Cotati City Council
Agenda Staff Report
Item type: REGULAR AGENDA (ACTION)
To: City Council
Subject: CITIZEN'S INITIATIVE MEASURE - ROUNDABOUT BAN
REPEAL
Date: July 9, 2024
Written by: Kevin Patterson, Deputy City Clerk
Recommendation
It is recommended the City Council adopt a resolution placing a proposed ordinance on the ballot for November 5, 2024, to repeal Chapter 11.11 of the City of Cotati Municipal Code, removing the existing ban on constructing roundabouts, traffic circles, and other similar traffic features in the City of Cotati
Background
In 2012, a majority of Cotati voters passed Measure U, which prohibited the construction of roundabouts, traffic circles, and other similar traffic features anywhere within the City of Cotati city limits. Upon certification of the results of the election, Chapter 11.11 was added to the City of Cotati Municipal Code, reading:
The city is prohibited from constructing or utilizing, and is prohibited from requiring any public or private person or entity to construct or utilize, the traffic features commonly known as “roundabouts,” “traffic circles,” or any similar traffic feature on or with respect to any public street or roadway anywhere within city limits. In no event shall the city’s standard or other street specifications or improvement requirements include any requirement requiring the construction and/or utilization of any roundabouts, traffic circles, and/or any similar feature. In no event shall the city carry out or approve a project to construct any roundabouts, traffic circles, and/or any similar features as a condition to the approval of any project or the issuance of any permit or permission.
Analysis/Discussion
This citizen’s initiative seeks to repeal Chapter 11.11 in its entirety. The City Clerk’s Office has certified that this initiative meets the formatting standards for initiative petitions as spelled out in California Elections Code Sections 9200-9226. According to the most recent Report of Registration (ROR) by the Sonoma County Registrar of Voters, there are 4,962 registered voters in the City of Cotati. According to California Elections Code Section 9215, the petition must be signed by not less than 10% of registered voters in order for the Council to take action. On July 2, the petition was submitted to the City Clerk’s Office, with a total of 718 signatures, exceeding the required 497. The petition was submitted to the Registrar of Voters on July 2 for signature verification. Verification of the signatures is expected to be available prior to the July 9 City Council meeting and will be added to the packet at that time.
Once signature verification is complete, CA Elections Code Section gives the Council three options:
1. Adopt the Ordinance, without alteration, at the regular meeting at which the certification of the petition is presented, or within 10 days after it is presented. However, because the existing language banning roundabouts was previously imposed by the voters, staff believe that this option is not available to the City Council.
2. Submit the ordinance, without alteration, to the voters pursuant to Section 1405.
3. Order a report pursuant to Section 9212 at the regular meeting at which the certification of the petition is presented. When the report is presented to the legislative boy, the legislative body shall either adopt the ordinance within 10 days or order an election pursuant to subdivision (b).
The deadline for governing bodies to submit measures to the Registrar for the November 5, 2024 ballot is Friday, August 9. If the City Council adopts the attached resolution, it will place this measure on the ballot for the voters on November 5, 2024.
The resolution also includes a City Council endorsement of the measure.
Financial Considerations
The Registrar of Voters has estimated the election costs for the November 2024 election at $2.00-$6.00 per voter, for a range of $11,413-$34,238. This is the cost for the entire election, including the three Council seats up for re-election. There may be incremental additional costs associated with the ballot measure, but it is not quantifiable.
There will also be incidental City Attorney costs for preparing an impartial analysis of the ballot measure. The combined total costs are estimated to be less than $5,000.
There are unquantifiable societal costs due to the current roundabout ban, as roundabouts reduce the severity of traffic incidents, result in fewer injuries and fatalities and generally improve the flow of traffic (reduced wait times).
Environmental Issues
Citizen’s initiatives are exempt from CEQA. Any potential future roundabout project will be subject to analysis under CEQA and related mitigations.