Cotati City Council
Agenda Staff Report
Item type: REGULAR AGENDA (ACTION)
To: City Council
Subject: PROPOSED UPDATED PARK USE AND SPECIAL EVENT
PERMIT POLICY
Date: November 18, 2025
Written by: Ashley Wilson, Recreation Manager
Recommendation
It is recommended that the City Council adopt a resolution approving the updated City of Cotati Park Use and Special Event Permit Policy.
Background
The City of Cotati Park Use Policy was adopted in 2008 and last updated in 2018. Since the last update of the policy, the Cotati municipal code and several parks and amenities within parks have changed. With the updates to the municipal code and several parks, there is a need for updates to the current policy.
Analysis/Discussion
The proposed Park Use and Special Event Permit Policy establishes rules, regulations, and procedures governing the use of City Parks, as well as public property for special events.
While much of the updated policy remain the same as the current policy, there are some notable differences or additions, as indicated below:
1. Updated Facilities
Updates have been made to reflect the actual and current facilities within the City‘s park system.
2. Updated Park Hours
The primary issues that the park hours are intended to resolve are safety concerns, loud noises, property damage or other illegal activities occurring late at night, generally in an unlighted park.
Therefore, the proposed policy includes established open park hours of 6 am to 10 pm, with exceptions to the hours for traveling through parks during off hours or during a permitted event.
It also includes hours for dedicated park parking lots. These hours are recommended because they are simple to post and communicate, encompass all reasonable daylight hours, don’t change during the year, and will accomplish the goal of being easily enforceable when necessary.
In developing the recommended hours, staff reached out to cities in Sonoma County and also regionally to inquire about their park hours. In Sonoma County, the most common open hours were ”Sunrise to Sunset” (Rohnert Park, Santa Rosa and Windsor). Regionally, Yountville and the Greater Vallejo Recreation District (GVRD) also take this approach.
Other variations include:
• 7 am to 9 pm (Cloverdale)
• 7 am to 10 pm (St. Helena)
• 7 am to 7 pm (Fairfield)
• 6 am to 10 pm (Healdsburg)
• Daylight to 10 pm (Sebastopol)
• Dawn to Dusk (Petaluma)
• Seasonal: 6 am – 11 pm [April-Oct.], 6 am – 9 pm [Nov. -March] (Sonoma) • ½ Hour before Sunrise to ½ Hour after Sunset (Mill Valley, San Anselmo) • Sunrise to ½ hour after Sunset (Calistoga)
3. Updated Animal Restrictions
The proposed policy updates the animal restrictions for parks to match the updated Cotati municipal code, which allows leashed dogs in all parks. Specifics are included in the policy.
4. Insurance Updates
The updated policy proposes to remove the requirement for small events with less than 50 people, no alcohol, and no bounce houses to provide liability insurance. This update is intended to make the permit process for small gatherings more accessible to the community and matches the requirements of other Sonoma County cities, including Rohnert Park, Santa Rosa, and Healdsburg.
Additional updates include edits to adhere to the current Cotati municipal code or minor changes for clarity.
The proposed policy is attached with tracked changes. A sample application is also attached. It is proposed that the City Manager or designee may update the application as needed, so long as it adheres to the adopted policy and municipal code.
If approved by the City Council, these policies would be effective December 1, 2025 for any new reservations made.
Financial Considerations
There are no proposed financial changes to the policy. Fees are updated annually as needed within the City Council approved Master Fee Schedule.
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