HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-67 - Adopting a Revised City Council Policy A-1 "City Council”RESOLUTION NO. 2020-67
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
NEWPORT BEACH, CALIFORNIA, ADOPTING A REVISED
CITY COUNCIL POLICY A-1 "CITY COUNCIL"
WHEREAS, the City of Newport Beach is governed, in part, by its Charter,
Municipal Code, and adopted City Council Policies;
WHEREAS, modifications to the timing of the City Council regular meetings to
better coordinate, accommodate and provide adequate time to conduct City business
have been deemed necessary; and
WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Newport Beach desires to revise City
Council Policy A-1.
NOW, THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of Newport Beach resolves as
follows:
Section 1: The City Council hereby adopts Council Policy A-1 as shown in
Exhibit 1, which is incorporated herein by reference.
Section 2: All prior versions of Council Policy A-1 that are in conflict with the
revisions adopted by this resolution are hereby repealed.
Section 3: The recitals provided in this resolution are true and correct and are
incorporated into the operative part of this resolution.
Section 4: If any section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase of this
resolution is, for any reason, held to be invalid or unconstitutional, such decision shall not
affect the validity or constitutionality of the remaining portions of this resolution. The City
Council hereby declares that it would have passed this resolution, and each section,
subsection, sentence, clause or phrase hereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or
more sections, subsections, sentences, clauses or phrases be declared invalid or
unconstitutional.
Section 5: Except as expressly modified in this resolution, all other City Council
Policies, sections, subsections, terms, clauses and phrases set forth in the Council Policy
Manual shall remain unchanged and shall be in full force and effect.
Resolution No. 2020-67
Page 2 of 2
Section 6: The City Council finds the adoption of this resolution and the
amendment of City Council Policy A-1 is not subject to the California Environmental
Quality Act ("CEQA") pursuant to Sections 15060(c)(2) (the activity will not result in a
direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment) and
15060(c)(3) (the activity is not a project as defined in Section 15378) of the CEQA
Guidelines, California Code of Regulations, Title 14, Division 6, Chapter 3, because it has
no potential for resulting in physical change to the environment, directly or indirectly.
Section 7: This resolution shall take effect immediately upon its adoption by the
City Council, and the City Clerk shall certify the vote adopting the resolution.
ADOPTED this 14th day of July, 2020.
ATTEST:
Ir
ea
Will O'Neill
Mayor
Leilani I. Brown I U`�
City Clerk 1 1
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
-X C.
Aaron C. Harp
City Attorney
Attachment: Exhibit 1 — Revised City Council Policy A-1
EXHIBIT 1
CITY COUNCIL
Open MeetingPolicies
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The Newport Beach City Council is required to comply with the Ralph M. Brown Act (Brown Act). Unless
an exception applies, the Brown Act requires public entities to deliberate and take action, in open session.
The City Council has adopted these rules to ensure compliance with the Brown Act and to promote full
citizen participation in the discussions and decisions of their elected and appointed representatives.
A. Regular Meetings. The City Council shall hold Regular Meetings as allowed by the City Charter and
the Ralph M. Brown Act. The Regular Meeting shall begin at 4:00 p.m., or as otherwise scheduled
due to the demand of business, and shall follow the order of business set forth in this policy.
The City Council may hold a regular meeting, special meeting, or adjourned regular or special
meeting at any location authorized by the City Charter and the Brown Act. When the day for any
regular meeting falls on a legal holiday, no meeting shall be held on such holiday, but a regular
meeting shall be held at the same hours on the following business day.
B. All regular, special and adjourned meetings of the City Council shall be called, noticed and
conducted in compliance with the Brown Act.
C. Placing an Item(s) on the City Council Agenda. A member of the City Council may place an
item(s) on the City Council agenda for discussion by submitting a title or topic sufficient to satisfy
the requirements of the Brown Act on or before 5:00 p.m. on the Tuesday preceding the meeting
at which the item is to be discussed. When requested, the City Attorney shall assist a City Council
Member with the drafting of an agenda title or topic to ensure consistency with the Brown Act. These
items will appear under the section of the agenda titled, "Matters which Council Members have
asked to be placed on a Future Agenda." At the Council meeting, if three (3) members of the City
Council wish to examine the issue, staff will prepare an appropriate report and return the item to the
City Council with greater detail for discussion and/or action. Additionally, the City Manager may
place an item(s) on the agenda at the City Manager's discretion.
