Cotati City Council
Agenda Staff Report
Item type: CONSENT CALENDAR (ACTION)
To: City Council
Subject: Support for Mayors Monarch Butterfly Pledge
Date: April 25, 2023
Written by: Damien O'Bid, City Manager
Recommendation
It is recommended that the City Council adopt a motion authorizing the Mayor to submit a pledge to take specified actions this year to support the Monarch Butterfly.
Background
The monarch butterfly is an iconic species whose eastern populations have declined by 90% and western populations by 99% in recent years. Through the National Wildlife Federation's Mayors' Monarch Pledge, U.S. cities, municipalities, and other communities can commit to create habitat for the monarch butterfly and pollinators, and to educate residents about how they can make a difference at home and in their community. In 2022, Mayor Landman pledged the city to take actions to provide Monarch Butterfly habitat.
Analysis/Discussion
To accomplish the pledge this year, staff must consider pollinators and milkweed whenever any new landscaping on city properties is going on. Additionally, look for opportunities to include these plants in development landscape plans. For goal 3, we would meet this through the planting planned in Pocket Park.
Mayors Goals
1. Engage with developers, planners, and landscape architects to identify opportunities to create monarch habitat.
2. Engage with city parks and recreation, public works, sustainability, and other relevant staff to identify opportunities to revise and maintain mowing programs and milkweed / native nectar plant planting programs.
3. Add or maintain native milkweed and nectar producing plants in public community gardens.
4. Direct city property managers to consider the use of native milkweed and nectar plants at city properties, where appropriate.
The Mayor is required to submit the pledge before April 30 and submit a report at the end of the year documenting how the goals were met.
Financial Considerations
Assuming the plantings are incorporated into other planned projects, the cost and staff time will be minimal.
Environmental Issues
This action is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) because it is not a project which has a potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment, pursuant to CEQA Guideline section 15378.
Attachments:
Monarch Butterfly Sample Survey (PDF)