R112451
City Council Meeting: April 28, 2020 Santa Monica, California
RESOLUTION NUMBER 11245 (CCS)
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL
OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA AMENDING THE RULES OF ORDER AND
PROCEDURE FOR THE CONDUCT OF CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS
WHEREAS, on May 28, 2019, the City Council enacted Resolution Number 11172
amending the rules of order and procedure for the conduct of City Council meetings and
repealing Resolution Number 11106 (CCS); and
WHEREAS, international, national, state, and local health and governmental
authorities are responding to an outbreak of respiratory disease caused by a novel
coronavirus named “SARS-CoV-2,” and the disease it causes has been named
“coronavirus disease 2019,” abbreviated COVID-19, (“COVID-19”); and
WHEREAS, on March 4, 2020, the Governor of the State of California declared a
state of emergency to make additional resources available, formalize emergency actions
already underway across multiple state agencies and departments, and help the State
prepare for broader spread of COVID-19; and
WHEREAS, on March 13, 2020, the President of the United States of America
declared a national emergency and announced that the federal government would make
emergency funding available to assist state and local governments in preventing the
spread of and addressing the effects of COVID-19; and
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WHEREAS, on March 13, 2020, the City Manager, in his role as the Director of
Emergency Services, (“Director of Emergency Services”) issued an Executive Order of
the Director of Emergency Services of the City of Santa Monica Declaring the Existence
of a Local Emergency (“Executive Order”) declaring a local emergency pursuant to
Chapter 2.16 of the Santa Monica Municipal Code to ensure the availability of mutual aid
and an effective response to the novel coronavirus (“COVID- 19”); and
WHEREAS, on March 14, 2020, the City Manager, in his role as the Director of
Emergency Services, issued a Revised Executive Order of the Director of Emergency
Services of the City of Santa Monica Declaring the Existence of a Local Emergency
(“Revised Executive Order”) restating the declaration of local emergency in order to
ensure compliance with all digital signature requirements; and
WHEREAS, on March 16, 2020, the Los Angeles County Department of Public
Health issued a Health Officer Order for the Control of COVID-19 temporarily prohibiting
group events of 50 or more people, requiring certain social distancing measures, and
ordering the closure of certain businesses; and
WHEREAS, on March 17, 2020, the Governor of the State of California issued
Executive Order N-29-20, which, during the period in which state or local public health
officials have imposed or recommended social distancing measures, authorized local
legislative bodies to hold public meetings via teleconferencing and make public meetings
accessible telephonically or otherwise electronically to all members of the public seeking
to observe and to address the local legislative body; and
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WHEREAS, on March 19, 2020, the City Council ratified the proclamation of local
emergency made by the Director of Emergency Services, and resolved that the
proclamation shall be operative and in effect through April 30, 2020; and
WHEREAS, on March 19, 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom issued
Executive Order N-33-20 directing all residents of the State of California to heed directives
issued by the State Health Officer on the same date instructing all Californians to stay
home except as needed to maintain continuity of operations of the federal critical
infrastructure sectors; and
WHEREAS, on March 19, 2020, the Los Angeles County Department of Public
Health issued an enhanced Health Officer Order, the Safer at Home Order for Control of
COVID-19, amending and superseding its March 16, 2020, Order, closing all nonessential
businesses, and limiting gatherings to 9 people or less; and;
WHEREAS, on March 21, 2020, the Los Angeles County Department of Public
Health issued an enhanced Health Officer Order, the Safer at Home Order for Control of
COVID-19, amending and superseding its March 16, 2020, and March 19, 2020 Orders,
closing all nonessential businesses and prohibiting gatherings of non-household
members; and
WHEREAS, on March 22, 2020, the Director of Emergency Services issued an
Eighth Supplement to the Executive Order of the Director of Emergency Services
Declaring the Existence of a Local Emergency (“Eighth Supplement to the Executive
Order”) adopting as rules and regulations of the City of Santa Monica the Executive Order
N-33-20, issued by the Governor of the State of California on March 19, 2020 (the
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“Governor’s Stay at Home Order”) and the Safer at Home Order for Control of COVID-19,
issued by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health on March 21, 2020 (the
“County Department of Public Health’s Safer at Home Order”), the stricter of which shall