D. It is the intent of the City Council that no item will be introduced on a City Council agenda after the
hour of 11:00 p.m. Furthermore, it is the City Council's intent that if an item introduced and being
discussed by 11:00 p.m. is not concluded by 12:00 a.m., the City Council should adjourn the meeting
to another date. The intent and purpose of this policy is to encourage a reasonable hour in which the
City Council business is discussed and to protect against fatigue in discussing and deciding
important City issues.
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Order of Business
To the extent the business needs of the City require City Council consideration of the items set forth below,
the agenda for Regular Meetings of the City Council shall contain the following items in the
following order:
Study Session (if any)
Current Business (if Study Session is scheduled)
• Clarification of Items on the Consent Calendar
• Presentations (will be considered with the remainder of the Regular Meeting agenda
items ifno Study Session is scheduled)
• Study Session Items
Public Comments (if Study Session and/or Closed Session is scheduled)
Closed Session (if any) - Council Chambers Conference Room
Recess (if Study Session and/or Closed Session is scheduled)
Regular Meeting Agenda Items (at 4:00 p.m. or, if there is Study Session and/or
Closed Session, when the meeting is reconvened)
Roll Call
Closed Session Report
Invocation
Pledge of Allegiance
Notice to the Public
City Council Announcements (non -discussion item) and Oral Reports from City Council
on Committee Activities
Matters which Council Members have asked to be placed on a Future Agenda
Public Comments on Consent Calendar
Consent Calendar:
A. Reading of Minutes and Ordinances
B. Ordinances for Introduction
C. Ordinances for Adoption
D. Resolutions for Adoption
E. Contracts and Agreements
F. Miscellaneous (for example: Planning Commission Agendas, budget
amendments, and permit applications)
Items Removed from the Consent Calendar
Public Comments on Non -Agenda Items
Public Hearings
Continued Business
CurrentBusiness
Motions for Reconsideration
Continued Closed Session, ifnecessary (report if applicable)
Adjournment
The Mayor shall have the discretion to change the order of business. Council Members may
change the order of business by majority vote of the City Council.
Rules of Order for City Council Proceedings
A. Rules of Order. Except as provided in this Policy, the City Charter, other rules or practices
followed by the City Council, or applicable provisions of State law, the procedures of the
Council shall be guided by the latest revised edition of Robert's Rules of Order.
1. Failure to Observe Rules of Order. Rules adopted to expedite the transaction of the
business of the Council in an orderly fashion are deemed to be procedural only and
the failure to strictly observe such rules shall not affect the jurisdiction of the
Council or invalidate any action taken at a meeting that is otherwise held in
conformity with law.
B. Public Input. Members of the general public have the right to address the City Council on
any item on the agenda, as well as any item under the subject jurisdiction of the body.
1. Agendized Matters and Consent Calendar. Speakers on agenda items, including,
but not limited to, Consent Calendar items, shall limit their comments to three (3)
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minutes and shall step down from the lectern immediately after their time has
elapsed unless the presiding officer has granted the speaker's request for additional
time. The presiding officer may grant the speaker additional time if the speaker is
addressing the Council on a complicated or complex matter or if the speaker
represents a group of individuals whose individual testimony would exceed the
total time allotted to the speaker. Speakers shall limit their comments to matters
relevant to the item on the agenda.
2. Non-agendized Matters The agenda shall contain a public comment section during
which any member of the public may address the Council on any non -agenda item
generally considered to be a municipal affair and within the subject matter jurisdiction
of the Council. To ensure that all members of the public have an opportunity to address
the Council during public comments, each speaker shall be limited to three (3) minutes
and shall immediately step down from the lectern upon expiration of the allotted time
unless the presiding officer has granted the speaker's request for additional time. Staff
and/ or members of the City Council may briefly respond to each speaker who testifies
during public comments. Responses shall be limited to the specific issue(s) raised by
the speaker and shall generally be limited to information helpful to the public's
understanding of the issue(s) raised by the speaker. The City Council shall not take
action relative to any public comment unless an action would be authorized by Section
54954.2(b) of the Government Code, or any successor statute.
