City Council

City Council City Manager Mayor Stephen Zollman Don Schwartz Vice Mayor Jill McLewis dschwartz@Cityofsebastopol.gov Councilmember Phill Carter Assistant City Manager/City Clerk, MMC Councilmember Neysa Hinton Mary Gourley Councilmember Sandra Maurer mgourley@Cityofsebastopol.gov CITY COUNCIL MEETING AGENDA Meeting of Tuesday, April 15, 2025 Meeting Start Time: 6:00 pm Meeting to be held in Person and Virtual /Remote Participation In Person: 425 Morris Street, Sebastopol, CA 95472 Zoom Link Below: Zoom Link can be used for providing public comment/ Vimeo) is utilized for viewing only of meeting Topic: City Council Meeting - April 15, 2025 Time: Apr 15, 2025 06:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada) Vimeo Link (viewing only): https://vimeo.com/event/4788680 Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82666764097 Meeting ID: 826 6676 4097 Passcode: 375580 --- One tap mobile +16699006833,,82666764097#,,,,*375580# US (San Jose) +16694449171,,82666764097#,,,,*375580# US --- Dial by your location • +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) • +1 669 444 9171 US • +1 719 359 4580 US • +1 253 205 0468 US • +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) Meeting ID: 826 6676 4097 Passcode: 375580 Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kkqXUYHl COUNCIL PROTOCOLS FOR MEETING: This in person and virtual/remote meeting is compliant with the Governor’s Executive Order allowing for a deviation of teleconference rules required by the Brown Act. Traditional Brown Act and AB 2449 requirements can be utilized for all City Council meetings as long as required notice and posting is conducted per the Brown Act. Please Note the presiding member of the legislative body conducting a meeting or their designee may remove, or cause the removal of, an individual for disrupting the meeting. “Disrupting” means engaging in behavior during a meeting of a legislative body that actually disrupts, disturbs, impedes, or renders infeasible the orderly conduct of the meeting. MEETINGS ARE HELD AT 425 MORRIS STREET, SEBASTOPOL, CA 95472 (SEBASTOPOL YOUTH ANNEX) UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTICED  PUBLIC COMMENT Due to the length of recent City Council Meetings, it is strongly encouraged that written comments be submitted to the City Council by sending them by email to: citycouncil@cityofsebastopol.gov with either General Public Comment Written in the Subject Line or the Specific Agenda Item Number or Title Written in the Subject Line. Emails are distributed to the City Council as well as posted to the City Council meeting as public comment. Public Comment questions may be directed to City staff for a response at a later time. CALL TO ORDER ROLL CALL SALUTE TO THE FLAG REMOTE PARTICIPATION UNDER AB 2449 (IF NEEDED): To consider and take action on any request from a Council Member to participate in a meeting remotely due to Just Cause or Emergency Circumstances pursuant to AB 2449 (Government Code Section 549539(f)). Assembly Bill 2302 (2024) (“AB 2302”) revises rules for when members of local legislative bodies may participate in meetings remotely. Specifically, it amends the number of meetings that may be attended remotely for just cause and under emergency circumstances and clarifies the definition of the term “meeting,” for purposes of remote attendance. AB 2302 caps the number of remote meetings a member can attend each year based on the frequency of a legislative body’s meetings: Five meetings per year for those meeting twice a month. PROCLAMATIONS/PRESENTATIONS/INTRODUCTIONS: NONE STATEMENTS OF CONFLICTS OF INTEREST: Conflicts of interest may arise in situations where a public official deliberating towards a decision, has an actual or potential financial interest in the matter before the Council. In accordance with state law, an actual conflict of interest is one that would be to the private financial benefit of a public official, a relative or a business with which the Councilmember is associated. A potential conflict of interest is one that could be to the private financial benefit of a Councilmember, a relative or a business with which the Councilmember is associated. A Councilmember must publicly announce potential and actual conflicts of interest, and, in the case of actual conflict of interest, must refrain from participating in debate on the issue or from voting on the issue and must remove themselves from the dais. ITEM NUMBER 1 AND 2: 1. Interview(s) for Openings on the Climate Action Committee Responsible Department: Community Development Interviews will be conducted to interview three