CITY OF SEBASTOPOL CITY COUNCIL
AGENDA ITEM REPORT FOR MEETING OF: September 1, 2026
=============================================================================================== To: Honorable City Councilmembers
From: City Attorney Alex Mog
Department: City Administration
Subject: Consideration of Introduction and Waiving of Full Reading of Proposed Ordinance adding Chapter 5.64, “Standards for Operation of City Sponsored Housing Facilities,” to the Sebastopol Municipal Code to Establish a Uniform Good Neighbor Policy. ============================================================================================== RECOMMENDATION(s):
That the City Council introduce and waive full reading of the attached proposed Ordinance adding Chapter 5.64, “Standards for Operation of City Sponsored Housing Facilities,” to the Sebastopol Municipal Code to Establish a Uniform Good Neighbor Policy.
PROCESS OF AGENDA ITEM:
• Presentation by City Attorney Mog
• Council questions and discussion
• Public Comment
• Deliberation and action
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
The proposed ordinance would establish a mandatory “good neighbor” policy for City-sponsored housing facilities. The purpose of the good neighbor policy is to establish policies and procedures to ensure that City sponsored housing facilities promptly address operational issues that may arise and respond to neighborhood concerns. The good neighbor policy is optional for housing facilities not sponsored by the City, but such facilities are encouraged to implement the same or similar policies.
BACKGROUND:
The City of Sebastopol has received increasing community concern regarding quality-of-life issues in neighborhoods and commercial areas, particularly related to unsheltered homelessness, property/site maintenance, and behavior in public spaces. The purpose of a good neighbor policy is to foster positive relationships between service providers and the communities they serve mitigating potential negative impacts on neighborhoods and build trust between residents and service providers. A good neighbor policy is not intended to address every possible negative impact, but is designed to address frequent issues and ensure open communication between service providers and the community.
Many cities employ good neighbor policies as part of their engagement with housing and service providers. The City of San Francisco recently adopted a required good neighbor policy for all shelters receiving funding from that city. Similarly, the City of Santa Rosa incorporated a good neighbor policy into its approval of the Caritas Village Homeless Services Center and Family Support Center operated by Catholic Charities.
The Council previously provided direction to the City Attorney to prepare an ordinance establishing a good neighbor policy for Sebastopol. The original intent was to model Sebastopol’s policy after the policy used by Catholic Charities in Santa Rosa. After the Council provided the direction, the Sonoma County Homeless Coalition (“Coalition”) began a process of creating Permanent Supportive Housing Program Standards for providers receiving funding through the Coalition, which acts as the Continuum of Care for Sonoma County.
Sebastopol’s effort was paused to see what the Coalition created, and the Coalition has now prepared draft Agenda Item Number 9 Agenda Item Number 9
City Council Meeting Packet for September 1, 2026
standards. While the Coalition’s standards include relevant general expectations, they do not provide detailed requirements typically found in a good neighbor policy. The Coalition’s draft standards are primarily concerned with other aspects of operating a permanent supportive housing facility. The proposed ordinance is based off of the draft standards created by the Coalition, as well as Catholic Charities and San Francisco’s good neighbor policies.
DISCUSSION:
The proposed ordinance would add Chapter 5.64, “Standards for Operation of City Sponsored Housing Facilities,” to the Sebastopol Municipal Code. The ordinance establishes minimum policies and procedures to ensure that Citysponsored housing facilities promptly address operational issues that may arise and respond to neighborhood concerns. These rules include requirements for engagement with the community during the development and leaseup stage, as well as detailed rules regarding:
• Establishing tenant rules and expectations, and training tenants on those rules. • Mandatory neighborhood patrols to address tenant behavioral issues as well as physical conditions (such as trash removal)
• Community engagement, including posted contact information, procedures for responding to complaints, and quarterly community meetings.
As of the effective date of the ordinance, any housing provider seeking support or sponsorship from the City will be required to contractually agree to comply with the requirements of the ordinance. Support or sponsorship includes, but is not limited to, direct financial support or a request for the City to serve as a co-applicant on any type of application. This requirement applies to any type of housing seeking City support or sponsorship, including permanent supportive housing facilities, shelters, and all other types of housing. The City may be able to require housing providers to enter into similar agreements in other limited circumstances, such as if the housing provider is seeking a discretionary zoning change.
