August 12th, 2025
Cotati City Council
Cotati City Hall
201 W. Sierra Ave, Cotati
RE: Item 7.B: Approval of Development Impact Fee Update Dear Mayor Ford, Vice Mayor Lemus, Councilmembers, and Staff, Generation Housing thanks the City for the significant work that has gone into right-sizing development impact fees in compliance with state laws, and for being the first jurisdiction in Sonoma County to release an updated Nexus Study under the new AB 602 framework. This leadership sets an important precedent for aligning infrastructure funding with fair and transparent development costs.
We are in support of staff’s recommendation to approve the Development Impact Fee Nexus Study this evening and to begin the discussion on fee reductions and eliminations. In particular, the concepts of full elimination of impact fees for deed-restricted inclusionary units within market-rate projects and reductions or eliminations for 100% affordable projects are powerful tools for incentivizing the production of inclusionary units and stand-alone affordable housing. By lowering up-front costs for these units, Cotati can encourage more developers to include homes affordable to lower-income households, fostering mixed-income communities and addressing critical housing needs.
Generation Housing urges the Council to adopt the Nexus Study tonight and to continue advancing the fee reduction and elimination discussion with a focus on maximizing Cotati’s capacity to produce inclusive, affordable housing.
In partnership,
Stephanie Picard Bowen
Deputy Director, Generation Housing