RESOLUTION NO. PC-2024-09
A RESOLUTION OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF COTATI
RECOMMENDING THAT THE CITY COUNCIL APPROVE THE ACCOMPANYING DRAFT ORDINANCE (1) AMENDING CHAPTER 17.28 (SPECIAL PURPOSE ZONE AND OVERLAY ZONE STANDARDS) OF TITLE 17 (LAND USE) OF THE COTATI
MUNICIPAL CODE TO ALLOW EXISTING PLANNED UNIT DEVELOPMENTS (PUDS) TO BE DEVELOPED, REDEVELOPED, OR MODIFIED CONSISTENT WITH THE UNDERLYING ZONING DISTRICT DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS, AND (2)
REZONING MULTIPLE PROPERTIES TO BE CONSISTENT WITH THEIR
GENERAL PLAN LAND USE DESIGNATIONS
WHEREAS, the Cotati City Council adopted the Cotati General Plan update on March 24, 2015, and as part of the update there were changes to the General Plan land use map that included changes to the land use designation of certain properties within the City of Cotati; and WHEREAS, on March 28, 2023, the City of Cotati adopted the City of Cotati 2023-2031 Housing Element update, which includes obligatory programs to facilitate the development of housing, streamline the permitting process, and remove governmental constraints to housing development. The Housing Element was certified by the State Department of Housing and Community Development on June 2, 2023; and
WHEREAS, on March 24, 2015, the City of Cotati certified the Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) for the Cotati General Plan update, and in conjunction with the 2023-2031 Housing Element update the City of Cotati approved an addendum to the FEIR on March 28, 2023 (SCH# 2013082037); and
WHEREAS, Government Code Section 65860 requires a City's zoning ordinance to be consistent with the General Plan. In the event a zoning ordinance becomes inconsistent with the General Plan by reason of amendment to the General Plan then the zoning ordinance shall be amended to be consistent with the General Plan pursuant to Government Code Section 65860(c); and
WHEREAS, in 2023, Assembly Bill 821 was passed and modified Government Code Section 65860 to state that if a zoning ordinance becomes inconsistent with the General Plan due to an amendment, and a local agency receives a development application that aligns with the General Plan but not the zoning ordinance, the agency must either amend the ordinance within 180 days or process the development application; and
WHEREAS, the purpose of this ordinance is to correct any inconsistencies that exist between the Cotati General Plan land use designations, the Cotati zoning map, and existing PUDs; and
WHEREAS, the Legislature of the State of California has in Government Code Sections 65302, 65560, and 65800 conferred upon local governments the authority to adopt regulations designed to promote the public health, safety, and general welfare of its citizenry; and WHEREAS, the purpose of Title 17 of the Cotati Municipal Code is to ensure that the General Plan may be implemented, and adoption of the changes to the Land Use Code and zoning map are necessary to implement the General Plan; and WHEREAS, on June 17, 2024, the Planning Commission of the City of Cotati held a duly noticed public hearing to review the proposed ordinance, at which time the Planning Commission received the staff report, reviewed a presentation from the Planning Division, and considered all oral and written comments submitted to the City regarding this ordinance prior to voting to recommend City Council approval of the ordinance; and WHEREAS, The Record of Proceedings ("Record") upon which the Planning Commission bases its decision includes, but is not limited to: (1) the State CEQA Guidelines (California Code of Regulations, Title 14, Division 6, Chapter 3); (2) the Cotati Municipal Code; (3) the City of Cotati General Plan and its related Environmental Impact Report (EIR); (4) the City of Cotati 2023-2031 Housing Element Update and its related Addendum to the City of Cotati General Plan EIR; (5) all staff reports, city files, records, and other documents prepared for and/or submitted to the Planning Commission; (6) all documentary and oral evidence received at the public hearings or submitted to the City during the comment period on the Project; and (7) all other matters of common knowledge to the Planning Commission, and the City, including, but not limited to, City, state and federal laws, policies, rules, regulations, reports, records, and projections related to development within the City and its surrounding areas.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Planning Commission of the City of Cotati does hereby find and resolve as follows:
1. Recitals.
The foregoing recitals are true and correct and are incorporated into the findings herein.
2. General Plan Conformity.
The amendment to Chapter 17.28 of the Cotati Municipal Code and the rezoning of certain parcels to be consistent with their General Plan land use designations, as set forth in this ordinance, is in the best interest of the City because it brings the zoning of parcels into consistency with the General Plan land use designations, as required by California Government Code Section 65860, and it is consistent with the Final EiR for the Cotati General Plan. The text amendment to the Cotati Municipal Code and zoning changes create certainty for the surrounding neighborhoods regarding development scenarios and provides clarity and predictability to project sponsors.
