Cotati City Council
June 24, 2025

AGENDA

JOINT MEETING OF THE COTATI CITY COUNCIL AND THE SUCCESSOR AGENCY TO THE

FORMER COTATI COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY
City Council Chamber, City Hall 201 W. Sierra Avenue
Tuesday, June 24, 2025
6:00 PM REGULAR MEETING
The Cotati City Council welcomes you to its meetings that are generally scheduled for the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of every month. Your interest and participation are encouraged and appreciated.

City Council meeting agendas, minutes and recordings are posted on the City’s Meeting Portal at www.cotaticity.gov. For questions about the agenda or to receive the City Council agenda by e-mail, contact the Deputy City Clerk at [email protected] or 707-665-3622.

Cotati City Council Meetings will be conducted in person in the Council Chamber. To guarantee your ability to participate, you must attend the meeting in person. As a courtesy to the public, the City allows citizens the opportunity to view and offer public comments virtually through Zoom Online video conferencing platform. Technical difficulties may occur that make the Zoom platform unavailable. If Zoom is unavailable, the meeting will continue. Participants considering using Zoom should consider attending in person, if they desire to ensure their ability to view the meeting and offer public comments.

Subject to the above disclaimer, Zoom Online video conferencing is available to watch or listen in the following ways:

1. Using the following online livestream meeting portal link: https://www.youtube.com/@cityofcotati7280/streams

2. Cable T.V. Broadcast, local channel 28
Members of the public can participate in the meeting online by clicking the link below:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84767317858?pwd=1GUZmBxIyL1JwMR0IkNZsdWkYumvyj.1 If you do not have the ability to join online, but would like to participate in the meeting, you can call into the meeting using your telephone, by dialing one of the following numbers and entering the meeting credentials:

Webinar ID: 847 6731 7858 Passcode: 631625
+1 (669) 900-6833 or +1 (346) 248-7799 or +1 (253) 215-8782 or +1 (301) 715-8592 or +1 (312) 626-6799 or +1 (929) 436-2866 Attendees may join the meeting any time after 5:45pm. Attendees will be muted until they are called upon for Public Comment. To make a public comment, use the “raise hand” icon on your smart device or desktop computer, or dial *9 if you are using just your telephone. Please listen carefully for the Mayor or City Clerk to address you by name (or phone number) and for the audible Zoom notification that you have been unmuted. Once you begin your public comment, your three minutes will begin.

If you would prefer to submit your public comment in writing, please email your comments to [email protected]. If you are commenting on a specific agenda item or items, please state the agenda item number(s) in the subject line of the email. All comments received via email will be provided to the City Council or Planning Commission in writing and included as part of the record of the meeting.

Notice is hereby given that Council may discuss and/or take action on any or all of the items listed on this agenda.

Notice is hereby given that after Public Comment on Non-Action Agenda Items, the Council will recite the Land Acknowledgement and Pledge of Allegiance, per Resolution 2025-14, City Council Policy 2025-02.

Any writings or documents provided to a majority of the Cotati City Council regarding any item on this agenda will be made available for inspection in the online Meeting Portal at www.cotaticity.gov and in the City Manager’s office located at 201 West Sierra Avenue, Cotati, California, during the City’s posted business hours.

Disabled Accommodation: Upon request, this agenda will be made available in appropriate formats to persons with disabilities as required by Section 202 of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Any person with a disability who requires a modification or accommodation in order to participate in a meeting should contact the Deputy City Clerk at (707) 665-3622 at least 48 hours in advance of the meeting.

Cotati City Council Packet June 24, 2025
Rules of Decorum: To avoid distraction, the following meeting etiquette shall be enforced. • Silence electronic devices, including cell phones.
• Audience members are advised to keep conversations to a minimum or conduct them outside the building. • Photographs or video recordings using tri-pods or other means that would be distracting are to be taken only from the designated media area. • The Presiding Officer shall request that the audience withhold expressions of support or opposition for speakers in the interest of time and to encourage the full expression of differing views. (City Council Policy 2025-02 III.B.1.) Public Comment (Action items): Public comment on any one agenda item where the City Council will be taking some action is limited to no more than three (3) minutes per person. Action items are typically designated on the agenda title.

Public Comment (Non-Action items): Public comment on non- action agenda items shall be received during the designated portion of the agenda.

Comments shall be limited to no more than three (3) minutes for all non-action agenda items.

Waiver Warning: If you challenge decisions/direction of the City Council of the City of Cotati in court, you may be limited to raising only those issues you or someone else raised at public hearing(s) described in this agenda, or in written correspondence delivered to the City of Cotati at, or prior to, the public hearing(s).

City Council meetings are conducted according to City Council Policy 2025-02: City Council Rules. This policy available for inspection in the online Meeting Portal at www.cotaticity.gov and in the City Manager’s office located at 201 West Sierra Avenue, Cotati, California, during the City’s posted business hours.

Those wishing to address the Council are asked to complete a speaker card and give it to the City Clerk. When you are called, step to the podium and state your name and address for the record. Persons wishing to address the Council are not required to identify themselves or complete a speaker card; (Gov’t. Code § 54953.3); however, this information assists the Mayor by ensuring that all persons wishing to address the Council are recognized and it assists the City Clerk in preparing the City Council meeting minutes.

1. CALL TO ORDER - ROLL CALL

2. PUBLIC COMMENT ON NON-ACTION AGENDA ITEMS

3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES AND NOTICE OF WAIVING OF READING OF ALL

RESOLUTIONS AND ORDINANCES INTRODUCED AND/OR ADOPTED UNDER THIS

AGENDA (ACTION)
A. COTATI CITY COUNCIL – REGULAR MEETING – JUNE 10, 2025

4. ANNOUNCEMENTS
A. Meeting Orientation for New Attendees/Viewers. In conformance with the Brown Act and the adopted City Council Rules, the meeting agenda includes items labeled as Action Items, where the City Council may consider the item. If the City Council considers the item, citizens will be afforded the opportunity to provide comments relevant to the item being discussed. The meeting agenda also includes a Citizens Business item, which is the designated place on the agenda where citizens have the right to say whatever they wish. However, the Brown Act prohibits the City Council from taking action or considering any item that is not on this agenda, to ensure that other members of the community who wish to provide comment are notified in advance through a properly noticed meeting agenda.

B. Measure S supports police services, a variety of recreation programs for all ages, and the maintenance of our streets, parks, and public buildings. See details on the web at cotaticity.gov.

C. Citizens interested in receiving City of Cotati community alerts via text or email are encouraged to enroll with CivicReady, by signing up on the City’s website, www.cotaticity.gov, under the “How do I” link at the top of the homepage.

D. Have you noticed a street light out, pothole, or issues in a City Park? We want to keep Cotati beautiful and running smoothly, so please let us know what needs to be fixed, by going to the City Cotati City Council Packet June 24, 2025
website under “How do I” and “Report a Service Request.” E. Like always, we love to hear from you, so please feel free to contact the City at 707-792-4600 or [email protected]. If you have a non-emergency issue after normal business hours, you can contact us at 707-792-4611 and of course if you have an emergency, please contact 9-1-1. Continue to look for updates on the City's website and social media channels available on Facebook, Instagram, and CivicReady.

5. PRESENTATIONS
A. PRESENTATION BY RECOLOGY SONOMA MARIN
It is recommended that the City Council receive a presentation from Recology. No action will be taken.

6. AGENDA REVIEW

7. CITIZEN BUSINESS AND PUBLIC COMMENT FOR CONSENT CALENDAR ITEMS Any member of the public wishing to speak to the Council on any item(s) listed on the Consent Calendar or any matter(s) not listed on the agenda that are within the subject matter jurisdiction of the Council may do so at this time. Pursuant to the Brown Act, the Council is not allowed to consider issues or take action on any item not listed on the agenda. Pursuant to City Council Policy 2025-02, comments of any member of the public are normally restricted to a total of three (3) minutes in length per person for matters not on the agenda and a total of three (3) minutes per person in length for any and all items on the Consent Calendar. The Mayor may extend the time limit for a reasonable time where a disability accommodation has been requested. To facilitate public comment, the timer indicator lights will display yellow when there are thirty (30) seconds remaining, and red when time has expired.

8. CONSENT CALENDAR (ACTION)
A. ADOPTION OF A RESOLUTION APPROVING FISCAL YEAR 25/26 SB1 LIST OF

PROJECTS AS REQUIRED BY THE ROAD REPAIR AND ACCOUNTABILITY ACT OF 2017
It is recommended the City Council of the City of Cotati adopt a resolution approving a list of projects for Fiscal Year 2025-26 funded by SB 1: the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017.

B. SECOND READING OF AN ORDINANCE AMENDING TITLE 17 (LAND USE) OF

THE COTATI MUNICIPAL CODE TO COMBINE THE

COMMERCIAL/INDUSTRIAL AND GENERAL INDUSTRIAL ZONING DISTRICTS

INTO A SINGLE ZONING DISTRICT
It is recommended that the City Council adopt an Ordinance amending Title 17 (Land Use) of the Cotati Municipal Code to combine the Commercial/Industrial and General Industrial Zoning Districts into a single zoning district, in accordance with the City’s General Plan.

C. APPROVAL OF ANNUAL STORM WATER SUPPORT SERVICES AGREEMENT It is recommended the City of Cotati City Council approve by motion a professional services agreement with Stone Creek Environmental for Storm Water Support Services D. APPROVAL OF 2025 NIXON FAMILY CELEBRATION OF LIFE EVENT IN LA

PLAZA PARK
It is recommended that the City Council adopt a resolution approving the 2025 Nixon Family Celebration of Life event in La Plaza Park; authorizing the sales of beer and wine to benefit a nonprofit organization.

9. DIRECTION ON FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS
Cotati City Council Packet June 24, 2025

10. REGULAR AGENDA (ACTION)
A. CITY COUNCIL RULES UPDATE
It is recommended that the City Council approve a resolution updating the City Council Rules to consolidate the agenda and add additional public comment opportunities.

11. CITY MANAGER'S REPORT

12. CITY COUNCIL MEMBER REPORTS

13. INFORMATION RECEIVED AFTER THE AGENDA WAS POSTED

14. ADJOURNMENT
Certification of Posting of the Notice: I declare under penalty of perjury that I am employed by the City of Cotati and that I posted this notice on the City’s website, bulletin boards of City Hall, Veterans’ Memorial Building and the SMART Train Depot, on or before June 20, 2025. /s/ Kevin Patterson, Deputy City Clerk

MINUTES

JOINT MEETING OF THE COTATI CITY COUNCIL AND THE SUCCESSOR AGENCY TO THE

FORMER COTATI COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY
City Council Chamber, City Hall 201 W. Sierra Avenue
Tuesday, June 10, 2025
6:00 PM REGULAR MEETING

1. CALL TO ORDER - ROLL CALL
Mayor Ford called the meeting to order at 6:00pm.

Attendee Name Title Status
Ben Ford Mayor Present
Sylvia Lemus Vice Mayor Present
Susan Harvey Councilmember Present
Laura Sparks Councilmember Present
John Savage Councilmember Present
Staff Present: City Manager Damien O’Bid, City Attorney John Bakker, Deputy City Clerk Kevin Patterson, Director of Administrative Services Angela Courter, Director of Public Works/City Engineer Craig Scott, Police Chief Chris Simmons, Associate Planner Autumn Buss, Recreation Manager Ashley Wilson

2. PUBLIC COMMENT ON NON-ACTION AGENA ITEMS
Public Comment:

George Barich of Cotati
Laurie Alderman of Cotati

3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES AND NOTICE OF WAIVING OF READING OF ALL

RESOLUTIONS AND ORDINANCES INTRODUCED AND/OR ADOPTED UNDER THIS

AGENDA (ACTION)
A. COTATI CITY COUNCIL – SPECIAL MEETING – APR 15, 2025 B. COTATI CITY COUNCIL – REGULAR MEETING – MAY 13, 2025 C. COTATI CITY COUNCIL – REGULAR MEETING – MAY 27, 2025 5 of 99
Cotati City Council Minutes June 10, 2025
RESULT: Approve [5 TO 0]
MOVER: Susan Harvey, Councilmember
SECONDER: Laura Sparks, Councilmember
AYES: Ford, Lemus, Harvey, Sparks, Savage
NAYS: None

5. ANNOUNCEMENTS
A. Meeting Orientation for New Attendees/Viewers. In conformance with the Brown Act and the adopted City Council Rules, the meeting agenda includes items labeled as Action Items, where the City Council may consider the item. If the City Council considers the item, citizens will be afforded the opportunity to provide comments relevant to the item being discussed. The meeting agenda also includes a Citizens Business item, which is the designated place on the agenda where citizens have the right to say whatever they wish. However, the Brown Act prohibits the City Council from taking action or considering any item that is not on this agenda, to ensure that other members of the community who wish to provide comment are notified in advance through a properly noticed meeting agenda.

B. Measure S supports police services, a variety of recreation programs for all ages, and the maintenance of our streets, parks, and public buildings. See details on the web at cotaticity.gov.

C. Citizens interested in receiving City of Cotati community alerts via text or email are encouraged to enroll with CivicReady, by signing up on the City’s website, www.cotaticity.gov, under the “How do I” link at the top of the homepage.

D. Have you noticed a street light out, pothole, or issues in a City Park? We want to keep Cotati beautiful and running smoothly, so please let us know what needs to be fixed, by going to the City website under “How do I” and “Report a Service Request.” E. Like always, we love to hear from you, so please feel free to contact the City at 707-792-4600 or [email protected]. If you have a non-emergency issue after normal business hours, you can contact us at 707-792-4611 and of course if you have an emergency, please contact 9-1-1. Continue to look for updates on the City's website and social media channels available on Facebook, Instagram, and CivicReady.

After repeated interruptions from a member of the audience, Mayor Ford called a brief recess. Upon return, the Mayor opened this non-action item for public comment.

Public Comment:

George Barich of Cotati
Laurie Alderman of Cotati

6. PROCLAMATIONS
A. PROCLAMATION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COTATI

CELEBRATING JUNETEENTH
No public comment. 6 of 99
Cotati City Council Minutes June 10, 2025
Mayor Ben Ford read the proclamation. Proclamation was accepted by Tina Rogers, and Kerbrina Boyd of the Sonoma State Black Faculty and Staff Association.

7. AGENDA REVIEW

8. CITIZEN BUSINESS AND PUBLIC COMMENT FOR CONSENT CALENDAR ITEMS Any member of the public wishing to speak to the Council on any item(s) listed on the Consent Calendar or any matter(s) not listed on the agenda that are within the subject matter jurisdiction of the Council may do so at this time. Pursuant to the Brown Act, the Council is not allowed to consider issues or take action on any item not listed on the agenda. Pursuant to City Council Policy 2023-01, comments of any member of the public are normally restricted to a total of three (3) minutes in length per person for matters not on the agenda and a total of three (3) minutes per person in length for any and all items on the Consent Calendar. The Mayor may extend the time limit for a reasonable time where a disability accommodation has been requested. To facilitate public comment, the timer indicator lights will display yellow when there are 30 seconds remaining, and red when time has expired.

Public Comment:

Laurie Alderman of Cotati
Michael Ceremello

9. CONSENT CALENDAR (ACTION)
Before Council voted to approve the consent calendar, Councilmember Savage announced that he would recuse himself from the vote on item 8E, as he resides within the Santero LLAD. A separate vote was taken for item 8E.

A. ADOPTION OF THE CITY-WIDE SALARY SCHEDULE FOR FISCAL YEAR 2025/26 B. FINANCIAL POLICIES UPDATE
C. ADOPTION OF RESOLUTION APPROVING ANNUAL APPROPRIATIONS (GANN) LIMIT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2025/26
D. ADOPTION OF A RESOLUTION APPROVING A BUDGET AMENDMENT AND CONTRACT AMENDMENT FOR THE 2025 STREET IMPROVEMENT PROJECT E. ADOPTION OF RESOLUTION OF INTENT TO APPROVE THE PRELIMINARY

ENGINEER'S REPORT FOR THE LANDSCAPE AND LIGHTING ASSESSMENT

DISTRICT, LEVY AND COLLECT ANNUAL ASSESSMENTS, AND SET THE TIME

AND DATE OF THE PUBLIC HEARING FOR THE COTATI LANDSCAPING AND LIGHTING ASSESSMENT DISTRICT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2025/26
F. SECOND READING OF A DRAFT ORDINANCE TO AMEND CHAPTERS 17.22, 17.30,

17.42, AND 17.62 OF THE COTATI MUNICIPAL CODE
RESULT: Approve [5 TO 0] Items A-D, F
MOVER: Susan Harvey, Councilmember
SECONDER: Laura Sparks, Councilmember
AYES: Ford, Lemus, Harvey, Sparks, Savage
NAYS: None
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Cotati City Council Minutes June 10, 2025
RESULT: Approve [4 TO 0] Item E
MOVER: Susan Harvey, Councilmember
SECONDER: Laura Sparks, Councilmember
AYES: Ford, Lemus, Harvey, Sparks
NAYS: None
RECUSED: Savage

10. DIRECTION OF FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS
Vice Mayor Lemus requested a future agenda item to discuss and provide direction to Cotati’s voting delegate on the Sonoma Clean Power Board, with regards to Sonoma Clean Power’s potential move to expand into Lake County, prior to the August 7 meeting date.

11. PUBLIC HEARINGS (ACTION)
A. PUBLIC HEARING AND FIRST READING OF AN ORDINANCE AMENDING TITLE 17 (LAND USE) OF THE COTATI MUNICIPAL CODE TO COMBINE THE

COMMERCIAL/INDUSTRIAL AND GENERAL INDUSTRIAL ZONING DISTRICTS

INTO A SINGLE ZONING DISTRICT
Presentation by Associate Planner Autumn Buss.

Councilmembers comment.

No public comment.

RESULT: Approve [5 TO 0]
MOVER: Susan Harvey, Councilmember
SECONDER: John Savage, Councilmember
AYES: Ford, Lemus, Harvey, Sparks, Savage
NAYS: None

12. REGULAR AGENDA (ACTION)
A. APPROVAL OF 2025 RUNNING FENCE RUNNING EVENT AND FESTIVAL IN LA

PLAZA PARK
Presentation by Recreation Manager Ashley Wilson and John Rose of Empire Runners.

Councilmembers comment.

