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Resident criticizes land acknowledgment and alleges misconduct by planning commissioner during Cotati public comment
Summary
At a March 17 Cotati Planning Commission meeting, resident and former councilman George Barich criticized the city—s land acknowledgment and in public comment alleged a planning commissioner had a past conviction; the commission did not take action on the allegation during the meeting.
During public comment at the March 17 Cotati Planning Commission meeting, former Councilmember George Barich criticized the city—s land acknowledgement and accused a current planning commissioner of prior criminal misconduct. The commission did not take formal action on the comments during the meeting.
Barich said the city—s land acknowledgement — read by the chair before the meeting — is inappropriate and unsubstantiated. "This is very silly, this land acknowledgement. It's very inappropriate," Barich said, and later called the acknowledgment "garbage" brought forward by people "who felt guilty." He invoked a statute when disputing how and when the public may speak, referring to Government Code §54954.3 and asking that his objection be lodged in the record.
Barich also alleged that a planning commissioner, identified in his remarks as "Berman," is a "convicted money launderer" and described filing a criminal complaint. He said the person had left town before an investigation could proceed and later returned. "Miss Berman, you owe me a lot of money," Barich told the commission, and addressed the commissioner directly from the podium.
The commission did not take action in response to Barich—s allegations during the meeting. Commission staff and the chair did not announce any in‑meeting enforcement or investigation; public comment concluded and the meeting moved on to the scheduled agenda items, including the capital improvements plan presentation and vote.
Other members of the public used the comment period to raise unrelated items. Laurie Alderman, a Cotati resident, pressed staff on the General Plan update and said the community—s priorities (senior center, library, water and sewer upgrades) should guide project selection. Neil Hancock and another caller highlighted regional climate and bicycling planning work by the Sonoma County Transportation Authority and local advocacy efforts. A separate commenter asked how much CIP funding relies on federal grants and urged clarity as federal funding priorities shift.
Chair Moffitt and staff reminded commenters of the limits of the public comment period under the Brown Act and City Council policies; Director Hausch and staff responded to several factual questions later in the meeting. No formal request for investigation or follow‑up action appears in the meeting record for the allegations made during public comment.
