Cotati City Council
Agenda Staff Report
Item type: CONSENT CALENDAR (ACTION)
To: City Council
Subject: ADOPTION OF RESOLUTION APPROVING THE 2026
COTATI ACCORDION FESTIVAL AND ASSOCIATED SALE
OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES, AMPLIFIED MUSIC, AND
TEMPORARY STREET CLOSURES
Date: October 14, 2025
Written by: Ashley Wilson, Recreation Manager
Recommendation
It is recommended that the City Council adopt a resolution approving the 2026 Accordion Festival including the sale of alcoholic beverages on public property, amplified music, and the temporary closure of certain public streets.
Background
The Annual Cotati Accordion Festival is proposed for Saturday, August 15th, and Sunday, August 16th of 2026. The event coordinators are requesting permission to use La Plaza Park, including the bandstand with electricity, and the right-of-way surrounding the park. The event and the request to utilize City facilities are the same as prior years, including a request for use of the City owned lot near the SMART station on East Cotati Ave. for parking. Additionally, the applicant has requested use of La Plaza Park on Thursday, Friday, August 14th for set up of the event.
Cotati Accordion Festival, Inc. has submitted a completed City of Cotati Request for Use of Park Facilities application along with sufficient descriptions of the event.
Analysis/Discussion
La Plaza Park, as well as La Plaza Street and West Sierra Avenue adjacent to the park, would be closed from 10:00 a.m. Friday, August 14th through 10:00 a.m. Monday, August 17th. The event hours would be 9:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. both days, with live music played 9:45 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. each day.
The proposed traffic routing plan would be the same as that used over the past several years. La Plaza Street and West Sierra Avenue adjacent to the park would be closed and utilized for parking and event space. This traffic plan has reduced negative community impact by keeping Old Redwood Highway and East Cotati Avenue open throughout the event. The plan also allows for parking on William Street, Olof Street, Henry Street and La Plaza Avenue between East Cotati Avenue and Old Redwood Highway and affects only one bus stop. Additional parking will be available on a private lot on West Cotati Ave, which will be permitted through the Community Development Department.
As in recent years, the City has been installing “No Parking” signs in the bicycle lanes on West Sierra Avenue from La Plaza Avenue to East School Street. This also ensures that bicycle lanes remain open for their designated use.
The exhibits attached to the resolution describe the street closures and parking restrictions necessary to allow for the orderly movement of vehicle and pedestrian traffic during street closures. All parking restriction signage will be put in place by the City at least twenty-four (24) hours in advance.
A Condition of Approval has been included which requires proof of adequate insurance and an approved permit from the California Department of Alcohol and Beverage Control to allow for the sale of beer and wine to be supplied to the City before the event.
Financial Considerations
The fees approved by Council in 2024 were $2,737.50, which was after a 50% fee waiver and waived staff costs of $7,183. The fees and deposit approved by Council in 2025 were $3,041, which was after a 50% fee waiver and waived staff costs of $7,719.
Below shows the fees associated with the permit and requests submitted by the applicant in accordance with the City Master Fee Schedule, as of the 2025 fee schedule.
Application Fee – $54
Street Closure Fee – Large w/traffic rerouting – Old Redwood Hwy – $1,924 Street Closure Fee – Large w/traffic rerouting – West Sierra Ave – $1,924 Street Closure Fee – Small – La Plaza – $769
Park Permit Fee – $877
Parking Lot Permit Fee – $274
Restroom Cleaning Fee – $220
Total Fees: $6,042
In prior years, the City has collected the $500 refundable deposit in accordance with the City Master Fee Schedule but is recommending a larger deposit of $1500 moving forward. This is because the 2025 event caused irrigation damage to the park, which cost more than the deposit amount being held at the time. Given the logistics and length of the event, staff believe it is appropriate to collect a larger deposit.
The applicant has requested the same waiver they received in 2025, which was a 50% waiver of all City fees and a full waiver of all staff costs for this event. The Special Events and Park Permit Policy allows for non-profit groups to request a 50% fee waiver for fees associated with their event when no admission fees are charged. Although this event does charge admission fees, the Council decided to approve a 50% waiver of permit fees in 2025. Given that the 2025 50% fee waiver was granted by the City Council, staff are proposing to also grant the 50% waiver for this year’s event. The event brings visitation to the City and has potential to support local businesses.
Staff spends an average of 40 hours each year processing the application and for labor associated with setting up and taking down the street closures and rerouting traffic. The adopted fees are intended, on average, to cover the costs of performing these activities, but it is important to also understand the true costs. The estimated staff costs are shown below, which are proposed to be completely waived.
Recreation Staff – 5 hours – $955
Public Works Staff – 36.5 hours – $6,971.50
Total Staff Costs – $7,926.50
The proposed fees to be collected would be a fee of $3,021 (50% of the total $6,042) and a $1500 refundable deposit to be collected and returned following the event if no unusual damage occurs or extra staff time is needed to return the park to its original state.
Additionally, the Cotati Accordion Festival is designated as a City-sponsored event, which allows them to be considered as one of the ten (10) community events designated to receive free trash/recycling/compost service in 2026, as permitted under the City’s waste franchise agreement with Recology. As a City Sponsored Event, it is expected that the organizer will prominently feature the City of Cotati as an event sponsor on all advertising and marketing materials.
The net impact to the City’s General Fund is reduced revenue of $3,021 and absorbing the estimated staff costs of $7,926.50, for an estimated total City contribution of $10,947.50, in addition to the donated trash/recycling/compost service.
Any event that requests City funding or fee waivers, above what is permitted under adopted policy, will be required to provide the City with event budgets and post-event actuals. Therefore, at the request of the City, the Accordion Festival event organizers provided the following budget for the event, based on 2024 actuals.
Revenue Expenses
Ticket Sales $ 80,274 Executive Director $ 16,812
Beer & Wine $ 29,090 Admin/Office $ 30,705
T-Shirts & Merch Sales $ 17,334 T-Shirts & Merch Purchase $ 10,364 Program Ad Sales $ 4,445 Advertise/Printing $ 25,000
Vendor Booths $ 30,600 Rentals $ 15,323
Accordion Donations $ 1,855 Production (+permits, fees) $ 32,815 Cash Donations $ 26,533 Bands & Travel $ 37,625
Refunds in City Fees $ 1,436 Community Donations $ 22,074 Total $ 191,567 Total $ 190,718
Community donations have typically been to school affiliated groups that provide some level of volunteering for the Accordion Festival. For example, in 2024, the community donations benefited the following groups:
Community Donations (2024)
Rancho Cotate Music Dept. $ 6,250
Thomas Page Academy $ 5,000
Cotati/RP Education Foundation $ 5,000
Cotati/RP Nursery Co-Op $ 5,418
Karen Tynes Go Fund Me $ 236
Rotary $ 170
Total $ 22,074
Event organizers have expressed interest in donating to the Veronda Falletti Ranch in some capacity or perhaps supporting other events in La Plaza Park. However, these discussions are on-going and what, if anything, the Accordion Festival contributes will ultimately depend on how well the event does, which varies from year to year.
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.