Public Comment:

Laurie Alderman of Cotati
Council approved the event, adding a bullet point to the conditions of approval under Road Closure (14B), stating “Street will be re-opened as soon as is safely possible.” 8 of 99 Cotati City Council Minutes June 10, 2025
RESULT: Adopt [5 TO 0]
MOVER: Sylvia Lemus, Vice Mayor
SECONDER: Laura Sparks, Councilmember
AYES: Ford, Lemus, Harvey, Sparks, Savage
NAYS: None
B. ADOPTION OF THE RESOLUTION APPROVING THE FISCAL YEARS 2025/26 AND 2026/27 BUDGETS
Presentation by Director of Administrative Services Angela Courter.

Councilmembers comment.

Public Comment:

Laurie Alderman of Cotati
RESULT: Adopt [5 TO 0]
MOVER: Susan Harvey, Councilmember
SECONDER: Laura Sparks, Councilmember
AYES: Ford, Lemus, Harvey, Sparks, Savage
NAYS: None

13. CITY MANAGER'S REPORT
Report by City Manager Damien O’Bid.

14. CITY COUNCIL MEMBER REPORTS
Councilmembers report out on local and regional events and meetings.

15. INFORMATION RECEIVED AFTER THE AGENDA WAS POSTED

16. ADJOURNMENT
Mayor Ford adjourned the meeting at 9:01pm.
/s/ Kevin Patterson, Deputy City Clerk
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Cotati City Council
Agenda Staff Report
Item type: PRESENTATIONS
To: City Council
Subject: PRESENTATION BY RECOLOGY SONOMA MARIN
Date: June 24, 2025
Written by: Damien O'Bid, City Manager
Recommendation
It is recommended that the City Council recieve a presentation from Recology. No action will be taken.
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HONORED TO SERVE

THE CITY OF COTATI
Celia Furber | June 24, 2025
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A Little About Us
Recology Sonoma Marin | 2025 2
• Serving 2,210 customers in Cotati
since 2017
• Provide recycle, compost, garbage,
C&D, street sweeping, and recycle
processing services
• 100% Employee Owned
• Part of Teamsters Union 665
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Recology Sonoma Marin | 2025 3
• Recover resources & reduce tons
sent to landfill
• Cotati landfill tons:
– 2018 = 5,101 tons
– 2024 = 4,245 tons
– 17% reduction
• Cotati compost & recycle tons:
– 2018 = 2,831 tons
– 2024 = 3,657 tons
– 29% increase
Mission BEFORE
AFTER
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CA State Law Compliance
Recology Sonoma Marin | 2025 4
• 136 commercial/MFD compost
programs in place in Cotati
• CA Mandatory Compost (SB 1383)
– 98% compliance
• CA Mandatory Compost (AB 341)
– 100% compliance
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Cotati Rohnert Park
Unified School District
Recology Sonoma Marin | 2025 5
• Contract started July 2023
• Thomas Page Elementary is
doing a wonderful job
• Educate the youth of the
community & they train
their parents!
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NEW Material Recovery
Facility (MRF)
Recology Sonoma Marin | 2025 6
• $35 million project
• Opened Nov. 2023
• Process 400 tons/day
• 7 optical sorters
• Recovery rate 85% - one of the
highest in the U.S.
• Over 1,200 people have toured! 16 of 99
Sign up for a MRF Tour:

Recology.com/RSMmrf
Recology Sonoma Marin | 2025 7
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Community Involvement
Recology Sonoma Marin | 2025 8
• Provide educational
tables and event
services for City &
Chamber events
• Chamber Board Seat
• Staff Trainings
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Other Highlights
Recology Sonoma Marin | 2025 9
• Added a new route day to
Cotati in May 2025
• Cut call wait times in half
YOY – 5 min. average
• TRASH art program
• Children's Museum Exhibit
• Reuse Bazaar 9/27
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THANK YOU
CELIA FURBER | [email protected]
20 of 99
Cotati City Council
Agenda Staff Report
Item type: CONSENT CALENDAR (ACTION)
To: City Council
Subject: ADOPTION OF A RESOLUTION APPROVING FISCAL YEAR 25/26 SB1 LIST OF PROJECTS AS REQUIRED BY THE ROAD
REPAIR AND ACCOUNTABILITY ACT OF 2017
Date: June 24, 2025
Written by: Craig Scott, Director of Public Works/City Engineer Recommendation
It is recommended the City Council of the City of Cotati adopt a resolution approving a list of projects for Fiscal Year 2025-26 funded by SB 1: the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017.

Background
In August 2017, the California Transportation Commission (CTC) adopted the final FY 2017-18 Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017 (SB1). The passage of SB1 established a Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Account (RMRA) that requires local agencies to demonstrate that a project, funded by SB1, has been approved and described in adequate detail in a City resolution by July 1st every year. The RMRA funds have been provided to cities monthly starting January 2018.

Analysis/Discussion
To be eligible for funding in Fiscal Year 2025/26, the City must provide a City resolution to the CTC by July 1, 2025, of a list of projects planned to be funded with RMRA funds. This is an ongoing annual requirement for the City to remain eligible for the funds. The approved project list must include four statutorily required elements for each project:

1. Location

2. Description

3. Estimated useful life

4. Anticipated construction date.
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The City’s 2024 Pavement Management Plan (PMP) lists all City streets with their condition and generally associated pavement rehabilitation method. The PMP guides the City’s street preservation efforts and informed the 2026 Street Improvements Project (Project). The pavement condition has been determined for this area and recommended treatment methods provided to the City. With the 2025 Street Preservation Project currently wrapping up, the budgeted intention is to move to a rehabilitation project later this year with the Project. While we are still bringing old roads up to good condition, the goal is to do two projects per year, one for street preservation and one for street rehabilitation, subject to funding availability. As part of the funding for these projects, the City has been utilizing RMRA funds to be able to maintain additional miles of roads each year.

The Project is to do full-depth reclamation on Lund Hill Lane, between Valparaiso and Cypress Avenue, as well as Lasker Lane and potentially Oretsky Lane (as a bid alternate). The work also consists of dig outs, crack sealing and slurry seal on E. Cotati Avenue between Baytree Court and the City Limits.

The FY 25/26 estimated RMRA (SB 1) funding of $205,319 will allow us to include additional work in the Project, including pavement maintenance for approximately 2,265 centerline feet (based on digouts, crack sealing and slurry paving), with some matching City funding. A subset of the total streets to be paved was selected to closely align with the estimated RMRA available funds. These streets consist of the following:

Street From To Length, CL, Feet Cost Estimate
E. Cotati Ave Baytree Ct Beverly Dr 1,092 $122,541
E. Cotati Ave Beverly Dr RR Tracks 1,173 $131,631
Total 2,265 $254,172
These treatments have a useful life of approximately 6 years. Project construction is anticipated to begin in August 2025 and extend through October 2025. This construction period overlaps with the eligible period of RMRA fund expenditures of July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026, and is therefore eligible for the FY25/26 RMRA funding.

Financial Considerations
SB1 requires that RMRA funds not replace local funding sources, including General Fund, gas tax, and Go Sonoma, and the City must maintain a “Maintenance of Effort” (in other words a certain level of funding to repair local roads) as if SB1 funds were not available. The Maintenance of Effort is defined by SB1 and is derived from the annual State Controller’s Report.

The California Transportation Commission (CTC) has prepared guidelines for agencies to follow in meeting the RMRA (SB-1) requirements. The guidelines establish May 1, of each year as the deadline for agencies to submit the project resolutions. Due to Covid 19, the deadline has been extended to July 1. The estimated SB1 amount for the City of Cotati for FY25/26 is $205,319 22 of 99
included in the City’s adopted FY 25/26 budget for Fund 221 and accounted for separately from other local funds being used for street preservation projects. The remainder of the needed funding for this roadway segment ($48,853) will come from other City sources, in accordance with the approved FY 25/26 City budget.

Environmental Issues
This action is found to qualify for a Class 1 Categorical Exemption under CEQA Section 15301 in that the project consists of the operation, repair, maintenance, permitting, leasing, licensing, or minor alteration of existing public or private structures, facilities, mechanical equipment, or topographical features, involving negligible or no expansion of the existing or former use. 23 of 99
RESOLUTION NO. (XX)

RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COTATI ADOPTING A LIST OF PROJECTS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2025-26 FUNDED BY SB1: THE ROAD REPAIR AND ACCOUNTABILITY ACT OF 2017
WHEREAS, Senate Bill 1 (SB1), the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017 (Chapter 5, Statutes of 2017) was passed by the Legislature and Signed into law by the Governor in April 2017 to address the significant multi-modal transportation funding shortfalls statewide; and
WHEREAS, SB1 includes accountability and transparency provisions that will ensure the residents of Cotati are aware of the projects proposed for funding in our community and which projects have been completed each fiscal year; and
WHEREAS, the City must adopt a list of all projects proposed to receive funding from the Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Account (RMRA), created by SB 1 by resolution, which must include a description and the location of each proposed project, a proposed schedule for the project’s completion, and the estimated useful life of the improvement; and WHEREAS, the City will receive an estimated $205,319 in RMRA funding in Fiscal Year 2025/26 from SB 1; and
WHEREAS, this is the 9th year in which the City is receiving SB 1 funding and will increase the scope of the City’s essential road maintenance and rehabilitation projects, safety improvements, and increasing access and mobility options for the traveling public beyond what otherwise would have been included in the project without SB 1; and WHEREAS, the City has developed the SB 1 project list following its Pavement Management Plan and has provided opportunity for public input at City Council meetings; and WHEREAS, the City used a Pavement Management System to develop the SB 1 project list to ensure revenues are being spent on the highest priority and cost-effective projects that also meet the communities’ priorities for transportation investment; and WHEREAS, the funding from SB 1 will help the City maintain and rehabilitate 2,265 centerline feet of arterial streets this year and similar sized projects into the future; and WHEREAS, the 2023 California Statewide Local Streets and Roads Needs Assessment found that the City’s streets and roads are in the “At Lower Risk (61-70)” condition category and this revenue will help us maintain the overall quality of our road system; and 24 of 99
WHEREAS, the Fiscal Year 2025/26 streets project, funded by SB 1, is to preserve portions of East Cotati Avenue, between Bay Tree Court and the SMART Railroad Tracks , with treatment consisting of dig outs, crack sealing and slurry seal; and WHEREAS, the estimated useful life of the planned improvements is expected to be 6 years and the 2026 Street Improvements Project is anticipated to begin in August 2025 and extend through October 2025; and
WHEREAS, the SB 1 project list and overall investment in our local streets and roads infrastructure with a focus on basic maintenance and safety, investing in complete streets infrastructure, and using cutting-edge technology, materials and practices, will have significant positive impact into the future; and
WHEREAS, the action of adopting a resolution to meet the State legislative requirements to remain eligible to use the SB 1 funding for routine street maintenance projects does not constitute a project as defined by California Environmental Quality Act Guidelines Section 15378; therefore, no further environmental review is required.

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT the City Council of the City of Cotati hereby finds the following:

1. The foregoing recitals are hereby declared to be true and correct and are made a part of this Resolution.

2. The following is the City’s Fiscal Year 2025/26 “list of projects” planned to be funded with Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Account revenues, with construction to occur in Fiscal Year 25/26:
a. Perform dig outs, crack sealing and slurry seal on approximately 2,265 centerline feet of East Cotati Avenue, between Baytree Court and the SMART Railroad Tracks.

IT IS HEREBY CERTIFIED that the foregoing resolution was duly adopted at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Cotati held on June 24, 2025, by the following vote, to wit:

Approved:___________________________
Mayor
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Attest:______________________________
Kevin Patterson, Deputy City Clerk
Approved as to form:______________________________
City Attorney
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Cotati City Council
Agenda Staff Report
Item type: CONSENT CALENDAR (ACTION)
To: City Council
Subject: SECOND READING OF AN ORDINANCE AMENDING TITLE
17 (LAND USE) OF THE COTATI MUNICIPAL CODE TO

COMBINE THE COMMERCIAL/INDUSTRIAL AND

GENERAL INDUSTRIAL ZONING DISTRICTS INTO A

SINGLE ZONING DISTRICT
Date: June 25, 2025
Written by: Autumn Buss, Associate Planner
Recommendation
It is recommended that the City Council adopt an Ordinance amending Title 17 (Land Use) of the Cotati Municipal Code to combine the Commercial/Industrial and General Industrial Zoning Districts into a single zoning district, in accordance with the City’s General Plan.

Background
On June 10, 2025, the City Council held a public hearing and conducted the first reading of an ordinance to amend the Land Use Code to combine the Commercial/Industrial and General Industrial Zoning Districts into a single zoning district, to be called the “Commercial/Industrial (CI)” Zoning District.

At that meeting, the Council voted to approve the ordinance, with two amendments as described below and shown in the redline text of the updated ordinance shown in Attachment A.

Analysis/Discussion
The Council made two amendments to the proposed ordinance:

1. Remove the “IG” column from Section 17.26.020 Table 2-17 Allowable Street Types, as the IG zoning district is proposed to be combined with the CI zoning district.

2. Edit the text of Section 17.30.050(G)(1)(a) to refer to the new proposed CI zoning district rather than to multiple “industrial zones.”
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ORDINANCE NO.

AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COTATI AMENDING TITLE 17 (LAND USE) OF THE COTATI MUNICIPAL CODE TO COMBINE THE

COMMERCIAL/INDUSTRIAL AND GENERAL INDUSTRIAL ZONING DISTRICTS

INTO A SINGLE ZONING DISTRICT IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE GENERAL PLAN
WHEREAS, on March 24, 2015, the Cotati City Council adopted its updated General Plan (Resolution No. 2015-12), which identifies the City’s vision for the future and provides a framework to guide decisions on growth and development consistent with the quality of life desired by Cotati citizens. On March 24, 2015, the Cotati City Council also certified the City of Cotati General Plan Environmental Impact Report (EIR), which reviewed potentially significant environmental effects resulting from the plan’s implementation and developed measures and policies to mitigate those impacts to less-than-significant levels; and WHEREAS, one of the purposes of Title 17 of the Cotati Municipal Code is to ensure that the General Plan may be implemented, and adoption of changes to the Cotati Land Use Code are necessary to implement the General Plan with regard to its goals; 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 City’s General Plan sets forth Action LU1b, which directs the City to review the standards provided in the Land Use Code and amend as necessary for consistency with General Plan policies and allowed uses, including either combining the Commercial/Industrial and General Industrial zoning districts into a single district that accommodates the range of industrial and commercial uses allowed in the Commercial Industrial land use designation, or amend the Commercial/Industrial and General Industrial zoning districts to accommodate the range of uses allowed in the Commercial Industrial land use designation; and WHEREAS, updating the Land Use Code to combine the Commercial/Industrial and General Industrial zoning districts will streamline and simplify the Land Use Code and its implementation, and create opportunities for a broader range of business activity in the city’s industrial area; and
WHEREAS, on May 19, 2025, the Planning Commission of the City of Cotati held a duly noticed public hearing to review the proposed ordinance amending Title 17 (Land Use) of the Cotati Municipal Code to combine the Commercial/Industrial and General Industrial Zoning Districts into a single zoning district, in accordance with the City’s General Plan.

After receiving the staff report, reviewing a presentation from the Planning Division, and considering all oral and written comments submitted to the City regarding the Ordinance, the Planning Commission voted to approve a resolution recommending adoption of the proposed 28 of 99 ordinance; and
WHEREAS, on June 10 , 2025, the City Council of the City of Cotati held a duly noticed public hearing on the proposed ordinance amending Title 17 (Land Use) of the Cotati Municipal Code to combine the Commercial/Industrial and General Industrial Zoning Districts into a single zoning district, in accordance with the City’s General Plan, received the staff report, reviewed a presentation from the Planning Division, and considered all oral and written comments submitted to the City regarding the 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 above 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 makes its decision includes, but is not limited to: 1) the 2015 General Plan, 2) the FEIR certified for the 2015 General Plan, and 3) all staff reports, City files and records, and other documents prepared for and/or submitted to the City Council related to adoption of the ordinance amending Title 17 (Land Use) of the Cotati Municipal Code to combine the Commercial/Industrial and General Industrial Zoning Districts into a single zoning district, in accordance with the City’s General Plan.

SECTION 3: General Plan Consistency
The Council of the City of Cotati does hereby find that the amendments to Title 17 (Land Use) of the Cotati Municipal Code to combine the Commercial/Industrial and General Industrial Zoning Districts into a single zoning district, in accordance with the City’s General Plan, as set forth in this Ordinance, are in the best interest of the City in that they will further established goals, policies, and implementation programs of the General Plan to use land appropriately and to conserve resources.

The proposed ordinance amendment specifically implements Action LU1b of the General Plan:

Action LU1b: Review the standards provided in the Land Use Code and amend as necessary for consistency with General Plan policies and allowed uses, including: Either combine the Commercial/Industrial and General Industrial districts into a single district that accommodates the range of industrial and commercial uses allowed in the Commercial Industrial land use designation, or amend the Commercial/Industrial and General Industrial designations to accommodate the range of uses allowed in the Commercial land use designation.

In addition, the proposed ordinance will implement the following General Plan goals and policies:

Goal EV1: Establish and maintain a healthy local economy that includes a diversity of commercial and industrial enterprises which provide goods services, and employment opportunities to residents consistent with Cotati’s small-town image. 29 of 99
Goal LU 1: Establish an efficient, harmonious, and environmentally sensitive land use pattern that enhances Cotati’s small town character, provides adequate space to accommodate sustainable economic and housing growth, and encourages orderly growth.

Policy LU 1.1 Maintain a supply of developable mixed use, commercial, industrial, and residential lands sufficient to meet desired growth and economic needs over the planning period.

Goal LU 3: Provide for a range of commercial, industrial, and mixed use to provide Cotati’s residents access to jobs and employment and to support the local economy.

SECTION 4: Compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act.

The Council of the City of Cotati does hereby find that the proposed ordinance to combine the Commercial/Industrial and General Industrial Zoning Districts into a single zoning district Plan is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act as it is consistent with the program Final Environmental Impact Report (SCH# 2013082037) for the Cotati General Plan Update that was certified on March 24, 2015 (Resolution Number 2015-11). In addition, the proposed ordinance is consistent with and implements the City’s adopted General Plan, and no new environmental impacts peculiar to the project site(s) have been realized or identified. Therefore no additional environmental analysis is required under CEQA Section 15183, and pursuant to Section 15168 of the CEQA Guidelines, no further environmental review is required.