applicant(s) for three open seats from approved experience types/no specific categories requires other than stated below. Preference will be shown for those persons with a variety of experience in any of the following categories. Experience/characteristics: • Youth representative (ages 17-23) • Climate Change • Sebastopol Business Owner • Local Climate Action Group • Environmental Justice and Equity • Rights of Nature • Energy • Transportation • Zero Waste Interviews will start at 6:00 p.m.; it is estimated that interviews will be approximately 15 minutes each (but may be shorter or longer) and order of interviewees can be subject to change: 6:00 pm Steve Pierce 6:15 pm Emily Ocon 2|Page  6:30 pm Lila Newton Fiscal Impact: There is no fiscal impact with conducting the interviews. 2. Appointment(s) for Openings on the Climate Action Committee: Council to consider appointments to the Climate Action Committee based on interviews conducted earlier in the evening. Responsible Department: Community Development Fiscal Impact: There is no fiscal impact with making the appointments. PUBLIC COMMENT FOR ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA (FIRST COMMENT PERIOD): Up to Twenty (20) Minute Time Limit (Two Minutes for up to ten speakers). Additional public comment will be held at the end of the discussion and action items for up to an additional twenty (20) minutes. Mayor has discretion to allow for additional time beyond the 20 minutes allocated for public comment dependent upon the subject matter or number of speakers. Process for calling on Speakers: Mayor or designee shall ask for public comment as follows: Speakers to be called on in an alternate manner (One speaker in person to be called on first; then one speaker remote to be called on second with additional speakers to be called on in the same manner) based upon the time limit. CONSENT CALENDAR: The consent agenda consists of items that are routine in nature and do not require additional discussion by the City Council or have been reviewed by the City Council previously. These items may be approved by one motion without discussion unless a member of the City Council requests that the item be taken off the consent calendar. The Mayor will read aloud the title of each consent item (either full agenda title or a simplified version of the agenda title), and ask if a Councilmember wishes to remove one or more items from the consent calendar; and then open public comment to the members of the public in attendance. At this time, a member of the public may speak for up to two (2) minutes on the entire consent calendar and request at that time that an item or items removed for discussion. If an item or items are removed from the consent calendar, the item shall be placed at the end of the regular agenda items unless otherwise determined by the Mayor. Council Members may comment on Consent Calendar items or ask for minor clarifications without the need for pulling the item for separate consideration. Items requiring deliberation should be pulled for separate consideration and shall be placed at the end of the regular agenda items unless otherwise determined by the Mayor. 3. Approval of Minutes of the City Council Goals and Priority Workshop of April 1, 2025 (Responsible Department: Assistant City Manager/City Clerk) 4. Approval of Minutes of the City Council Regular Meeting of April 1, 2025 (Responsible Department: Assistant City Manager/City Clerk) 5. Approval and Adoption of Resolution Approving the appointment of NBS in preparation of the annual FY 2025-26 Lighting Assessment District (Responsible Department: Administrative Services) The cost for appointing NBS to prepare the annual FY25-26 Lighting Assessment District is $8,000 which as been allocated in the FY 24-25 City Budget 6. Approval of Second Reading and Adoption of Ordinance Amendment to Municipal Code for 15 Year Agreement for Garbage Franchise (Responsible Department: Assistant City Manager/City Clerk; City Attorney) There is no fiscal impact associated with approval of this item 7. Acceptance of the Sebastopol Pavement Management Program (PMP) Budget Operations Report and authorize the City Manager to certify the PMP by letter to Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) by April 30 2025 (Responsible Department: Public Works/City Engineer) There is no fiscal impact associated with approval of this item 8. Acceptance of Receipt of Process / Next Steps from the City Council Goals and Priority Workshop (Requestor: Agenda Review Committee/Responsible Department: City Manager) There is no fiscal impact associated with receipt of this item 3|Page INFORMATIONAL ITEMS/PRESENTATIONS: Informational Items or Presentations are items that are informational only and do not require action by the City Council. Presentations shall be scheduled as necessary for the promotion of an event or service or general information items to the Council and should be limited to ten (10) minutes total in length of item (total length includes questions of Council to presenter and public comment). 