Cotati Council adopts updated fee schedule, agrees to revisit block-party and banner rules

The Cotati City Council unanimously adopted a resolution on June 9 updating the city's master fee schedule, formalizing routine annual adjustments and registering specific clarifications for small neighborhood gatherings and banner installations.

The changes are mostly technical: many fees are updated by the consumer price index or construction-cost indexes, development fees were consolidated into a single location in the schedule, and the staff recommended removing an older water-conservation impact fee because the water/sewer rates now capture those funds, staff said. Councilmember Ben Ford introduced the proclamation that opened the meeting.

The most discussed items were implementation details for free neighborhood block-party permits and a new fee for installing large street banners. Staff said the city intends to waive fees for simple block parties that close a dead-end (cul-de-sac) street, arguing those events require minimal traffic control. "If you're like a neighborhood block party and you want to close down a dead-end street, you can do that at no cost," the fee-schedule presenter said.

Council members asked whether that restriction would exclude many neighborhood streets that could be safely blocked for a short time. Councilmember Sparks noted that some street closures would still require a special-events permit and the associated fees and deposit, citing one illustrative figure from staff: "It's $142 plus a deposit," Sparks said when staff described the permit types that remain fee-based.

Members also pressed staff on a new fee to cover large banner installations across Old Redwood Highway. Staff described the behind-the-scenes cost: bucket-truck time and public-works staff to hang a cross‑street banner. Council discussed First Amendment implications of restricting banners and asked the city attorney and manager to review the banner policy. Several members proposed outreach to groups that commonly use banners and a delay in implementing the new banner charge to give organizers notice.

Council directed staff to draft a one‑page guidance document to broaden the free-permit approach for small, low-impact neighborhood block parties (for example: single-block closures that do not impede emergency access), revisit the banner and free-speech policy with the city attorney, and consider delaying the banner-fee implementation for several months so affected organizations can plan.

The resolution adopting the updated master fee schedule (including the footnote describing no-cost permits for qualifying block parties) passed on a roll call: Councilmember Savage, Councilmember Sparks, Councilmember Ben Ford, Vice Mayor Harvey and Mayor Lemus voted yes.

The council asked staff to return with refinements and clearer eligibility criteria so the free-permit approach would be easier for residents and staff to administer.

The meeting continued with separate budget and personnel items later in the agenda.