SECTION 5: Amendment to the Cotati Municipal Code. Section 17.20.020, Zoning map and zoning districts, Table 2-1, Zoning Districts, is amended as follows:
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Table 2-1
Zoning Districts
Zoning Map
Symbol Name of Zoning District General Plan Designation Implemented by Zoning District Location within
Transect
Low Density and Neighborhood Zones
OSC Open Space, Conservation Open Space MORE RURAL
OSR Open Space, Recreation Parks –
RR Rural Residential Rural –
RVL Residential Very Low Density Low Density Residential – NL Neighborhood, Low Density Low-Medium Density Residential – NM Neighborhood, Medium Density Medium Density Residential TO NU Neighborhood, Urban High Density Residential –
Mixed Use Corridor and Downtown Zones
CE Commercial, East Cotati Ave.

Corridor
Office, General Commercial –
CG Commercial, Gravenstein
Corridor
Highway Commercial, General
Commercial
–
CA Commerce Avenue Downtown Specific Plan –
NG Northern Gateway Downtown Specific Plan –
CD Downtown Commercial General Commercial, La Plaza
Specific Plan
–
HC Historic Core Downtown Specific Plan –
LP La Plaza Downtown Specific Plan MORE URBAN
Commercial/Industrial District
CI Commercial/Industrial District Commercial/Industrial Special Purpose and Overlay Zones
CP Coordinated Planning Overlay All
MHP Mobilehome Park Overlay All Residential
MHP-S Senior Mobilehome Park
Overlay
All Residential
PF Public Facility Public Facilities
SPSW Specific Plan, Santero Way All
SPD Specific Plan, Downtown General Commercial, Low Density Residential, Parks
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SECTION 6: Amendment to the Cotati Municipal Code. Section 17.20.030(C), Purposes of the zoning districts, is amended as follows:

C. Commercial/Industrial District.

1. CI (Commercial/Industrial District) Zoning District. The CI zoning district is applied to areas appropriate for a mixture of retail, service, large-scale office, industrial uses, warehousing, manufacturing, assembly, and live/work units. The allowable intensity of development is determined by Section 17.24.030 (Zoning district site planning and building standards). The CI zoning district is consistent with and implements the commercial/industrial land use designation of the general plan.

SECTION 7: Amendment to the Cotati Municipal Code. Section 17.22.020, Allowable land uses and planning permit requirements, Table 2-2: Allowed Land Uses and Permit Requirements – Cannabis Uses is amended as follows:

Table 2-2: Allowed Land Uses and Permit Requirements – Cannabis Uses

LAND USE

MAXIMUM

CULTIVATION

AREA PER
PARCEL
(square feet of
canopy or # of
plants)

MINIMUM
PARCEL
SIZE
STATE

LICENSE
TYPE
East
Cotati
Avenue
Corridor
Gravenstein
Highway
Corridor
Downtown
Commercial
Commercial/
Industrial
Public
Facility
Specific
Use
Regulations
Med/AU CE CG CD CI PF
PERSONAL CANNABIS CULTIVATION; No Permit
Required
Personal or
Caregiver
Cultivation
(inside dwelling
unit or accessory
structure only)
6 plants/parcel None Exempt P
(1, 2) P(2) P(2)
– –
COMMERCIAL CANNABIS USES, Commercial Cannabis
Permit Required(3)
Specialty 5,000 sf or 50
plants None 1/1 – – – – –
Small 5,001 – 10,000 sf None 2/2 – – – – –
Medium 10,001 – 43,560
sf None 3/3 – – – – –
Large 43,561 sf or
larger None 5/5 – – – – –
Nursery 20,000 sf None 4/4 – – – – –
Specialty 501 – 5,000 sf 1A/1A – – – – –
Small 5,001 – 10,000 sf 2A/2A – – – S S 17.42.200
Medium 10,001 – 22,000
sf 3A/3A – – – S S 17.42.200
Large 22,001 or larger 5A/5A – – – – – 32 of 99
NOTES:
“–” Use Not Allowed “P” Permitted Use
“S” Check specific use regulations, as noted. “UP” Use permit required. “sf” means square feet. “AU” means adult or recreational use. (1) Commercial cannabis uses are not allowed in any residential zones. (2) Allowed only in residential use portions of mixed-use development. (3) Commercial cannabis uses are not allowed within the Downtown Specific Plan or Santero Way Specific Plan areas. (4) Nursery use is allowed as part of any city-issued indoor cultivation cannabis permit. “Specialty cottage” cultivation is not permitted. (5) Each manufacturing use type can perform related subtypes for infusion of products and/or packaging and labeling. Shared use facilities are not permitted. “Processor” activities are considered part of cultivation, manufacturing, or distribution permit approvals, and subject to the applicable cannabis business tax, as determined by the city. (6) Includes transport-only distributor.

LAND USE

MAXIMUM

CULTIVATION

AREA PER
PARCEL
(square feet of
canopy or # of
plants)

MINIMUM
PARCEL
SIZE
STATE

LICENSE
TYPE
East
Cotati
Avenue
Corridor
Gravenstein
Highway
Corridor
Downtown
Commercial
Commercial/
Industrial
Public
Facility
Specific
Use
Regulations
Med/AU CE CG CD CI PF
Specialty
Cottage 2,500 sf 1C/1C – – – – –
Specialty 2,501 – 5,000 sf 1B/1B – – – – –
Small 5,001 – 10,000 sf 2B/2B – – – – –
Medium 10,001 – 22,000
sf 3B/3B – – – – –
Large 22,001 or larger 5B/5B – – – – –
MANUFACTURING(5)
Manufacturer 1:

Non-Volatile/No
Solvents
N/A 6/6 – – – S S 17.42.200
Manufacturer 2:

Volatile
Solvents
N/A 7/7 – – – S S 17.42.200

TESTING
Testing
Laboratories 8/8 – P – P P
RETAIL (w/delivery)
Nonstorefront
Retailer
(delivery only)
9/9 – – – S S 17.42.200
Storefront
Retailer 10/10 – S – – – 17.42.200

DISTRIBUTOR
Distributor(6) 11/11 – S – S S 17.42.200
MICROBUSINESS (with delivery and/or cannabis
consumption cafe/lounge)
Microbusiness 12/12 – S – – – 17.42.200
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SECTION 8: Amendment to the Cotati Municipal Code. Section 17.22.020, Allowable land uses and planning permit requirements, Table 2-3: Allowed Land Uses and Permit Requirements for Mixed Use Corridors and Commercial/Industrial Districts is amended as follows:

Table 2-3
Allowed Land Uses and Permit Requirements for Mixed Use Corridors and Districts P Permitted use, zoning clearance required
MUP Minor use permit
UP Use permit required
S Permit requirement set by specific use regulations
– Use not allowed
Permit Required by District
Land Use(1)

CE CG CD CI PF
Specific
Use
Regulations
Industry, Manufacturing and Processing, Wholesaling
Agricultural product processing – – – P –
Artisan/craft product manufacturing(5) MUP MUP MUP P –
Brewery – Brew pub MUP MUP MUP MUP –
Brewery – Production – – – MUP –
Construction contractor – – – UP –
Food and beverage product manufacturing – – – MUP MUP
Furniture and fixtures manufacturing, cabinet shop – – – P – Industrial research and development – MUP – P –
Laboratory – Medical, analytical, research and
development
P P – P –
Laundry, dry cleaning plant – – – UP –
Manufacturing/processing – Light – – – P –
Manufacturing/processing – Medium intensity – – – MUP – Manufacturing/processing – Heavy – – – UP –
Media production P P – P –
Printing and publishing UP UP – P –
Recycling – Reverse vending machine MUP MUP – – –
Recycling – Small collection facility UP UP – P – 17.42.150 Recycling – Medium collection facility – – – UP – 17.42.150 Storage – Outdoor – – – UP – 17.42.140
Storage – Personal storage facility (mini-storage) – – – – – Storage – Warehouse, indoor storage – – – UP –
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P Permitted use, zoning clearance required
MUP Minor use permit
UP Use permit required
S Permit requirement set by specific use regulations
– Use not allowed
Permit Required by District
Land Use(1)

CE CG CD CI PF
Specific
Use
Regulations
Wholesaling and distribution – – – UP –
Winery – Boutique – UP – MUP –
Winery – Production – – – MUP –
Recreation, Education and Public Assembly Uses
Adult-oriented business – – – S – 17.40
Commercial recreation facility – Indoor – 5,000
sq. ft. or less
UP P – P –
Commercial recreation facility – Indoor – More
than 5,000 sq. ft.

UP MUP – UP –
Commercial recreation facility – Outdoor – – – UP –
Conference/convention facility – 5,000 sq. ft. or
less
UP MUP UP(2) MUP UP
Conference/convention facility – More than 5,000
sq. ft.

UP UP UP(2) UP UP
Health/fitness facility UP P UP(2) P –
Library, museum P P MUP P P
Meeting facility, public or private – 5,000 sq. ft.
or less
UP MUP MUP(2) MUP MUP
Meeting facility, public or private – More than
5,000 sq. ft.

UP UP UP(2) UP UP
Park P P P – P
School – Elementary, middle, secondary UP(2) UP(2) – – UP School – Specialized education/training UP(2) UP(2) UP(2) UP UP Sports and entertainment assembly – – – UP UP
Studio – Art, dance, martial arts, music, etc. P P MUP(2) P – Theater UP MUP MUP MUP UP
Residential Uses
Accessory dwelling unit P P P – – 17.42.170
Emergency/transitional shelter – – S – S 17.42.072
Home occupation P P P – – 17.42.080
Live/work unit UP UP P UP – 17.42.090
Low barrier navigation center P P – – –
Residential care facility for the elderly (RCFE) UP MUP – – UP Residential care facility, 7 or more clients UP – – – UP 35 of 99
P Permitted use, zoning clearance required
MUP Minor use permit
UP Use permit required
S Permit requirement set by specific use regulations
– Use not allowed
Permit Required by District
Land Use(1)

CE CG CD CI PF
Specific
Use
Regulations
Residential component of a mixed use project P P P – – 17.39.030,

17.39.040,

17.42.100
Supportive housing P P – – –
Retail Trade(3)
Accessory retail or services P P P P P
Alcoholic beverage sales – Associated with a
restaurant(4)
P P P P – 17.42.030
Alcoholic beverage sales UP UP UP – – 17.42.030
Antique or collectible store MUP P MUP – –
Artisan shop P P P P –
Auto and vehicle sales and rental – UP – MUP –
Auto parts sales with no installation services – P – P – Bar, tavern UP UP UP – –
Building and landscape materials sales – Indoor – P – P – Building and landscape materials sales – Outdoor – UP – MUP – 17.42.130 Construction and heavy equipment sales and
rental
– – – MUP – 17.42.130
Convenience store UP UP – UP –
Drive-through retail – UP – UP – 17.42.070
Extended hour retail UP MUP MUP MUP –
Farm supply and feed store – P – P –
Farmers market(8) MUP MUP MUP MUP UP
Formula-based fast food restaurant S S S – – 17.42.071
Fuel dealer (propane for home and farm use, etc.) – – – UP – Furniture, furnishings and appliance store P P UP P –
General retail – Less than 5,000 sq. ft. P P P P –
General retail – 5,000 sq. ft. to 20,000 sq. ft. P P P P – General retail – More than 20,000 sq. ft. UP P UP P –
Groceries, specialty foods – 10,000 sq. ft. or less P P P P – Groceries, specialty foods – More than 10,000 sq.
ft.

UP MUP UP MUP –
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P Permitted use, zoning clearance required
MUP Minor use permit
UP Use permit required
S Permit requirement set by specific use regulations
– Use not allowed
Permit Required by District
Land Use(1)

CE CG CD CI PF
Specific Use
Regulations
Mobilehome, boat, or RV sales – – – MUP –
Night club UP UP UP – –
Outdoor display and sales MUP MUP MUP MUP – 17.42.130
Plant nursery – MUP – MUP –
Restaurant – Outdoor dining(6) P/
MUP
P/
MUP
P/
MUP
P/
MUP
– 17.42.130(E)
Restaurant, cafe, coffee shop P P P P –
Retail complex UP P UP P –
Retail display gallery – P P – – 17.90.020
Second hand store UP UP UP – –
Service station (nonfossil fuels sales) UP UP UP – – 17.42.180 Tasting room UP P P P –
Warehouse retail – MUP – UP –
Services – Business, Financial, Professional
ATM P P P P –
Bank, financial services P P UP P –
Business support service P P P
(2) UP –
Medical services – Doctor office UP P
(2) P(2) – –
Medical services – Clinic, urgent care UP – – – –
Office – Accessory P P P P P
Office – Business/service UP UP(2) P
(2) P –
Office – Government MUP MUP MUP MUP MUP
Office – Processing UP(2) MUP UP(2) MUP –
Office – Professional/administrative P P P
(2) P –
Services – General
Accessory retail or services P P P P P 17.42.015
Adult day care UP – – – UP
Catering service – – – P –
Child day care center MUP P MUP MUP UP
Drive-through service – UP – – – 17.42.070
Equipment rental – – – MUP – 17.42.140
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P Permitted use, zoning clearance required
MUP Minor use permit
UP Use permit required
S Permit requirement set by specific use regulations
– Use not allowed
Permit Required by District
Land Use(1)

CE CG CD CI PF
Specific
Use
Regulations
Kennel, animal boarding – MUP – MUP –
Lodging – Bed and breakfast inn (B&B) P P MUP – –
Lodging – Boutique hotel or motel UP UP UP – –
Lodging – Hotel or motel UP UP UP – –
Maintenance service – Client site services – – – P –
Mortuary, funeral home UP – – – –
Personal services P P P P –
Personal services – Restricted UP(2) – – – –
Public safety facility UP UP UP UP P
Repair service – Equipment, large appliances, etc. – – – P – Social service organization MUP(2) MUP(2) – MUP UP
Vehicle services – Major repair/body work – – – MUP –
Vehicle services – Minor maintenance/repair – – – MUP – Veterinary clinic, animal hospital MUP P – P –
Transportation, Communications and Infrastructure
Ambulance, taxi, or limousine storage – – – UP –
Broadcasting studio – UP(2) UP(2) MUP –
Electric vehicle charging station(7) P P P P P 14.38
Parking facility, public or commercial UP UP UP – P
Telecommunications facility S S S S S 17.44
Transit station or terminal UP UP UP UP UP
Utility facility – – – UP UP
Vehicle storage – – – UP –
Key to Zoning District Symbols
CE East Cotati Avenue Corridor CI Commercial/Industrial District CG Gravenstein Highway Corridor IG General Industrial District CD Downtown Commercial PF Public Facility District
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Notes:
(1) See Article 9 for land use definitions.
(2) Use allowed only on second or upper floors, in compliance with Section 17.24.050(C), Limitation on the Location of Allowable Land Uses, or behind an allowed ground floor street frontage use.
(3) See Section 17.42.165, Retail use maximum floor area. (4) When the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control allows customers under twenty-one years of age on the premises. (5) Artisan/craft product manufacturing uses proposed in the CE, CG, CD, HC, LP, NG, and CA districts must be located within buildings and suites designed and oriented to engage and encourage pedestrian activity and interaction with the surrounding uses. Uses in these districts must also include retail storefront presence and design characteristics, with production and manufacturing design elements (such as loading doors, material storage, etc.) oriented away from the primary entrances and street frontages of developments where they are located. (6) MUP required for outdoor dining on private property in the CD district when the dining use abuts a residential land use. (7) Permitted as an accessory use.
(8) Fees for farmers market planning permit applications shall be calculated at fifty percent of the fees set forth in the fee schedule as described in Section 17.60.060, Application fees. Use permit approval shall require that the review authority first find that the proposed use will be compatible with any nearby residential uses. Notices of public hearings shall be mailed to property owners within a radius from the subject site of six hundred feet, or greater at the director’s discretion.

SECTION 9: Amendment to the Cotati Municipal Code. Section 17.24.020, Zoning district subdivision and density standards is amended as follows:

Each subdivision and residential development project shall comply with the minimum parcel size and density requirements shown in Table 2-4 for the applicable zoning district.

Table 2-4
Parcel Size and Density Standards
Minimum Parcel Size(1) Residential Density
Zoning District
Area(2) Width(1) Minimum Density Maximum Density
OSC Determined through subdivision review 1 caretaker unit; no other residential allowed OSR Determined through subdivision review No residential units allowed RR-1.5 1.5 acre 100 ft. N.A. 1 unit per 1.5 acres
RR-1.0 1 acre 100 ft. N.A. 1 unit per acre
RVL-0.66 0.66 acre 100 ft. N.A. 1 unit per 0.66 acres
RVL-0.5 0.5 acre 100 ft. N.A. 1 unit per 0.5 acres
NL 6,000 sq. ft.(4) 60 ft. 4 units per acre(3) 6 units per acre NM 4,000 sq. ft.(4) 50 ft. 8 units per acre(3) 10 units per acre NU 2,500 sq. ft.(4) 40 ft. 12 units per acre(3) 15 units per acre CE 2,500 sq. ft.(4) 40 ft. 12 units per acre(3) 15 units per acre CG 2,500 sq. ft.(4) 40 ft. 12 units per acre(3) 15 units per acre CD 2,000 sq. ft.(4) 20 ft. 12 units per acre(3) 15 units per acre CI 10,000 sq. ft.(4) 100 ft. N.A. 15 units per acre
PF Determined through subdivision review N.A. N.A.

SP Determined by applicable specific plan
Notes:
(1) Parcel depth shall be no less than the parcel width; and no more than three times the parcel width. (2) Net area. In residential subdivisions, corner lots and reversed corner lots shall have an area of at least ten percent greater than that of the minimum lot area required.
(3) No residential subdivision, or residential development project with multiple units on a single parcel (including the residential component of a mixed use project) will be approved at less than the minimum density; except that in the CE, CG, and CD zoning districts, the review authority may reduce the minimum density for a mixed use project where it determines that the minimum density is not feasible due to constraints on the parcel, including topography, easements, and access.
(4) Where allowed by the applicable zone, a commercial condominium, or a residential condominium, townhouse, or other common interest 39 of 99
project may be subdivided with smaller parcels for ownership purposes, with the minimum lot area determined through subdivision review, provided that the overall development site complies with the minimum parcel size, and the total number of any dwellings is in compliance with the maximum density for the applicable zone.

SECTION 10: Amendment to the Cotati Municipal Code. Section 17.24.030, Zoning district site planning and building standards, Table 2-16 and Figures 2-23 and 2-24 are repealed.

