City Council

City Council Regular Meeting — June 16, 2025

This was a full regular session that ran past midnight, covering a lengthy consent calendar, a round of committee and commission appointments, and a substantive continued workshop on the city's General Plan update. The meeting was dedicated to the memory of Earl Dolcini, a founding board member of the Marin Agricultural Land Trust, and Maureen Bettinelli, a longtime Petaluma resident. The council also recognized Juneteenth and longtime community member Gloria Robinson by proclamation.

Consent Calendar (Items 1–14, 16–17)

The council approved sixteen routine items unanimously (7-0), moved by Councilmember Cader Thompson and seconded by Vice Mayor Nau. These included: approval of prior meeting minutes; the FY 2025-26 budget appropriations ordinance (second reading); a contract award to MV Transportation, Inc. for operations and maintenance of Petaluma Transit; FAA Airport Improvement Program grant acceptance; authorization to coordinate utility infrastructure work with Sonoma County's 2025 paving project; confirmation of Cal OES terms for Petaluma firefighters deployed to state emergencies; adoption of Fire Hazard Severity Zones per CAL FIRE maps; and several project completions including the Jefferson Street emergency sewer main replacement, a Finance Office acoustical retrofit, City Hall East Wing remodel, and concrete repair at the Petaluma Fairgrounds.

Transit-Oriented Communities (TOC) Grant — Item 15 (Pulled from Consent)

Councilmember DeCarli pulled this item for separate discussion. The resolution would accept a Transit-Oriented Communities Planning and Implementation Grant from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) and commit Petaluma to TOC policy compliance in connection with the Downtown SMART Priority Development Area (PDA). Council asked questions of staff and discussed the policy compliance commitments attached to the funding before voting.

Vote: Carried 6-1. Yes: Barnacle, Cader Thompson, Nau, Quint, Shribbs, McDonnell. No: DeCarli.

Committee and Commission Appointments — Item 19

City Clerk Caitlin Corley presented the staff report, and Mayor McDonnell outlined voting procedures. Three members of the public spoke, including two applicants — Nickola Frye and Adam Shelton — who subsequently received appointments. The council confirmed 30 appointments across 11 boards and commissions, including three seats on the Planning Commission (Sarah Ebner, Brian Goldman, and Keith Schildt), three seats on the Measure U Oversight Committee, three seats on the Recreation, Music, and Parks Commission, and multiple seats on the Senior Advisory, Transit Advisory, Tree Advisory, Public Art, Historic and Cultural Preservation, Airport, and Pedestrian and Bicycle Advisory Committees.

Vote: Carried 7-0.

General Plan Update: Areas of Change and Land Use Alternatives — Item 20

This was the most time-consuming item of the evening, continuing the council's ongoing workshop process to guide development of a preferred land use map for the city's Draft General Plan. Special Projects Manager Heather Hines led the presentation, which was broken into three segments with public comment opened between each.

Segment 1 — Specific Areas of Change: Topics included the Bowling Alley/Vet Center site, Western and Baker, Casa Grande Center, Leghorn Marketplace, and Washington Square and Plaza Center. Five members of the public spoke, offering perspectives on how these sites should be designated. Council discussion followed each round of comment.

Segment 2 — Land Use Designation Standards: Warren Dranit spoke at length (also using time ceded by Onita Pellegrini), and Veronica Olsen also addressed the council. This segment addressed the standards and criteria that will govern how land use categories are applied across the city.

Segment 3 — River Park Area of Change: One speaker, Seair Lorentz, addressed the council on a modified staff recommendation for the River Park area. Council discussion continued into the late evening, ultimately adjourning at 12:01 a.m. after a unanimous vote to extend the meeting past 11:00 p.m.

The minutes do not detail the specific direction the council gave staff on each site or designation standard. The purpose of the session was to receive council feedback to inform the development of a preferred land use map for the Draft General Plan — no binding land use decisions were made.

Key Takeaways