The City generally does not have the regulatory authority to impose compliance with these standards on a housing facility unless they are seeking support or sponsorship from the City, or otherwise require a discretionary approval. For example, Government Code section 65583(c)(3) requires the City to treat supportive housing and transitional housing as a residential use of property subject only to the same restrictions that apply to other multifamily residential dwellings in the same zoning district. While the City is unable to apply all of the requirements contained in the proposed ordinance on all multi-family dwellings through the City’s land use authority, it could adopt a more limited ordinance. For example, the City could require all new multi-family housing projects to post contact information on site.
Even if the City adopted a more limited ordinance imposing requirements on all multi-family housing projects, the ordinance would still only apply prospectively and not to existing projects. Similarly, the proposed ordinance only applies prospectively, and the City does not have the ability to force existing partners (like St. Vincent De Paul and Gravenstein Commons) to sign contracts agreeing to comply with the ordinance.
The City is not currently contemplating sponsoring any housing projects.
CITY COUNCIL GOALS/PRIORITIES/ AND OR GENERAL PLAN CONSISTENCY:
This agenda item represents the City Council goals/priorities as follows:
Goal 2: PUBLIC SAFETY
Strengthen the public’s safety and improve the quality of life. Includes supporting first responders, responding to emergencies, protecting people, property, and businesses, and engaging in coordinated public safety and community outreach efforts.
PUBLIC COMMENT:
Agenda Item Number 9
Agenda Item Number 9
City Council Meeting Packet for September 1, 2026
As of the preparation of this staff report, no public comments have been received on this item. Any comments received after distribution of the report will be provided to the City Council as supplemental materials. Public comment will also be accepted during the meeting.
COMMUNITY OUTREACH:
This item has been noticed in accordance with the Ralph M. Brown Act and was available for public viewing and review at least 72 hours prior to the scheduled meeting date.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no direct fiscal impact associated with the introduction of this Ordinance.
RESTATED RECOMMENDATION:
That the City Council introduce and waive full reading of the attached proposed Ordinance adding Chapter 5.64, “Standards for Operation of City Sponsored Housing Facilities,” to the Sebastopol Municipal Code to Establish a Uniform Good Neighbor Policy.
CITY COUNCIL OPTIONS:
1. Introduce the ordinance with modifications directed by the City Council.
2. Decline to introduce the ordinance and provide alternative direction to staff.
3. Continue the item to a future meeting for additional public input or analysis.
ATTACHMENT(S):
Proposed Ordinance –Adding Chapter 5.65
APPROVALS:
Department Head Approval: Approval Date: 8-27-2026
CEQA Determination (Planning): Approval Date:8-27-2026
The City Council finds that this Ordinance is exempt from the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) of the CEQA Guidelines General Plan Goal (Planning): Approval Date: 8-27-2026
Administrative Services (Financial) Approval Date: 8-27-2026 Costs authorized in City Approved Budget: ☐ Yes ☐ No XX N/A Account Code (f applicable) _______________________________ City Attorney Approval: Approval Date: 8-27-2026
City Manager Approval: Approval Date: 8-27-2026
Agenda Item Number 9
Agenda Item Number 9
City Council Meeting Packet for September 1, 2026
ORDINANCE NUMBER XXXX
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEBASTOPOL ADDING CHAPTER 5.64,
STANDARDS FOR OPERATION OF CITY SPONSORED HOUSING FACILITY, TO THE SEBASTOPOL
MUNCIPAL CODE TO ESTABLISH A UNIFORM GOOD NEIGHBOR POLICY WHEREAS, the City of Sebastopol has received increasing community concern regarding qualityof-life issues in neighborhoods and commercial areas, particularly related to unsheltered homelessness, property/site maintenance, and behavior in public spaces; and WHEREAS, the purpose of a good neighbor policy is to foster positive relationships between service providers and the communities they serve mitigating potential negative impacts on neighborhoods and build trust between residents and service providers; and WHEREAS, a good neighbor policy is not intended to address every possible negative impact, but is designed to address frequent issues and ensure open communication between service providers and the community; and
WHEREAS, any housing provider seeking support or sponsorship from the City will be required to contractually agree to comply with the requirements of the ordinance; and WHEREAS, support or sponsorship includes, but is not limited to, direct financial support or a request for the City to serve as a co-applicant on any type of application; and WHEREAS, all housing providers, regardless of whether they receive support or sponsorship from the City, are strongly encouraged to voluntarily comply with the standards contained in this ordinance, even if not required.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEBASTOPOL DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
