photo credit: Noah Abrams/KRCB
CONGAS supporters picket the corner of Highway 12 and Wright Road in Santa Rosa
on Tuesday, March 25.

There's a reason Sonoma County residents haven't seen new gas stations being built lately.

A local group called CONGAS, the Coalition Opposing New Gas Stations, say between 2021 and 2023, six cities and the County of Sonoma adopted rules removing gas stations as permitted uses in all zoning codes.

That's an effective ban on new gas stations.

CONGAS members were out in force Tuesday afternoon, holding signs for passing drivers on Highway 12 at Santa Rosa's western edge.

They're trying to put a stop to a new gas station being built near the busy intersection.

The site of the proposed gas station at 874 N. Wright Road, is set just a few yards back from Highway 12 and Fulton Road, noted Laurel, a nearby resident.

"My kids go to Wright Charter School, and the last thing we need is more traffic along this route," Laurel said.

Plans for what's named the Elm Tree Station have been in the works for almost two decades.

A 2013 Press Democrat article notes the city's Planning Commission ok'd a proposal, which included a market and apartment, that has failed to materialize since.

The still-undeveloped property is adjacent to Wright Road, and CONGAS said it's probably the last gas station proposal Sonoma County as a whole will see, having been grandfathered in thanks to the long running permit approvals.

According to CONGAS spokesperson Woody Hastings, a bigger issue is that it's also adjacent to the heavily-used Joe Rodota pedestrian trail.

"The property itself is a seasonal wetland," Hastings said. "We are standing on the Joe Rodota Trail...and in the midst of a climate crisis, and with all the toxic impacts from gas stations, local public health and community health impacts, building new gas stations is a bad idea."

Those opposed to the new gas station said they're planning to speak out against it at the April 10 meeting of the Santa Rosa Planning Commission, and CONGAS members said building more fossil fuel infrastructure is a bad idea at a time of worsening impacts of the climate crisis.

KRCB News has reached out to the property owners and developers but have not yet received a response.