City Council

City Council — April 21, 2025

This was a regular City Council and Petaluma Community Development Successor Agency (PCDSA) meeting that ran past 11:00 p.m. The session included proclamations for Arbor Day and Earth Day, a water environment award presentation, a workshop on active transportation, and a significant vote finalizing a new downtown development overlay zone.

Consent Calendar (Items 1–7)

The Council approved all seven consent items unanimously without substantive discussion. These included: approval of minutes from the April 7 and April 14 meetings; the tentative agenda for May 5 and upcoming significant items through June; a resolution requesting Metropolitan Transportation Commission funding for citywide active transportation wayfinding signage; acceptance of the completed Garfield Drive water service replacement project by Coastside Concrete & Construction, Inc.; initiation of the annual engineer's report process for Landscape Assessment Districts for FY 2025–26; and a resolution formally opposing SB 634 (Perez). One member of the public, Stefania Hernandez, commented on the consent calendar.

Vote: Carried 7–0

Workshop: Draft Active Transportation Plan (Item 8)

Project Manager Bjorn Griepenburg and Deputy Director of Operations Jeff Stutsman presented the city's draft Active Transportation Plan, which guides future investments in walking and biking infrastructure. Twelve members of the public spoke, reflecting significant community interest in active transportation priorities. Council discussion followed. As a workshop, no binding vote was taken; the purpose was to gather Council feedback to help staff finalize the plan.

Public Hearing: 2025–2030 CDBG Consolidated Plan and FY 2025–26 Annual Action Plan (Item 9)

Housing Specialist Sarah Wolf presented the city's five-year Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Consolidated Plan covering 2025–2030 and the Annual Action Plan for FY 2025–26. CDBG funds, provided by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, support housing and community development programs for low- and moderate-income residents. Seven members of the public commented, including representatives Nickola Frye, Melanie Bledsoe, Jodi Johnson, Tim Porteous, Janis Barker, Katherine Bobrowski, and Angeles Cruz — several of whom appeared to advocate for specific funded programs or funding levels (specific content of comments not detailed in the minutes). The Council adopted the plans and authorized the City Manager to execute all required HUD documents.

Vote: Carried 7–0

Annual Housing Element Progress Report (Item 10) — REMOVED

This item was pulled from the agenda before the meeting and will be heard at a future meeting.

Downtown Housing & Economic Opportunity Overlay and EKN Appellation Hotel Project (Item 11)

This was the most consequential and lengthy item of the evening. Community Development Director Brian Oh and Special Projects Manager Heather Hines presented the staff report on a package of land use approvals tied to a proposed hotel project and a broader downtown development overlay.

The Council considered three related actions: (1) adopting Findings of Fact and a Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program (MMRP) under CEQA for the overlay and the EKN Appellation Hotel project; (2) adopting a General Plan Amendment to raise the maximum allowable Floor Area Ratio (FAR) in the Downtown Housing & Economic Opportunity Overlay's Subarea A from 2.5 up to 6.0 — but only for projects providing specified community benefits and receiving a Conditional Use Permit (CUP); and (3) the second and final reading of Ordinance No. 2900, amending the city's Implementing Zoning Ordinance to formally establish the Downtown Housing and Economic Opportunity Overlay Zone and update the zoning map accordingly.

Councilmember DeCarli recused himself because his residence is within 500 feet of the overlay area and left the chamber for this item.

Fourteen members of the public spoke, including Shalena Moreda, Kim Scot, Ebbie Nakhjavani (who also received ceded time from Tom Jacobson), Sonya Karabel, Marty Bennett, Patricia Tuttle Brown, Lydia Asselin, Christine White, David Alan Boyd (who received ceded time from Wayne Eckstrom), John Hanania, Chantal Rogers, and Tom Gaffey. The discussion ran late enough that the Council first voted to extend the meeting past 11:00 p.m.

The Council then voted to adopt all three components — the CEQA findings (Resolution No. 2025-046), the General Plan Amendment (Resolution No. 2025-047), and Ordinance No. 2900 — in a single motion. Vice Mayor Nau voted no.

Vote: Carried 5–1 (Nau dissenting; DeCarli recused)

This approval means the Downtown Housing & Economic Opportunity Overlay is now in effect for Subarea A in downtown Petaluma, allowing significantly denser development (up to FAR 6.0) for projects that provide community benefits and obtain a CUP — a major policy shift that could enable projects like the EKN Appellation Hotel to move forward.

Key Takeaways