HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-047 - Amending Council Rules and Procedures to Change the Time of Regular Meetings, Update Rules of Procedure, Clarify Decorum Regulations, and Address TeleconferencingRESOLUTION NO. 2023-047
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
SANTA ANA AMENDING THE COUNCIL RULES AND
PROCEDURES TO CHANGE THE TIME OF REGULAR
MEETINGS, UPDATE THE RULES OF PROCEDURE,
CLARIFY DECORUM REGULATIONS, AND ADDRESS
TELECONFERENCING, AND REPEALING RESOLUTION
NO. 2013- 019.
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA ANA AS
FOLLOWS:
Section 1. The City Council of the City of Santa Ana hereby finds, determines
and declares as follows:
A. Section 409 of the City Charter and Sections 2-100 et seq. of Santa Ana
Municipal Code call for the City Council to adopt rules and procedures for the
scheduling and conducting of meetings of the City Council.
B. The Ralph M. Brown Act found at Chapter 9, Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 5 of
the California Government Code beginning with Section 54950 (the 'Brown
Act") sets forth statewide standards for meetings of local agencies including
the Santa Ana City Council.
C. The City Council desires to amend the City Council Rules and Procedures to
change the time of regular meetings, updates the rules of procedure, clarify
decorum regulations, and address teleconferencing.
Section 2. City Council meetings, time and place.
(a) Regular meetings of the City Council shall be on the first and third
Tuesdays of each month beginning on January 1, 2014. The meeting shall
begin between the hours of 3:00 P.M. and 5:00 P.M. for Closed Session
followed by the Regular Open Meeting at 5:30 P.M., with the specific time
legally noticed and posted on the agenda. The City Council shall publicly
convene the meeting and then recess to conduct closed or executive
sessions. Regular meetings of the City Council shall be convened in the
Council Chamber or as noted on the agenda and at the time specified on
the agenda. After being convened, all meetings may be adjourned to such
other place or places as the City Council may order.
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this resolution, any regular meeting
of the Council may be set, canceled, or rescheduled to a different date,
time, or location by resolution duly adopted by the affirmative votes of a
majority of the City Council or by any other manner as provided by law.
The date, time, and location of any meeting set or rescheduled to a
different date, time, or location shall be noticed and posted in the manner
provided by law.
(c) Special meetings of the City Council may be held at such locations as
stated in the action calling such meetings and otherwise in conformance
with the Brown Act. A special meeting may be called by the Mayor or the
Mayor Pro Tern, in the Mayor's noticed absence, by either of them
contacting the City Clerk and requesting orally or in writing the call of a
special meeting. A majority of the members of the City Council can also
call a special meeting by delivering a written notice to the City Clerk of a
request for a special meeting. Upon receiving a request from the Mayor,
Mayor Pro Tern, or a majority of the City Council, the City Clerk shall
notice the special meeting.
(d) All meetings are scheduled to terminate at 11:59 P.M. on the same day it
began. At 11:00 P.M., the City Council shall determine which of the
remaining agenda items can be considered and acted upon prior to 11:59
P.M., and will continue all other items on which additional time is required
until a future City Council meeting. A majority vote of the Council is
required to extend a meeting beyond 11:59 P.M. to discuss specified
items.
Section 3. Agenda.
The City Clerk shall prepare an agenda for each regular and special meeting of the City
Council containing all items known by such officer to be considered. The order of
placing items on the agenda prior to posting shall be at the discretion of the City
Manager, in consultation with the Mayor. The agenda shall contain such information as
required by the Brown Act. In addition, the agenda shall contain the following sections to
provide for reporting by the City Council: AB1234 reports, Council Committee reports,
and Regional Agency reports.
Section 4. Rules of Procedure.
Procedures before the City Council shall be governed by the most current edition of
Rosenberg's Rules of Order. Application of such procedures shall be vested in the
sound discretion of the presiding officer.
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 them self to three (3) minutes at any one time without
permission of the presiding officer. At the end of each meeting, 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. No such requests shall be accepted after the
public comment session begins without permission of the 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. 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 initial presentation.
Members of the public shall be given three (3) minutes to address the City
Council on the subject of the public hearing. The applicant/appellant and or their
representative(s) shall be given reasonable time for rebuttal comments.
(e) Upon being recognized by the presiding officer, a speaker should step to
the designated speaker location, state their name and address for the record, 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 request 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, and libelous or slanderous
statements that disturb the decorum of the meeting.
(h) The presiding officer shall have the power and responsibility to enforce
decorum and order of the meeting as set forth in Section 2-104(c). Among other means
of enforcement, the presiding officer may order the podium microphone turned off
and/or video broadcast interrupted when the presiding officer has determined that an
individual or group has disrupted the meeting, or the individual or group has exceeded
their allotted time to speak without permission of the presiding officer.
(i) All cell phones, pagers, or electronic devices belonging to the public,
press, or personnel that may be disruptive must be placed on vibrate mode/quiet or be
turned off while a meeting is in session.
Section 6. Teleconferencing.
Remote participation in a City Council meeting shall be governed by the
teleconferencing provisions set forth in the Ralph M. Brown Act (Government Code
Section 54950, et seq.) and by a Teleconferencing Policy duly adopted by the City
Council.
Section 7. The provisions of Sections 4, 5, and 6 of this resolution shall apply
to meetings of committees of the City Council, as may be modified from time to time by
such committees.
Section 8. This Resolution shall supersede Resolution No. 2013-019 and shall
take effect immediately upon its adoption by the City Council. The City Clerk shall attest
to and certify the vote adopting this Resolution.
ADOPTED this 18th day of July 2023.
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
Sonia R. Carvalho, City Attorney
By: IS�AttXl�
Laura A. Rossini
Chief Assistant City Attorney
AYES: Councilmembers
NOES: Councilmembers
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Amezcua, Bacerra, Hernandez, Lopez,
Penaloza, Phan, Vazquez (7)
None (0)
None (0)
NOT PRESENT: Councilmembers None (0)
CERTIFICATE OF ATTESTATION AND ORIGINALITY
I, JENNIFER L. HALL, City Clerk, do hereby attest to and certify the attached
Resolution No. 2023-047 to be the original resolution adopted by the City Council of the
City of Santa Ana on Jul v 18, 2023.
Date: cz(c7va
nnifer L. • al
uci�r
City of Santa Ana