3. Consent Calendar. A Consent Calendar item may be pulled by the Mayor or a member
of the City Council. If a Consent Calendar item is pulled, members of the public may
speak on each pulled item for up to three (3) minutes, unless the presiding officer has
granted the speaker's request for additional time.
Officers
A. Presiding Officer. The Mayor shall be the Presiding Officer at all meetings of the City
Council. In the absence of the Mayor, or at the Mayor's request, the Mayor Pro Tempore shall
preside. In the absence of the Mayor and Mayor Pro Tempore, the City Clerk shall call the
City Council to order, whereupon a temporary Presiding Officer shall be elected by the City
Council Members present to serve until the arrival of the Mayor or Mayor Pro Tempore.
1. Powers and Duties of Presiding Officer.
a. Participation. The Presiding Officer may move, debate and vote from the Chair.
b. Ouestion to be Stated. The Presiding Officer shall state (or announce) the
motion prior to opening any subject to debate. The Presiding Officer or such
member of the City staff as he or she may designate shall verbally restate each
question immediately prior to calling for the vote.
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C. Signing of Documents. The Presiding Officer shall sign all ordinances,
resolutions, contracts and other documents necessitating his or her signature
which were adopted in his or her presence, unless he or she is unavailable,
in which case the signature of an alternate Presiding Officer may be used.
d. Sworn Testimony. The Presiding Officer may require any person addressing
the City Council to be sworn as a witness and to testify under oath, and the
Presiding Officer shall so require if directed to do so by a majority vote of the
Council.
B. Parliamentarian. The City Clerk shall be designated as Parliamentarian for the City
Council proceedings to advise the Presiding Officer. Within the limitations imposed by
Robert's Rules of Order, the Presiding Officer has the authority to determine proper
parliamentary procedure.
Conduct of City CouncilBusiness
A. Rules of Debate.
1. Getting the Floor. Every Council Member desiring to speak shall first address the
Presiding Officer, gain recognition by the Presiding Officer, and shall confinehimself
or herself to the question under debate, avoiding personalities and indecorous
language.
2 Opening Debate The following three steps are necessary prior to opening debate
on any subject except as noted.
a. Motions. Before any subject is open to debate, a motion must be made. The
motion is a proposal in that it sets forth something the person making the
motion favors.
b. Motions - Second required A motion by any member of the Council,
including the Presiding Officer, may not be open to debate without a second.
Such action does not mean that the seconder endorses the motion, but only
that he/ she wishes to have the motion considered.
C. Stating of Motion. The motion must be stated (or announced) by the
Presiding Officer prior to opening the subject to debate.
Exceptions:
i. Oral Presentations. Oral presentations may be made by staff, or
someone designated by staff, prior to a motion being made and
debated upon.
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ii. Ouestions to Staff. At any time during the proceedings, every Council
Member desiring to question the City staff shall, after recognition by
the Presiding Officer, address the questions to the City Manager, the
City Clerk or the City Attorney, who shall be entitled either to answer
the inquiry himself or herself or to designate a member of his/her staff
for that purpose.
iii. Public Hearings. For matters that are the subject of a publichearing,
the procedures for opening debate are suspended until after the public
hearing is closed.
3. Addressing the Council
a. Manner of Addressing Council Each person desiring to address the Council
shall step up to the microphone, may state his/her name and address for the
record, state the subject he/she wishes to discuss, may state whom he/she is
representing if he/ she represents an organization or other persons and,
unless further time is granted by the Mayor, and shall limit his/ herremarks
to three (3) minutes. All remarks shall be addressed to the Council as a whole
and not to any member thereof or to the audience. No question shall be asked
a Council Member or a member of the City staff without the permission of
the Presiding Officer.
Exception:
The City Council may preside over administrative hearings or designate a hearing officer
to take evidence and submit proposed findings and recommendations. In the event the
City Council conducts any hearing that is quasi-judicial or administrative in nature, the
following procedure shall befollowed:
i. The presiding officer may ask the City Manager to summarize the
nature of the hearing and the issues to be resolved by the City Council.
ii. The presiding officer shall invite the person or entity that filed the
application for permit, license or other entitlement (applicant) to make
a presentation. The applicant shall have a reasonable amount of time
to present evidence or testimony relevant to any issue before the City
Council. The City Council, City Manager or City Attorney may ask
questions of the applicant or any witness presented by the applicant.
iii. In the event the matter is pending before the City Council by virtue of
an appeal, the presiding officer shall invite the appellant to make a
presentation. The appellant shall have a reasonable amount of time
to present evidence or testimony relevant to any issue before the City
Council. The City Council, City Manager or City Attorney may ask
questions of the appellant or any witness presented by the appellant.
