HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance 2917 N.C.S. 12/15/2025
Ordinance No. 2917 N.C.S. Page 1
EFFECTIVE DATE
OF ORDINANCE
January 14, 2026
ORDINANCE NO. 2917 N.C.S.
Introduced by: Brian Barnacle Seconded by: Janice Cader Thompson
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PETALUMA AMENDING SECTION
13.45.030, “PUBLIC USE” IN CHAPTER 13.45 ENTITLED “PRESERVATION AND ACESS TO
LAFFERTY RANCH” OF THE PETALUMA MUNICIPAL CODE TO PROVIDE FOR CONTINUED
PASSIVE RECREATIONAL USE OF LAFFERTY RANCH BY THE PUBLIC IN ACCORDANCE
WITH THE PURPOSES AND REQUIREMENTS OF CHAPTER 13.45
WHEREAS, the City of Petaluma’s Lafferty Ranch Park property consists of approximately 270 acres
located on Sonoma Mountain, northeast of the City of Petaluma, in unincorporated Sonoma County; and
WHEREAS, the City of Petaluma has owned the Lafferty Ranch Park property since 1959; and
WHEREAS, the Lafferty Ranch Park property contains the headwaters of Adobe Creek and was
formerly the source of Petaluma’s municipal water supply; and
WHEREAS, the City Council adopted Ordinance 2022 N.C.S., effective September 4, 1996 which
added Chapter 13.45 entitled “Preservation and Public Access to Lafferty Ranch,” to the Petaluma Municipal
Code; and
WHEREAS, Section 13.45.010 of the Petaluma Municipal Code refers to the Lafferty Ranch Park
property as a mountain and watershed property owned by the City that shall remain in public ownership for
passive public recreational use in perpetuity, subject to the provisions of Chapter 13.45; and
WHEREAS, Section 13.45.030 of the Petaluma Municipal Code provides for public use of Lafferty
Ranch Park pursuant to a public use management plan to be prepared and implemented by the City in
accordance with applicable regulations, and best management practices, and, pending adoption of a public use
management plan, for public use of the property for passive recreational use pursuant to an interim plan to be
adopted by the City Council in accordance with applicable laws and regulations; and
WHEREAS, although an Environmental Impact Report was prepared and certified for public use of
Lafferty Ranch Park in accordance with the requirements of CEQA in 2001 (State Clearing House no.
97072078), as a result of threats of litigation from neighboring property owners, the proposed Management Plan
for Lafferty Ranch Park was never approved; and
WHEREAS, the City has nonetheless maintained Lafferty Ranch Park to protect the natural resources it
contains and to protect the public safety, in accordance with applicable laws and regulations, and provided for
access to and passive recreational use of Lafferty Ranch Park by the public through docent-led hikes pursuant to
an agreement with LandPaths, an environmental education and conservation non-profit organization,
commencing in 2020,with groups of up to 20 participants per hike, and up to 10 hikes per month; and
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WHEREAS, docent-led hikes and limited site improvements at Lafferty Ranch Park to safely facilitate
the hikes consistent with the passive recreational and public access and use purposes of Chapter 14.35, were
each analyzed in accordance with the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and
found to be categorically exempt, and the City filed a Notice of Exemption (NOE) on April 22, 2021 for docent
led hikes on Lafferty Ranch Park, on November 8, 2022 for replacement of an existing gate at the Lafferty
Ranch Park entrance, and on October 23, 2023 for placement of rock material at the existing Lafferty Ranch
Park driveway.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT ORDAINED by the Council of the City of Petaluma, as follows:
Section 1. Recital Findings The City Council hereby finds and determines the foregoing recitals to be true and
correct and hereby incorporates each of them into this ordinance as findings of the City Council.
Section 2. Exemptions from CEQA This ordinance is exempt from the requirements of the California
Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) in accordance with the following:
1. Common-Sense Exemption (Guidelines §15061(b)(3))
The City Council finds that adoption of this ordinance amending Section 14.35.030 of the Petaluma Municipal
Code will not have a significant effect on the environment because this ordinance simply ratifies the City’s
existing program of docent led hikes at Lafferty Ranch Park, which the City approved in 2020 and again in
2021, and which hikes have been occurring since. The City entered into an agreement with LandPaths in April
2020, and amended the agreement in December of that same year. The City subsequently filed Notices of
Exemption for Lafferty docent led hikes on April 22, 2021, for replacement of an entrance gate on November 8,
2022, and for placement of rock on the Lafferty Ranch Park driveway on October 10, 2023. Since 2022,
LandPaths, has managed dozens of hikes pursuant to its agreement with the City consistent with the docent led
hikes programs the City approved in 2021. The Lafferty Ranch Park hikes have been publicly promoted on the
City’s website and LandPath’s website, and any statute of limitations for bringing a CEQA challenge to this
program has long since expired based on the notices of exemption filed on April 22, 2021, November 8, 2022,
and October 10, 2023. This ordinance simply ratifies the City’s existing, ongoing Lafferty Ranch Park public
access program. The City has duly found the program to be exempt from CEQA, and as a result, it can be seen
with certainty that adoption of this ordinance will not have any new, significant effect on the environment. This
ordinance does not expand the type, location, or intensity of activities that are currently being conducted at
Lafferty Ranch Park. Rather, this ordinance ratifies and continues limited, small-scale docent led hikes within
already disturbed/managed areas (lower reaches, existing driveway/parking), and the minor physical work (two
small post holes and hand spreading of rock on an existing surface) that has already occurred. The City has
previously analyzed all of these activities under CEQA and determined them to be categorically exempt and
Notice of Exemption have previously been filed for these projects, including the aforementioned April 22, 2021
NOE, as well as subsequent NOEs the City filed on November 8, 2022 [“Lafferty Ranch Park: Access Gate
Replacement + Lock Box Install”] and October 10, 2023 [“Lafferty Ranch Park: Rock Laydown at Existing
Driveway”]. Therefore, adoption of this ordinance is exempt from CEQA under §15061(b)(3).
