Cotati council introduces ordinance to combine two industrial zones into single CI district

The Cotati City Council on June 10 introduced an ordinance to amend Title 17 (Land Use) of the Cotati Municipal Code by combining the city’s two industrial zoning districts into a single Commercial-Industrial (CI) zone. Council voted 5-0 to introduce the ordinance after a staff presentation and brief questions from council members.

City planner Autumn Boss presented the staff report, saying the city’s General Plan (adopted 2015) already uses a single industrial land-use designation and that collapsing the two zoning districts will align the zoning code with the General Plan, simplify code interpretation, and expand flexible, lower-barrier uses across the industrial area. Boss said the change is largely additive — the consolidated CI district would retain the full range of uses already allowed across the two existing zones and would make a small number of permit-level adjustments (for example, making breweries and minor vehicle services subject to a minor use permit while preserving full use permits for heavier industrial operations).

The planning commission held a public hearing on May 27 and recommended adoption. While preparing the draft ordinance for council, staff discovered two housekeeping edits to add: (1) remove the obsolete IG reference from the street-type table (section 17.26.02) and (2) clarify a noise-related subsection (section 17.30.50.G) so the exception applies to the new CI district; staff asked the council to include those fixes when introducing the ordinance.

Council members asked clarifying questions about live-work uses, how existing businesses and use permits would be affected, and whether property owners and tenants were notified. Boss said the code currently defines live-work as a residential use with specific configuration rules and that the change would not strip existing legal uses or use permits; she recommended a future code cleanup to resolve inconsistent language around live-work. Boss said staff followed noticing requirements for both hearings and that planners received a few inquiries but no substantive opposition after explaining existing uses would not be taken away.

Mayor Ford invited a motion to introduce the ordinance. A council member moved and the council approved introduction of the ordinance, including staff-recommended edits to the street-type table and the leaf-blower/noise subsection, by a 5-0 vote.

If the council approves the ordinance at second reading, zoning in Cotati’s industrial area would be administered under the single CI district. Staff told the council that the change is intended to allow additional compatible uses that often thrive in semi-industrial or freeway-adjacent settings, including artist studios, indoor sports facilities, and breweries with tasting rooms, while keeping heavier manufacturing and other potentially impactful uses subject to use permits and planning commission review.

The council did not receive public comment specifically opposing the ordinance during the hearing.

Council and staff said they will follow up with a code-cleanup item to clarify live-work provisions and other minor inconsistencies that affect interpretation of the zoning code.

Council vote: 5 in favor, 0 opposed.