SECTION 11: Amendment to the Cotati Municipal Code. Section 17.26.020 Table 2-17, Allowable Street Types, is amended as follows:

Table 2-17
Allowable Street Types
Street Types Allowed by Zone
Street Type OSC OSR RR RVL NL NM NU CE CG CD CI
Trail x x x
Path x x x x x x x
Alley x x x x x x x x
Rural Lane x x x x
Neighborhood Street x x x x
Commercial Street x x x x
Crosstown Connector x x x
Industrial Street x
Key: x = Street type allowed
SECTION 12: Amendment to the Cotati Municipal Code. Section 17.30.050(G)(1)(a), Special Noise Sources, is amended as follows:

G. Special Noise Sources.

1. Leaf Blowers.
a. Offense. It is unlawful for any person to operate any gas-powered leaf blowers within city limits, except in the CI zoning district, between the hours of eight p.m. and eight a.m. on weekdays or between the hours of eight p.m. and nine a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.

SECTION 13: Amendment to the Cotati Municipal Code. Section 17.38.060(B), Zoning district sign standards is amended as follows:

B. Mixed Use Corridors and Districts. Each sign in the CG, CE, SPD, CD, and CI zoning districts shall comply with the requirements in Table 3-12.

SECTION 14: Amendment to the Cotati Municipal Code. Sections 17.40.030(A) and (B), 40 of 99
Prohibited areas and minimum proximity requirements, are amended as follows:

A. Commercial Industrial (CI) Zoning District. Subject to the limitations set forth in this chapter, adult-oriented businesses may be established in the CI (Commercial/Industrial) zoning district of the city.

B. Specified Distance Separation Requirements. Notwithstanding the above, no adult-oriented business shall be established or located within certain distances of certain specified land uses or zoning districts as set forth in this subsection. No adult-oriented business shall be established or located:

1. On a parcel within the CI zoning district abutting Redwood Drive or Helman Lane;

2. Within a three hundred-foot radius from any existing residential zoning district or use. The distance between a proposed adult-oriented business use and a residential zoning district or use shall be measured from the nearest exterior wall of the facility housing the adult-oriented business use or proposed adult-oriented business use to the nearest property line included within a residential zoning district or property in current residential use, along a straight line extended between the two points;

3. Within five hundred feet of any other adult-oriented business as defined in this chapter which is located either inside or outside the jurisdiction of the city. The distance between the two adult-oriented business uses shall be measured between the nearest exterior wall of the facility housing the adult-oriented business use and proposed adult-oriented business use along a straight line extended between the two points; or

4. Within five hundred feet from any existing park, playground, religious facility, or school use or property zoned open space (OSC or OSR) or public facilities (PF). The distance between a proposed adult-oriented business use and park, playground, church or school uses or property zoned open space (OSC or OSR) or public facilities (PF), shall be measured from the nearest exterior wall of the facility housing the adult-oriented business use or proposed adult-oriented business use to the nearest property line where the park, playground, church or school use is located, or property zoned open space (OSC or OSR) or public facilities (PF) along a straight line extended between the two points.

SECTION 15: Amendment to the Cotati Municipal Code. Section 17.42.071(A)(1), Formulabased fast food restaurant is amended as follows:

A. Limitations on Use.

1. Formula-Based Fast Food Restaurants Prohibited. Formula-based fast food restaurants are prohibited within the public facilities (PF) zoning district, commercial industrial (CI) zoning district, and within the downtown specific plan areas depicted in Figure 1.

SECTION 16: 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, 41 of 99
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 17: Effective date.

This ordinance shall take effect thirty (30) days after its adoption pursuant to the California Government Code.

SECTION 18: 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 duly adopted at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Cotati held on June 10, 2025, 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 Kevin Patterson, Deputy City Clerk
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Attachment A: Redline text of proposed code language changes made 6.10.25 Chapter 17.26 Street and Streetscape Standards

17.26.020 Applicability.

Each street in a proposed development project shall be designed in compliance with the standards in Section 17.26.030 of this chapter for the applicable type of street or other public way, the general plan, the city’s standard specifications and details, and as required by the review authority. The street types described in Section 17.26.030 of this chapter may be located within the zoning districts identified in Table 2-17. Street types allowed within a CP (coordinated planning) overlay, or in the PF (public facility) or SP (specific plan) zones shall be determined by the council.

Table 2-17
Allowable Street Types
Street Types Allowed by Zone
Street Type OSC OSR RR RVL NL NM NU CE CG CD CI IG
Trail   
Path       
Alley         
Rural Lane    
Neighborhood Street    
Commercial Street    
Crosstown Connector   
Industrial Street  
Key:  = Street type allowed

17.30.050 Noise standards
G. Special Noise Sources.

1. Leaf Blowers.
a. Offense. It is unlawful for any person to operate any gas-powered leaf blowers within city limits, except in the CI zoning district industrial zones, between the hours of eight p.m. and eight a.m. on weekdays or between the hours of eight p.m. and nine a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. 43 of 99
Cotati City Council
Agenda Staff Report
Item type: CONSENT CALENDAR (ACTION)
To: City Council
Subject: APPROVAL OF ANNUAL STORM WATER SUPPORT

SERVICES AGREEMENT
Date: June 24, 2025
Written by: Craig Scott, Director of Public Works/City Engineer Recommendation
It is recommended the City of Cotati City Council approve by motion a professional services agreement with Stone Creek Environmental for Storm Water Support Services Background
The City is subject to the State’s Regional Water Quality Control Board’s Waste Discharge requirements Order Number R1 2015-30 for the operation and maintenance of its municipal separate storm sewer system (a.k.a. MS4 Permit). The Order’s requirements consists of multiple tasks and responsibilities including conducting water monitoring, public outreach, reporting requirements and enforcement authority to safeguard the natural waterways in and around the City from pollution. The State allows for permittees in the same region to combine efforts. The City works together with neighboring cities and the County to regionally address the stormwater permit requirements.

Analysis/Discussion
The proposed FY25/26 services reflect City Staff attending the meetings and performing the rotating member tasks rather than the consultant. However, the permit requires sediment reduction plan implementation and consultation to anticipate new MS4 Permit requirements including asset management. The consultant’s remaining tasks are to identify and complete tasks for the City to ensure our continued compliance with the MS4 permit requirements. Most notably, these tasks include assistance with compiling the Annual Storm Water Report and preparation of special work and monitoring plans, assisting with gaining Regional Board acceptance of these MS4 Permit required plans and municipal Staff training. 44 of 99
The current MS4 permit expired on July 9, 2020, and it has been the responsibility of the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board (Regional Board) to renew the permit on behalf of co-permitees. The current understanding is that the permit will be renewed before the end of Calendar year 2026. In the interim the permit remains in effect pending an updated permit from the Regional Board. The City with the assistance of Stone Creek Consulting is preparing for compliance with any new permit requirements including the development an asset management program. This would be a significant undertaking, and Task 1 of the Storm Water Proposal is to assist City Staff in planning for and implementing this permit requirement. Most of the proposed fee is to provide support services. This includes cost recovery tasks for special inspections of new private developments to ensure compliance with the MS4 Permit, including the proper design and functioning of Low Impact Development features.

Colleen Hunt, owner of Stone Creek Consulting, is uniquely qualified to provide these services as she has experience with the drafting and implementation of the MS4 Permit. Colleen Hunt is a Certified Professional in Municipal Stormwater Management and brings direct regulatory compliance experience with municipal stormwater permit requirements. She has worked with dozens of municipal storm water permittees during her time with the Regional Water Board and for the past three years as a consultant. Colleen Hunt has provided storm water assistance to the City since 2018. For these reasons, this contract is recommended to be a sole source selection in accordance with the City's procurement policy. Staff have prepared and attached to this item the sole source justification memo to document compliance with this policy.

Financial Considerations
The proposed fee has slightly decreased from last year’s amount of $49,000, to $48,900. This change is due to decreased charges for participation in meetings as staff will facilitate this activity, offset by increases in new work for the MS4 permit. Included in the total proposed agreement is $15,000 for private development construction site inspections for which 100 percent of the cost is recovered through private development funds.

A total of $50,000 was included in the adopted FY25/26 budget in the stormwater department's account. Therefore, no appropriation of funds is needed.

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.
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Stone Creek Environmental Consulting
8733 Lakewood Drive, Suite B
Windsor, CA 95492
[email protected]
707-318-9415
1 www.consultingstonecreek.com
April 2, 2025
Mr. Craig Scott
City Engineer
City of Cotati
201 West Sierra Avenue
Cotati, CA 94931
Subject: Proposal for Storm Water Support Services, Fiscal Year 2025/2026 Dear Mr. Scott:

Stone Creek Environmental Consulting (Stone Creek) is pleased to present this proposal and fee estimate to provide stormwater support services to the City of Cotati (City). Colleen Hunt, owner, is a Certified Professional in Municipal Stormwater Management and brings direct regulatory compliance experience with municipal stormwater permit requirements. She has worked with dozens of municipal stormwater Permittees during her time with the Regional Water Board and for the past six years as a consultant. Colleen has been providing storm water assistance to the City since 2018.

The City is subject to requirements of the Regional Water Board’s Waste Discharge Requirements Order No. R1-2015-0030, National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit No. CA0025054 for discharges from the Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) (Permit). The Permit became effective January 6, 2016, and expired on January 5, 2021. The Permit is administratively extended until the Regional Water Board renews the Permit. The exact timing of the renewal has not been formally provided. Until a new Permit is adopted, the City must continue to implement the requirements of the expired Permit.

The tasksin this proposal are to assist the City with the ongoing requirements of the expired Permit.

This includes:
• Sediment Reduction Effectiveness Tracking
• Construction Site Inspections
• Municipal Staff Training
• Annual Reporting
• Co-Permittee Meeting Assistance
• Low Impact Development Maintenance
• Trash Implementation Plan
This proposal includes a scope of work to assist the City on these Permit requirements as outlined below.
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Stone Creek Environmental Consulting
8733 Lakewood Drive, Suite B
Windsor, CA 95492
[email protected]
707-318-9415
2 www.consultingstonecreek.com
Scope of Work
Task 1. Sediment Reduction Effectiveness Tracking
The Permit requires the City to develop and implement a sediment reduction program, that essentially requires the City to determine the effectiveness of BMPs used to control sediment pollution in stormwater runoff. The City has been implementing their plan and continues to report progress in each annual report. For this fiscal year, Stone Creek will assist the City with continuing implementation of the sediment reduction workplan. This will include attempting to inspect outfalls that were not previously inspected due to inaccessibility. To successfully complete these inspections, Stone Creek will coordinate with Sonoma Water to conduct inspections after completion of their stream maintenance program. In the event Sonoma Water does not complete stream maintenance activities during the course of the contract, this task will not be completed.

Task 1 Deliverables: Outfall Inspection Summary Report as a PDF.

Task 2. Construction Site Inspections
Section VI.F4.e of the Permit requires the City to conduct routine inspections of active construction site projects which disturb one acre or more of land. Inspections are required to take place in September, after the first significant rain event, and monthly during the rainy season.

Under this task, Stone Creek will assist the City with construction site inspections. This includes tracking the project inventory, conducting inspections, documenting inspection findings, providing recommendations to improve BMP management, and coordinating follow-up with City staff. Stone Creek will continue to use the 2NForm software platform to track construction site projects. Project budget includes direct costs such as mileage and 2NForm licensing fee.

Direct hours for each project will be itemized individually enabling the City to recover those costs directly from the project. We assume up to three active construction projects will be included for inspection under this scope of work.

Task 2. Deliverable: Electronic record of inspections.

Task 3. Municipal Staff Training
Section G.12. of the Permit requires the City to annually train staff whose interactions, jobs, and activities may affect stormwater quality. Stone Creek will provide training on stormwater topics selected by the City. This may include illicit discharge, non-stormwater discharges, municipal activities BMP requirements, and/or integrated pest management. Training will be provided inperson at a location provided by the City.

Task 3. Deliverable: Stormwater training, including preparation of a PowerPoint presentation and training materials.
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Stone Creek Environmental Consulting
8733 Lakewood Drive, Suite B
Windsor, CA 95492
[email protected]
707-318-9415
3 www.consultingstonecreek.com
Task 4. Annual Report
Section J of the Permit requires the City to submit an Annual Report for each fiscal year. The Annual Report for the 2024/2025 reporting period is due October 15, 2025. At the beginning of the new Permit term, the Regional Water Board developed an annual report template for Permittee use. The template provides a streamlined method for annual reporting. Completing the template satisfies the annual reporting requirements specified in Section J.

Under this task, we will assist the City with populating the template and gathering information needed for reporting. The City will need to complete sections of the report with data that is not readily available to us to adequately complete the report. The City will be responsible for submitting the final report to the Regional Water Board.

Schedule:

August 16, 2025 Staff to provide data to complete Annual Report September 15, 2025 Draft Annual Report submitted to the City for review October 1, 2025 City comments on the draft Annual Report due back to Stone Creek October 11, 2025 Stone Creek to provide the final Annual Report for submittal to the Regional Water Board
Assumptions:
• Schedule assumes the Agreement for this Scope of Work will be executed no later than August 1, 2025.
• City staff provides data to complete the Annual Report according to the schedule.

Task 4 Deliverable: Draft Annual Report as an excel spreadsheet; Final Annual Report as a PDF.

Task 5. Low Impact Development Maintenance Inspections
Permit Section VI.D.12. requires the City to track and inspect all new development and redevelopment projects with LID BMPs. Inspections are required to be conducted on a two-year cycle. Post-construction BMPs were last inspected in 2024 and are due again in 2026. Under this task, Stone Creek will assist the City with conducting the required LID inspections. This task will include inspecting LID BMPs to assess functionality, with particular attention to BMP maintenance including failure, invasive vegetation, health of desired vegetation and excessive mowing, vector risk, trash and debris, sediment clogging, improper modifications, solids removal, pump-out, and blockage. As specified in the Permit, inspections address LID BMPs that are in the public right of way or at locations that would not require entering private property.

Each inspection will be documented on an inspection checklist, which will include recommendations for follow-up, as applicable. A photo record of the BMPs will be provided as part of the inspection summary report.
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Stone Creek Environmental Consulting
8733 Lakewood Drive, Suite B
Windsor, CA 95492
[email protected]
707-318-9415
4 www.consultingstonecreek.com
Budget includes direct costs for mileage and 2NForm licensing fee and assumes inspections for up to six projects.

Task 5. Deliverable: Inspection summary reports.

Task 6. Co-Permittee Meeting Assistance
This City is scheduled to Chair the Co-Permittee meetings July, August and September of 2025.

Under this task, Stone Creek is available to attend Co-Permittee meetings on behalf of the City, including assisting with Chair responsibilities. This includes preparing agendas, managing meeting invites, facilitating the meetings, and implementing action items assigned to the Chair.

For all meetings attended by Stone Creek, meeting notes will be provided to the City.

Assumptions:

The City will provide direction to Stone Creek if assistance with this task is needed.

Task 6. Deliverable: Up to six meeting agendas; up to three sets of meeting notes.

Task 7. Trash Implementation Plan
We are anticipating the Regional Water Board to provide comments on the City’s Trash Implementation Plan (TIP) and potentially approving the TIP. This task is to assist with responding to comments, amending the trash plan as needed to incorporate comments, and begin implementing the TIP.

Under this task, Stone Creek will assist with the City TIP implementation as follows:

1. Develop education and outreach materials to distribute to residents living in Trash Management Area 6 (TMA 6). This will include selecting outreach materials focused on trash, print materials, and distribution.

2. Conduct On land Visual Trash Assessments (OVTAs). This City will be required to track progress and effectiveness of outreach materials by conducting 3 OVTAs in a calendar year at one assessment location in TMA 6. Under this task, Stone Creek will conduct a total of 3 OVTAs, document findings, and track compliance progress. A summary report will be provided subsequent to completing all three OVTAs.

Assumptions:

The TIP will be approved by the Regional Water Board by December 2025, with unsubstantial changes. Should the changes of the TIP approval result in substantial changes, Stone Creek will revise this task as needed.
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Stone Creek Environmental Consulting
8733 Lakewood Drive, Suite B
Windsor, CA 95492
[email protected]
707-318-9415
5 www.consultingstonecreek.com
Assumes two meetings with the City to discuss the TIP and the steps needed to implement the plan over the next 3-5 years.

Task 7 Deliverables: Education and outreach materials distributed to TMA-6; OVTA Summary Report as a pdf, and meeting notes.

Task 8. Consulting Services
Throughout the duration of this contract, the City may identify additional tasks or areas where assistance is needed. This may include the need for consultation type services to discuss project requirements, advise on compliance options, review grading plans, review Low Impact Development plans, or provide other technical information. This task will be managed as an “oncall” task. The task will be used as needed, based on the City’s initiation of assistance with a task not already covered under this scope of work. Suggested on-call assistance may include:
• Education and outreach strategies
• Review of LID plans
• Russian River Pathogen TMDL planning
• Draft permit review assistance
• New permit implementation planning
• Trash Implementation Plan
Task 8. Deliverable: TBD by client.

Task 9. Program Management
This task will include general project management tasks such as project schedule, managing budget, monthly invoices, routine communications with City staff, meetings to report progress and discuss key recommendations and decisions.

Task 9. Deliverable: Invoices
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Stone Creek Environmental Consulting
8733 Lakewood Drive, Suite B
Windsor, CA 95492
[email protected]
707-318-9415
6 www.consultingstonecreek.com
Fee Estimate and Level of Effort
The Scope of Work will be conducted as described above for an estimated not-to-exceed budget of $48,900. The estimated fee and associated level of effort are summarized below.

Task Level of Effort,
hours Estimated Fee, $
Task 1. Sediment Reduction
Effectiveness Tracking
18 6,000
Task 2. Construction Site Inspections 10 2,650
Task 2a. Project #1 28 5,000
Task 2b. Project #2 28 5,000
Task 2c. Project #3 28 5,000
Task 3. Municipal Staff Training 12 3,000
Task 4. Annual Report 12 2,500
Task 5. Low Impact Development
Maintenance Inspections
24 6,000
Task 6. Co-Permittee Meeting
Assistance
9 2,500
Task 7. Trash Implementation Plan 21 4,800
Task 8. Consulting Services 11 4,250
Task 9. Project Management 14 2,200
Total 215 48,900
Billing rates for the estimate are provided below. Rates will be valid for the duration of the contract:

Classification 2024
Quality Assurance $305
Principal Compliance Specialist $275
Compliance Specialist II $194
Compliance Specialist I $174
Field Inspector $185
Intern $110
Administrative Assistance $110
Direct Costs Cost + 10%
Mileage Standard Federal Rate
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Stone Creek Environmental Consulting
8733 Lakewood Drive, Suite B
Windsor, CA 95492
[email protected]
707-318-9415
7 www.consultingstonecreek.com
Any services not included in this Scope of Work will be performed only after receiving written authorization and a corresponding budget augmentation from the City.