This ordinance will further establish the goals, policies, and implementation programs of the General Plan. Specifically, these amendments are consistent with and implement the following General Plan Policies, Programs, and Actions:
Action LU la: Update the Zoning Map to be consistent with the land use designations shown on Figure 7.1.
Policy H-2.2: Continue to require that residential development in the NU, NM, CG, and DSP zones meet the minimum density requirements identified in the Land Use Code, and report requests for reduced density on an annual basis.
Housing Element Program 2-2: Streamlining Housing Development - Stakeholders from the development community identified streamlining, fast tracking, and providing clear development standards and expectations as the primary mechanisms to reduce governmental constraints to residential development.
Housing Element Program 2-7: Support Development of proposed projects.
3. Compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act.
Pursuant to Public Resources Code Section 21083.3 and CEQA Guidelines Section 15183, projects that are consistent with the development density of existing zoning, community plan, or General Plan policies for which an EIR was certified shall be exempt from additional CEQA analysis, except as may be necessary to determine whether there are project specific significant effects that are peculiar to the project or site that would otherwise require additional CEQA review.
The Planning Commission recommends that this ordinance to allow development, redevelopment and modifications of PUDs in conformance with the underlying zoning and to rezone certain properties to be consistent with the land use designations set forth in the General Plan is, by its nature, consistent with the General Plan and its policies for which an EIR was certified. The zoning updates are consistent with the densities of the General Plan and there is no new information indicating that the impacts of the rezoning would be different or more severe than described in the FEIR for the General Plan that was certified on March 24, 2015, and its addendum analyzing the City of Cotati 2023-2031 Housing Element that was certified by the City Council on March 28, 2023 (SCH# 2013082037). Therefore, pursuant to Public Resources Code Section 21083.3 and CEQA Guidelines Section 15183, the proposed ordinance is exempt from further CEQA review.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Planning Commission of the City of Cotati forwards its recommendation to the City Council to (1) amend Chapter
17.28 of the Cotati Municipal Code to allow development, redevelopment and modifications of PUDs in conformance with the underlying zoning, and (2) to rezone certain properties within the City to be consistent with their land use designations set forth and depicted in Figure 7.1 (General Plan Land Use Map) of the Cotati General Plan by adopting the draft ordinance that accompanies this resolution as Exhibit A.
IT IS HEREBY CERTIFIED that the foregoing resolution was duly adopted at a regular meeting of the Planning Commission of the City of Cotati held on the June 17, 2024, by the following vote, to wit:
RESULT: ADOPTED (UNANIMOUS)
MOVER: John Savage, Planning Commissioner
SECONDER: Shelley Berman, Planning Commissioner
AYES: Moffet, Savage, Berman, Long
NAYS:
ABSENT: Gilardi
Approved: If m
acting Chair
caller incon
Attest:
Carla Duncan, Admin. Secretary
Exhibit A
ORDINANCE NO. 2024-
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COTATI (1) AMENDING CHAPTER 17.28 (SPECIAL PURPOSE ZONE AND OVERLAY ZONE STANDARDS) OF TITLE 17 (LAND USE) OF THE COTATI MUNICIPAL CODE TO
ALLOW EXISTING PLANNED UNIT DEVELOPMENTS (PUDS) TO BE DEVELOPED,
REDEVELOPED, OR MODIFIED CONSISTENT WITH THE UNDERLYING ZONING DISTRICT DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS, AND (2) REZONING MULTIPLE
PROPERTIES TO BE CONSISTENT WITH THEIR GENERAL PLAN LAND USE
DESIGNATIONS
WHEREAS, the Cotati City Council adopted the Cotati General Plan update on March 24, 2015, and as part of the update there were changes to the General Plan land use map that included changes to the land use designation of certain properties within the City of Cotati; and WHEREAS, on March 28, 2023, the City of Cotati adopted the City of Cotati 2023-2031 Housing Element update, which includes obligatory programs to facilitate the development of housing, streamline the permitting process, and remove governmental constraints to housing development. The Housing Element was certified by the State Department of Housing and Community Development on June 2, 2023; and
WHEREAS, on March 24, 2015, the City of Cotati certified the Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) for the Cotati General Plan update, and in conjunction with the 2023-2031 Housing Element update the City of Cotati approved an addendum to the FEIR on March 28, 2023 (SCH# 2013082037); and