9. Informational Item - Merging the Planning Commission and Design Review Board (Responsible Department: Community Development) There is no fiscal impact associated with receiving this informational report. PUBLIC HEARING(s): 10. Introduction and First Reading of Ordinance approving the Barlow Hotel Development Agreement. Applicant has requested a Development Agreement to allow the development and operation of an 83 room hotel, to be named the Barlow Hotel, at 6782 Sebastopol Avenue. The hotel would replace the existing 36,402 square foot Guayaki Yerba Mate building at this site and would make use of the “batch plant” lot at 385 Morris Street for overflow and valet parking (Responsible Department: Community Development) The project would result in beneficial fiscal benefits applicable to the General Fund. See Fiscal Impacts section of the Staff Report for details. REGULAR CALENDAR AGENDA ITEMS (DISCUSSION AND/OR ACTION): 11. Approval of Resolutions Bringing Back Calder Creek Phase 1 Ives Park: a. Resolution of the City Council of the CITY OF SEBASTOPOL, authorizing the submittal of an application for funding for $1,800,000 grant to the Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District’s Matching Grant Program for ‘BRINGING BACK CALDER CREEK PHASE I, located at IVES PARK; 7400 WILLOW STREET, SEBASTOPOL, CA, determining that the project is consistent with the CITY General Plan; acknowledging review of all Matching Grant Program Guideline materials and attachments; acknowledging that there are or will be sufficient match funds and funds to operate and maintain the project; and authorizing the City Manager to sign and submit all required documentation for the application and grant agreement documents, if awarded; and b. Resolution of the City Council of the City if Sebastopol authorizing the submittal of an application for funding for $1,800,000 grant to the Department of Water Resources for ‘BRINGING BACK CALDER CREEK PHASE I, located at IVES PARK; 7400 WILLOW STREET, SEBASTOPOL, CA, determining that the project is consistent with the CITY General Plan; acknowledging review of all Matching Grant Program Guideline materials and attachments; acknowledging that there are or will be sufficient match funds and funds to operate and maintain the project; and authorizing the City Manager to sign and submit all required documentation for the application and grant agreement documents, if awarded. (Requestors: Councilmember Carter and Councilmember Maurer/Responsible Department: Public Works/City Engineer and Community Development) Fiscal Impact: Initial information provided to staff indicates that there would be no fiscal impact to the City; the project consultant California Urban Streams Partnership (CUSP) would use funds from one grant to act as matching funds for a second grant. This information has not been confirmed as of the writing of the staff report. However, it would be required to be confirmed prior to acceptance of grants. 12. Appointment to Climate Directors Coordination Meeting. That the City Council consider appointment from either the Climate Action Committee or direct appointment of the Community Development 4|Page  Director to be part of an informal Climate Directors Coordination Meeting. Currently, RCPA facilitates a bi-monthly Members and Partners meeting with staff representation from each jurisdiction. These meetings are effective for sharing information and facilitating collaboration on climate action but lack decision makers for real time action. The Climate Directors Meeting frequency is TBD, but somewhere between monthly and quarterly. This model has been effective on the transportation side of the house with the monthly Public Works Directors meeting. (Responsible Department: Councilmember Hinton/Responsible Department: City Manager) There is no fiscal impact with approval of this item to the City’s budget other than staff time. 13. Consideration of Waiver of Fees: Rotary Centennial (Responsible Department: Public Works/City Engineer) Fiscal Impact: Loss of revenue of $500 14. Consideration of Waiver of Fees: Sebastopol Chamber of Commerce 2025 Apple Blossom Festival & Parade (Responsible Department: Public Works/City