I am looking forward to working with you on this important work. Please feel free to contact me at 707-318-9415 or [email protected] if you have any questions or would like to discuss this proposal further.

Sincerely,
Colleen Hunt, CPMSM #343
Professional Consultant
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City of Cotati
Sonoma County, California
________________________________________________________________

MEMORANDUM
201 W. Sierra Ave, Cotati, CA 94931 | (707) 792-4600 | www.cotaticity.gov | @cityofcotati DATE: June 19, 2025
SUBJECT: Sole Source Justification for Professional Services Contract - Stormwater Compliance Services – Stone Creek Consulting
Purpose
This memo documents the justification for awarding a professional services contract to Stone Creek Consulting as a sole source provider for stormwater regulatory compliance services related to the City’s Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) permit, in accordance with the City’s procurement policy.

Background
The City is subject to the Regional Water Quality Control Board’s Waste Discharge Requirements Order No. R1-2015-0030, which governs the operation and maintenance of the municipal stormwater system (MS4 Permit). This permit imposes extensive compliance obligations, including sediment reduction planning, water quality monitoring, reporting, public outreach, and oversight of private development.

To meet these requirements, the City coordinates regionally with other jurisdictions and relies on a mix of internal staff support and outside expertise. The current MS4 permit remains in effect pending its renewal, expected before the end of calendar year 2026. Preparing for future regulatory changes and the implementation of an asset management program is a key area of focus moving forward.

Sole Source Justification
Colleen Hunt, owner of Stone Creek Consulting, is uniquely qualified to assist the City with these ongoing regulatory requirements. She brings highly specialized expertise and credentials that are not readily available from other consultants:
• Certified Professional in Municipal Stormwater Management • Former staff member of the Regional Water Board with direct experience drafting and implementing MS4 Permits
• Consultant to dozens of municipal permittees, with deep familiarity with regional regulatory expectations
• Has provided continuous stormwater support to the City since 2018 Her historical involvement, institutional knowledge, and unique qualifications make Stone Creek Consulting the only practicable source for the required services. The proposed scope of work includes assisting with the Annual Storm Water Report, developing sediment reduction and 53 of 99
Sole Source Justification – Stone Creek Consulting
June 19, 2025

2 monitoring plans, supporting staff training, and providing cost-recoverable private development site inspections.

Because of these factors, Stone Creek Consulting qualifies as a sole source provider under the City’s procurement policy. Competitive bidding is not required due to the absence of viable alternatives that could match the consultant’s background, prior work for the City, and expertise in this specialized regulatory area.

Financial Considerations
The proposed FY 2025/26 agreement totals $48,900, a slight reduction from the prior year’s cost of $49,000. This reflects a shift in meeting participation to City staff while accounting for increased work in preparation for the new MS4 permit. Of the total agreement, $15,000 is allocated for construction site inspections, which will be fully reimbursed through private development fees.

Importantly, securing a new consultant to perform these services would likely be more costly and inefficient, as the time required to become familiar with the City’s unique MS4 compliance obligations, historical data, and systems would significantly delay progress and reduce effectiveness. The technical and regulatory complexity of this work makes continuity a costeffective and operationally prudent choice.

Procurement Policy Reference
Per the City’s Professional Services Procurement Policy, contracts estimated at or above $25,000 should typically involve a Request for Proposals (RFP) or a minimum of three proposals unless specific justification supports an alternative approach. The policy states:
"Contracts for Professional Services estimated to cost more than twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000.01) will generally be awarded pursuant to the following guidelines; however, it is recognized that the City's need for consultant services will vary from situation to situation, and accordingly, flexibility will be provided in determining the appropriate evaluation and selection process to be used in each specific circumstance."
The policy allows for selection based on factors beyond cost, including demonstrated competence, understanding of the work, relevant experience, and responsiveness. Given Stone Creek Consulting’s unique qualifications, extensive knowledge of the City’s stormwater program, and proven track record, proceeding without soliciting additional proposals is justified and in line with the policy's intent.

Recommendation
It is recommended that the City proceed with contracting Stone Creek Consulting as a sole source provider for stormwater compliance support services under the MS4 permit, based on both their qualifications and the City’s procurement guidelines. 54 of 99
Cotati City Council
Agenda Staff Report
Item type: CONSENT CALENDAR (ACTION)
To: City Council
Subject: APPROVAL OF 2025 NIXON FAMILY CELEBRATION OF
LIFE EVENT IN LA PLAZA PARK.

Date: June 24, 2025
Written by: Ashley Wilson, Recreation Manager
Recommendation
It is recommended that the City Council adopt a resolution approving the 2025 Nixon Family Celebration of Life event in La Plaza Park; authorizing the sales of beer and wine to benefit a nonprofit organization.

Background
Cheryl Nixon was a Cotati business owner for almost three decades, as one of the owners of local favorite watering hole, Friar Tucks. Cheryl passed away this past spring and her sons would like to honor her memory with a celebration in La Plaza Park. The Nixon Family Celebration of Life event is proposed for Saturday, August 2, 2025, in La Plaza Park.

Randy Nixon has submitted a completed City of Cotati Park Use and Special Event Application along with sufficient descriptions of the event.

Analysis/Discussion
Randy Nixon has requested the following: 1) exclusive use of La Plaza Park; 2) live, amplified entertainment; and 3) sales and service of beer and wine.

The public celebration of life event in La Plaza Park will be free of charge to enter and is family friendly, taking place from 1:00 pm until 5:00 pm. The event host has requested exclusive use of the Park from 10:00 am through 6:00 pm to allow for set-up, breakdown, and clean-up.

The proceeds from alcohol sales will benefit the Rohnert Park Rebels, a nonprofit youth girls softball organization.
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The applicant has reviewed the insurance requirements and has indicated that they can provide adequate insurance. A Condition of Approval has been included which requires proof of insurance be supplied to the City before the event.

A Condition of Approval has been included which requires a California Department of Alcohol and Beverage Control approved temporary permit to allow for the sale of alcohol to be supplied to the City before the event.

Financial Considerations
Financial considerations for the City include $213 for the park permit fee, $100 for the restroom cleaning fee, $17 for the electricity fee, and a $250 refundable security deposit, to be collected by the applicant prior to the event. Total fees collected would be $580, with $250 being refundable after the event, as long as there is no damage to the park or facilities and no extra cleaning is required. No fee waivers are requested.

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.
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RESOLUTION NO. (XX)

A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COTATI
APPROVING THE 2025 NIXON FAMILY CELEBRATION OF LIFE EVENT IN LA PLAZA PARK.

WHEREAS, Randy Nixon submitted an application to the City for the Nixon Family Celebration of Life event on June 4, 2025; and
WHEREAS, it will be necessary to conform to certain conditions as described in “Exhibit A” attached hereto, to facilitate this event; and WHEREAS, the City Council further finds that the health, safety, and welfare of the citizens of the City of Cotati will not be jeopardized by the approval of these events; and WHEREAS, the application for these events is attached as Exhibit B; and WHEREAS, the action of approving a Celebration of Life event does not constitute a project as defined by California Environmental Quality Act Guidelines Section 15378; therefore, no further environmental review is required.

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that
Section 1. Findings. The above recitals are declared to be true and correct and are incorporated herein as findings of the City Council.

Section 2. The 2025 Nixon Family Celebration of Life event is approved, including the use of amplified live entertainment and the sales of alcoholic beer and wine beverages in La Plaza Park, as more specifically described in and subject to the Conditions of Approval attached hereto as Exhibit A and incorporated herein by reference.

Section 3. Effective Date of this Resolution. This Resolution shall become effective immediately.

Section 4. Severability. Each portion of this resolution is severable. Should any portion of this resolution be adjudged to be invalid and unenforceable by a body of competent jurisdiction, then the remaining resolution portions shall be and continue in full force and effect, except as to those resolution portions that have been adjudged invalid. The City Council of the City of Cotati hereby declares that it would have adopted this resolution and each section, subsection, clause, sentence, phrase and other portion thereof, irrespective of the fact that one or more section, subsection, clause, sentence, phrase or other portion may be held invalid or unconstitutional.

IT IS HEREBY CERTIFIED that the foregoing resolution was duly adopted at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Cotati held on June 24, 2025, by the following vote, to wit:
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Approved:___________________________
Mayor
Attest:______________________________
Kevin Patterson, Deputy City Clerk
Approved as to form:______________________________
City Attorney
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EXHIBIT “A”

CONDITIONS OF APPROVAL

1. Applicant is granted exclusive use of La Plaza Park for the event on August 2, 2025 from 10:00am to 6:00pm for the event scheduled from 12:00pm to 5:00pm. This approval included live amplified entertainment and the service of beer and wine from 12:00pm to 5:00pm.

2. Applicant shall ensure the public facilities (park, parking spaces and streets) are cleaned completely and returned to pre-event condition within 24 hours of each event.

3. Applicant shall provide the City with proof of insurance for all events and vendors, as required, to the satisfaction of the City, no less than 30 days prior to each event.

4. Applicant shall obtain a Daily License from the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC). The City authorizes the sale and consumption of beer and wine only; a copy of the license, as well as evidence of responsible beverage service training, shall be provided to the City prior to the event date.

5. The event shall be carried out as described in the written descriptions submitted by the applicant, approved by the City Council, and in compliance with these Conditions of Approval.

6. The applicant shall obtain the required permits and follow all regulations from the Sonoma County Environmental Health Department, and shall ensure that any food vendor complies with Health Department requirements.

7. The applicant shall ensure that all vendors follow Cotati Municipal Code 8.20.030 (Prohibited food service ware and products), which bans the selling or serving of food ware that contains polystyrene foam or PFAS.

8. The applicant shall contact the Rancho Adobe Fire Protection District and comply with any permit requirements of the District.

9. Applicant shall dedicate an area within the park boundaries for beer and wine service and consumption, marked by physical barriers and signage. Service and consumption of alcohol will only be permitted within the indicated boundaries.

10. Applicant shall enforce a “no outside alcohol” policy during the event. 59 of 99
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Cotati City Council
Agenda Staff Report
Item type: REGULAR AGENDA (ACTION)
To: City Council
Subject: CITY COUNCIL RULES UPDATE
Date: June 24, 2025
Written by: Damien O'Bid, City Manager
Recommendation
It is recommended that the City Council approve a resolution updating the City Council Rules to consolidate the agenda and add additional public comment opportunities.

Background
Over the past several months, City Council meetings have routinely been disrupted by a member of the public who insists on speaking during routine ceremonial items, announcements, and other non-action agenda items. Despite ample opportunities to speak, including the Chair allowing the commenter to speak out of order to diffuse the situation, the meeting disruptions have continued.

Disruptions generally consist of approaching the speaker's podium and yelling over the Chair, which significantly delays the proceedings, creates a hostile environment in City Council meetings and generally makes it difficult to accomplish the public‘s business.

As a result, the City has modified the City Council rules twice this year, which have not reduced the continual meeting disruptions.

Analysis/Discussion
In accordance with Government Code §54952.6, “action taken” means a collective decision made by a majority of the members of a legislative body, a collective commitment or promise by a majority of the members of a legislative body to make a positive or a negative decision, or an actual vote by a majority of the members of a legislative body when sitting a body or entity, upon a motion, proposal, resolution, order or ordinance.

The proposed edits will preserve the Action/Non-Action hierarchy and preserve the existing three (3) minute public comment time for action items. However, the proposed changes also go 62 of 99
beyond what is required by the law under the Brown Act (cited above) and add a 1-minute public comment period on all non-action items, as defined, such as routine ceremonial items, announcements, etc. Although not common in any city, nor needed to comply with the Brown Act, it is intended to reduce the continual meeting disruptions and delays by providing a place for the public to comment at every agenda heading.

In practice, the Chair already opens all Proclamations to public comment, but the proposed changes will formally add Proclamations to the list of Action Items. Lastly, the changes made this year are deleted and largely revert the rules to their prior state, aside from the changes described above.

Financial Considerations
There are no financial considerations with modifications to the City Council meeting rules, in accordance with Cotati Municipal Code Section 2.04.040 and Government Code Section 36813.

Environmental Issues
Where it can be determined with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment, the activity is not subject to CEQA review.

This general rule can be applied to activities which could be subject to the CEQA process, but which logic dictates should not be subject to CEQA review. Therefore, based on the information provided above, the proposed resolution is exempt from CEQA pursuant to Section 14.03.021 of the CEQA Guidelines in that there is no possibility that the activity may have a significant impact on the environment.
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RESOLUTION NO. (XX)

RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COTATI UPDATING

THE CITY COUNCIL RULES OF CONDUCT
WHEREAS, the California Government Code Section 36813 establishes the prerogative for City Councils to establish rules for the conduct of its proceedings; and WHEREAS, Cotati Municipal Code Section 2.04.040 further establishes that the City Council may, by resolution, provide for rules and regulations governing the procedures to be followed in any regular or special meeting of the council; and WHEREAS, it is common in local government to establish rules to govern public proceedings; and
WHEREAS, the existing City Council Rules was adopted by Resolution 2025-14 on April 22, 2025; and
WHEREAS, it is common practice to update City Council Rules over time as needed; and
WHEREAS, the action of adopting City Council Rules does not constitute a project as defined by California Environmental Quality Act Guidelines Section 15378; therefore, no further environmental review is required.

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT the City Council of the City of Cotati does hereby adopt the update to the City Council Rules attached hereto and incorporated herein by reference; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the previously adopted City Council Rules (Policy 2025-02) shall have the attached updates incorporated.

IT IS HEREBY CERTIFIED that the foregoing resolution was duly adopted at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Cotati held on June 24, 2025, by the following 64 of 99
vote, to wit:

Approved:___________________________
Mayor
Attest:_____________________________
Kevin Patterson, Deputy City Clerk
Approved as to form:______________________________
City Attorney
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CITY COUNCIL RULES

OF CONDUCT
City Council Policy 2025-02Policy
2025-03
Adopted April 22June 24, 2025
Resolution 2025-14XX
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CITY COUNCIL RULES OF CONDUCT
These rules are established under the authority provided for in Cotati Municipal Code Section 2.04.040 and Government Code Section 36813.

Table of Contents
I. City Council Meetings .............................................................................................................................1 A. Schedule and Location .....................................................................................................................1 B. Remote Attendance of Councilmembers Meetings...........................................................................2 C. Quorum ............................................................................................................................................2 D. Attendance by the Public..................................................................................................................2 E. Agenda Packets................................................................................................................................2 F. Meeting Minutes...............................................................................................................................2 II. CITY COUNCIL OFFICERS ..................................................................................................................3 A. Election of Council Officers.............................................................................................................3 B. Role of Mayor..................................................................................................................................3 C. Powers and Duties of the Mayor......................................................................................................3 D. Councilmember Appointments and Assignments.............................................................................5 E. Council Vacancy ..............................................................................................................................5 III. ORDER OF BUSINESS ..........................................................................................................................5 A. General Order...................................................................................................................................5 B. City Council Policy on Opening Public Meetings............................................................................5 C. Agenda Setting .................................................................................................................................6 D. Matters Not on the Agenda ..............................................................................................................6 E. Action Agenda Items........................................................................................................................7 F. Presentations.....................................................................................................................................7 G. Citizens Business..............................................................................................................................7 H. Consent Calendar .............................................................................................................................7 I. Direction on Future Agenda Items...................................................................................................8 J. City Councilmember Reports...........................................................................................................8 K. Time Management and Adjournment...............................................................................................8 IV. RULES OF CONDUCT...........................................................................................................................9 A. Rosenberg’s Rules............................................................................................................................9 67 of 99
B. Rules of Decorum ............................................................................................................................9 C. General Agenda Item Process...........................................................................................................9 D. Obtaining the Floor ........................................................................................................................10 E. Introducing a Motion......................................................................................................................10 F. Multiple Motions Before the Council.............................................................................................10 G. Types of Motions ...........................................................................................................................10 H. Council Privilege, Order and Convenience. ...................................................................................12 I. Rescind, Repeal, or Annul..............................................................................................................13 J. Reading of Ordinances and Resolutions.........................................................................................13 K. Voting ............................................................................................................................................13 L. Conflict of Interest .........................................................................................................................14 M. Serial Meetings...............................................................................................................................14 V. ADDRESSING THE CITY COUNCIL.................................................................................................14 A. Written Communications................................................................................................................14 B. Closed Session................................................................................................................................15 C. Disability Accommodation.............................................................................................................15 D. Councilmembers’ Comments. ........................................................................................................15 E. Speaker Cards.................................................................................................................................15 F. Council Interaction with Public ......................................................................................................16 G. Time Allocation for Public Comment and Presentations................................................................16 H. Speakers Location ..........................................................................................................................17 I. Repetitious or Dilatory Comments Discouraged.............................................................................17 VI. PUBLIC HEARINGS ............................................................................................................................18 A. General Procedure ..........................................................................................................................18 B. Continuance of Hearings................................................................................................................18 C. Public Discussion at Hearings........................................................................................................18 D. Communications and Petitions.......................................................................................................19 E. Admissible Evidence ......................................................................................................................19 VII. NON-MEETING ACTIVITIES.............................................................................................................20 A. Study/Work Session .......................................................................................................................20 VIII.COUNCILMEMBER COMMITTEES AND SUBCOMMITTEES ......................................................20 A. Purpose...........................................................................................................................................20 B. Appointment...................................................................................................................................20 68 of 99
C. Conflict of Interest .........................................................................................................................20 D. Councilmember Committee and Subcommittee Meetings..............................................................20 E. Committee Recommendations........................................................................................................21 F. Staffing...........................................................................................................................................21 IX. CITY BOARDS, COMMISSIONS, AND COMMITTEES ..................................................................21 A. Appointments to City Boards, Commissions, and Committees......................................................21 B. Policy for Service on City Boards, Commissions, and Committees...............................................21 X. COUNCILMEMBER ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT........................................................................22 A. Council Mail...................................................................................................................................22 B. Council Correspondence ................................................................................................................22 C. Councilmember Participation in Community Activities.................................................................22 D. Correspondence Responding to Proposed State or Federal Legislation..........................................22 E. Clerical Support..............................................................................................................................23 F. Master Calendar .............................................................................................................................23 G. Requests for Research or Information ............................................................................................23 XI. CITY COUNCIL CODE OF ETHICS ...................................................................................................23 A. Preamble.........................................................................................................................................23 B. Act in the Public Interest ................................................................................................................24 C. Comply with the Law.....................................................................................................................24 D. Conduct of Members......................................................................................................................24 E. Respect for Process........................................................................................................................24 F. Conduct of City Meetings ..............................................................................................................24 G. Decisions Based on Merit...............................................................................................................25 H. Communication ..............................................................................................................................25 I. Conduct with City Staff..................................................................................................................25 J. Disclosure of Corruption ................................................................................................................26 K. Conflict of Interest .........................................................................................................................26 L. Gifts and Favors.............................................................................................................................26 M. Confidential Information ................................................................................................................26 N. Use of Public Resources.................................................................................................................26 O. Representation of Private Interests..................................................................................................26 P. Advocacy........................................................................................................................................27 Q. Improper Influence .........................................................................................................................27 69 of 99
R. Policy Role of Members.................................................................................................................27 S. Positive Work Environment ...........................................................................................................27 T. Implementation...............................................................................................................................27 U. Attendance at Meetings and Events................................................................................................27 V. Compliance and Enforcement.........................................................................................................28 XII. FAILURE TO OBSERVE COUNCIL RULES .....................................................................................28 XIII.INCONSISTENCIES.............................................................................................................................28 XIV. SEVERABILITY...........................................................................................................................28 70 of 99

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I. City Council Meetings
A. Schedule and Location

1. Regular Meetings
Regular Meetings of the Council will be held the second and fourth Tuesday of each month commencing at 6:00 p.m. in the City Council Chamber, Cotati City Hall, 201 W. Sierra Avenue, Cotati, California, unless an alternate date, time and location within the City is stated in the published Agenda in accordance with Section 2.04.020 of the Cotati Municipal Code (CMC) and the applicable Government Code.