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iv. Upon conclusion of the presentations by the applicant and the appellant,
if any, the presiding officer shall invite testimony from members of the
audience.
V. Prior to closing the hearing, the presiding officer shall give the
applicant the opportunity to comment on the evidence with the right
to comment limited to no more than five (5) minutes.
vi. The presiding officer shall have the discretion to require the applicant,
the appellant and their respective witnesses, to present testimony under
oath.
vii. The presiding officer shall have the right to exclude testimony or evidence
which is not relevant to any issue before the City Council.
b. Spokesman for Group of Persons To expedite matters and to avoid
repetitious presentations, whenever any group of persons wishes to address
the City Council on the same subject matter, it shall be proper for the
Presiding Officer to request that a spokesman be chosen by the group to
address the City Council and, in case additional matters are to be presented
by any other member of said group, to limit the number of such persons
addressing the City Council, subject to the right of all members of the public
to speak on any item on the agenda pursuant to the Brown Act.
4 After Motion. After a motion has been made or a public hearing has been closed,
no member of the public shall address the City Council from the audience on the
matter under consideration without first securing permission to do so by a majority
vote of the City Council.
5. Interruptions. A Council Member, once recognized, shall not be interrupted when
speaking unless called to order by the Presiding Officer, unless a point of order or
personal privilege is raised by another Council Member, or unless the speaker
chooses to yield to a question by another Council Member. If a Council Member,
while speaking, is called to order, he or she shall cease speaking until the question
of order is determined and, if determined to be in order, he or she may proceed.
Members of the City staff after recognition by the Presiding Officer shall hold the
floor until completion of their remarks or until recognition is withdrawn by the
Presiding Officer.
6 Points of Order. The Presiding Officer shall determine all points of order subject to the
right of any Council Member to appeal to the Council. If an appeal is taken, the
question shall be "Shall the decision of the Presiding Officer be sustained?" A majority
vote shall conclusively determine such question of order.
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7. Point of Personal Privilege. The right of a Council Member to address the Council on
a question of personal privilege shall be limited to cases in which the integrity,
character or motives are questioned or where the welfare of the Council is concerned.
A Council Member raising a point of personal privilege may interruptanother
Council Member who has the floor only if the Presiding Officer recognizesthe
privilege.
R Limitation of Debate. No Council Member shall be allowed to speak more than once
upon any particular subject until every other Council Member desiringto do so shall
have spoken.
9 Protest Asainst Council Action Any Council Member shall have the right to have the
reasons for his or her dissent from, or his or her protest against, any action ofthe
Council entered in the minutes. Such dissent or protest to be entered into theminutes
may be made in the following manner: "I would like the minutes to showthat I am
opposed to this action for the following reasons...."
10 Remarks of Council Member and Synopsis of Debate A Council Member may
request through the Presiding Officer the privilege of having an abstract ofhis or
her statement on any subject under consideration by the Council entered in the
minutes. If the Council consents thereto, such statement shall be entered in the
minutes.
B. Rules of Decorum.
1. Council Members. While the City Council is in session, the members must preserve
order and decorum. Each Council Member shall conduct himself or herself with
decorum and shall neither, by conversation or otherwise, delay nor interrupt the
proceedings or the peace of the City Council, nor disturb any member while
speaking or refuse to obey the orders of the Presiding Officer.
a. Each Council Member has the duty to:
i. Respect and adhere to the American ideals of government, rule of law,
principles of public administration and high ethical conduct in the
performance of public duties.
ii. Represent and work for the common good of the City and not for any
private interest.
Refuse to accept gifts of favors or promises of future benefits which
might compromise or tend to impair independent judgment or action.
iv. Provide fair and equal treatment for all persons and matters coming
before the City Council.
