Petaluma Council Tackles Pools, Police Gear, General Plan

Cutline: Swimming pools at Scott Ranch, police drones and armored vehicles, animal services, and Petaluma's future all land before the City Council Monday night.

PETALUMA, CA — Police drones, swimming pools at Scott Ranch, animal services contracts, and Petaluma's blueprint for future growth headline a packed City Council agenda tonight, with elected officials set to weigh decisions affecting neighborhoods, public safety, and the city's long-term development.

The Aug. 3 agenda also includes action on animal services contracts, several transportation-related consent items, and a preview of what could become one of the city's biggest decisions in years: certification of the Final Environmental Impact Report and adoption of Petaluma's new General Plan, which is tentatively scheduled for Sept. 14.

Among the meeting's biggest items:

Scott Ranch swimming pools

Council members will hold the first reading of an ordinance amending the Scott Ranch Planned Unit Development to remove a prohibition on residential swimming pools and instead allow swimming pools, hot tubs, and spas as permitted accessory uses for the project's 28 single-family homes.

The subdivision, approved in 2023, clusters 28 homes on roughly 11 acres while preserving more than 47 acres as permanent parkland and open space adjoining Helen Putnam Regional Park.

Existing development standards prohibit swimming pools, but the applicant, Davidon Homes, requested the change in response to prospective buyer demand.

Staff said the amendment would not alter the project's approved density or require additional environmental review because the proposal falls within the previously certified environmental impact report.

Police military equipment review

The council also will conduct its annual review required under Assembly Bill 481, which requires local governments to approve continued use of certain law enforcement equipment classified in state law as "military equipment."

According to the Police Department's annual report, officers deployed drones 45 times between July 2025 and June 2026, more than doubling the previous year's 21 deployments.

Drones were primarily used to establish perimeters during criminal investigations, search for missing people, document crime scenes, assist during barricaded suspect incidents, monitor two demonstrations that blocked roadways, help firefighters, and support Public Works photography. A ground robot was deployed once during an armed barricaded suspect incident.

The report states armored rescue vehicles were not deployed during the reporting year, and the department reported no policy violations involving any equipment covered under AB 481.

The department is asking the council to approve the annual report and continue authorizing Policy 709 governing military equipment and Policy 613 governing unmanned aerial and ground vehicles.

Animal services contracts

Council members are also scheduled to approve animal services contracts. The agenda does not identify the contract partners, but the item appears on the Sept. 14 tentative agenda as a significant upcoming action, signaling additional discussion is expected.

General Plan moves forward

Although final adoption is still weeks away, Monday's agenda includes a preview showing that on Sept. 14 the council is expected to consider certifying the Final Environmental Impact Report and adopting Petaluma's updated General Plan.

The plan has been in development for more than five years and will guide housing, transportation, economic development, parks, environmental protection, infrastructure, and growth policies over the coming decades. City officials released the draft plan earlier this year after extensive public outreach and are now preparing the final documents for council adoption.

More E-Buses

The consent calendar includes authorization to purchase five battery-electric buses, agreements related to a state transportation planning grant for the city's Transit Vision Plan, approval of previous meeting minutes, and review of the council's upcoming agenda schedule.

• Date: Monday, Aug. 3
• Time: 6 p.m. regular session
• Location: Petaluma City Hall Council Chamber, 11 English St., Petaluma and online

Related: Petaluma Planners Weigh Scott Ranch Pool-Hot Tub Ban And Building A Business Hub