg