HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 9906
City of Palo Alto (ID # 9906)
City Council Staff Report
Report Type: Consent Calendar Meeting Date: 12/10/2018
City of Palo Alto Page 1
Summary Title: Second Reading: Municipal Code 9-7 Council Members
Title: SECOND READING: Ordinance of the Council of the City of Palo Alto
Amending Section 2.04.190 (Standing Committees – Special Committees) of
Chapter 2.04 (Council Organization and Procedure) of Title 2 (Administrative
Code); and Amending Section 12.10.060 (Coordination with City) of Chapter
12.10 (Street Cut Fees) of Title 12 (Public Works and Utilities) of the Palo Alto
Municipal Code to Conform to a Seven-Member City Council (FIRST READING:
October 29, 2018 PASSED 9-0)
From: City Manager
Lead Department: City Clerk
This was first heard by the City Council on October 29, 2018 where it was unanimously
approved. Below is the Motion that passed.
MOTION: Council Member Scharff moved, seconded by Mayor Kniss to:
A. Amend the Municipal Code and Council Procedures and Protocols to
conform to a seven-member Council:
i. Adopt on first reading an Ordinance amending Municipal Code
section 2.04.190 to reduce number of Council Members on Finance
and Policy and Services from four to three and Section 12.10.060 to
change the votes required to resolve a certain type of appeal from
five to a majority;
ii. Amend the Council Procedures and Protocols to reduce four to three
the number of Council Members who may sign a Colleagues’ Memo
and who may serve on an Ad Hoc Committee; and
B. Refer to Policy and Services additional discretionary changes to the
Municipal Code and/or Procedures and Protocols.
City of Palo Alto Page 2
AMENDMENT: Council Member Holman moved, seconded by Council
Member Kou to require two City Council members to remove an item from
the Consent Calendar.
AMENDMENT FAILED: 4-4-1 Dubois, Holman, Kou, Tanaka yes, Fine
abstain
MOTION PASSED: 9-0
Attachments:
• Attachment A: Ordinance
Attachment A
*NOT YET ADOPTED*
th TS/ORD Amending 2.04
Ordinance No. _____
Ordinance of the Council of the City of Palo Alto Amending Section 2.04.190
(Standing Committees – Special Committees) of Chapter 2.04 (Council
Organization and Procedure) of Title 2 (Administrative Code); and Amending
Section 12.10.060 (Coordination with City) of Chapter 12.10 (Street Cut Fees) of
Title 12 (Public Works and Utilities) of the Palo Alto Municipal Code to Conform
to a Seven-Member City Council.
The Council of the City of Palo Alto does ORDAIN as follows:
SECTION 1: The Council of the City of Palo Alto finds and declares as follows:
A. In November, 2014, the Charter of the City of Palo Alto was amended by the
electorate to reduce the City Council to seven members (from the current nine member
council) effective January 1, 2019.
B. In order to prevent conflicts with the California Brown Act, relevant sections of
the Palo Alto Municipal Code must also be amended to reflect the seven-member Council.
SECTION 2. Section 2.04.190 of the Palo Alto Municipal Code is hereby amended as
follows (deleted text is in strikethrough, new text is underlined):
2.04.190 Standing committees - Special committees.
(a) Not later than the second regular council meeting in January, the mayor shall appoint two
standing committees, consisting of four three members each from the members of the council.
The mayor shall appoint each council member to only one standing committee and shall
appoint the chairperson of each committee. The mayor, or the vice-mayor at the request of the
mayor, may act as an ex officio, voting member of each committee when one or more regular
committee members are absent.
(b) The standing committees shall be designated, respectively, committee on finance and
committee on policy and services, and shall meet at 7:00 p.m. in the city hall on the day
established by Section 2.04.200.
(c) Council members may attend meetings of committees of which they are not members,
without participating in any manner, but only committee members or ex officio committee
members shall vote in committee in accordance with subsection (a) of this section.
