Residents urge Rohnert Park to revoke administrative permit for proposed plastic pyrolysis operation in Somo Village

Dozens of residents and parents packed the Rohnert Park City Council chamber and urged the council to revoke an administrative permit for Reynergy’s proposed plastic pyrolysis operation in Somo Village, saying the project poses health, safety and process concerns for neighborhood residents and nearby Credo High School.

Speakers from the community cited notices and enforcement actions from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District and the Sonoma County Department of Health and argued that Reynergy’s process—described in public comment as thermal or microwave-assisted pyrolysis—amounts to incineration rather than ordinary recycling. “Plastic pyrolysis in the past 50 years has not been successful,” said public commenter Stephanie Lennox, “and it is not a healthy land use for people to coexist with.”

The complaint at the council meeting centered on two sets of concerns. First, neighborhood speakers said the company mischaracterized its operation during the administrative-review process and did not give proper public notice to nearby residents. Multiple commenters referred to specific city zoning code sections (for example, comments cited municipal code sections 17.06.840 and 17.04) and urged the council to use its authority under code provisions for revocation of permits to call the project back for full review. Residents said the project was built or operated in part without required permits and noted Air District enforcement notices that flagged unauthorized construction and operation.

Second, speakers outlined public-health and safety concerns. Several parents and medical professionals warned of toxic air emissions associated with thermal treatment of plastics, including dioxins and other combustion byproducts, and said the operation’s proximity to a high school, homes and community farms risks long-term exposure for children and vulnerable adults. “This is a tragedy waiting to happen,” said Kirsten Vanise, a Credo parent, after reading Air District language notifying neighbors of proposed sources of pollution within the statutory radius of the school.

Company representatives and some Somo Village stakeholders have argued the process and technology are different from traditional incineration and that the firm is pursuing permits and clarification with regulators; at this meeting, Reynergy-affiliated supporters appeared at an earlier council meeting but did not dominate tonight’s public-comment record. Council members did not take formal action to revoke the permit at this meeting. Instead, council members heard repeated requests from residents to place the permit on a publicly noticed hearing agenda and to consider revocation on grounds cited in the municipal code.

Council members and staff acknowledged the volume and intensity of public concern and some asked staff about procedural options, transparency improvements and next steps for outreach. City staff and the city attorney have authority to advise the council on legal options for permit revocation and required procedural steps; residents urged the council to use those authorities promptly.

The meeting concluded with repeated calls from parents and community members for the council to schedule a formal public hearing and to review the administrative action that allowed Reynergy to move forward in Somo Village.

The city’s next formal opportunity to take legislative or quasi‑judicial action would require a noticed agenda item; residents requested that the council either place the Reynergy permit on a noticed agenda for possible revocation or refer it to the planning commission for full public review.