Chapter 17.52 — GROWTH MANAGEMENT

This chapter provides growth management procedures to phase the construction of new dwellings within the city so that new development does not exceed the resource, infrastructure, and public service capacities of the city, and so that the rate of proposed development is compatible with the character of the city. These provisions are not intended to stop or discourage growth, but to limit the rate of expansion to an amount that can reasonably and responsibly be accommodated by the size, financial limitations, resource constraints, and aesthetic goals of the city.

(A (part), 2004; Ord. 766 § 2 Exh)

• A. Growth Management Allocation Required. The issuance of a building permit by the city for the construction of a dwelling unit shall require that the project first be issued a residential growth management allocation in compliance with Section 17.52.040 (Procedure for obtaining allocation) of this chapter.

• B. Exemptions. The following types of projects are exempt from the provisions of this chapter:

  1. An addition to, or the remodel of an existing dwelling unit, where the number of dwelling units is not increased; and

  2. An accessory dwelling unit in compliance with Section 17.42.170 (Accessory dwelling units/junior accessory dwelling units).

The council may also exempt the construction of one or more dwelling units in compliance with a specific plan adopted by the city.

(A (part), 2004; Ord. 766 § 2 Exh; Ord. 893 § 11, 2020)

• A. Maximum Number of Allocations. A maximum of one hundred allocations shall be available each calendar year, with a minimum of twenty-five reserved exclusively for low and very low income dwellings as defined by the state of California, and ten reserved for the construction of single-family dwellings on individual parcels by the parcel owners, not in conjunction with the construction of two or more single-family dwellings by the same property owner.

• B. Council Modification of Number of Allocations. The number of allocations provided for a specific calendar year may be modified by the council based on review of the then-current resource, infrastructure, and public service capacities of the city, any plans by the city or other applicable service provider for increased capacities, any projections by the city or other applicable service provider of capacity shortages, and the recommendations of the commission, in compliance with Section 17.52.050 of this chapter.

• C. Public Hearing. A commission recommendation, and a council decision on an allocation in compliance with subsection B of this section, shall occur after at least one public hearing on the proposed annual allocations before each body in compliance with Chapter 17.88

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City of Cotati, CA

LAND USE

§ 17.52.030

§ 17.52.050

(Public Hearings) of this title.

• D. Carryover of Unassigned Allocations. A dwelling unit allocation that remains unassigned at the end of the applicable calendar year shall be carried over and added to the number of dwelling units allocated for the following calendar year, except where the council first determines that available water or sewer capacity will be insufficient to serve the additional units. An unassigned unit allocation that is carried over from one year to the next shall expire if not assigned during the third year after it was originally allocated.

• E. Temporary Reduction of Available Allocations. In any six-month period, the council may reduce the number of available residential growth management allocations commensurate with its determination of shortages in domestic water supply or sewage treatment plant capacity.

• (A (part), 2004; Ord. 766 § 2 Exh)

• A. No building permit shall be issued by the city for residential construction unless the director concurrently issues a residential growth management allocation for each dwelling unit covered by the building permit.

• B. The director shall issue residential growth management allocations on a first-come-firstserved basis, with the total number issued by the director during any calendar year not to exceed the allocations by the council in compliance with Section 17.52.030 of this chapter (i.e., the annual allocation described in Section 17.52.030(A), and any carryover allocations in compliance with Section 17.52.030(D). Once the allocations that are available in compliance with Section 17.52.030 are all issued, the director shall issue no more individual allocations until the council grants another annual allocation.

• C. After assignment, an allocation shall expire after three years, unless construction of the residential unit has commenced and continues at all times under a valid building permit. An expired allocation shall not be carried over to a subsequent year.

• (A (part), 2004; Ord. 766 § 2 Exh)

Prior to the end of each calendar year, the department shall submit a report to the commission that lists the number of dwelling units constructed in the past and current calendar years, an estimate of the number of units anticipated to be constructed during the following year, and the status of water supply and sewage disposal system capacities within the city. Based on the information in the report, the commission may recommend that the council modify the allocation for the following year.

(A (part), 2004; Ord. 766 § 2 Exh)

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City of Cotati, CA