Cotati City Council
Agenda Staff Report
Item type: CONSENT CALENDAR (ACTION)
To: City Council
Subject: CONSIDERATION AND ADOPTION OF RESOLUTION
APPROVING THE 2025 CITY OF COTATI CLIMATE READY
COTATI FAIR
Date: January 14, 2025
Written by: Ashley Wilson, Recreation Manager
Recommendation
It is recommended that the City Council adopt a resolution approving the 2025 City of Cotati Climate Ready Cotati Fair.
Background
The City of Cotati has a goal to promote sustainability within the community, as well as lead by example in reducing resource use and environmental impact. One way that the City’s Community Development Department plans to educate and connect with residents, businesses, and organizations on climate readiness and sustainability is by hosting a new Climate Ready Cotati Fair. The plan is to make this an annual event after this initial year, pending its suspected overall success. The event is proposed to take place on Saturday, March 29, 2025, at the Cotati Train Depot property and connected City owned parking lot.
Analysis/Discussion
Below is a summary of the event. The request includes the following: 1) exclusive use of the Cotati Train Depot and surrounding City owned parking lot; 2) closure of public parking spaces; 3) food truck and other vendor sales; 4) live, amplified entertainment.
Event Attendance Dates/Times
Climate Ready Cotati 200 Saturday, March 29th (10:00am-2:00pm) California Vehicle Code Section 21101 (e) authorizes the temporary closing of any street for celebrations, parades, local events and other purposes when, in the opinion of local authorities having jurisdiction, the closing is necessary for the safety and protection of persons who are to use that portion of the street during the temporary closing. In this instance, the public parking spaces would be heavily used for food trucks, vendor logistics, porta-potties, and equipment, so closure would be in the best interest of public safety. The Police Department will notify the appropriate public and emergency response agencies of the closures.
The Climate Ready Cotati Fair is a new free family friendly event in Cotati. The goal is to educate, empower, and activate the community to reduce resource use and environmental impact through personal and household actions, increase resilience to the impacts of natural disasters and extreme weather events, and connect with nature. The event will begin at 10:00 am with over 20 agencies/businesses in the Cotati train depot and surround patio area providing goods, services, and information to attendees. Exclusive use of the Cotati Train Depot and surrounding City owned parking spaces from 8:00am through 4:00pm to allow for set-up, breakdown, and clean-up, is requested. Further event details can be found in the attached event summary.
Financial Considerations
This event will be widely marketed and could increase the number of visitors to the City. The event will provide increased opportunities to promote economic development. Financial considerations for the City would be expenditures of about $20,300 on staff costs and supplies which are currently accommodated in the FY 24-25 budget.
Staff Time - 121 hours, estimated cost $19,800, made up of the following:
• Community Development Staff prep work & day of event – 74 hours / $14,500 • Recreation Staff prep work & day of event – 40 hours / $3,900 • Public Works Staff closing and reopening parking lot –3 hours / $600 • Police Department Staff day of event – 4 hours / $800 Supplies – $500
• City branded tablecloth
• Signage
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.