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V. Learn and study the background and purpose of important items of
business before voting.
vi. Faithfully perform all duties of office.
vii. Refrain from disclosing any information received during any closed
session of the City Council held pursuant to state law.
viii. Decline any employment incompatible with public duty.
ix. Refrain from abusive conduct, personal charges or verbal attacks upon
the character, motives, ethics or morals of other members of theCity
Council, City commission, committee or board, City staff, or the
public, or other personal comments not germane to the issues before
the City Council. Members are to be tolerant of all views expressed at
public meetings.
X. Listen courteously and attentively to all public discussions at City
Council meetings and avoid interrupting other speakers, including
other members except as permitted by established Rules ofOrder.
xi. Maintain the highest standards of public conduct by refusing to
condone breaches of public trust or improper attempts to influence
legislation.
2 Decorum of Speakers Speakers shall not engage in willful conduct which interrupts the
meeting or interferes with the orderly conduct of the meeting. Any speaker engaging in
such conduct shall be called to order by the presiding officer and, if the conduct continues,
the presiding officer may order the speaker barred from speaking and/ or attending the
meeting. No person shall be declared out of order, prevented from speaking or barred
from attendance at any meeting because of any disagreement with the speaker's position
or view on any matter, because of the speaker's identity or because of any disagreement
with the content of relevant testimony.
3. Members of the Audience No member of the audience shall willfully interruptthe orderly
conduct at the meeting. The presiding officer shall direct the removal of any individual
whose willful interruption renders infeasible the orderly conduct of the meeting. In the
event the removal of the individual or individuals willfully interrupting the meeting does
not restore order, the presiding officer may order the meeting room cleared and continue
in session. Media representatives shall be allowed to remain at the meeting except those
representatives of whose willful conduct interrupted the meeting.
4 Persons Authorized to Approach the City Council Dais No person except members of the
City Council and the City staff shall enter the area between the public speakers'
podiums and the City Council Dais without the consent of the Presiding Officer.
5. Enforcement of Decorum The Chief of Police, or such member or members of the Police
Department as he or she may designate, shall be Sergeant -at -Arms of the City Council and
shall carry out all orders given by the Presiding Officer for the purpose of maintaining order
and decorum at the Council meetings. Any Council Member may move to require the
Presiding Officer to enforcethe rules upon affirmativevote ofamajority ofthe City Council.
Ex Parte Communications
Members of the City Council, and City employees, agents and representatives shall not engage in
any ex parte communication with any member of a Board, Commission or Committee regarding
any quasi-judicial matter pending, or reasonably expected to come, before that member's Board,
Commission, orCommittee.
For purposes of this policy, the term Ex Parte communication shall mean any oral or written
communication directed to a member which is intended, or is reasonably calculated, to influence
the member's decision on any quasi-judicial matter but does not include communications
between members during deliberations preliminary to decision or communications where all
interested parties or their representatives are present. The term quasi-judicial matter shall mean
the appeal of any discipline imposed on any City employee, the appeal of any grievance filed by
a City employee or employee association, or a proceeding to revoke any license, permit or
approval granted by the City Council, any Board, Commission, or Committee, or any City
employee and which is pending, or is reasonably expected to come, before any City Board,
Commission, or Committee.
The provisions of this policy do not apply to Ex Parte communications between City employees
and any member of a Board, Commission or Committee regarding a quasi -judicial -matter which
has been submitted to, or can reasonably be expected to be heard by, the Board, Commission, or
Committee when the ex parte communication is initiated by the member and requests only
background information available to members of the general public.
City Council Voting Procedures
A. Voting Procedure Any vote of the City Council, including a roll call vote, may be
registered by the members by answering "Yes" for an affirmative vote, "Abstain" for an
abstention, or "No" for a negative vote upon the member's name being called by the City
Clerk, or by the Presiding Officer. Following the vote, the City Clerk shall audibly
announce the results of the vote by name indicating whether the question carried or was
defeated. The same shall be recorded in the minutes as the vote. The Presiding Officer in
his or her discretion may publicly explain the effect of a vote for the audience, or he or she
may direct a member of the City Staff to do so, before proceeding to the next item of
business.