2. Adjourned Meetings
The Council may adjourn any regular, or special meeting, to a time and place specified in the order of adjournment pursuant to the procedures set forth in the Brown Act.

3. Cancellation of Regular Meetings
Any meeting of the Council may be canceled in advance by a majority vote of the Council.

4. Special Meetings and Emergency Meetings
Special meetings and emergency meetings of the Council may be called and held from time to time pursuant to the procedures set forth in Section

2.040.030 of the CMC and the Ralph M. Brown Act (Government Code sections 54950, et seq.) (the “Brown Act”). A special meeting is any meeting that is held outside the regular time or location.

5. Closed Sessions
Consistent with the Brown Act, the Council may hold closed sessions during any regular or special meeting, or any time otherwise authorized by law to consider or hear any matter which is authorized by State law to be heard or considered in closed session.
a. The City Council may exclude from any such closed session any person or persons which it is authorized by State law to exclude from such closed sessions.
b. The topic for consideration will be stated in an open meeting before such session is held in accordance with the Brown Act. The public may comment on the closed session item prior to adjournment to closed session.
c. Minutes of closed sessions shall be recorded and shall be confidential in accordance with Chapter 2.04 of the CMC. Councilmembers may not reveal the nature of discussion or the decision from a closed session 71 of 99

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unless required by law or unless a majority of the Council agrees in closed session to disclose confidential closed session information, except that the Council must unanimously agree to divulge any confidential closed session information that is attorney/client privileged communications.

6. Location during Local Emergency
If, by reason of fire, flood, or other emergency, it will be unsafe to meet in the City Hall, the meetings may be held for the duration of the emergency at such other place as may be designated by the Mayor or, if the Mayor does not so designate, by the Vice Mayor or City Manager.

7. Holidays
When any regular meeting falls on a day designated as a holiday by the City, the regularly scheduled meeting for that day will be deemed canceled unless otherwise provided by the Council.

B. Remote Attendance of Councilmembers Meetings
Any Councilmember who participates remotely will take all necessary steps to comply with the provisions of the Brown Act related to remote City Council meeting participation.

C. Quorum
A majority of the Council will constitute a quorum, but a lesser number may adjourn a meeting.

D. Attendance by the Public
Except as specifically provided by law for closed sessions, all meetings of the Council will be open and public in accordance with the terms, provisions, and exceptions consistent with the Brown Act.

E. Agenda Packets
The City Council agenda packet, including all reports, communications, ordinances, resolutions, contracts, documents that are available, or other matters to be considered by the City Council at the regular meeting, will be delivered to members of the City Council no later than 72 hours preceding the Tuesday Council meeting to which the agenda packet pertains. Agenda packets for special meetings will be delivered to members of the City Council no later than 24 hours preceding the date and time set for the special meeting. The agenda packet will be made available for public inspection upon its distribution to the City Council.

F. Meeting Minutes

1. Action Minutes
Minutes of Council meetings will be action minutes. Action minutes will include final motions with votes. The minutes will also reflect the names of public speakers. The City Clerk will have exclusive responsibility for 72 of 99

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preparation of the minutes and directions for corrections to the minutes will be made by majority action of the City Council.

2. Reading of the Minutes
Unless the reading of the minutes of a Council meeting is ordered by a majority vote of the Council, the minutes may be approved without reading if the City Clerk has previously furnished the draft minutes in the City Council meeting packet.

3. Approval of Minutes
Draft minutes of meetings are generally submitted to the Council for approval with the agenda packet. Any Councilmember who was absent from the prior meeting may participate and vote on the approval of the minutes and need not abstain on the approval of the minutes for that meeting.

4. Recordings of Meetings
Recordings of proceedings are maintained by the City Clerk for a period of 2 years, or as provided for in the currently adopted record retention schedule.

II. CITY COUNCIL OFFICERS
A. Election of Council Officers
The Mayor and Vice Mayor will be elected by a majority vote of a quorum of the City Council. The City Council shall consider the election of the Mayor and Vice Mayor for one (1) year terms at the first regular meeting in December of each year, following the certification of election results and seating of new City Councilmembers, if applicable. The newly appointed Mayor and Vice Mayor positions will be effective on January 1, each year.

B. Role of Mayor
The Mayor is the Presiding Officer at all meetings of the City Council, except as provided below:

1. Absence of Mayor
The Vice Mayor will act as Presiding Officer in the absence of the Mayor.

2. Mayor and Vice Mayor Absence
When the Mayor and the Vice Mayor are absent from any meeting of the Council, the Councilmember most recently Mayor will act as Mayor pro tem, and that person will, for the duration of the meeting, have the powers of the Mayor.

C. Powers and Duties of the Mayor

1. Authority.

The Mayor or Presiding Officer has authority and discretion to preserve order at all Council meetings. This includes the authority to remove any person that 73 of 99

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presents a physical threat to any other person in the Council meeting, or for conduct that disrupts the meeting to prevent the orderly prosecution of the City’s business. The Presiding Officer also has the authority and discretion to enforce these rules of the Council and to determine the order of business. The Presiding Officer shall have the authority to prevent the misuse of the legitimate form of motions, the abuse of privilege of renewing certain motions, or the obstruction of the business of the City Council. The Presiding Officer may preserve orderly business by ruling such motions out of order. In so ruling, the Presiding Officer shall be courteous and fair and shall presume that the moving party is making the motion in good faith.

2. Special or Emergency Meetings.

The Mayor may call special or emergency meetings of the City Council, in accordance with the requirements of the Brown Act, Government Code Section 51950, et seq. (see also A. Schedule and Location, page 1, herein).

3. External Communication.

The Mayor is to faithfully communicate the will of the Council majority in matters of policy. The Mayor is also recognized as the official head of the City for all ceremonial purposes and shall perform such other duties consistent with the office.

4. Seating Arrangement for City Council
The Mayor will, following each Council election of officers and at such other time as the Mayor deems it necessary, establish the seating arrangement of the members of the Council. The Vice Mayor will always be seated immediately next to the Mayor.

5. Signing of Documents
The Mayor will sign all ordinances, resolutions, and other documents necessitating his/her signature, which were adopted by a quorum of the City Council, unless signature authority has been delegated in the adopting action.

6. Sworn Testimony and Subpoenas
The City Clerk will administer oaths and affirmations, take affidavits, and certify them under his/her hand. In the absence of the City Clerk, the Mayor may have the same powers pursuant to California Government Code section 40603. In addition and pursuant to Government Code section 37104, the City Council may issue subpoenas to require attendance of witnesses or production of books or other documents for evidence or testimony in any action or proceeding pending before the Council. The form of oaths administered by the City Clerk will be substantially in the following form:
<Name of affiant.>
“I hereby declare or affirm under penalty of perjury that the testimony I am about to give before the City Council is the truth.”
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D. Councilmember Appointments and Assignments
The City Council confirms, by a majority vote, Councilmember assignments to outside agencies, committees, taskforces and liaison roles.

E. Council Vacancy
Whenever a vacancy occurs in the office of City Councilmember, the City Council will fill the vacancy by appointment or special election in accordance with the procedures set forth in Government Code section 36512.

III.ORDER OF BUSINESS
A. General Order
The business of the Council at its meeting shall be generally conducted in accordance with the following order of business. Prior to publishing the written Agenda, the Mayor and the City Manager may reorder the draft agenda. At the City Council meeting, the Presiding Officer may, with the concurrence of a majority of the Councilmembers present, reorder items on the agenda to accommodate the public or to address other concerns:

1. REPORT OUT OF CLOSED SESSION (AS NEEDED)

2. CALL TO ORDER &– ROLL CALL

3. PUBLIC COMMENT ON NON-ACTION AGENDA ITEMS

3. LAND ACKNOWLEDGMENT & PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES AND NOTICE OF WAIVING READING

5. RECEPTION (AS NEEDED)

6. ANNOUNCEMENTS

7. HONORARY MAYOR (AS NEEDED)

8. PROCLAMATIONS (AS NEEDED)

9. PRESENTATIONS (AS NEEDED)

10. AGENDA REVIEW

11. CITIZENS’ BUSINESS

12. CONSENT CALENDAR

13. DIRECTION ON FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS

14. PUBLIC HEARINGS (AS NEEDED)

15. REGULAR AGENDA

16. CORRESPONDENCE AND PENDING LEGISLATION

17. REORGANIZATION OF THE CITY COUNCIL (AS NEEDED)

18. CITY MANAGER’S & CITY COUNCILMEMBER REPORT

19. CITY COUNCILMEMBER REPORTS

20.19. ADJOURNMENT (TO CLOSED SESSION AS NEEDED)
B. City Council Policy on Opening Public Meetings
Following Public Comment on Non-Action Agenda Items at the start of every City Council meeting, the City Council will conduct the following ceremonial duties in 75 of 99

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the following order before beginning the business portion of the agenda:
• Land Acknowledgment
• Pledge of Allegiance
The Land Acknowledgment, read aloud by the Chair of the meeting or their designee, generally another City Council member, shall be as follows:
"The City of Cotati recognizes that we’re on the ancestral lands of the Coastal Miwok, who are the original caretakers of this area. We respectfully acknowledge the Indigenous peoples who have been stewarding and maintaining a relationship on this land as knowledge keepers for millennia. This acknowledgement does not take the place of authentic relationships with Indigenous communities but serves as a gesture of respect to the land we are on.”
The Pledge of Allegiance, read aloud by the Chair of the meeting or their designee, generally another City Council member, shall follow the latest version of the Pledge of Allegiance promulgated per 4 U.S.C. section 4 in 1954, as follows:
"I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
C. Agenda Setting
The City Council Agenda is set by the Mayor in consultation with the City Manager. Individual City Councilmembers can request to have an item placed on the agenda during Direction on Future Agenda Items. Unless there is an objection to the item by a Councilmember, the Mayor and City Manager can mutually agree to place the item on the agenda at a future date, or will refer the item to the full Council for a determination on whether or not to include the item on a future City Council agenda. A vote of a majority of a quorum of the Council will qualify an item to be placed on a future agenda at a date to be set by the Mayor in consultation with the City Manager. To the extent possible, Councilmembers should identify items they would like to see included on City Council agendas through the City's annual Strategic Planning process, as new work may displace other work programmed through Strategic Planning.

D. Matters Not on the Agenda
Pursuant to the Brown Act, no action or discussion shall be undertaken on any item not appearing on the posted agenda, except that Councilmembers or staff may briefly respond to statements made or questions posed by persons exercising their public comment rights under Government Code Section 54954.3. In addition, on their own initiative or in response to questions posed by the public, a member of a legislative body or its staff may ask a question for clarification, make a brief announcement, or make a brief report on his or her own activities. In 76 of 99

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accordance with Government Code Section 54954.2(b), the City Council may take action on items of business not appearing on the posted agenda under any one of the conditions below:

1. Upon determination of a majority vote of the Councilmembers present that an emergency situation exists, as defined by Section 54965.5 of the Government Code, or

2. Upon determination by a two thirds vote of the City Councilmembers present, or if less than two-thirds of the Councilmembers are present, a unanimous vote of the members present, that there is a need to take immediate action and that the need for action came to the attention of the City subsequent to the agenda being posted; or

3. The item was posted on an agenda for a prior City Council meeting occurring not more than five calendar days prior to the date action is taken on the item, and at the prior meeting the item was continued to the meeting at which action is being taken.

E. Action Agenda Items
In accordance with the Brown Act, at a regular meeting the Council may not take action on any item that did not appear on the posted Council agenda 72 hours prior to the Council meeting unless an exception is made as permitted under Government Code section 54954.2.

F. Presentations
All presentations will be calendared through the City Clerk in coordination with the City Manager. Presentations shall be provided to the City Clerk in their final form no later than 5 business days prior to the City Council meeting. The length of presentations will be managed through the agenda setting process by the Mayor and the City Manager, and by the Mayor during the meeting.

G. Citizens Business
In compliance with Government Code Section 54954.3, Public Comments is that portion of City Council meetings set aside for members of the public to address the City Council on items within the subject matter jurisdiction of the City of Cotati that are on the Consent Calendar or any item or items not listed on the Council agenda. The Council cannot take action on any item not appearing on the agenda unless action is authorized as described herein.

H. Consent Calendar
Only a member of the Council can pull an item off of the consent calendar. With the concurrence of a majority of the Council, agenda items removed from the consent calendar by Councilmembers will be considered on the Regular Agenda.

Members of the public shall comment on any consent items as an additional comment period during the Citizens Business portion of the meeting. Any City Council discussion of an item will require the pulling of the item from the consent calendar, and will include an opportunity for the public to comment on that item. 77 of 99

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I. Direction on Future Agenda Items
This agenda item is intended to allow the City Council, by majority consensus, to direct staff to bring new items forward for discussion at a future City Council meeting. However, each fiscal year, the City Council has also developed priority projects and programs that direct staff and budget resources. To ensure that the City Council is fully informed regarding the impact that any new items may have on the existing priorities and timing, the following process shall be followed to bring new items forward during the year:

1. Discuss any requested item(s) with the City Manager in advance of the City Council meeting to determine if it can be added without impacting the timing or ability to deliver on other existing City Council priorities.

2. If the City Manager believes that the proposed item is too large for current staff resources and will likely delay other existing City Council priorities, during “Direction on Future Agenda Items”, the City Council member should ask for the item to be added to a list of items that the City Council should discuss a the next mid-year or budget discussion, depending on the time sensitivity of the item.
a. Alternatively, if the item is time-sensitive and would suffer by being delayed, the City Council member can request the new item(s) at the next City Council meeting, stating that in consultation with the City Manager this item could delay other existing City Council priorities but requests that this item come back for discussion sooner due to the need to discuss sooner. If a majority of the City Council agree to discuss the item further, staff will come back at a subsequent City Council meeting with a suggested re-prioritization of priority projects and programs, or other potential alternatives, for City Council to consider and agree by majority vote prior to initiating work on the new item.

J. City Councilmember Reports
This time is set aside to allow members of the Council serving on Council subcommittees and regional boards, commissions or committees to present a brief verbal report to the full Council on the activities of the respective boards, commissions or committees upon which they serve, as well as other activities and events of interest to the Community. This is also when Councilmembers may fulfill their obligation to report on activities conducted at City expense. No extended discussion or action may be taken on these reports.

K. Time Management and Adjournment
The Council will not hear any new agenda items past 11:00 p.m. without a majority vote of the Council. In considering whether to hear an item after 11:00 p.m., a determination should be made by Council that the new item(s) can be 78 of 99

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discussed, deliberated and acted upon before 12:00 a.m. If agenda items remain after the 12:00 a.m. adjournment, a special meeting may be scheduled or the items may be deferred until the next regular meeting.

With concurrence of a majority of the Council, the Presiding Officer may set a time certain for specific agenda items.

IV. RULES OF CONDUCT
A. Rosenberg’s Rules
Except as provided herein, other rules adopted by the City Council and applicable provisions of state law, the procedures of the City Council will be generally guided by the latest revised edition of Rosenberg’s Rules of Order. Pursuant to law, failure to follow parliamentary rules will not in and of itself invalidate action taken by the Council.

B. Rules of Decorum

1. Authority. Through these Rules, Councilmembers may preserve order and decorum while the Council is in session. To avoid distraction, the following meeting etiquette shall be enforced.
• Silence electronic devices, including cell phones.
• Audience members are advised to keep conversations to a minimum or conduct them outside the building.
• Photographs or video recordings using tri-pods or other means that would be distracting are to be taken only from the designated media area.
• The Presiding Officer shall request that the audience withhold expressions of support or opposition for speakers in the interest of time and to encourage the full expression of differing views.

C. General Agenda Item Process
The following process is the normal order of business for an agenda item, except public hearings, which are discussed in more detail herein (see VI PUBLIC HEARINGS page 17):
• Presiding Officer announces the current agenda item.
• Staff presents its report (as needed).
• Councilmembers may ask questions of staff if they so desire. • The Presiding Officer opens for public comment.
• The Council asks any follow up questions of staff
• The Council deliberates and takes action through a valid motion as described herein.
• After any further deliberation, the motion is seconded and a vote of the Council carries the motion, as described herein. 79 of 99

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D. Obtaining the Floor
Every Councilmember desiring to speak will first address the Presiding Officer and gain recognition by the Presiding Officer. All Councilmembers will have an opportunity to speak. The Presiding Officer will determine the speaking order of the Councilmembers.

