Cotati City Council
Agenda Staff Report
Item type: REGULAR AGENDA (ACTION)
To: City Council
Subject: DISCUSSION ON AUTHORIZATION FOR THE MAYOR TO
ADVOCATE FOR INFRASTRTURE FUNDING WITH
ABAG/MTC
Date: January 13, 2026
Written by: Damien O'Bid, City Manager
Recommendation
It is recommended that the City Council by motion authorize the Mayor to advocate for ABAG/MTC to maintain their commitment to preferential transportation infrastructure funding for jurisdictions that have made meaningful progress towards compliance with Transit Oriented Community policy.
Background
The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC)/Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) is the agency responsible for receiving and allocating transportation and transportation infrastructure funding from Federal and State sources to local jurisdictions in the San Francisco Bay Area, including Sonoma County. MTC/ABAG is also responsible for implementing a variety of housing and transportation policies adopted by the State, such as the Transit Oriented Community (TOC) policy.
Analysis/Discussion
In the effort to continue to drive the convergence of housing and transportation policy and infrastructure, for several cycles now ABAG/MTC has linked transportation funding to housing policy. More recently, ABAG/MTC has developed the TOC requirements and has been telegraphing to Bay Area jurisdictions that future cycles of transportation funding will be linked to their compliance with TOC policies. However, many jurisdictions have not yet started any meaningful efforts to move towards compliance.
In Cotati, as well as other jurisdictions in Sonoma County, there has been meaningful progress made towards meeting the TOC requirements. While ABAG/MTC has been continuing to state that future transportation funding will be linked to TOC policy compliance, there has increasingly been hedging on this requirement by the ABAG/MTC commission as we get closer to the need to actually commit to this requirement. Presumably, this is due to the lack of progress towards TOC compliance in many jurisdictions and the pending transportation funding cycle.
Therefore, staff recommend that the Mayor be authorized to advocate for preferential transportation funding for jurisdictions that have made meaningful progress towards TOC compliance and hold ABAG/MTC to their commitment. This includes sending letters and/or directly advocating with our Sonoma County ABAG/MTC Commissioner (Victoria Flemming, Santa Rosa City Council), ABAG/MTC, or other state and regional representatives on behalf of the City.
Financial Considerations
There are no direct financial impacts by authorizing the recommended advocacy. However, if successful, it could result in an increase in transportation infrastructure funding for Cotati and other jurisdictions in the Bay Area that have made meaningful progress towards TOC compliance.
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.