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B. Disqualification for Conflict of Interest Any Council Member who is disqualified from voting
on a particular matter by reason of a conflict of interest shall publicly state the nature of
such disqualification in an open meeting. Where no clearly disqualifying conflict of interest
appears, the matter of disqualification may, at the request of the Council Member affected, be
decided by the other Council Members. A Council Member who is disqualified by reason of
a conflict of interest in any matter shall not remain in his or her seat during the debate and
vote on such matter, butshall request and be given the permission of the Presiding Officer
to step down from the Council table. If the conflict involves a matter on the Consent Calendar
the Council Member must announce the nature of the conflict, refrain from participating on
the item, but may remain present at the City Council Dais. A Council Member stating such
disqualification shall not be counted as a part of a quorum and shall be considered absent for
the purpose of determining the outcome of any vote on such matter.
C. Failure to Vote. Every Council Member should vote unless disqualified by reason of a conflict
of interest. The vote of Council Member who abstains absent a disqualifying conflict of
interest shall be counted with the majority vote of the quorum on the question vote upon.
D. Tie Vote. Tie votes shall be lost motions and may be reconsidered by any Council Member.
E. Changing Vote A Council Member may change his or her vote only if s/he makes a timely
request to do so immediately following the announcement of the vote by the City Clerk and
prior to the time that the next item of business is taken up.
F. Reconsideration. A motion to reconsider the vote on any action taken by the City Councilat
either this meeting or the previous meeting may be made only by one of the Council Members
who voted with the prevailing side.
Closed Session Agenda
The closed session agenda shall be prepared by the City Attorney. The closed session agenda shall
strictly conform to the format specified in the Brown Act. The City Attorney shall prepare a written
report, or give an oral report, of any action taken in closed session that is required to be reported in
open session by the BrownAct.
Selection of Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem
Section 404 of the City Charter provides for the selection of the Mayor and the Mayor Pro Tern by the
City Council. This section provides that a Mayor and a Mayor Pro Tern shall be selected at least as
often as Councilmanic elections are held and that the Mayor and Mayor Pro Tern shall serve at the
pleasure of the City Council.
Effective with the selection of the Mayor and the Mayor Pro Tern during November of 1984, it is the
Policy of the City Council that the Mayor and the Mayor Pro Tern election shall occur every year
thereafter. The election shall take place pursuant to Section 404 of the City Charter.
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Seating Arrangement for City Council
Following each Council election, members of the City Council shall be seated at the City Council
table with senior Council Members having first choice of seats. The Mayor, however, shall be
seated in the center of the City Council table and the Mayor Pro Tempore shall always be seated
immediately next to and to the right of the Mayor. In the event of equal seniority among members
of the City Council, selection of City Council seats shall be made by the Council Member who
received the highest margin of victory percentage in the most recent election.
City Council Correspondence
The City Clerk is authorized to open and examine all mail or other written communications
addressed to the City Council and to immediately give a copy to the City Manager. The City
Manager shall give immediate attention to administrative business referred to in the
communication that does not require City Council action and may be promptly concluded or shall
prepare a staff report for the next available City Council meeting. Except as otherwise permitted
by law, all mail or written communications from the public, residents, or applicants shall be
submitted to the City Council by 5:00 p.m. on the Monday immediately prior to the meeting at
which the City Council will consider the item that is the subject of the mail or written
communications to allow time for the City Council to adequately consider the mail or written
communications.
Ordinances, Resolutions and Contracts
A. Ordinances Resolutions and Contracts. All ordinances, resolutions and contracts shall be
prepared by the City Attorney. No ordinance shall be prepared for presentation to the
Council unless ordered by a majority vote of the Council, or requested by the Mayor, or
City Manager, or prepared by the City Attorney on his or her own initiative. The Planning
Commission may initiate zoning and planning ordinances.
B. Prior Review by Administration Staff All ordinances, resolutions and contract documents
shall, before presentation to the City Council be reviewed by the City Manager or his/her
designee.
C. Reading of Ordinances If a motion to waive reading of all ordinances has been adopted
at the beginning of the Council meeting, the City Clerk will read the ordinances by title
only. If any Council Member so requests, the ordinance shall be read in full.
Preparation and Reading of Minutes
The City Clerk shall have the exclusive responsibility for preparation of the minutes, and any
directions for changes in the minutes shall be made only by majority action of the City Council.
Unless the reading of the minutes of a City Council meeting is ordered by a majority vote ofthe
City Council, such minutes may be approved without reading if the City Clerk previously
furnished each City Council Member and the public binder and website with acopy.
