2026-024 - Amending Council Rules & Procedures to Telephonic or Internet Service

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Section 5. Decorum; Time limits and other regulations for speaking, (a) The City Council shall preserve decorum and an orderly procedure during debate. Councilmembers desiring to speak shall seek recognition from the presiding officer. Upon being recognized, a Councilmember shall confine their comments to the questions under debate. A Councilmember, once recognized, should not be interrupted unless a point of order is raised by another member. The presiding officer should not recognize a Councilmember to speak who has already spoken on a matter under debate until all other Councilmembers who wish to be heard have spoken. A Councilmember should limit themselves to three (3) minutes at any one time without permission of the presiding officer. During the Council Comments portion of the agenda, the presiding officer shall recognize each Councilmember who may speak up to three (3) minutes on matters of public or community interest. (b) The agenda for all regular meetings of the City Council shall provide members of the public the opportunity to address the City Council on agendized matters and non-agendized matters as required by the Brown Act. All requests to speak shall be submitted in writing to the City Clerk via a "Request to Speak" card for in-person speakers and by "Raising Hand" or other electronic indicator for remote speakers. Request to Speak cards shall be submitted no later than the agendized start time of any Closed Session meeting for items to be considered during Closed Session and no later than 5:45 P.M., or upon the call to order, whichever is later, for any regularly scheduled City Council meeting. Remote speakers shall follow the instructions noted on the agenda and as provided by the presiding officer or City Clerk at the beginning of each meeting. The agendas for adjourned, special, and emergency meetings of the City Council shall provide for public comment as provided in the Brown Act. The timeframe for submitting Request to Speak cards for any adjourned, special, or emergency meeting will be noted on the posted agenda for such meeting. (c) Subject to (d) below, members of the public shall be given a total of three (3) minutes to: (i) address the City Council on any and all matters contained on the City Council agenda, and/or (ii) address any matters of public interest provided that they are within the jurisdiction or official business of the City of Santa Ana. Separately, members of the public shall be given a total of three (3) minutes to address each or any of the City's related entities (Housing Authority, Successor Agency, Financing Authority, etc.) if/when they have noticed meeting agendas. The presiding officer shall have the discretion to reduce and also to increase the time allotted to speakers. The City Council may, by majority vote, address/revise the reduced or increased time allotted to speakers. (d) For general public hearings, members of the public shall be given three (3) minutes to address the City Council for each duly noticed hearing, unless continued prior to taking testimony. i. For public hearings related to land use, entitlements, or appeals, the applicant/appellant and/or their representative(s) whose matter is the subject of the public hearing shall be given ten (10) minutes for their Resolution No. 2026-024 Page 3 of 8