Sep. 21, 1998, Santa Rosa Press Democrat
By GUY KOVNER Press Democrat Bureau
PETALUMA -- Flood victims, complaining that their winters have become "hell,'' have filed 37 claims against the city, seeking an unspecified amount of money for water damage and eroded property value from February's floods.
The city, which paid $4.9 million to victims of Petaluma's 1982 flood, the worst in recent history, has not acted on the newest claims, said attorney Terry Traktman. He represents the 36 households and one business united under the banner of the Petaluma Flood Victims Association.
A $25.6 million flood control project is under construction along the Petaluma River, but Traktman said the city has had "plenty of time to fix the problem'' and its responses have been "too few and too inadequate.''
Most of the households he represents are prepared to sue the city if their claims are rejected, as he expects.
In addition to financial compensation, the claimants want Petaluma to quit building in the flood plain or to ensure that upstream development does not worsen flooding in the Payran area, where the river has overflowed six times since 1982.
"It's the wrong thing to do,'' said Geoffrey Cartwright, association president, referring to flood plain development. "It's an absurdity.''
City Manager Fred Stouder said the claims are under review.
The city, responding to bitter complaints from Payran residents, is studying how development policies control storm runoff into the river.
"It's looking at the whole situation in a very comprehensive way,'' Stouder said, describing the study as a "necessary but expensive process.''
Cartwright and some other claimants who weathered the floods of 1982 and 1986 are convinced that development contributes to flooding, noting that their neighborhood seldom flooded before the 1980s but now sees water in the streets almost every winter.
"My wife and I are now in our 80s and don't deserve this annual stress,'' Leonard Nelson, a Vallejo Street homeowner since 1962, wrote in his claim.
Evelyn Ransom, a Payran Street resident for 47 years, wrote that "the winters have been hell, with dozens of evacuations'' since 1982.
Floodwaters covered a 50-block area in January of 1982, swamping 500 homes and 100 businesses and causing $28 million in damage, the worst recorded flood in Petaluma history.
About 100 residents subsequently filed lawsuits, and in 1987 the city's insurance carrier paid a $4.9 million settlement to 47 households and their attorneys, with about $30,000 going to each household. Sonoma County, the county Water Agency and Pacific Bell paid an additional $210,000.
The Valentine's Day flood of February 1986 did $1 million damage in Petaluma and prompted the Army Corps of Engineers' authorization of a flood control project, now being built but won't be completed until the summer of 2000.
Since this past winter's floods, which did more than $5 million damage, Payran residents have harangued the City Council, at one point demanding a halt to upstream development.
Northeast Petaluma, including office parks that house booming telecommunications businesses, drains into the Petaluma River above the Payran area. The council also is under pressure from the Petaluma Area Chamber of Commerce to move ahead with a $31 million freeway interchange project, which will open more than 200 acres along the river to commercial development.
Critics have accused the council of stalling on the interchange, but council members have said they need more information on flooding and other issues before proceeding. The 37 claims, filed Aug. 3, allege the city, county, water agency and state approved development and "otherwise acted negligently,'' allowing the flow of the river and its tributaries to increase.
Government agencies cannot be held liable for flooding under "a natural condition,'' Traktman said, but when changes such as development have been allowed, the agencies "can be held accountable.''
The Payran residents cited losses of furniture, appliances, pets and personal possessions, as well as mental anguish and thousands of dollars in cleanup costs. One man said he suffered a stroke in March as a result of flood stress.
Traktman said his clients' direct damages had not been tallied, and that claimants also were concerned about loss of property value. Several homeowners alleged the value of their property had been reduced by at least $50,000.
If the claims go to trial, Traktman said he believes he can show that Petaluma approved development knowing that it would contribute to flooding.
The city has until early October to respond to the claims, he said.
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