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Recording of Open Meetings
A. All regular meetings of the City Council shall be recorded
B • Any person attending an open and public meeting of the City Council shall have the right
to record the proceedings with an audio or video tape recorder or a still or motion picture
camera unless the City Council determines, based upon evidence in findings made by the
Mayor, that continued recording would create noise, illumination, or view obstruction
problems that are disrupting or would disrupt the proceedings. The Mayor may impose
conditions on any recordation, which in the absence of the conditions, would disrupt the
proceedings.
C. Any audio tape or video record of any open and public meeting made by or at the direction
of the City of Newport Beach shall be subject to inspection pursuant to the California Public
Records Act (Sections 6250 et seq. of the Government Code). If a City Council meeting has
simultaneously recorded audio and video, the audio recording may be destroyed after the
City Council meeting minutes for that meeting have been approved by the City Council and
the video recording has been uploaded to the document imaging system. Any person may
inspect a video or audio recording without charge on a recorder made available by the City
of Newport Beach.
City Council Member Requests for Research or Information
The City of Newport Beach is a City Council -City Manager form of government. The City Council
appoints a City Manager to implement policy, to ensure laws are enforced, to direct the daily
operations of City government, and to prepare and monitor the municipal budget. BecauseCouncil
Policy is implemented on a daily basis through City staff, it is critical that the relationshipbetween
the City Council and City staff be well understood by all parties so that policies and programs may
be implemented successfully.
The purpose of this policy is to further guide the implementation of Charter Section 406
(Interference in Administrative Service) so that the long tradition of positive relationships
between members of the City Council and City staff is maintained.
A. General Interactions with City Staff:
1. The City Manager, City Attorney, and City Clerk are appointed directly by the City
Council to provide executive, administrative and legal services. In many cases, the
City Manager encourages direct contact with department directors within this
Policy's guidelines, thus enabling the Council Member to get appropriate
information quickly and easily.
2. Ifa Council Member's request is expected to take more than thirty (30) minutes (or
in the case of a request from the Mayor, two (2) hours) to research, gather
information, report on or otherwise respond to any inquiry, the City Manager, City
Attorney, or City Clerk shall ask that the Council Member or Mayor place the
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request on the agenda for formal Council action before staff spends time or
resources on the request.
B. Requests for Information or Research:
1. For new issues, actions, or research proposed by a Council Member that require
approval by the City Council, Council Members will follow the procedure provided
in this policy to place an item on the City Council agenda.
2. For issues or actions that have been previously approved by the City Council, or which
do not require City Council approval, Council Members will, depending onthe
nature of the request, route the request for information or research through theCity
Manager, City Attorney, or City Clerk. It shall be the responsibility of the City
Manager, City Attorney, or City Clerk to promptly respond as to theirrecommended
disposition of the request. Upon authorization by the City Manager,City Attorney,
or City Clerk, the Council Member may communicate directly withother city staff
members (such as department directors) or City consultants.
3. Council Members' contact with City staff or City consultants, other than City
Council appointees, is limited to asking questions and obtaining information and
not giving direction or assignments.
Expressions of Official City Position or Policy
If a member of the City Council desires that a particular official City position or policy be
established or expressed on a given issue, the Council Member shall submit his/ her
recommendations on said position or policy to the entire City Council as provided in this policy,
for evaluation and disposition as the City Council sees fit.
Any City Council Member who wishes to make a statement or opinion regarding a matter which.
the City Council has not taken an official position on shall ensure that said statement or opinion
cannot be construed by the public as being an official position or policy of the City of Newport
Beach. The City Council finds this policy furthers an important public purpose by ensuring the
public does not confuse personal opinions expressed by City Council Members with official
expressions of City policy.
Use of City Stationery
Members of the City Council, and staff are authorized to use City stationery when corresponding
on matters relating to official City business. Said correspondence shall identify the author of the
letter as such. Use of City stationery for private personal matters is not permitted.
The style and content of City stationery utilized by individual City departments shall be approved
by the City Manager so as to minimize the number of styles and promote use of a City-wide standard.