Engineer) Fiscal Impact: Special Event Permit Fee: $750.00; Public Works Staff Time: $5,200.00; Material/Rentals: $3,000.00 and Police Staff Time: $5,670.00 for a Total Loss of Revenue of $14,620.00 15. Consideration of Waiver of Fees -Easter Egg Hunt (Responsible Department: Public Works/City Engineer) Fiscal Impact: Loss of Revenue of $400.00 ADDITIONAL PUBLIC COMMENT FOR ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA: Two minutes per speaker for up to twenty (20) minutes total for public comments but can be reduced at Mayor’s discretion depending upon the number of speakers or Mayor has discretion to allow for additional time beyond the 20 minutes allocated for public comment dependent upon the subject matter or number of speakers. COUNCILMEMBER(S) REQUESTS FOR FUTURE CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEMS CITY COUNCIL/CITY STAFF REPORTS/COMMUNICATIONS/ANNOUNCEMENTS/FUTURE MEETINGS: 16. City Manager and/or City Clerk Reports: (This will be either verbal reports at the meeting, or written reports provided at or prior to the meeting) a. Departmental Reports b. Budget Recap of Budget Committee Meeting of April 8, 2025 17. City Council Reports/Committee/Sub-Committee Meeting Reports: (Reports by Mayor/City Councilmembers Regarding Various Agency Meetings/Committee Meetings/Sub-Committee Meeting /Conferences Attended and Possible Direction to its Representatives (If Needed) on Pending issues before such Boards. ((This will be either verbal reports at the meeting, or written reports provided at or prior to the meeting) 18. Council Communications Received (Information/Meetings/Correspondence Received from the General Public to Councilmembers) CTTY COUNCILTO ADJOURN INTO CLOSED SESSION CLOSED SESSION: PUBLIC COMMENT This is a Special Meeting. This public comment time is provided for members of the public to address the City Council regarding matters of municipal concern for the item listed below (maximum of three minutes per speaker) prior to adjournment into Closed Session. City Council Adjourn Into Closed Session on the Following Matter(s): CLOSED SESSION AGENDA ITEMS: 5|Page  19. Public Employee Discipline/Dismissal/Release Government Code Section 54957 Adjournment of Closed Session Convene Open Session of the Special City Council Meeting Report out of Closed Session ADJOURNMENT OF CITY COUNCIL MEETING April 15, 2025 City Council Regular Meeting will be adjourned to the next Regular City Council Meeting of Tuesday, May 6, 2025 at 6:00 pm, Sebastopol Youth Annex, 425 Morris Street, Sebastopol, CA. American Disability Act Accommodations/Accessibility: A request can be made orally or in writing, and submitted to the ADA Coordinator by email: building@cityofsebastopol.org or to the City Clerk’s Office so as to avoid delay in reviewing and processing the request. Requests can be made by contacting the ADA Coordinator’s Office at (707) 823-8597, via email at building@cityofsebastopol.org or by mailing such a request to the ADA Coordinator’s Office located at 7425 Bodega Avenue, Sebastopol, CA. Note that if you contact the ADA Coordinators Office, via mail, you need to make the request early enough that a response can be timely provided. NOTICE: All Resolutions and Ordinances introduced and/or adopted under this agenda are waived of all reading of entire resolution(s) and ordinance(s). The City of Sebastopol is a general law city formed under the laws of the State of California. With respect to adoption of ordinances and resolutions, the City adheres to the requirements set forth in the Government Code. Unless otherwise required, the full reading of the text of standard ordinances and resolutions is waived. SB 751 Legislative bodies of local agencies must publicly report: (1) any action taken and (2) the vote or abstention on each action taken by each member present for the action at a meeting. If you have any questions regarding this meeting, please contact the City at Email: info@cityofsebastopol.org or citycouncil@cityofsebastopol.org or please call: 707-823-1153. The public is advised that pursuant to Government Code section 54957.5 all writings submitted to the City Council are public records and will be made available for review at City Hall during normal business hours. The Sebastopol City Council welcomes you in person or remotely to its meetings that are generally scheduled for the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of every month. Your interest and participation are encouraged and appreciated. Government Code Section 54953. (a) All meetings of the legislative body of a local agency shall be open and public, and all persons shall