WHEREAS, Government Code Section 65860 requires a City's zoning ordinance to be consistent with the General Plan. In the event a zoning ordinance becomes inconsistent with the General Plan by reason of amendment to the General Plan then the zoning ordinance shall be amended to be consistent with the General Plan pursuant to Government Code Section 65860(c); and
WHEREAS, in 2023, Assembly Bill 821 was passed and modified Government Code Section 65860 to state that if a zoning ordinance becomes inconsistent with the General Plan due to an amendment, and a local agency receives a development application that aligns with the General Plan but not the zoning ordinance, the agency must either amend the ordinance within 180 days or process the development application; and
WHEREAS, the purpose of this ordinance is to correct any inconsistencies that exist between the Cotati General Plan land use designations, the Cotati zoning map, and existing PUDs; and
WHEREAS, the Legislature of the State of California has in Government Code Sections 65302, 65560, and 65800 conferred upon local governments the authority to adopt regulations designed to promote the public health, safety, and general welfare of its citizenry; and WHEREAS, the purpose of Title 17 of the Cotati Municipal Code is to ensure that the General Plan may be implemented, and adoption of the changes to the Land Use Code and zoning map are necessary to implement the General Plan; and WHEREAS, on , 2024, the Planning Commission of the City of Cotati held a duly noticed public hearing to review the proposed ordinance. After reviewing and providing direction to staff, the Planning Commission voted to approve Resolution No. PC- 2024- recommending City Council adoption of this ordinance; and WHEREAS, on _ 2024, the City Council held a duly noticed public hearing regarding this ordinance at which time the City Council received the staff report, reviewed a presentation from the Planning Division, and considered all oral and written comments submitted to the City regarding this ordinance prior to voting to introduce the ordinance.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COTATI DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Recitals.
The foregoing recitals are true and correct and are incorporated into the findings herein.
SECTION 2. Record.
The Record of Proceedings ("Record") upon which the City Council bases its decision includes, but is not limited to: (1) the State CEQA Guidelines (California Code of Regulations, Title 14, Division 6, Chapter 3); (2) the Cotati Municipal Code; (3) the City of Cotati General Plan and its related Environmental Impact Report (EIR); (4) the City of Cotati 2023-2031 Housing Element Update and its related Addendum to the City of Cotati General Plan EIR; (5) all staff reports, city files, records, and other documents prepared for and/or submitted to the City Council; (6) all documentary and oral evidence received at the public hearings or submitted to the City during the comment period on the Project; and (7) all other matters of common knowledge to the City Council, and the City, including, but not limited to, City, state and federal laws, policies, rules, regulations, reports, records, and projections related to development within the City and its surrounding areas.
SECTION 3. Amendment to the Cotati Municipal Code.
A new section, Section 17.28.070, is hereby added to Chapter 17.28 (Special Purpose Zone and Overlay Zone Standards) of the Cotati Municipal Code as follows:
17.28.070 Planned Unit Developments (PUDs)
A. Purpose. Prior to 2005, the City of Cotati's Land Use Code contained provisions that allowed for the development of Planned Unit Development (PUD) zoning districts. The purpose of the PUD zoning district was to allow inclusion within its boundaries of a mixture of uses, building intensity, or design characteristics which would not normally be permitted within a standard zoning district.
A PUD is considered an overlay to the underlying primary zoning district.
B. Applicability. New PUD districts are not permitted. All proposed developments must conform to the development
standards of the applicable zoning district as set forth in Title 17 of the Cotati Municipal Code.
C. Development Standards. The subdivision, site planning, building, development, and land uses of an existing PUD shall comply with the provisions of the ordinance that allowed for the establishment of the PUD. Alternatively, subdivision, site planning, building, development, and new land uses may comply with the development and use criteria of the current underlying primary zoning district. Rezoning is not required to subdivide, develop, redevelop, or modify an existing PUD in conformance with the development and use criteria of the underlying primary zoning district.
SECTION 4. Rezoning of certain parcels and amendments to the City of Cotati Zoning Map.
