RESOLUTION NO. CC – 2026 – xx
A RESOLUTION OF THE COTATI CITY COUNCIL FINDING THE GROWNTH
PARTICIPATING IN MUNICIPAL SERVICE FUNDING GENERAL PLAN
UPDATE IS NOT A PROJECT UNDER CEQA AND ADOPTING THE GROWTH
PARTICIPATING IN MUNICIPAL SERVICE FUNDING GENERAL PLAN AMENDMENT APPLICABLE TO FUTURE RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT; FILE NO. PA#26-35
WHEREAS, the City Council desires to ensure that growth contributes proportionately toward the cost of public facilities and infrastructure needed to serve development; and WHEREAS, As demonstrated in recent budget documents and fiscal studies including the 2015 Fiscal Impact Study by David Taussig & Associates Inc. and a 2026 analysis by Kosmont, California cities can face ongoing fiscal challenges in providing municipal services to new residential development. Since the adoption of Proposition 13, property tax revenues generated by new housing have not always covered the full cost of police protection, park maintenance, roadway maintenance, stormwater management, administrative services, and other municipal operations required to serve new residents. As a result, many jurisdictions have sought mechanisms that ensure growth does not create an ongoing fiscal deficit and/or erode the quality of services provided to existing residents; and
WHEREAS, starting in 2017, the City of Cotati has documented an ongoing fiscal deficit in the provision of City services to newly constructed residential development, and WHEREAS, the City established Public Services CFD 2017-01 through Resolution No. 2017-60, specifically designed to support municipal services including police protection, park maintenance, roadway and landscape maintenance, stormwater services, and other ongoing municipal functions associated with new development, and WHEREAS, residential development projects are increasingly moving to by-right, ministerial review and decision-making processes (SB 35, AB 2011, SB 684, etc.), creating situations whereby the city cannot ensure this new growth does not degrade current service levels or exceed the city’s ability to provide the necessary public services through the traditional mechanism of a condition of approval, and
WHEREAS, California Government Code establishes the General Plan as the City's long-range policy framework; and
WHEREAS, the City Council finds that public service financing policies promote fiscal sustainability and orderly development; and
WHEREAS, on September 21, 2026, the Planning Commission of the City of Cotati held a duly noticed public hearing to consider and review a resolution and an ordinance proposing a General Plan Amendment establishing City policy that growth should pay its fair share of municipal service costs and an amendment to the Municipal Code implementing the General Plan policy through objective development standards applicable to future residential development, and to make a recommendation to the City Council regarding its adoption.
WHEREAS, on October 13, 2026, the Cotati City Council held a duly noticed public hearing to consider and introduce a resolution proposing an amendment the General Plan to implement a new General Plan policy CSF1-7 Growth Participation in Municipal Service Funding, to ensure new development contributes its fair and proportional share toward the ongoing municipal service costs generated by that development.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the City Council of the City of Cotati does hereby find:
SECTION 1: Recitals.
The above recitals are true and correct and are incorporated into the findings herein.
SECTION 2: Record
The Record of Proceedings (“Record”) upon which the City Council makes its decision includes, but is not limited to: 1) the 2015 General Plan, 2) the FEIR certified for the 2015 General Plan, and 3) all staff reports, City files and records, and other documents prepared for and/or submitted to the Commission and City Council related to adoption of the amendments to the Cotati General Plan to incorporate the proposed Policy CSF1-7 and all referenced identified changes to the Cotati Municipal Code to facilitate implementation.
SECTION 3: General Plan Consistency
The Council of the City of Cotati does hereby find that the General Plan Amendment establishing City policy that growth should pay its fair share of municipal service costs and the amendment to the Municipal Code implementing the General Plan policy through objective development standards applicable to future residential developments as set forth in the attached resolution and Ordinance, are in the best interest of the City in that they will further established goals, policies, and implementation programs of the General Plan to ensure new residential development does not degrade the current level of City services and that services can be provided to this new development.
Specifically, these amendments are consistent with and implement the following General Plan policies and objectives:
Objective CSF 1A
Ensure that New Growth and Development do not Exceed the City’s Ability to Provide Necessary Public Services and do not Overburden Existing Public Services and Facilities Policy CSF 1.1
Require all development projects to demonstrate, to the satisfaction of the City Engi neer, that the City’s public services and utilities can accommodate the increased demand for services associated with the project.
Policy CSF 1.2
Require new development to offset or mitigate impacts to public services and facilit ies to ensure that service levels for existing users are not degraded or impaired by new development, to the satisfaction of the City Engineer.
Policy CSF 2.33
Ensure that the Police Department has adequate staff and equipment to accommodate existing and planned population growth in Cotati.
