Winzler & Kelly is lending its environmental compliance and permitting expertise to the City of Cotati in guiding the final permitting process for this mixed-use project. Initially proposed as a business park, this mixed-used project located along busy regional state and local roadways is in various stages of development. Coupled with the fact that the site is within prime California tiger salamander (CTS) habitat, the CEQA documentation and permitting process has been complex, requiring innovative problem-solving techniques, very detailed resource surveys, and very close and consistent communication with the permitting agencies. Given the ever-changing CTS impact assessment requirements at all levels of government, the Winzler & Kelly team has had to work closely with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) to develop a project-specific impact assessment and mitigation plan. The commercial elements of the Cotati Commons project necessitate improvements to City streets and State Highway 116. In order to address the very specific concerns presented by Caltrans regarding the 116 improvements, Winzler & Kelly developed the project’s second EIR addendum to specifically focus on these improvements. This “shoulder-to-shoulder” coordination with USFWS and Caltrans also required working closely with the City’s and project applicants’ legal team to ensure that the innovative impact analyses and permitting processes tailored specifically to this project could withstand the risk of legal challenge.