(d) Council members who submit matters to the council which are referred to a standing
committee may appear before the standing committee to which the referral has been made in
order to speak as proponents of the matter. Standing committee meetings during which such
referrals may be considered shall be noticed as council meetings for the purpose of enabling
the standing committee to discuss and consider the matter with a quorum of the council
present.
Attachment A
*NOT YET ADOPTED*
th TS/ORD Amending 2.04
(e) In addition to standing committees the mayor may, subject to approval of the council,
appoint such other special committees of council members, private citizens or both as deemed
desirable and necessary to assist and advise the council in its work.
SECTION 3. Section 12.10.060 of the Palo Alto Municipal Code is hereby amended as
follows (deleted text is in strikethrough, new text is underlined):
12.10.060 Coordination with city.
(a) Before a person, utility or public utility applies for an "Application and Permit for
Construction in the Public Street" to construct in the public rights-of-way or any street, alley,
sidewalk or other public place, the applicant shall notify the director of public works-city
engineer, and the city engineer, or designee, shall review on behalf of the applicant the utility
master plans and the city's five-year repaving plan on file with the department of public works.
The applicant shall coordinate, to the fullest extent practicable, with the utility and street work
shown on such plans to minimize damage to, and avoid undue disruption and interference with
the public use of such public rights-of-way, streets, alleys, sidewalks or other public places. Such
coordination shall include:
(1) Whenever two or more parties have concurrently proposed a major excavation in the
same block during a five-year period, they shall meet and confer with the director of utilities, or
designee, regarding whether it is feasible to conduct a joint operation. If the director, or
designee, determines that it is feasible to conduct a joint operation, a single contractor shall be
selected and a single application fee charged.
(2) Any person, utility or public utility aggrieved by the director's decision to require a joint
operation may, within thirty days of receipt of the director's written notice, file an appeal with
the city manager in written form in a manner prescribed by the director. Within thirty days of
the filing of a timely appeal from the director's determination, the city manager shall review the
appeal and issue a recommendation to the council to uphold or overturn the action or
determination of the director. The recommendation of the city manager shall be placed on the
consent calendar of the council within thirty days of the filing of the appeal. In determining
such appeal, the council shall consider the impact of the proposed excavation on the
neighborhood, the applicant's need to provide services to a property or area, facilitating the
deployment of new technology as directed pursuant to official city policy, and the public health,
safety, welfare and convenience. The council may adopt the recommendation of the city
manager, or remove the appeal from the consent calendar, which shall require five votes a
majority vote, and take action to uphold or overturn the recommendation of the city manager.
The decision of the council is final.
(b) To avoid future excavations and to reduce the number of street excavations, any person,
utility or public utility providing utility or communications service shall be requested, when
practicable, to install sufficient conduit to accommodate the reasonably foreseeable future
business growth needs of that person, utility or public utility.
Attachment A
*NOT YET ADOPTED*
th TS/ORD Amending 2.04
SECTION 4. Severability. If any provision, clause, sentence or paragraph of this
ordinance, or the application to any person or circumstances, shall be held invalid, such
invalidity shall not affect the other provisions of this ordinance which can be given effect
without the invalid provision or application and, to this end, the provisions of this ordinance are
hereby declared to be severable.
SECTION 5. CEQA. The City Council finds and determines that this Ordinance is not a
“project” within the meaning of section 15378 of the California Environmental Quality Act
(CEQA) Guidelines because it has no potential for resulting in physical change in the
environment, either directly or ultimately.
SECTION 6. Effective Date. This ordinance shall be effective on the thirty-first date after
the date of its adoption.
INTRODUCED:
PASSED:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSTENTIONS:
ABSENT:
ATTEST: APPROVED:
______________________________ ____________________________
City Clerk Mayor
APPROVED AS TO FORM: ____________________________
City Manager
______________________________
Deputy City Attorney