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, March 24, 2026
6:00 PM REGULAR MEETING
1. CALL TO ORDER - ROLL CALL
Mayor Lemus called the meeting to order at 6:00pm.
Attendee Name Title Status
Sylvia Lemus Mayor Present
Susan Harvey Vice Mayor Present
Ben Ford Councilmember Absent
John Savage Councilmember Present
Laura Sparks Councilmember Leave of Absence
Staff Present: City Manager Damien O’Bid, City Attorney John Bakker, Deputy City Clerk Kevin Patterson, Director of Administrative Services Angela Courter, Director of Community Development Noah Housh, Director of Public Works/City Engineer Craig Scott, Police Chief Chris Simmons, Senior Planner JP Harries
2. 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 – MAR 10, 2026 No public comment.
RESULT: Approve [3 TO 0]
MOVER: Susan Harvey, Vice Mayor
SECONDER: John Savage, Councilmember
AYES: Lemus, Harvey, Savage
NAYS: None
ABSENT: Ford, Sparks
3. PROCLAMATIONS (ACTION)
A. GOVERNMENT FINANCE PROFESSIONALS WEEK
Cotati City Council Minutes March 24, 2026
Public Comment:
George Barich of Cotati
Call-In Listener
Laurie Alderman of Cotati
Mayor Lemus read the proclamation. Proclamation was accepted by Jennifer Bechtold of the Rancho Adobe Fire District; Lindsay VanMiddle, Edward Daniels, and Erick Roeser of the Sonoma County Auditor, Controller, Treasurer, and Tax Collector’s Office; John Bartolome and Molly Koler of the Cotati-Rohnert Park Unified School District; and Angela Courter, Neil Tomlinson, Rosie Speranza, Paola Conde Frendo, and Kacie Moline of the City of Cotati Administrative Services Department.
4. AGENDA REVIEW (ACTION)
City Manager O’Bid recommended continuing item 8B to a date certain of April 14, 2026, and item 12 to a future meeting. There being no objection from the Council, the items were continued.
5. 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 2025-03, 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 seconds remaining, and red when time has expired.
Public Comment:
George Barich of Cotati
Laurie Alderman of Cotati
6. CONSENT CALENDAR (ACTION)
A. ANNUAL CANCELLATION OF CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS AND HOLIDAY
CLOSURE OF CITY HALL
B. ADOPTION OF A RESOLUTION AWARDING THE CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT
FOR THE COTATI ENTRY ARCHWAY MONUMENT REPAIR PROJECT TO CESTAROLLO CONSTRUCTION, INC. AND AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER
TO EXECUTE THE CONSTRUCTION AGREEMENT AND ANY NEEDED CHANGE
ORDERS OR AMENDMENTS TO THE DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION
MANAGEMENT AGREEMENT WITH INTEGRA PLANNING + LANDSCAPE
ARCHITECTURE UP TO THE AUTHORIZED BUDGET
RESULT: Adopt [3 TO 0]
MOVER: Susan Harvey, Vice Mayor
SECONDER: John Savage, Councilmember
AYES: Lemus, Harvey, Savage
NAYS: None
ABSENT: Ford, Sparks
Public Comment:
George Barich of Cotati
Cotati City Council Minutes March 24, 2026
7. DIRECTION OF FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS
Vice Mayor Harvey requested a future agenda item on an amendment to the JPA between the County of Sonoma and the Waste Management Agency, for the new household hazardous waste facility.
8. PUBLIC HEARINGS (ACTION)
A. CONSIDERATION OF A RESOLUTION APPROVING A TREE REMOVAL PERMIT
TO ALLOW DEVELOPMENT OF A PREVIOUSLY APPROVED SUBDIVISION AND
PLANNED UNIT DEVELOPMENT ON VACANT UNADDRESSED PROPERTIES
LOCATED ON THE WEST SIDE OF LUND HILL LANE BETWEEN JAGLE STREET
AND VALPARAISO AVENUE
Presentation by Senior Planner JP Harries.
Councilmembers comment.
Public Comment:
George Barich of Cotati
Mark Battaglia of Cotati
Vanessa Aching Davenport of Cotati
Clif Davenport of Cotati
Laurie Alderman of Cotati
Brian Flahaven
Council added the following conditions to the Resolution:
-Where removed oak trees could be feasibly replanted, the removed trees shall be made available to those who request them for transplanting offsite. -To maintain screening, any non-oak trees removed in the future within the hatched area shown on the Tree Location and Numbering Plan in the submitted Tree Inventory Report (dated January 2, 2026) shall be replaced in accordance with the replacement criteria in CMC Section 17.54.050, or as otherwise approved by the City, within the same hatched area.
-Adjacent and nearby affected property owners shall be eligible to receive more than two trees from the City’s Tree Mitigation Fund for planting on their property, upon request.
After the conclusion of this item, at 7:15pm, Council took a recess to hold the special joint meeting of the City Council and Community Police Advisory Committee. Council resumed the regular meeting after the conclusion of the special joint meeting, at 9:16pm.
RESULT: Adopt [3 TO 0]
MOVER: Susan Harvey, Vice Mayor
SECONDER: John Savage, Councilmember
AYES: Lemus, Harvey, Savage
NAYS: None
ABSENT: Ford, Sparks
B. INTRODUCTION AND FIRST READING OF AN ORDINANCE TO REZONING Cotati City Council Minutes March 24, 2026
MULTIPLE PARCELS TO THE TRANSIT ORIENTED COMMUNITIES (TOC) AND
SANTERO WAY (SW) ZONING DISTRICTS AND MAKE ANY FURTHER NEEDED
REVISIONS TO IMPLEMENT THE TOC LAND USE POLICIES
Item was continued to a date certain of April 14, 2026, during Agenda Review.
9. REGULAR AGENDA (ACTION)
10. 11.
LAND ACKNOWLEDGMENT & PLEDGE OF ALLIGIANCE
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 millenia. This acknowledgment does not take the place of authentic relationships with Indigenous communities but serves as a gesture of respect to the land we are on.
Public Comment:
George Barich of Cotati
CITY MANAGER'S REPORT & COUNCILMEMBER REPORTS
Report by City Manager Damien O’Bid.
Councilmembers report out on local and regional events and meetings.
12. CLOSED SESSION
A. CONFERENCE WITH CITY LABOR NEGOTIATORS (GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 54957.6) CITY DESIGNATED REPRESENTATIVE: CITY MANAGER OR DESIGNEE.
EMPLOYEE ORGANIZATION: COTATI EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATION (CEA) This item was continued to a future meeting during Agenda Review.
13. INFORMATION RECEIVED AFTER THE AGENDA WAS POSTED
14. ADJOURNMENT
Mayor Lemus adjourned the meeting at 9:36pm.
/s/ Kevin Patterson, City Clerk