Item 27 - Sunshine Ordinance - Laserfiche WebLink

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Sunshine Ordinance November 16, 2021 Page 3 2 2 4 6 for various departments. Therefore, there is no fiscal impact associated with this proposed change. Increase the Radius of Distributing Noticing of Community Meetings for Certain Development Projects from 500 Feet of the Subject Property to 1,000 Feet In addition to the community meetings requirement for certain development projects, the current form of the Sunshine Ordinance requires that a development project applicant provide noticing of the community meeting to all property owners and at least one occupant per dwelling unit within a 500-foot radius of the subject property. At the direction of the City Council, staff has prepared an ordinance amending the noticing provision of the Sunshine Ordinance to require that a development project applicant provide noticing of each community meeting to all property owners and at least one occupant per dwelling unit within a 1,000-foot radius (as opposed to the current threshold of 500 feet). The cost associated with preparing and distributing such notices varies. Additionally, the responsibility to prepare and distribute such notices is that of the development project applicant. As such, there is no fiscal impact to the City relating to this proposed change in noticing for community meetings. It is important to note that the Sunshine Ordinance provides that noticing of Planning Commission public hearings shall be in conformance with the noticing requirements for community meetings. Therefore, by increasing the radius of distributing noticing of community meetings for certain development projects from 500 feet of the subject property to 1,000 feet, the City would similarly be required to increase the radius of distributing noticing of Planning Commission public hearings from 500 feet to 1,000 feet of the subject property. As such, there will be an increase in costs associated with the expanded noticing requirements for Planning Commission meetings. While this cost varies, staff estimates that the cost for each mailer associated with noticing of a Planning Commission public hearing is 64 cents. The number of mailers to be sent for each public hearing may increase by anywhere from four to seven times when compared to the current number of mailers sent in conformance with the existing 500-foot radius requirement. Implement a Lobbyist Registration Policy A lobbyist registration (or “disclosure”) policy is one that requires lobbyists, as defined, to report specific information relating to their lobbying activities, including the issues lobbied upon, officials contacted, time spent, and an estimate of expenses, among other data. The purpose of a lobbyist registration policy is to establish transparency in the activity of lobbyists. While there are lobbyist registration policies at the federal and state level, such as the Lobbyist Disclosure Act of 1995 relating to federal lobbying practices and the Political Reform Act relating to state lobbying practices, there is no municipal lobbyist registration policy associated with lobbying practices involving the City of Santa Ana.