14
History
A-1
.Adopted A-1-2-9-1959 ("Seconds to Motions") Adopted
A-3 -8-30-1966 ("Seating of Councilmen") Adopted A-6 -
11-13-1967 ("Recording of Meetings")
Amended A-1 & A-3 -11-12-1968
ReaffirmedA-1,A-3 &A-6-3-9-1970 Reaffirmed
A -1,A-3 & A-6 -2-14-1972
Adopted A-3 - 5-8-1972 ("City Council Instructions to Staff')
Adopted A-10 - 8-21-1972 ("Procedural Rules for Council Meetings", incorporating A-
1 & A-3)
Amended A-10- ii-24-im
Am ended A-6 - 6-13-1977
Amended A-6 -10-25-1977
Amended A-10 -11-28-1977
Amended A-10 -7-24-1978
Amended A-10 -9-11-1978
Amended A-10- 11-27-1978
Adopted A-13-2-12-1979 ("Use of City Stationary")
Amended A-10-10-23-1979
Amended A-10-11-12-1979
Amended A-10 - 7-28-1980
Amended A-6 &A-10-2-9-1981
Deleted A-3 -2-9-1981
Amended A-1-10-25-1982
Amended A-10 - 6-25-1984
Amended A-10-10-22-1984
Adopted A-1-11-20-1984 ("Election of Mayor and Mayor Pro Tern") Amended
A-10 - 6-24-1985
Amended A-103-24-1986
Amended A-10-1-12-1987
Amended A-10 - 5-26-1987
Amended A-1011-28-1988
Amended A-10-11-27-1989
Amended A-13-1-8-1990
Amended A-10-8-13-1990
Amended A-10-10-22-1990
Amended A-10 - 6-28-1993
Created A-11 -1-24-1994 (Recording of Council Meetings")
Amended A-6 - 1-24-1994 (ren amed to " Open Meetings")
Amended A-1-1-24-1994
Amended A-13 -1-24-1994 (changed to A-8)
Amended A-6 &A-10-3-28-1994
Amended A-6 - 6-27-1994
Amended A-6 -12-12-1994
Amended A-11-2-27-1995
15
r:W
Amended A-10-10-9-1995
Corrected A-1& A-8-2-26-1996
Amended A-10 -2-26-1996
Amended A-6-2-26-1996
Adopted A-13- 5-28-1996 ("Decorum and Order for BCC") Amended
A-6 -12-9-1996
Amended A-1- 2-24-1997
Adopted A-15-11-10-1997("ExParte Communication")
Amended A-6 - 5-26-1998
Adopted A-16-6-22-1998 ("Conflict of Interest Procedures") Amended
A-6 - 3-14-2000
Amended A-6 - 2-27-2001
Amended A-6 - 3-27-2001
Amended A-10 - 8-28-2001
Amended A-6 -1-27-2004 Amended
A-6 - 3-9-2004 Amended A-6 - 3-
28-2006 Amended A-6 - 2-26-2008
Amended A-6-10-27-2009
Amended A-6 -12-&2010
Amended A-6 & A-10 - 2-22-2011
Amended A-6 - 11-27-2012
Amended A-6 & A-10 -1-8-2013
Amended A-6 - 5-14-2013
Adopted A-3 -5-14-2013 ("Request for Research or Information")
Amended A-11- 5-13-2014
Amended A-6 - 6-9-2015
Adopted A-20 - 7-14-2015 ("Expression of Official City Position")
Amended A-11-4-12-2016
Amended A-13-1-24-2017
Amended A-1-08-08-2017 (incorporating A -3,A-6, A-8, A -10,A -11,A -13,A -15,A-16,
and A-20, renaming to "City Council") Amended
A-1-01-22-2019
Amended A-1— 07-14-2020
16
STATE OF CALIFORNIA }
COUNTY OF ORANGE } ss.
CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH }
I, Leilani I. Brown, City Clerk of the City of Newport Beach, California, do hereby certify that the
whole number of members of the City Council is seven; the foregoing resolution, being Resolution
No. 2020-67, was duly introduced before and adopted by the City Council of said City at a regular
meeting of said Council held on the 141h day of July, 2020; and the same was so passed and adopted by
the following vote, to wit:
AYES: Mayor Will O'Neill, Mayor Pro Tem Brad Avery, Council Member Joy Brenner, Council
Member Diane Dixon, Council Member Jeff Herdman
NAYS: Council Member Kevin Muldoon
ABSENT: Council Member Duffy Duffield
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto subscribed my name and affixed the official seal of
said City this 151h day of July, 2020.
/1 -
Leilani I. Brown
City Clerk
Newport Beach, California