apply if there is any conflict between the Governor’s Stay at Home Order and the County
Department of Public Health’s Safer at Home Order; and authorizing the City to issue
administrative citations to enforce this and the previously issued supplements to its
emergency declaration; and
WHEREAS, on April 6, 2020, the City Council again ratified the proclamation of
local emergency made by the Director of Emergency Services, as well as the Eighth
Supplement thereto, and resolved that the proclamation and the Eighth Supplement shall
be operative and in effect through April 30, 2020; and
WHEREAS, on April 14, 2020, the City Council again ratified the proclamation of
local emergency made by the Director of Emergency Services, as well as the Eighth,
Supplement thereto, and resolved that the Eighth Supplement shall be operative and in
effect through May 15, 2020; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to the authority granted by the Governor’s Executive Order
N-29-20, the City Council has conducted Council meetings via teleconferencing on March
19, April 6, April 14, April 19, and April 28, during which meetings public comment has
been accepted in writing until noon of the day of the meeting to be viewed online, and
then accepted in writing during the meeting and read into the record at the appropriate
time during the meeting; and
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WHEREAS, the City Clerk’s office has worked with the City’s teleconference
service provider to develop a method for members of the public to provide oral public
comment by calling in to the meeting, being placed in a queue until the item on which they
wish to comment opens for public comment, and then being called on to provide oral
comment over the phone; and
WHEREAS, beginning with the City Council meeting expected to be conducted via
teleconferencing on May 5, 2020, the City Council plans to expand the time in which
public comment in writing will be accepted to be viewed online to 2:00 pm on the day of
the meeting and to provide the public with the ability to make oral comment over the
phone during the meeting; and
WHEREAS, conducting meetings via teleconferencing introduces delays and
extends the time necessary to conduct business beyond what it would be were meetings
conducted in person; and
WHEREAS, during the course of the COVID-19 emergency, Council is operating
under strict deadlines to take action on a variety of matters before it.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA
DOES RESOLVE AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Effective beginning with the meeting to be held May 5, 2020, and
continuing for as long as the City Council conducts meetings via teleconferencing under
the authority of the Governor’s Executive Order N-29-20, or any superseding Executive
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Order issued by the Governor, Rule 15 of the City Council Rules of Order and Procedure
is hereby amended to read as follows:
RULE 15. PUBLIC TESTIMONY.
(a) Pursuant to the Brown Act, public testimony is permitted on all agenda
items, except ordinances for second reading, and the public shall have an opportunity to
comment on any matter which is not on the Agenda but is within the City Council’s
jurisdiction. However, members of the public do not have the right to give testimony
outside the scope of or unrelated to the agenda item under consideration. Additionally,
members of the public should strive to avoid unduly reiterating their own or others’
testimony.
(b) Registration. Any member of the public wishing to address the City
Council regarding any item on the Agenda for public discussion shall register with the
City Clerk or the teleconference service provider managing the teleconference of the
meeting on behalf of the City Clerk, prior to the start of the meeting, if possible, but no
later than prior to the public hearing on that item. The teleconference service provider
will close the queue for public comment on a particular agenda item immediately prior to
the beginning of public comment on that item.
(c) Manner of Addressing the City Council. After being recognized by the
Presiding Officer and selected from the teleconference comment queue to speak, each
member of the public addressing the City Council shall state his or her name and whom
he or she is representing, if he or she represents an organization or other person. Each
member of the public is encouraged, but not required, to also state his or her address,
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neighborhood, or city of residence. All remarks shall be addressed to the City Council
as a whole and not to any individual member thereof. After a public hearing has been
closed, no member of the public shall address the City Council on the matter under
consideration without first securing City Council approval.
(d) Time Limits.
(i) Time Deadline for Submitting Written Public Comment to Be
Viewed Online. Those wishing to provide public comment are encouraged to submit it in
writing via email to be viewed online. The time for accepting such written comment shall
be extended to 2:00 pm on the day of the Council meeting.