Certain parcels within the City of Cotati are hereby rezoned to be consistent with the land use designations set forth and depicted in Figure 7.1 (General Plan Land Use Map) of the Cotati General Plan, as follows:
APN Address Zone Change
1 144-100-001 8028 Gravenstein Hwy RR to RVL
2 144-100-002 8112 Gravenstein Hwy RR to RVL
144-110-020 2501 Gilman Ranch Rd RR1 to RVL
4 144-110-021 2101 Gilman Ranch Rd RR1 to RVL
5 144-110-022 1901 Gilman Ranch Rd RR1 to RVL
6 144-110-023 780 W Cotati Ave RR1 to RVL
7 144-110-024 782 W Cotati Ave RR1 to RVL
144-130-005 675 W Cotati Ave RR to RVL
9 144-130-013 645 W Cotati Ave RR to RVL
10 144-130-015 635 W Cotati Ave RR to RVL
11 144-130-020 693 W Cotati Ave RR to RVL
12 144-130-021 697 W Cotati Ave RR to RVL
APN Address Zone Change
13 144-130-022 683 W Cotati Ave RR to RVL
14 144-200-001 255 W Cotati Ave NL to NM
15 144-241-007 250/252 W Cotati Ave NM to NL
16 144-241-036 8113 El Rancho Dr NM to NL
17 144-241-037 8115 El Rancho Dr NM to NL
18 144-281-018 275 E Cotati Ave CE to NM
19 144-281-024 325 E Cotati Ave CE to NM
20 144-281-031 363-365 E Cotati Ave CE to NM
21 144-281-032 359-361 E Cotati Ave CE to NM
22 144-281-033 355-357 E Cotati Ave CE to NM
23 144-281-034 351-353 E Cotati Ave CE to NM
24 144-281-035 347-349 E Cotati Ave CE to NM
25 144-302-022 768 E Cotati Ave NM to NU
26 144-302-050 766 E Cotati Ave NM to NU
27 144-360-004 94 Charles St NM to NL
28 144-360-005 82 Charles St NM to NL
29 144-360-006 64 Charles St NM to NL
30 144-360-018 72/74 Charles St NM to NL
31 144-440-001 8622/8624 Cypress Ave RVL to NL
32 144-570-002 475 E Cotati Ave CE to NM
33 144-570-003 475 E Cotati #A CE to NM
34 144-570-004 475 E Cotati #B CE to NM
35 144-570-005 475 E Cotati #C CE to NM
36 144-570-006 475 E Cotati #D CE to NM
37 144-570-007 475 E Cotati #E CE to NM
38 144-570-008 475 E Cotati #F CE to NM
39 144-570-009 475 E Cotati #G CE to NM
40 144-570-010 475 E Cotati #H CE to NM
41 144-570-011 475 E Cotati #l CE to NM
42 144-720-001 1 Bay Tree Ct CE to NM
43 144-720-002 2 Bay Tree Ct CE to NM
44 144-720-003 3 Bay Tree Ct CE to NM
45 144-720-004 4 Bay Tree Ct CE to NM
46 144-720-005 5 Bay Tree Ct CE to NM
47 144-720-006 6 Bay Tree Ct CE to NM
48 144-720-007 7 Bay Tree Ct CE to NM
49 144-720-008 8 Bay Tree Ct CE to NM
50 144-720-009 9 Bay Tree Ct CE to NM
51 144-720-010 10 Bay Tree Ct CE to NM
52 144-720-011 11 Bay Tree Ct CE to NM
53 144-720-012 12 Bay Tree Ct CE to NM
54 144-720-013 13 Bay Tree Ct CE to NM
APN Address Zone Change
55 144-720-014 14 Bay Tree Ct CE to NM
56 144-720-015 15 Bay Tree Ct CE to NM
57 144-720-016 16 Bay Tree Ct CE to NM
58 144-720-017 17 Bay Tree Ct CE to NM
59 144-720-018 18 Bay Tree Ct CE to NM
60 144-720-019 19 Bay Tree Ct CE to NM
61 144-720-020 20 Bay Tree Ct CE to NM
62 144-720-021 21 Bay Tree Ct CE to NM
63 144-720-022 22 Bay Tree Ct CE to NM
64 144-720-023 23 Bay Tree Ct CE to NM
65 144-720-024 24 Bay Tree Ct CE to NM
66 144-720-025 25 Bay Tree Ct CE to NM
67 144-720-026 0 Bay Tree Ct CE to NM
68 144-720-031 3 Greenleaf Ln CE to NM
69 144-720-032 7 Greenleaf Ln CE to NM
70 144-720-033 9 Greenleaf Ln CE to NM
71 144-720-034 11 Greenleaf Ln CE to NM
72 144-720-035 13 Greenleaf Ln CE to NM
73 144-720-036 15 Greenleaf Ln CE to NM
74 144-720-037 17 Greenleaf Ln CE to NM
75 144-720-038 19 Greenleaf Ln CE to NM
76 144-720-039 21 Greenleaf Ln CE to NM
77 144-720-042 14 Dyquisto Way CE to NM
78 144-720-043 16 Dyquisto Way CE to NM
79 144-720-044 18 Dyquisto Way CE to NM
80 144-720-045 20 Dyquisto Way CE to NM
81 144-720-046 22 Dyquisto Way CE to NM
82 144-720-047 24 Dyquisto Way CE to NM
83 144-720-048 26 Dyquisto Way CE to NM
84 144-720-049 25 Dyquisto Way CE to NM
85 144-720-050 21 Dyquisto Way CE to NM
86 144-720-051 19 Dyquisto Way CE to NM
87 144-720-052 17 Dyquisto Way CE to NM
88 144-720-053 15 Dyquisto Way CE to NM
89 144-720-058 13 Dyquisto Way CE to NM
90 144-720-059 11 Dyquisto Way CE to NM
91 144-720-060 12 Dyquisto Way CE to NM
SECTION 5. General Plan Conformity.