The proposed General Plan and municipal code text amendments will help to further the established objectives and policies of the General Plan by ensuring adequate funding is available to offset the financial costs each new residential unit imposes on the provision of city services.
Specifically, the proposed policy language ensures the financial impact of each new residential units is calculated on a regular basis and that a mechanism to guarantee these identified deficits can be compensated is always available.
The proposed CMC revisions similarly build on the existing General Plan policy direction, creating objective development standards applicable to all new residential units by which the financial impacts to the provision of city services are funded. Ministerial review and decisionmaking processes create situations whereby the city cannot ensure new growth does not degrade current service levels or exceed the city’s ability to provide the necessary public services. The proposed CMC amendment will help to ensure the City’s General Plan policies are implemented for future residential projects constructed in Cotati.
SECTION 4: Findings
The Planning Commission of the City of Cotati does hereby find that the proposed ordinance to amend the Cotati General Plan and Title 17 (Land Use) of the Cotati Municipal Code:
a. Ensures and maintains internal consistency with the goals and policies of all elements of the General Plan, and any applicable specific plan and the applicable provisions of the zoning code in that the proposed amendments will serve to implement the policy direction of the General Plan to support the ongoing funding of public services at current levels as new development is approved through both discretionary and ministerial processes and build upon the current policy direction of the zoning code through the implementation of an objective development standard.
b. Would not be detrimental to the public interest, health, safety, convenience, or welfare of the city given that the amendments would ensure the public services which serve and maintain the public health, interest, safety, convenience, and welfare are provided adequate funding into the future and that the legal authority for using CFDs to offset the fiscal impacts of development has been reinforced by the California Court of Appeal (in a decision involving the City of San Ramon) providing support for the implementation of such policies. Specifically, San Ramon conditioned a new development on providing a funding mechanism to cover the difference between the costs of serving the project and the revenues generated by the project and the City to established a CFD as a means of satisfying the condition. In response to litigation, the Court upheld the City’s actions and the City of Cotati has implemented a mechanism similar to San Ramon’s. The City established Public Services CFD 2017-01 through Resolution No. 2017-60, specifically designed to support municipal services including police protection, park maintenance, roadway and landscape maintenance, stormwater services, and other ongoing municipal functions associated with new development.
c. The site is physically suitable (including absence of physical constraints, access, compatibility with adjoining land uses, and provision of utilities) for the requested and/or anticipated land use developments given that the proposed policy will be City-wide and cover the development of all future residential uses.
d. The proposed amendment is consistent with no-net-loss provisions and will not reduce the residential density of any parcel without a concurrent and off-setting increase in density being adopted for an alternate location given that no new development is proposed or limited by this action.
e. The proposed project has been reviewed in compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and are hereby found to be exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3), the Common Sense Exemption, because it can be seen with certainty that the proposed action will not result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable physical change in the environment. The actions establish policy guidance only and do not approve any specific development project or infrastructure improvement.
f. The proposed amendments is internally consistent with other applicable provisions of the General Plan and Zoning Code is found to be true in that all modified areas of the code have been reviewed to ensure consistency across the other related land use regulations and the proposed amendments take the next logical step in implementing the current policy direction as new residential development decision making processes come into law.
Section 5. Compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act.
The Planning Commission of the City of Cotati does hereby find that the proposed resolution to amend the Cotati General Plan is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3), the Commonsense Exemption, because it can be seen with certainty that the proposed action will not result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable physical change in the environment. The actions establish policy guidance only and do not approve any specific development project or infrastructure improvement.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Cotati City Council does hereby adopt a resolution to amend the Cotati General Plan Chapter 4. Community Services and Facilities to establish City policy that growth should pay its fair share of municipal service costs as dictated and identified below, applicable to future residential development.
Policy CSF-1.7: Growth Participation in Municipal Service Funding New development shall contribute its fair and proportional share toward the ongoing municipal service costs generated by that development that exceed the revenues generated by that development, if any, which is referred to as the deficit. The City shall determine the amount of the deficit from time to time based on individual development types (multi-family, single family, commercial) at either on a city-wide level or narrower geographies if appropriate. The determination shall be based on factors including development revenues, service demand, development intensity, anticipated fiscal impacts, geographic service areas, and the relationship between development and the public services necessary to serve that development. The City shall provide at least one funding mechanism that development can use to satisfy the obligation.
THEREFORE, IT IS HEREBY CERTIFIED that the foregoing resolution was duly adopted at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Cotati held on October 13, 2026, by the following vote, to wit:
RESULT:
MOVER:
SECONDER:
AYES:
NAYS:
ABSENT:
Approved:___________________________
Chair
Attest:______________________________
Carla Duncan, Permit Technician