E. Introducing a Motion
At the Presiding Officer’s discretion, items on the agenda may be discussed before asking for a motion and second. The Presiding Officer or any Councilmember can bring or second a motion. Before the matter can be considered or debated, it must be seconded. Once a motion has been properly made and seconded, the Presiding Officer shall open the matter for debate offering the first opportunity to debate to the moving party and, thereafter, to any Councilmember properly recognized by the Presiding Officer. It is a courtesy, but not required, to allow other Councilmembers to move and second motions, and for the Presiding Officer to be the last to debate a motion. Once the matter has been fully debated and the Presiding Officer calls for a vote, no further debate will be allowed, provided however, any Councilmember may be allowed to explain his/her vote prior to the vote being cast.

The Presiding Officer, Councilmember, or such member of the City staff as the Presiding Officer may designate, may verbally restate each motion immediately prior to calling for the vote. The Presiding Officer in his/her discretion may publicly explain the effect of a vote for the audience, or he/she may direct a member of the City staff to do so before proceeding to the next item of business.

The vote will be announced by the Presiding Officer or City staff.

F. Multiple Motions Before the Council
There can be up to three complete motions (seconded) on the floor at the same time. The Presiding Officer can reject a fourth motion until the chair has dealt with the three that are on the floor and has resolved them. The Presiding Officer must call a vote on last motion first, and if it fails, call a vote on the second motion, and if that fails, call a vote on the original motion.

G. Types of Motions
Once the main motion is properly placed on the floor, several related motions may be employed in addressing the main motion. These motions take precedence over the main motion, and if properly made and seconded, must be disposed of before the main motion can be acted upon. The following motions are appropriate and may be made by the Presiding Officer or any Councilmember at any appropriate time during the discussion of the main motion. They are listed in order of precedence. There are exceptions to the general rule of free and open debate on motions, in accordance with Rosenberg’s Rules of Order. The exceptions all apply when there is a desire of the body to move on.

When the following motions are made and seconded, the Presiding Officer must 80 of 99

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immediately call for a vote of the body without debate on the motion. Motions carry with the designated vote requirement.

1. Motion to adjourn [Simple Majority Vote]. This motion, if passed, requires the Council to immediately adjourn to its next regularly scheduled meeting.

2. Motion to recess [Presiding Officer or Simple Majority Vote]. This motion, if passed, requires the body to immediately take a recess. In the event of a meeting disruption, the Presiding Officer can unilaterally call a recess. Normally, the Presiding Officer determines the length of the recess.

3. Motion to set the time to adjourn [Simple Majority Vote]. This motion, if passed, requires the body to adjourn the meeting at the specific time set in the motion.

4. Motion to table [Simple Majority Vote]. This motion, if passed, requires discussion of the agenda item to be halted and the agenda item to be placed on “hold.” The motion to table should contain an exact or approximate date in which the item will come back to the Council. If no timeframe is given in the motion, the item tabled dies, although it can be raised later as a new motion.

5. Motion to limit debate [Two-Thirds Vote]. This is a motion to end debate or set a time limit on the debate for a given agenda item. When such a motion is made, the Presiding Officer should ask for a second, stop debate, and vote on the motion to limit debate.

6. Motion to close nominations [Two-Thirds Vote]. When choosing officers of the Council (such as the Mayor and Vice-Mayor), nominations are received from one of the Councilmembers. Nominations can be closed by a vote of the Council.

7. Motion to object to the consideration of an agenda item [Two-Thirds Vote]. Rather than tabling, when the Council believes it is premature for an item on the agenda to be considered, then such a motion can be made during the Approval of Final Agenda item.

Other types of motions that are debatable:

8. Basic motion. The basic motion is the one that puts forward a decision for the City Council’s consideration.

9. Motion to reconsider [Simple Majority Vote]. A motion to reconsider may be made only by a member who voted in the majority on the original motion. Such a motion may only be made at the same meeting as the original item, and only to correct inadvertent errors or to consider new information not available at the time of the vote. If the motion to reconsider passes, then the original matter is back before the Council, and the matter may be discussed and debated as if it were on the floor for the first time. After the reconsideration of the item has been acted upon, no other motion for reconsideration thereof will be made without the unanimous consent of the Councilmembers present. Matters which are 81 of 99

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quasi- judicial in nature or matters which require a noticed public hearing cannot be reconsidered.

10. Motion to Commit or Refer [Simple Majority Vote]. Any Councilmember may move that the matter being discussed should be referred to a committee or commission for further study. The motion may contain directions for the committee or commission, as well as a date upon which the matter will be returned to the Council’s agenda. If no date is set for returning the item to the Council agenda, the Councilmember may move, at any time, to require the item be returned to the agenda. The motion must be seconded and a majority vote is required for passage if the item is to come back at a future date certain, or a two- thirds vote if the item is to be immediately discussed by the Council at the time the motion to return is made.

11. Motion to Amend [Simple Majority Vote]. Any Councilmember may amend the main motion or any amendment made to the main motion.

Before the main motion may be acted upon, all amendments and amendments to amendments must first be acted upon. An amendment must be related to the main motion or amendment to which it is directed.

Any amendment which substitutes a new motion rather than amending the existing motion is out of order, and may be so declared by the Presiding Officer.

12. Motion to Substitute [Simple Majority Vote]. If a Councilmember wants to completely replace the basic motion that is before the Council, then the Councilmember would move a substitute motion.

13. Division of Motion [Simple Majority Vote]. Any Councilmember may move to divide the subject matter of a motion which is made up of several parts in order to vote separately on each part, particularly with complex ordinances or resolutions.

H. Council Privilege, Order and Convenience.

The following actions by the Council are to ensure orderly conduct of meetings are for the convenience of the Presiding Officer and Council. These motions take precedence over any pending main or subsidiary motion and may or may not be debated, as noted:
a. Point of Privilege. Any Councilmember can raise a Point of Privilege.

Appropriate points of privilege relate to anything that would interfere with the normal comfort of the meeting. If raised, the Presiding Officer would then ask the interrupter to “state your point.”
b. Point of Order. Any Councilmember may require the Presiding Officer to enforce the rules of the Council by raising a point of order. The point of order shall be ruled upon by the Presiding Officer. Only a Councilmember may raise a point of order or a point of personal privilege. c. Appeal. If the Presiding Officer makes a ruling that a Councilmember of disagrees with, that Councilmember may appeal the ruling of the Presiding Officer. The motion must be seconded to put it before the Council. A majority vote in the negative or a tie vote sustains the ruling of the Presiding Officer. The motion is debatable, and the Presiding Officer may 82 of 99

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participate in the debate.
d. Call for orders of the day. If a Councilmember believes that the City Council is not on the agreed-upon agenda, such a call may be made. It does not require a vote, and if the Presiding Officer finds that the agenda has not been followed, the Presiding Officer simply reminds the City Council to return to the agenda item properly before them. If the Presiding Officer fails to do so, the Presiding Officer’s determination may be appealed.
e. Withdraw a motion. During debate and discussion of a motion, the maker of the motion on the floor, at any time, may interrupt a speaker to withdraw his/her motion from the floor. The motion is immediately deemed withdrawn, although the Presiding Officer may ask the person who seconded the motion if he/she wishes to make the motion, and any other Councilmember may make the motion if properly recognized. f. Suspend the Rules [Two-Thirds Vote]. Any Councilmember may move to suspend the rules if necessary to accomplish a matter that would otherwise violate these rules. The motion requires a second and a two-thirds vote is required for passage.

I. Rescind, Repeal, or Annul.

The Council may rescind, repeal or annul any prior action taken with reference to any legislative matter so long as the action to rescind, repeal or annul complies with all of the rules applicable to the initial adoption, including any special voting or notice requirements, or unless otherwise specified by law.

J. Reading of Ordinances and Resolutions
Motions offering ordinances or resolutions are deemed to include waiver of full reading and title of the ordinance or resolution unless otherwise specifically stated. Ordinances that have been introduced by unanimous vote of the Council may be placed on the consent calendar.

K. Voting
All Councilmember present at a meeting, when a question comes up for a vote, should vote for or against the measure unless he/she is disqualified from voting and abstains because of such disqualification. The Presiding Officer will call for the vote. The vote may be taken by voice affirmation or roll call at the Presiding Officer’s discretion. Except for specific matters specified by State law, a motion carries with affirmative vote by a quorum of the City Council.

1. Tie Votes
Tie votes will be lost motions and may be reconsidered at a subsequent meeting upon a motion passed by the Council to reconsider the item at a subsequent meeting. If the matter involves an appeal, and an affirmative vote does not occur, the result is that the decision appealed stands as decided by the decision-making person or body from which the appeal was taken.
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2. Changing Vote
A Councilmember may change his/her vote only if he/she makes a timely request to do so immediately following the announcement of the vote by the Presiding Officer and prior to the time that the next item in the order of business is taken up. A Councilmember who publicly announces that he/she is abstaining from voting on a particular matter may not subsequently withdraw his/her abstention.

L. Conflict of Interest
Any Councilmember who has a conflict of interest regarding any matter being considered by the Council shall declare the conflict, state the reason for the conflict, and leave the room during the discussion of that particular agenda item, unless it is a Consent Calendar item. A Councilmember stating disqualification will not be counted as a part of a quorum and will be considered absent for the purpose of determining the outcome of a vote on the matter.

M. Serial Meetings
A majority of the members of the City Council shall not, outside a meeting authorized by the Brown Act, use a series of communications of any kind, directly or through intermediaries, to discus, deliberate, or take action on any item of business that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the City Council. Serial meetings yield a process which deprives the public the opportunity for a meaningful contribution to the decision-making process. However, an elected official may confer with a colleague about public business and engage in other conduct that does not constitute a “meeting” under the Brown Act.

V. ADDRESSING THE CITY COUNCIL
While public comment is encouraged, under the law the Council has the right reasonably to regulate the time, place and manner of such comment. Any person desiring to address the Council at a meeting shall first be recognized by the Presiding Officer to do so.

A. Written Communications.

Interested persons or their authorized representative may address the Council by written communication on any matters concerning the City’s business, or any matters over which the Council has control.

1. To be considered for inclusion in the agenda packet, such written communication shall be delivered to the City Clerk no later than 11:00 a.m. of the Wednesday the week preceding the regular Council meeting for which such written communication is intended.

2. If received after the above date and time, but no later than noon the day before the meeting, written communications received by the City Clerk shall be posted on the website by the end of that day and notification provided to the electronic Agenda mailing list by the end of the day. All written communications received by the City Clerk by 5 pm on the City Council meeting day shall be made available to the City Council and public at the City Council meeting.
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3. If provided during the City Council meeting, written communications shall be delivered to the City Clerk.

4. Any writings or documents subject to disclosure that are provided to all, or a majority of, the members of the City Council regarding any item on the agenda after the time and date above, but before City Council meeting, will be made available to the City Council and the public at the City Council meeting no later than the start of the public meeting.

5. Although all written communications will become part of the written meeting record, they will not be read into the record at the City Council meeting.

B. Closed Session
Public comment is only received at the start of closed session at the designated portion of the agenda. Closed sessions that are continued after the regular meeting do not have an additional public comment period. Public comment can only address the subject of the closed session.

C. Disability Accommodation
Any person with a disability who requires a modification or accommodation in order to participate in the meeting should contact the City Clerk at least 48 hours in advance of the meeting to ensure the requested accommodation can be made.

D. Councilmembers’ Comments.

Councilmembers who are not able to attend a particular Council meeting may submit written comments on the agenda items. Councilmembers cannot give another member his/her proxy to vote, as the absent Councilmember is not present to consider reports and comments provided during the agenda item(s). The Councilmembers’ written comments shall be submitted to the City Manager and/or City Clerk and distributed as soon as possible to the other Councilmembers, but no later than the start of the meeting. Councilmember comments will not be read into the record.

E. Speaker Cards
Persons wishing to speak are encouraged, but not required, to submit a speaker card to the City Clerk for any item(s). Speakers will be called by the Presiding Officer. Although not required, when called upon, the person should come to the podium, state his/her name and address for the record, and, if speaking for an organization or other group, identify the organization or group represented.

Speaker cards may also be used as comment cards by members of the public who do not wish to or cannot verbally address the Council during a meeting. A person may indicate his/her comments and opposition or support for an agenda item on a speaker/comment card. During the public testimony of the item, the Presiding Officer will indicate that the Council has received comment cards from (name of person) in support of the project or issue and comment cards from (name of person) in opposition of the project or issue. The minutes will reflect the Council’s receipt of comment cards in opposition and support of the project or issue. 85 of 99

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Persons who do not wish to use speaker cards are required to provide comments at the start of public comment, prior to those who submitted comment cards. Persons who have not submitted comment cards must indicate an intention to provide public comment by raising their hands to obtain recognition from the Presiding Officer at the start of public comment.

F. Council Interaction with Public
All remarks shall be addressed to the Council as a body and not to any member thereof or to the audience. No person, other than the Council and person having the floor, shall be permitted to enter into any discussion, either directly or through a member of the Council, without the permission of the Presiding Officer. No questions shall be asked of a Councilmember or staff except through the Presiding Officer. The Presiding Officer will determine whether, or in what manner, an answer will be provided. If a Councilmember believes that a material misstatement of fact has been made by a person, the Councilmember may ask the City Manager or City Attorney to correct or otherwise clarify the matter or the Councilmember may provide a direct response at that time without interrupting the speaker. The Mayor may also direct the questions to the City Manager to be handled either at the Council meeting or outside of the meeting. After a motion is made by the Council, no person shall address the Council without first securing the permission of the Presiding Officer to do so.

G. Time Allocation for Public Comment and Presentations

1. Public Comment (Action Items): To ensure full access for any public wishing to speak, and to maintain a timely and efficient meeting, public comment on any one agenda item where the City Council will be taking some action is limited to no more than three (3) minutes per person. To avoid requiring the public to make multiple trips to the speakers podium, public comment on the Consent Calendar shall be received during Citizen’s Business, and shall be an additional three (3) minute comment period per person in total for any and all items on the Consent Calendar.

The following agenda items are action items, where it is anticipated that an action will be taken, and are explicitly labeled “action” on the agenda:
i. APPROVAL OF MINUTES AND NOTICE OF WAIVING

READING
i.ii. PROCLAMATIONS
ii.iii. CONSENT CALENDAR
iii.iv. PUBLIC HEARINGS
iv.v. REGULAR AGENDA
v.vi.REORGANIZATION OF THE CITY COUNCIL (AS

NEEDED)
In accordance with Government Code §54952.6, “action taken” means a collective decision made by a majority of the members of a legislative body, a collective commitment or promise by a majority of the members of a legislative body to make a positive or a negative decision, or an actual 86 of 99

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vote by a majority of the members of a legislative body when sitting a body or entity, upon a motion, proposal, resolution, order or ordinance.

2. Public Comment (Non-Action Items): Public comment on other nonaction agenda items shall be received during before or during the designated portionitem of on the agenda. CcBecause the City Council does not deliberate on, consider, or otherwise take action on non-action items, comments on non-action agenda items shall be limited to no more than three one (13) minutes for all non-action agenda items, install of the three (3) minutes for action items. If the City Council opens a Nonnon-Action action agenda items for discussion beyond brief City Council follow-up questions or if the City Council proposes to take any action, the City Council shall open the item for public comment as an Action Item.

3. Presentations: Presentations, appropriately calendared in accordance with the procedures herein, will be limited to a time period not to exceed 15 minutes (including questions) for all presentations at each Council meeting, unless agreed upon in advance with the City Manager. The Presiding Officer may allow presentations by an applicant or appellant in a Public Hearing to be longer if needed to present necessary evidence or relevant project information.

4. Disability Accommodation: If a person requests a time extension as a disability accommodation, the Presiding Officer may extend the time as is reasonable for the speaker to convey the information.

5. Time Allocation if Many Commenters: If there are more than ten (10) speakers with the potential to extend public comment beyond 30 minutes, the Presiding Officer is authorized to establish a different time limit for public comments in order to allow equal access for all those wishing to address the City Council.

6. Yielding Time: Speakers may not “yield” a portion of their allotted time to others.

H. Speakers Location
Speakers shall address the Council from the podium provided for that purpose, and may not enter the “well” in front of the Council dais or other area during their comment. Any written materials or items to be submitted or shown to the Council shall be given to the City Clerk, who will distribute them to Council.

I. Repetitious or Dilatory Comments Discouraged.

In order to expedite matters and to avoid repetitious presentations, the designation of a spokesperson is encouraged. Whenever any group of persons wishes to address the Council on the same subject matter, those persons are encouraged to designate a spokesperson to address the City Council. With the consent of the City Council, the Presiding Officer may extend the time allocation for a 87 of 99

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designated spokesperson.

In accordance with the Brown Act, unduly long or repetitious comments may be ruled out of order by the Presiding Officer. Disruptive speech will also be limited in accordance with law.

VI. PUBLIC HEARINGS
A. General Procedure
The Council procedure for the conduct of public hearings follows that of a normal agenda item (see C. General Agenda Item Process, page 8), except as described below:

1. After the staff report and any Council questions, the Presiding Officer opens the public hearing.

2. The applicant or appellant then has the opportunity to present comments, testimony, or arguments. In the case of an appeal when the appellant is different from the applicant, the appellant should be called up first to provide comments or testimony. The Presiding Officer shall provide the applicant/appellant with a reasonable amount of time to present all information relevant to the item being considered to preserve due process.

3. Members of the public are provided with the opportunity to present their comments, testimony or argument, within the normal time frame for comments (3 minutes).

4. The applicant or appellant is given an opportunity for rebuttal or concluding comments. In the case of an appeal when the appellant is different from the applicant, the appellant is given the opportunity for closing comments.

5. The public hearing is closed.

6. The Council deliberates on the issue.

7. If the Council raises new issues through deliberation and seeks to take additional public testimony (questions of the public, applicant or appellant), the Public Hearing must be reopened. At the conclusion of the public testimony, the Public Hearing is again closed.

8. The Council then deliberates and takes action on a valid motion, as described herein.

B. Continuance of Hearings
Any hearing being held or noticed or ordered to be held by the Council at any meeting of the Council may, by order or notice or continuance, be continued or re-continued to any subsequent meeting.

C. Public Discussion at Hearings
When a matter for public hearing comes before the Council, the Presiding Officer will open the public hearing. Upon opening the public hearing and before any motion is adopted related to the merits of the issue to be heard, the Presiding Officer will open public comments.
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1. Public Member Request to Speak
Persons wishing to speak or present evidence during Public Hearings should submit a speaker card to the City Clerk in a timely fashion. Speakers will be called by the Presiding Officer, and shall be limited to the normal time limit in accordance with Time Allocation for Public Comment and Presentations herein if they do not have a direct property interest in the decision. When called upon, the person should come to the podium, state his/her name and address for the record, and, if speaking for an organization or other group, identify the organization or group represented. A member of the public may only address the Council upon recognition by the Presiding Officer.

