R114901
City Council Meeting: January 10, 2023 Santa Monica, California
RESOLUTION NUMBER 11490 (CCS)
(City Council Series)
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA
MAKING FINDINGS AS REQUIRED BY AB 361 TO PERMIT COUNCIL AND CITY
BOARD, COMMISSION, AND TASK FORCE MEETINGS TO CONTINUE TO BE
CONDUCTED BY TELECONFERENCE WHILE THE COVID-19 EMERGENCY
REMAINS IN PLACE
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 4, 2020, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and
Department of Public Health declared a local emergency and local public health
emergency to aid the regional healthcare and governmental community in responding to
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 COVID-19 and this local emergency was restated on March
14, 2020, through a revised declaration of local emergency to ensure compliance with all
digital signature requirements (“Revised Executive Order”); and
WHEREAS, the Governor’s March 4, 2020 declaration of a state of emergency
based on the COVID-19 pandemic remains in place; and
WHEREAS, the Proclamation of Existence of a Local Emergency issued by the
Director of Emergency Services on March 13, 2020, has been ratified by the City Council
on March 19, 2020, April 6, 2020, April 14, 2020, May 12, 2020, May 26, 2020, June 9,
2020, June 23, 2020, July 14, 2020, July 28, 2020, September 8, 2020, October 27, 2020,
December 15, 2020, January 26, 2021, March 23, 2021 effective May 22, 2021, July 13,
2021, August 24, 2021, October 26, 2021, December 7, 2021, March 8, 2022 effective
May 7, 2022, May 24, 2022, July 12, 2022, July 26, 2022, August 23, 2022, September
13, 2022, October 11, 2022, October 25, 2022, November 15, 2022, and December 13,
2022 with the result that the proclamation of a local emergency based on the COVID-19
pandemic remains in place; and
WHEREAS, throughout the emergency resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic,
the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (“LACDPH”) has issued a series of
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Health Officer Orders containing mandates and recommendations for keeping safe and
preventing the spread of COVID-19; and
WHEREAS, the Ralph M. Brown Act, Government Code Sections 54950-54963,
allows for meetings of legislative bodies of a local agency, as those terms are defined in
the Brown Act, to occur via teleconferencing subject to certain requirements, particularly
that the legislative body notice each teleconference location of each member that will be
participating in the public meeting, that each teleconference location be accessible to the
public, and that members of the public be allowed to address the legislative body at each
teleconference location, see Government Code Section 54953(b)(3); and
WHEREAS, on September 16, 2021, the Governor signed into law Assembly Bill
No. 361 (“AB 361”), which, until January 1, 2024, authorizes a local agency to use
teleconferencing without complying with the teleconferencing requirements imposed by
the Brown Act when a legislative body of a local agency holds a meeting during a declared
state of emergency, as that term is defined, when state or local health officials have
imposed or recommended measures to promote social distancing or when the legislative
body has determined that meeting in person would present imminent risks to the health
or safety of attendees; and
WHEREAS, AB 361 requires legislative bodies that hold teleconferenced meetings
under its abbreviated teleconferencing procedures to give notice of the meeting and post
agendas, as described, to allow members of the public to access the meeting and address
the legislative body, to give notice of the means by which members of the public may
access the meeting and offer public comment, including an opportunity for all persons to
attend via a call-in option or an internet-based service option, and to conduct the meeting
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in a manner that protects the statutory and constitutional rights of the parties and the
public appearing before the legislative body; and
WHEREAS, AB 361 requires the legislative body to take no further action on
agenda items when there is a disruption which prevents the public agency from
broadcasting the meeting, or in the event of a disruption within the local agency’s control
which prevents members of the public from offering public comments, until public access
is restored; and
WHEREAS, AB 361 prohibits the legislative body from requiring public comments
to be submitted in advance of the meeting and specifies that the legislative body must
provide an opportunity for the public to address the legislative body and offer comment in
real time; and
WHEREAS, AB 361 prohibits the legislative body from closing the public comment
period and the opportunity to register to provide public comment, until the public comment
period has elapsed or until a reasonable amount of time has elapsed, as specified; and
WHEREAS, when there is a continuing state of emergency, or when state or local
officials have imposed or recommended measures to promote social distancing, AB 361
requires a legislative body to make specified findings not later than 30 days after the first
teleconferenced meeting pursuant to these provisions, and to make those findings every
30 days thereafter, in order to continue to meet under AB 361’s abbreviated
teleconferencing procedures; and
WHEREAS, on September 28, 2021, October 26, 2021, November 23, 2021,
December 14, 2021, January 11, 2022, February 8, 2022, March 8, 2022, March 22, 2022,
April 8, 2022, May 10, 2022, May 24, 2022, June 14, 2022, July 12, 2022, July 26, 2022,
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August 23, 2022, September 13, 2022, October 11, 2022, October 25, 2022, November
15, 2022, and December 13, 2022, the City Council adopted Resolutions, which made
the findings required by AB 361 to allow the City Council and all City Boards,
Commissions, and Task Forces to continue to meet under AB 361’s abbreviated
teleconferencing procedures, and authorized the City Council and all City Boards,
Commissions, and Task Forces to conduct meetings under AB 361’s abbreviated
teleconferencing procedures, without complying with the requirements set forth in
Government Code Section 54953(b)(3), subject to compliance with the requirements set
forth in Government Code Section 54953(e)(2); and
WHEREAS, in light of the continuing State and local declarations of emergency
resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, the most recent Los Angeles County Department
of Public Health Order of the Health Officer, issued April 21, 2022, which continues to
recommend social distancing as one measure to reduce the spread of COVID-19, and to
protect the most vulnerable among us in indoor public settings , the City Council desires
to again make the findings required by AB 361 to allow the City Council and all City
Boards, Commissions, and Task Forces to continue to meet under AB 361’s abbreviated
teleconferencing procedures.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA
DOES RESOLVE AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The City Council finds that the State and local declarations of
emergency resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic remain in place, and that the state of
emergency continues to directly impact the ability to meet safely in person.
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SECTION 2. The City Council finds that local officials, namely, the Los Angeles
County Department of Public Health, has continued to recommend measures to promote
social distancing.
SECTION 3. As a result of the findings in Sections 1 through 2 above, the City
Council and all City Boards, Commissions, and Task Forces are authorized to conduct
meetings under AB 361’s abbreviated teleconferencing procedures, without complying
with the requirements set forth in Government Code Section 54953(b)(3), subject to
compliance with the requirements set forth in Government Code Section 54953(e)(2).
SECTION 4. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase of this
Resolution is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a decision of any court
of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining
portions of this Resolution. The City Council hereby declares that it would have passed
this Resolution and each and every section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase not
declared invalid or unconstitutional without regard to whether any portion of this Resolution
would be subsequently declared invalid or unconstitutional.
SECTION 5. 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:
____________________________
Douglas Sloan, City Attorney
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Adopted and approved this 10th day of January 2023.
__________________________
Gleam Davis, Mayor
I, Denise Anderson-Warren, City Clerk of the City of Santa Monica, do hereby
certify that Resolution No. 11490 (CCS) was duly adopted at a meeting of the Santa
Monica City Council held on the 10th day of January 2023, by the following vote:
AYES: Councilmembers Brock, de la Torre, Parra, Torosis, Zwick
Mayor Pro Tem Negrete, Mayor Davis
NOES: None
ABSENT: None
ATTEST:
_____________________________________
Denise Anderson-Warren, City Clerk
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