2013-019 - Amending the City Council Rules And Procedures For Special Meetings

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presiding officer. The agendas for adjourned, special and emergency meetings of the City Council shall provide for public comment as provided in the Brown Act. (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 as well as the agendas of any of the City's related entities, such as the Successor Agency (formerly the Community Redevelopment Agency) or the Housing Authority, if those entities have meetings scheduled at the same time, 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. (d) For 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. This time limitation shall not apply to the applicant/appellant and/or their representative(s) whose matter is the subject of the public hearing. Applicants shall limit their presentations to a reasonable period of time, subject to the discretion of the presiding officer. (e) Upon being recognized by the presiding officer, a speaker should step to the designated speaker location, state name and address for the record, and identify the matter by agenda designation (if applicable), and direct remarks to the City Council as a body and not to any individual member thereof. A speaker shall not be denied an opportunity to speak if they do not wish to state their name and address for the record. No person other than members of the City Council and the person having the floor may be permitted to enter into the discussion without permission of the presiding officer. (f) It shall be within the sound discretion of the presiding officer to set a maximum time for public comment. In setting any limit, the presiding officer shall take into consideration the level of public interest in the matters in question, the length of the meeting and the need to provide for an orderly and effective meeting. As a means of limiting time while maximizing the public's opportunity to address the City Council, if a group of people seeks to address the City Council on the same matter or topic, the presiding officer may direct the group to designate a spokesperson or limited number of speakers to address the City Council. (g) The following rules shall apply to all persons addressing the City Council. All speakers are requested to: ¦ direct all testimony to the City Council or the presiding officer and not individual Councilmembers, ¦ when speaking on agenda matters, limit comments to the agenda item(s), ¦ when speaking on non-agenda matters, limit comments to matters within the jurisdiction or official business of the City of Santa Ana, and, ¦ refrain from profane language, racial epitaphs, libelous or slanderous statements that disturb the decorum of the meeting. Resolution No. 2013-019 Page 3of5