2. Independent, Alternative Categorical Exemptions
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Independently and in the alternative, the City Council hereby finds that adoption of this ordinance is
categorically exempt from CEQA under:
• Class 1 – Existing Facilities (Guidelines §15301; Operation, maintenance, and minor alteration of
existing facilities) Implementation of the present docent led hikes will continue as set forth in the April
2021 Notice of Exemption and as ratified in this ordinance, along with the replacement entrance gate,
the placement of rock along the Lafferty Ranch Park driveway for access, and continued maintenance of
these areas incidental to the docent led hikes program.
• Class 4 – Minor Alterations to Land (Guidelines §15304); Minor alterations in the condition of land that
do not involve removal of healthy, mature, scenic trees) Tise ordinance ratifies the limited rock
placement on an existing driveway/parking surface and small-scale weed abatement consistent with the
City’s docent led hikes program to ensure safe access for the continued docent led hikes program.
3. Exceptions to Categorical Exemptions Do Not Apply (Guidelines §15300.2)
The Council further finds, based on the record, that no exception bars use of the Class 1 and Class 4
exemptions:
a) Location:[1] The uses permitted as part of the previously-approved docent led hikes program occur
within previously disturbed/managed areas (entrance, existing driveway/parking, lower reaches) and do
not encroach on sensitive habitats or resources.
b) Cumulative Impacts: The scale/frequency (≤10 guided hikes/month, ≤20 participants; minor
maintenance) is de minimis and does not contribute to any cumulatively considerable impact.
Additionally, the adoption of this ordinance only ratifies permissible, existing uses of Lafferty Ranch
Park.
c) Unusual Circumstances: There is no substantial evidence of a reasonable possibility of a significant
environmental effect due to unusual circumstances because the existing docent-led hike and
maintenance uses are typical park operations/maintenance at a limited scale. Additionally, this ordinance
ratifies existing uses that have already occurred for the past several years and there is no indication of a
significant impact due to unusual circumstances.
d) Scenic Highways: Sonoma Mountain Road is not a state scenic highway. Regardless, the project does
not involve removal of significant scenic resources.
e) Hazardous Waste Sites: Lafferty Ranch is not listed pursuant to Gov. Code §65962.5.
f) Historical Resources: The docent-led hike and maintenance activities do not cause a substantial
adverse change in the significance of a historical resource. The gate replacement is like-for-like in
character and location; rock placement and small storage box installation do not affect any historic
resource.
Section 3. Amendment to Section 13.45.030 of the Petaluma Municipal Code. Section 13.45.030 of the Petaluma
Municipal Code, entitled “Public Use” is amended as follows (Bold Italics are additions; Strikethrough are
deletions):
[1] “Location” is not an exception for the Class 1 statutory exemption.
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13.45.030 Public use.
The Lafferty Ranch shall be made available for passive recreational use by the public in accord with the provisions
of this section.
Use of Lafferty Ranch by the public shall be pursuant to a public use management plan to be prepared and
implemented by the city (the "plan"), in accordance with all applicable state and federal laws and regulations. The
plan shall be consistent with the protection, restoration and enhancement of the natural wildlands of Lafferty
Ranch and shall be based on best management practices for public open space and recreational lands in the San
Francisco Bay Area. Preparation of the plan shall commence no later than sixty days following the adoption of
this chapter.
Pending adoption of the plan, Lafferty Ranch shall be made available for passive recreational use by the public
pursuant to an interim plan which shall be adopted by the city council in accordance with all applicable state and
federal laws and regulations.
The city shall not enter into any contract or agreement with any private party or public agency if the contract or
agreement would restrict or limit public use of Lafferty Ranch as permitted by this section, unless the restrictions
or limitations are consistent with the plan.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, docent-led hikes approved by the city are deemed a
permissible form of passive recreational use, are consistent with the purposes of this chapter and the public use
required by this section, and may be conducted without the need for a Council -adopted plan or interim
plan. Such docent-led hikes are limited to a maximum of 10 per calendar month, with each hike limited to 20
participants, exclusive of the docents. Docents must be approved by the City Manager or designee, which
designee may be a contractor, based on the docent’s qualifications. Animals other than service animals shall
not be permitted on the hikes.
Section 4. Severability If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or word of this ordinance is for any
reason held to be unconstitutional, unlawful, or otherwise invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction or preempted
by State legislation, such decision or legislation shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this
ordinance. The City Council of the City of Petaluma hereby declares that it would have passed and adopted this
ordinance and each and all provisions thereof irrespective of the fact that any one or more of said provisions be
declared unconstitutional, unlawful other otherwise invalid.
Section 5. Posting/Publishing of Notice The City Clerk is hereby directed to publish or post this ordinance or a
synopsis for the period and in the manner provided by the City Charter and any other applicable law.
Section 6. Effective Date The ordinance shall become effective thirty (30) days after the date of its adoption by
the Petaluma City Council.
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Ordinance No. 2917 N.C.S. Page 5
INTRODUCED and ordered published and posted this 1st day of December 2025.
ADOPTED this 15th day of December 2025 by the following vote:
Ayes: McDonnell, Barnacle, Cader Thompson, DeCarli, Nau, Quint, Shribbs
Noes:
Abstain:
Absent:
Kevin McDonnell, Mayor
ATTEST: APPROVED AS TO FORM:
Caitlin Corley, City Clerk Eric Danly, City Attorney
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