1. Recitals. The above Recitals are true and correct and are made a part of this Ordinance.
2. Addition of Chapter 5.64. Chapter 5.64, Standards for Operation of City Sponsored Housing Facilities, is hereby added to the Sebastopol Municipal Code to read as shown in Exhibit A, attached hereto and incorporated herein.
3. CEQA. The Sebastopol City Council finds that this Ordinance is exempt from the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) of the CEQA Guidelines. It can be seen with certainty that the ordinance has no potential for causing a significant effect on the environment.
1. Severability. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or portion of this Ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Ordinance. The City Council hereby declares that it would Agenda Item Number 9
Agenda Item Number 9
City Council Meeting Packet for September 1, 2026
have passed the Ordinance, and each and every section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or portion not declared invalid or unconstitutional without regard to whether any portion of this Ordinance would be subsequently declared invalid or unconstitutional.
2. Effective Date and Publication. This Ordinance shall be and the same is hereby declared to be in full force and effect from and after thirty (30) days after the date of its adoption.
Before the expiration of fifteen (15) days after said passage, this ordinance or a summary therefore as provided in California Government Code Section 36933, shall be published at least once in a newspaper of general circulation published and circulated in the City of Sebastopol, along with the names of the Council Members voting for or against its passage.
APPROVED FOR FIRST READING AND INTRODUCTION OF ORDINANCE at the Regular City Council Meeting of September 1, 2026.
SCHEDULED FOR SECOND READING AND ADOPTION OF ORDINANCE at the Regular City Council Meeting of September 15, 2026.
VOTE:
Ayes:
Noes:
Absent:
Abstain:
APPROVED: ________________________________
Mayor Jill McLewis
ATTEST: ________________________________________________ Mary Gourley, City Manager
APPROVED AS TO FORM: ______________________________________ Alex Mog, City Attorney
Agenda Item Number 9
Agenda Item Number 9
City Council Meeting Packet for September 1, 2026
EXHIBIT A
5.64 Standards for Operation of City Sponsored Housing Facilities
5.64.010 Purpose
5.64.020 Applicability
5.64.030 Development Stage
5.64.040 Community Engagement Prior to Lease-up Activities
5.64.050 Residents
5.64.060 Neighborhood Patrols
5.64.070 Community Engagement
5.64.080 Record Keeping
5.64.010 Purpose
The purpose of this chapter is to establish minimum policies and procedures to ensure that Citysponsored housing facilities promptly address operational issues that may arise and respond to neighborhood concerns. These types of policies are procedures are commonly collectively referred to as a “good neighbor policy.” The requirements in this chapter are intended as minimum standards.
5.64.20 Applicability
A. In order to obtain support or sponsorship from the City, a housing provider must contractually agree to comply with the requirements of this Chapter. Support or sponsorship from the City includes, but is not limited to, direct financial support or a request for the City to serve as a co-applicant on any type of application. This requirement applies to permanent supportive housing facilities, shelters, and all other types of housing.
B. All housing providers, regardless of whether they receive support or sponsorship from the City, are encouraged to voluntarily comply with the standards contained in this chapter, even if not required.
C. As used in this chapter, housing provider refers to the owner of the housing facility. If the housing provider hires a thirty party to operate and/or manage the facility, such third party may carry out the requirements of this chapter on behalf of the housing provider.
5.64.030 Development Stage
During the project development stage, the housing provider shall engage proactively with the surrounding community to build trust, provide accurate information, and address neighborhood questions and concerns about the project. Engagement may include early outreach to the community and businesses, including informational meetings or open houses to explain project goals and services, as well as distribution of clear, accessible materials that describe the proposed project and the expected benefits to the neighborhood. Suggestions from community members should be considered during final planning. A designated staff person shall be Agenda Item Number 9
Agenda Item Number 9
City Council Meeting Packet for September 1, 2026
assigned and available for inquiries, and communication channels shall be shared with the public.