be permitted to attend any meeting of the legislative body of a local agency, except as otherwise provided in this chapter. (b) (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the legislative body of a local agency may use teleconferencing for the benefit of the public and the legislative body of a local agency in connection with any meeting or proceeding authorized by law. The teleconferenced meeting or proceeding shall comply with all requirements of this chapter and all otherwise applicable provisions of law relating to a specific type of meeting or proceeding. (2) Teleconferencing, as authorized by this section, may be used for all purposes in connection with any meeting within the subject matter jurisdiction of the legislative body. All votes taken during a teleconferenced meeting shall be by rollcall. 6|Page There are times that the City Council open meetings may not be live streamed due to technical issues; if that is the case, the meeting will be video-taped and uploaded as soon as possible to the City Web Site. In the event of a disruption that prevents the legislative body from broadcasting the meeting to members of the public using the call-in option or internet-based service option, or in the event of a disruption within the local agency’s control that prevents members of the public from offering public comments using the call-in option or internet-based service option, the legislative body shall take no further action on items appearing on the meeting agenda until public access to the meeting via the call-in option or internet-based service option is restored. Actions taken on agenda items during a disruption that prevents the legislative body from broadcasting the meeting may be challenged pursuant to Section 54960.1. COUNCIL PROTOCOLS FOR MEETING RESTATED: This in person and virtual/remote meeting is compliant with the Governor’s Executive Order allowing for a deviation of teleconference rules required by the Brown Act. Traditional Brown Act and AB 2449 requirements can be utilized for all City Council meetings as long as required notice and posting is conducted per the Brown Act. Please Note the presiding member of the legislative body conducting a meeting or their designee may remove, or cause the removal of, an individual for disrupting the meeting. Prior to removing an individual, the presiding member or their designee shall warn the individual that their behavior is disrupting the meeting and that their failure to cease their behavior may result in their removal. The presiding member or their designee may then remove the individual if they do not promptly cease their disruptive behavior. This paragraph does not apply to any behavior described in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (b). (b) As used in this section: (1) “Disrupting” means engaging in behavior during a meeting of a legislative body that actually disrupts, disturbs, impedes, or renders infeasible the orderly conduct of the meeting and includes, but is not limited to, one of the following: (A) A failure to comply with reasonable and lawful regulations adopted by a legislative body pursuant to Section 54954.3 or any other law. (B) Engaging in behavior that constitutes use of force or a true threat of force. (2) “True threat of force” means a threat that has sufficient indicia of intent and seriousness, that a reasonable observer would perceive it to be an actual threat to use force by the person making the threat. How can I provide Public Comment on Zoom? The Mayor will request public comment during the Public Comment period on the agenda and during each Public Hearing and Regular Calendar Item. Once the Mayor has announced the public comment period, please do one of the following. USING A COMPUTER OR SMART PHONE: • Click on the “Raise Hand” feature in the webinar controls. This will notify City staff that you have raised your hand and you would like to speak. • City staff will unmute your microphone when it is your turn to provide public comment. • A prompt will appear to confirm you would like to be unmuted. Once you accept the prompt, you will have two minutes to provide public comment. • Once your public comment has ended, you will be muted again. USING A REGULAR PHONE: • Dial *9 (star 9), this will notify City staff that you have “raised your hand” for public comment. • City staff will unmute your microphone when it is your turn to provide public comment. *6 (star 6) is used to mute/unmute. 7|Page • You will hear “you are unmuted” and then you will have two minutes to provide public comment. • Once your public comment has ended, you will be muted again 8|Page