The amendment to Chapter 17.28 of the Cotati Municipal Code and the rezoning of certain parcels to be consistent with their General Plan land use designations, as set forth in this ordinance, is in the best interest of the City because it brings the zoning of parcels into consistency with the General Plan Land Use Designations, as required by California Government Code Section 65860, and it is consistent with the Final EIR for the Cotati General Plan. The text amendment to the Cotati Municipal Code and zone changes create certainty for the surrounding neighborhoods regarding development scenarios and provides clarity and predictability to project sponsors.
This ordinance will further establish the goals, policies, and implementation programs of the General Plan. Specifically, these amendments are consistent with and implement the following General Plan Policies, Programs, and Actions:
Action LU la: Update the Zoning Map to be consistent with the land use designations shown on Figure 7.1.
Policy H-2.2: Continue to require that residential development in the NU, NM, CG, and DSP zones meet the minimum density requirements identified in the Land Use Code, and report requests for reduced density on an annual basis.
Housing Element Program 2-2: Streamlining Housing Development - Stakeholders from the development community identified streamlining, fast tracking, and providing clear development standards and expectations as the primary mechanisms to reduce governmental constraints to residential development.
Housing Element Program 2-7: Support Development of proposed projects.
SECTION 6. Compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
Pursuant to Public Resources Code Section 21083.3 and CEQA Guidelines Section 15183, projects that are consistent with the development density of existing zoning, community plan, or General Plan policies for which an EIR was certified shall be exempt from additional CEQA analysis, except as may be necessary to determine whether there are project specific significant effects that are peculiar to the project or site that would otherwise require additional CEQA review.
The City Council finds that this ordinance to amend Chapter 17.28 of the Cotati Municipal Code to allow development, redevelopment and modifications of PUDs in conformance with the underlying zoning and to rezone certain properties to be consistent with the land use designations set forth in the General Plan is, by its nature, consistent with the General Plan and its policies for which an EIR was certified. The zoning updates are consistent with the densities of the General Plan and there is no new information indicating that the impacts of the rezoning would be different or more severe than described in the FEIR for the General Plan that was certified on March 24, 2015, and its addendum analyzing the City of Cotati 2023-2031 Housing Element that was certified by the City Council on March 28, 2023 (SCH# 2013082037). Therefore, pursuant to Public Resources Code Section 21083.3 and CEQA Guidelines Section 15183, the proposed ordinance is exempt from further CEQA review.
SECTION 7: Construction and Severability.
It is the intent of the City Council of the City of Cotati to supplement applicable state and federal law and not to duplicate or contradict such law, and this ordinance shall be construed consistently with that intent. If any section, subsection, subdivision, paragraph, sentence, clause or phrase of this ordinance, or its application to any person or circumstance, is for any reason held to be invalid or unenforceable, such invalidity or unenforceability shall not affect the validity or enforceability of the remaining sections, subsections, subdivisions, paragraphs, sentences, clauses or phrases of this ordinance, or its application to any other person or circumstance. The City Council of the City of Cotati hereby declares that it would have adopted each section, subsection, subdivision, paragraph, sentence, clause or phrase hereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more other sections, subsections, subdivisions, paragraphs, sentences, clauses or phrases hereof be declared invalid or unenforceable.
SECTION 8: Effective Date.
This ordinance shall take effect thirty (30) days after its adoption pursuant to the California Government Code.
SECTION 9: Publication.
The city clerk shall cause this ordinance to be published and/or posted as required in Section 36933 of the California Government Code.
IT IS HEREBY CERTIFIED that the foregoing ordinance was introduced at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Cotati held on _, 2024, by the following vote, to wit:
RESULT:
MOVER:
SECONDER:
AYES:
IT IS HEREBY CERTIFIED that the foregoing ordinance was duly adopted at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Cotati held on - 2024, by the following vote, to wit:
RESULT:
MOVER:
SECONDER:
AYES:
Approved:
Mayor
Attest:
Kevin Patterson, Deputy City Clerk
Approved as to form:
City Attorney
This document is a true and correct copy of Ordinance Number ### and has been published or posted pursuant to law. California Government Code § 40806