In addition, the housing provided should make reasonable efforts to engage with other public agencies operating within the jurisdiction, including public safety agencies. These engagements are intended to share information about the project, establish communication channels, and plan for any potential impact on service delivery.
5.64.040 Community Engagement Prior to Lease-up Activities The housing provider shall coordinate with City staff to identify appropriate forums for community engagement. These forums should be used to provide clear and accurate information about the project, including the population to be served, the supportive services that will be available (if any), and contact information for both property management and supportive service providers.
5.64.050 Residents
A. All prospective residents shall be screened through an intake and assessment process for eligibility and suitability to reside at the property. If a prospective resident is considered eligible for the housing facility, they shall be required to sign a contract with extensive rules to be adhered to during their residency. Residents are expected to be respectful neighbors during this residency. Residents must comply with the rules, and violation will jeopardize the participant’s continued eligibility to remain.
Written copies of relevant rules shall be provided to all residents at least once per year.
B. The housing provider must provide an orientation to all residents, which must cover:
i. Expectations for respectful behavior in and around the project site; ii. Keeping entries, sidewalks, and neighboring properties clear; iii. Noise expectations;
iv. Requirements for keeping and caring for animals;
v. Prohibition on conduct that threatens safety or accessibility; vi. How to share concerns with the housing provider staff will respond to concerns; and vii. Possible consequences for repeated noncompliance under program rules or lease enforcement processes, as applicable.
The housing provided shall provide periodic reminders to residents of all applicable rules and expectations.
5.64.060 Neighborhood Patrols
A. The housing provider, or a security agency hired by the housing provider, shall conduct patrols of surrounding neighborhood during both the daytime and nighttime hours to ensure that participants are not:
i. Obstructing access to sidewalks or storefronts or creating repeated neighborhood disruption;
Agenda Item Number 9
Agenda Item Number 9
City Council Meeting Packet for September 1, 2026
ii. Engaging in public drug use, excessive noise, intimidation, and other disruptive behavior in the vicinity of the project site; or
iii. otherwise violating program rules.
The patrols shall provide reminders and coaching to program participants regarding community expectations.
B. At least twice a day the housing provider, or an entity hired by the vendor, shall conduct perimeter checks of the project site. During the permitter checks, the provider is required to:
i. Remove litter, debris, and improperly discarded items from the site frontage and within 300 feet of the site frontage and both directions;
ii. Remove or abate graffiti on provider-controlled property within 48 hours; ii. Ensure entrances, exits, curb ramps, and adjacent sidewalks remain accessible and free from obstruction to maintain safe paths of travel;
iii. Monitor for conditions requiring City service requests or escalation; and iv. Implement enhanced perimeter staffing when directed by the City or required by site conditions.
The housing provider shall not enter onto private property without the consent of the owner or person in possession.
C. When conducting patrols or permitter checks, the housing provider and its contractor shall wear identifying clothing.
5.64.070 Community Engagement
A. The housing provider must maintain a public phone number and email address for receiving community concerns. The City will provide a template for signage for each project site.
Contact information must be.
i. Posted at the site in a clearly visible location from the public sidewalk (or other location accessible to the public if the project site is not adjacent to the public sidewalk); ii. Shared with the city;
iii. Available to neighboring properties and community stakeholders upon request; and iv. Monitored during business hours, with a process for urgent after-hours review.
B. Housing providers must:
i. Acknowledge receipt of concerns within 24 hours, or by the next business day at the latest;
ii. Make reasonable efforts to resolve routine concerns within 72 hours; iii. Document the concern, response, and resolution; and iv. Provide follow-up to the reporting party when appropriate.
Agenda Item Number 9
Agenda Item Number 9
City Council Meeting Packet for September 1, 2026
C. The housing provider must host quarterly meetings at the project site, or another location within one mile of the project site, to receive feedback from the community and address concerns.
5.64.080 Record Keeping
A written record (or records) of all activities required by this Chapter shall be kept by the Housing Provider and maintained for twenty four months. Such records shall be provided to the City upon request.
Agenda Item Number 9
Agenda Item Number 9
City Council Meeting Packet for September 1, 2026