(ii) Time Limits for Oral Public Comment. A queue for oral public
comment on any particular agenda item will be established by the teleconference
service provider. For purposes of these Rules, the consent calendar shall be
considered one item.
A. Public Comment Queue. If the queue for oral public
comment on any particular agenda item remains below 100 prior to the public hearing
on that item, then, except on Written Communication, members of the public shall limit
their remarks to two minutes per agenda item unless the City Council grants additional
time by majority vote of the members present who are not recused from the agenda
item. Persons speaking on another’s Written Communication shall be limited to one
minute. If the queue for oral public comment on any particular agenda item is 100 or
more prior to the public hearing on that item, the Council, by vote of a majority of the
members of the Council present and not recused from the particular agenda item, may
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reduce the time limit for remarks by members of the public to one, rather than two,
minutes per speaker and may impose an overall time limit of three hours for all remarks
by members of the public on that particular agenda item.
B. Comments on Multiple Items. A member of the public
wishing to speak on more than one item shall limit his or her remarks to a total of six
minutes per meeting unless the City Council grants additional time by majority vote. A
member of the public may allocate time between items in one minute increments up to
two minutes. Testimony given as an applicant or appellant does not count toward the six
minute maximum.
C. Board or Commission Members. A Board or Commission
member reporting to the City Council on behalf of a Board or Commission shall not be
subject to these rules on time limits; however, City Council may limit the duration of
such reports.
(e) Special Time Limits for Applicants and Appellants. Applicants and
appellants on administrative items shall limit their remarks to ten minutes and may
reserve some of their time for use for rebuttal at the conclusion of the public hearing.
The appellant shall have the opportunity to address the City Council first and last.
(f) Special Time Limits for Special Agenda Items. Public testimony is
permitted on the City Manager’s Report and Appointments to the City Council.
Proclamations, commendations and appearances by special guests are ceremonial
items. In order to ensure adequate time for the Council’s regular business, only
honorees and individual guests may address the Council on such items.
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(g) Special Assistance for Those Who Cannot Wait to Speak. Members
of the public, including those with special needs, who cannot wait to speak on an
agenda item may request assistance from the City Clerk, and a member of the Clerk's
office will provide assistance in preparing a written statement of testimony for
distribution to the City Council.
(h) Extended Time Limits for Speakers Who Require Interpreter. A
member of the public who utilizes an interpreter to provide English language translation
shall receive twice the time otherwise allotted under these Rules. The interpreter
should be in the queue for public comment and available to provide English language
translation over the phone when called on.
(i) Donating Time to Another Speaker. The normal procedures for
donating time to another speaker will not be in place while meetings are conducted via
teleconference. A member of the public who wishes to request additional time to speak
may represent to the Council that additional time is being donated by others present
and listening to the meeting via teleconference, and the Council may then decide, by
majority vote of the rnembers present and not recused from the particular agenda item,
whether to grant the speaker any additional time.
(j) Electronic presentation materials. The normal rules regarding
electronic presentation materials will not be in place while meetings are conducted via
teleconference. Any electronic presentation materials must be presented as
attachments to written public comment submitted by email for viewing online in
accordance with the time deadline set forth in Section 15(a) above.
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SECTION 2. The City Clerk shall certify to the adoption of this Resolution, and
thenceforth and thereafter the same shall be in full force and effect.
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
_________________________
GEORGE S. CARDONA
Interim City Attorney
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Adopted and approved this 28th day of March 2020.
__________________________
K e v i n M c K e o w n , M a y o r
I, Denise Anderson-Warren, City Clerk of the City of Santa Monica, do
hereby certify that Resolution No. 11245 (CCS) was duly adopted at a meeting of
the Santa Monica City Council held on the 28th day of March 2020, by the following
vote:
AYES: Councilmembers Davis, Himmelrich, Jara, Morena, Winterer,
NOES: None
ABSENT: None
A T T E S T :
_____________________________________
Denise Anderson-Warren, City Clerk
Mayor Pro Tem O’Day, Mayor McKeown
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