2. Council Questions of Speakers
Members of the Council who wish to ask questions of the speakers or each other during the public hearing portion may do so but only after first being recognized by the Presiding Officer. Interaction with the speaker will be limited to a question or questions for clarification, rather than an ongoing dialogue, generally after the speaker has concluded the initial comments.

Councilmembers should avoid raising questions as a method to extend the allocated time for a speaker.

3. Due Process
The Presiding Officer will conduct the meeting in such a manner as to afford due process.

4. Public Oral Presentations
All Council rules pertaining to oral presentation apply during public hearings, as described in E. Presentations, on page 7.

5. Materials for Public Record
All persons with an interest in the matter being heard by the Council will be entitled to submit written evidence, correspondence, or remarks, as well as other graphic evidence. All such materials shall be handled in accordance with these Rules and will be retained by the City Clerk as part of the Clerk's record of the hearing, unless otherwise directed.

6. Germane Comments
No person will be permitted during the public hearing to speak about matters or present evidence which is not germane to the matter being considered. A determination of relevance will be made by the Presiding Officer.

D. Communications and Petitions
Written communications and petitions concerning the subject matter of the hearing may be noted, read aloud, or summarized by the Presiding Officer at his/her discretion.

E. Admissible Evidence
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Hearings need not be conducted according to technical rules relating to evidence and witnesses. Any relevant evidence may be considered if it is the sort of evidence upon which responsible persons are accustomed to rely in the conduct of serious affairs.

VII. NON-MEETING ACTIVITIES
A. Study/Work Session
The Council may meet in a study/work session at such times or at such places as may be determined by the Council for the purpose of hearing reports from the staff and reviewing, discussing and debating matters of interest to the City. These sessions will be noticed as provided by law and open to the public and the press.

No official action may be taken at a study session. However, Council may refer the item to staff with specific requests for information or provide specific direction to staff. During study/work sessions, Councilmembers may ask questions of staff.

For those questions that staff cannot immediately answer, responses will be provided for the Council in writing or at a future Council meeting.

VIII. COUNCILMEMBER COMMITTEES AND SUBCOMMITTEES
A. Purpose
The City Council from time to time forms committees and subcommittees. These committees and subcommittees are formed to study, investigate, and make recommendations to the full Council regarding specific topics. In some instances there are standing committees and in other instances there are ad hoc committees.

B. Appointment
Councilmember committees and subcommittees will be appointed by the Mayor.

Mayoral appointments shall be ratified by a majority of the City Council.

Committee members will be promptly notified of their selection and the scope of the committee assignment. The Mayor will designate the term of the committee and identify whether it is a standing appointment (on-going) or a short-term (ad hoc) assignment.

C. Conflict of Interest
Should an appointee to a committee or subcommittee discover a conflict of interest with their appointment to the committee, that discovery will be communicated to the Mayor immediately.

D. Councilmember Committee and Subcommittee Meetings
Council committee and subcommittee meetings will be scheduled at times which allow for each member to attend. Each member should make an effort to accommodate the committee or subcommittee meeting schedule. The schedule of committee and subcommittee meetings will be uniformly communicated to each committee or subcommittee member. Individual committee or subcommittee members will disclose any related conversations or correspondence associated with the scope of the committee’s or subcommittee duties at the following 90 of 99

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committee or subcommittee meeting.

E. Committee Recommendations
Generally, committee members should reach agreement on findings and recommendations to present to the City Council. When the opinions of committee members are divergent, a majority and minority finding and recommendation may be submitted to the City Council. Although written minutes of each committee meeting are not required, committee findings and recommendations should be presented to the City Council in a written document.

F. Staffing
Councilmembers assigned to committees will observe the City Council Rules regarding staff assignment of duties. Only the City Manager will assign staff to committees for the purposes of administrative services, to attend committee meetings, and to assist with committee presentations to the City Council.

IX. CITY BOARDS, COMMISSIONS, AND COMMITTEES
A. Appointments to City Boards, Commissions, and Committees

1. Planning Commission: Appointments to the Planning Commission shall be guided by the latest revised Cotati Municipal Code Section 2.16.010:

2. Design Review Committee: Appointments to the Design Review Committee shall be guided by the latest revised Cotati Municipal Code Section 2.19.010

3. Measure G Oversight Committee: Appointments shall be in accordance with that for Planning Commissioners as outlined in Cotati Municipal Code Sections 2.16.015 (Appointment process) and 2.16.020 (Terms), and as further defined by Resolution 2015-64.

4. Community and Environment Commission: INACTIVE
B. Policy for Service on City Boards, Commissions, and Committees

1. Role
Boards, commissions and committees established by the City Council are advisory to the City Council. The role of all such boards, commissions, and committees is to make recommendations to the City Council on matters affecting the City of Cotati. Except as otherwise provided in state or local law, commissions and committees have no independent role separate and apart from their role as advisory to the City Council. Boards, commissions, and committees have no authority to appropriate funds except as otherwise approved by the City Council.

2. Conflict of Interest
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All members of boards, commissions, and committees shall abide by the provisions of the Political Reform Act of the State of California and provisions of the common law relating to conflicts of interest and the latest revised Cotati Conflict of Interest Code.

X. COUNCILMEMBER ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT
A. Council Mail
When incoming mail is received addressed to a Councilmember, it is opened by City Manager office staff as directed by the City Manager.

All correspondence, including E-mail, addressed to the City Council or to individual Councilmembers relating to the conduct of the City’s business is a public record as defined in Government Code section 6252 and will be retained by the City in accordance with its Records Retention Policy.

B. Council Correspondence
All Councilmember correspondence shall be subject to the latest revised Administrative Policy No. 2004-02. Correspondence written with City resources (letterhead, typing, staff support, postage, etc.) will reflect the position of the full Council, not an individual Councilmember’s position, except when applying for regional governmental boards or committees. All Councilmember correspondence using City resources will be copied to the full Council. For example, responses to citizen letters will be copied to the full Council along with the original citizen correspondence.

C. Councilmember Participation in Community Activities
From time to time, Councilmembers may choose to participate in community activities, committees, events, and task forces. When a Councilmember participates in these types of activities, the Councilmember is acting as an interested party rather than acting on behalf of the City Council. If asked to speak or comment at a public event, Councilmembers should state that they are acting as interested parties rather than acting on behalf of the City Council. Acting or participating on behalf of the City Council is limited to those instances when the Council has formally designated the Councilmember as its representative for the matter.

D. Correspondence Responding to Proposed State or Federal Legislation In responding to correspondence from the City to State or Federal government representatives regarding proposed State or Federal legislation, the following process will be followed:

1. On longer-term policy issues as time permits:
a. The City Council develops a legislative platform; and/or b. The proposed legislation, along with a draft letter for the Mayor’s 92 of 99

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signature, will be placed on an upcoming City Council agenda for consideration by the full Council.
c. After Council concurrence, staff will send the letter to the appropriate State or Federal representatives.

2. On matters of urgency, when there is insufficient time for the above process:
a. If the proposed legislation is considered extremely beneficial or extremely detrimental to the City’s interests, and after consultation between the Mayor and City Manager, a letter may be prepared immediately for the Mayor’s signature, with copies being provided to the whole Council.
b. This procedure is particularly appropriate if the City’s position is similar or identical to a past City position on this matter and/or is consistent with the position taken by the League of California Cities.

E. Clerical Support
The City Manager's Office will coordinate the typing of correspondence requested by individual Councilmembers. All correspondence typed for Councilmembers will be on City letterhead and will reflect the position of the full Council, not individual Councilmembers, and will be copied to the full Council.

F. Master Calendar
A master calendar of Council events, functions or meetings will be provided to the full Council. Functions, events or meetings to be attended by individual Councilmembers will only be included on the master calendar at the request of individual Councilmembers.

G. Requests for Research or Information
Councilmembers may request information or research from staff on a given topic directly when it is anticipated that the request can be completed by staff in less than one (1) hour. Councilmember requests for research or information that are anticipated to take more than one (1) hour of staff time shall be directed to the City Manager. Councilmember requests for research or information that exceed 10 hours or would result in a direct expenditure outside of routine maintenance shall be brought before the full Council for consideration. Requests for new information or policy direction will be brought to the full Council for consideration at a regular meeting. All written products will be copied to the full Council.

XI. CITY COUNCIL CODE OF ETHICS
A. Preamble
The citizens and businesses of Cotati are entitled to have fair, ethical, and accountable local government which has earned the public’s full confidence for integrity. Such a government requires that public officials:
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➢ Comply with both the letter and the spirit of the laws and policies affecting operations of the government.
➢ Be independent, impartial and fair in their judgment and actions. ➢ Use their public office for the public good, not for personal gain. ➢ Conduct public deliberations and processes openly, unless legally confidential, in an atmosphere of respect and civility.

To this end, this represents our shared values to encourage public confidence in the integrity of local government and its fair and effective operation.

B. Act in the Public Interest
Recognizing that stewardship of the public interest must be their primary concern, Councilmembers shall work for the common good of the people of Cotati, and not for any private or personal interest, and they will endeavor to treat all persons, claims and transactions in a fair and equitable manner.

C. Comply with the Law
Councilmembers shall comply with the laws of the nation, the State of California and the City of Cotati in the performance of their duties. These laws include, but are not limited to: the United States and California constitutions, financial disclosures, employer responsibilities and open processes of government; and City ordinances and policies.

D. Conduct of Members
Councilmembers shall refrain from abusive conduct, and verbal or written attacks upon the character or motives of other members of the City Council, boards, commissions, committees, staff or the public. The professional and personal conduct of members must be above reproach and avoid even the appearance of impropriety.

It is acceptable to publicly disagree about an issue, but it is unacceptable to make derogatory remarks about other Councilmembers, their opinions and actions.

E. Respect for Process
Councilmember duties shall be performed in accordance with the processes and policy issues, the involvement of the public, and the implementation of policy decisions of the City Council by city staff.

F. Conduct of City Meetings
Councilmembers shall inform themselves of public issues, listen courteously and attentively to public discussions before the Council and focus on the business at hand.
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The following guidelines should be adhered to:
➢ Everyone has a right to be heard;
➢ Focus on the issue, not the person;
➢ Be careful of how you say, what you say, and be aware of physical clues such as body language;
➢ Listen carefully without interrupting;
➢ We oppose all forms of discrimination and harassment. ➢ We recognize and support the public's right to know the public's business. ➢ We believe in involving citizens in policy decision-making. ➢ We strive to exercise compassion, benevolence, fairness, and optimism. ➢ We strive to respond to the public in ways that are complete, clear, and easy to understand
G. Decisions Based on Merit
Councilmember decisions shall be based upon the merits and substance of the matter at hand, rather than on unrelated considerations. When the City Council has not taken a position on an issue, neither the Mayor nor any member of the Council will speak on behalf of the City Council.

H. Communication
It is the responsibility of the Councilmembers to publicly share substantive information that is relevant to a matter under consideration by the Council that they have received from sources outside of the public decision-making process with all other Councilmembers.

Councilmembers shall adhere to City Policy 2004-02 Signing Correspondence and Use of City Logo. City stationery and the City logo are the property of the City and may only be used in accordance with the City’s adopted policy.

I. Conduct with City Staff
The Council acting as a body will direct the City Manager on all major or new issues. A Councilmember will not initiate any action or have prepared any report that is significant in nature or initiate any project or study without the approval of the City Council.

If administrative policy or administrative performance complaints be made directly to individual Councilmembers, he or she will refer the matter directly to the City Manager for review and/or action. The individual Councilmember may request to be informed of the action or response made to the complaint.

Neither the Council nor individual members may direct or request the City Manager or his/her subordinates to appoint or remove any individual to or from employment. Neither the Council nor individual members may give any orders to any subordinate of the City Manager, either publicly or privately.

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of a City employee in public, to the employee directly, or to the employee’s supervisor. Comments about staff performance should only be made to the City Manager through private correspondence or conversation.

As appropriate, City staff should be involved when Councilmembers meet with officials from other agencies and jurisdictions to ensure proper staff support as needed and to keep the City Manager informed. City Manager shall be notified of such meetings and direct to appropriate City staff.

J. Disclosure of Corruption
All City officials shall take an oath upon assuming office, pledging to uphold the constitution and laws of the City, the State and the Federal government. As part of this oath, officials commit to disclosing to the appropriate authorities and/or to the City Council any behavior or activity that may qualify as corruption, abuse, fraud, bribery or other violation of the law.

K. Conflict of Interest
In order to assure their independence and impartiality on behalf of the public good, Councilmembers shall not use their official positions to influence government decisions in which they have a financial interest. Nothing herein is intended to prohibit a Councilmember from recusing oneself if s/he believes there may be a perception of a conflict of interest or impropriety.

In accordance with the law, members shall file written disclosures of their economic interest and if they have a conflict of interest regarding a particular decision, refrain from participating in that decision unless otherwise permitted by law.

L. Gifts and Favors
Councilmembers shall not take advantage of service or opportunities for personal gain by virtue of their public office that are not available to the public in general.

They shall refrain from accepting gifts, favors or promises of future benefits that might compromise their independence of judgment or action or give the appearance of being compromised.

M. Confidential Information
Councilmembers shall respect and preserve the confidentiality of information provided to them concerning the confidential matters of the City. They shall neither disclose confidential information without proper legal authorization nor use such information to advance their personal, financial or private interests.

N. Use of Public Resources
Public resources not available to the general public (e.g., City staff time, equipment, supplies or facilities) shall not be used by Councilmembers for private gain or personal purposes.

O. Representation of Private Interests
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In keeping with their role as stewards of the public trust, Councilmembers shall not appear on behalf of private interests of a third-party before the City Council or any board, commission or committee or proceeding of the City.

P. Advocacy
Councilmembers shall represent the official policies and positions of the City Council when designated as delegates for their purpose. When representing their personal opinions or positions, members shall explicitly state that they do not represent the Council or the City of Cotati, nor will they allow the inference that they do.

Q. Improper Influence
Councilmembers shall refrain from stating their position to improperly influence the deliberations or decisions of City staff, boards, commissions or committees.

Councilmembers shall not provide public comment on items before other City commissions or committees if the item will come before the City Council.

R. Policy Role of Members
Councilmembers shall respect and adhere to the Council-Manager structure of Cotati City government as provided in State Law and the City Code. In this structure, the City Council determines the policies of the City with the advice and information provided by the public and other City bodies, with analysis from City staff.

Councilmembers therefore shall not interfere with the administrative functions of the City or the professional duties of City staff; nor shall they impair the ability of staff to implement Council policy decisions. Councilmembers shall work through the City Manager and City Attorney.

S. Positive Work Environment
Councilmembers shall support the maintenance of a positive and constructive environment for residents, businesses and City employees.

T. Implementation
Ethics standards shall be included in the regular orientations for City Council candidates.

As an expression of conduct for Councilmembers of the City of Cotati, this Code of Ethics is intended to be self-enforcing.

U. Attendance at Meetings and Events
When Councilmembers have confirmed their attendance on behalf of the City at meetings and events, it is expected that they will attend as confirmed or give timely notice to staff if they are unable to attend. Councilmembers are also expected to attend board and committee meetings to which they have been appointed to represent the City. If they are unable to attend, it is the Councilmembers responsibility to inform the alternate attendee. 97 of 99

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V. Compliance and Enforcement
Councilmembers themselves have the primary responsibility to assure that ethical standards are understood and met and that the public can continue to have full confidence in the integrity of City government.

The City Council may impose sanctions on members whose conduct does not comply with the City’s ethical standards such as reprimand, formal censure, loss of seniority or committee assignment, or budget restriction. Ethics complaints shall be processed as City Council Correspondence. If a Councilmember would prefer to address a complaint in depth, the Councilmember shall so note during the Direction on Future Agenda Items portion of the meeting. Complaints may then be agendized in accordance with the procedures herein.

A violation of this Code of Ethics shall not be considered a basis for challenging the validity of a Council decision.

The City Council Code of Ethics shall be considered to be the definitive document relating to ethical conduct by Cotati City Councilmembers.

XII. FAILURE TO OBSERVE COUNCIL RULES
These rules are adopted to expedite the transaction of the business of the Council in an orderly and effective fashion and do not limit the inherent power and general legal authority of the Council, or of its Presiding Officer, to govern the conduct of City Council meetings as may be considered appropriate from time to time or in particular circumstances. Failure of the Council to strictly observe such rules does not affect the jurisdiction of the Council or invalidate action taken at a meeting that is otherwise held in conformity with law. Furthermore, any of the foregoing rules may be waived by majority vote of the Councilmembers present when it is deemed that there is good cause to do so based upon the particular facts and circumstances involved.

XIII. INCONSISTENCIES
The Brown Act, the Cotati Municipal Code, or other controlling State law shall prevail over any provisions in these rules and procedures which are inconsistent.

XIV. SEVERABILITY.

If any provision or part of these Rules is held by a court of competent jurisdiction to be illegal, invalid, or unenforceable, the validity, legality and enforceability of the remaining provisions and parts hereof shall not in any way be affected or impaired thereby and shall remain in full force and effect.
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Cotati City Council
Agenda Staff Report
Item type: INFORMATION RECEIVED AFTER THE AGENDA WAS POSTED To: City Council
Subject: INFORMATION RECEIVED AFTER THE AGENDA WAS POSTED Date: June 27, 2025
Written by: Kevin Patterson, Deputy City Clerk
Recommendation
Information or written comments pertaining to this meeting, and which was received after the agenda was posted, is attached below.

Pursuant to City Council Policy 2025-02: City Council Rules section IV A., written Communications, interested persons or their authorized representative may address the Council by written communication on any matters concerning the City’s business, or any matters over which the Council has control.

1. To be considered for inclusion in the agenda packet, such written communication shall be delivered to the Deputy City Clerk no later than 11:00 a.m. of the Wednesday the week preceding the regular Council meeting for which such written communication is intended.

2. If received after the above date and time, but no later than noon the day before the meeting, written communications received by the Deputy City Clerk shall be posted on the website by the end of that day and notification provided to the electronic Agenda mailing list by the end of the day. All written communications received by the Deputy City Clerk by 5 pm on the City Council meeting day shall be made available to the City Council and public at the City Council meeting.

City Council Policy 2025-02 is available at the online meeting portal at www.cotaticity.gov or by request from the Deputy City Clerk at 707-665-3622 or [email protected]. 99 of 99