HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 2306-162126.SECOND READING: Adoption of an Ordinance Amending Section 2.04.010 (Regular
Meeting) of Chapter 2.04 (Council Organization and Procedure) of the Palo Alto
Municipal Code to Change the City Council Meeting Start Time from Six p.m. to Five-
Thirty p.m. (FIRST READING: June 5, 2023 PASSED 7-0)
City Council
Staff Report
Report Type: CONSENT CALENDAR
Lead Department: City Clerk
Meeting Date: June 19, 2023
Report #:2306-1621
TITLE
SECOND READING: Adoption of an Ordinance Amending Section 2.04.010 (Regular Meeting) of
Chapter 2.04 (Council Organization and Procedure) of the Palo Alto Municipal Code to Change
the City Council Meeting Start Time from Six p.m. to Five- Thirty p.m. (FIRST READING: June 5,
2023 PASSED 7-0)
BACKGROUND
This was heard by the City Council on June 5, 2023 for a first reading and was approved 7-0. No
changes were made to the Ordinance; it is now before you for a second reading.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A: Ordinance Amending Section 2.04.010 (Regular Meeting) to Change the Council
Meeting Start Time
APPROVED BY:
Mahealani Ah Yun, Interim City Clerk
1
NOT YET APPROVED
Attachment A
Ordinance No.
Ordinance of the Council of the City of Palo Alto
Amending Section 2.04.010 (Regular Meeting) of Chapter 2.04 (Council
Organization and Procedure) of the Palo Alto Municipal Code to Change the
City Council Meeting Start Time from Six p.m. to Five- Thirty p.m.
The Council of the City of Palo Alto does ORDAIN as follows:
SECTION 1. Findings and Declarations. The City Council finds and declares as
follows:
(a) The Palo Alto Charter states that the Council shall set a time and pla ce for
its regular meetings. (Charter, Art. III, Section 5.) For many years, the Municipal Code has provided
that the regular meeting time is the first three Mondays of each month beginning at six p.m. (Palo
Alto Municipal Code section 2.04.010.);
(b) In recent years, it has been common for Council meetings to begin at five
p.m. Such meetings are noticed as “special meetings” as required by state and local law. (Cal.
Govt. Code sections 54954, 54956; PAMC section 2.04.020; Palo Alto City Council Procedures and
Protocols, section 2.1(a), p. 9.); and
(c) Council now wishes to amend the Municipal Code to provide that the
regular meeting time be the first three Mondays of each month beginning at five- thirty p.m.
Meetings noticed for other times will be designated “special meetings.”
SECTION 2. Section 2.04.010 (Regular Meeting) of Chapter 2.04 (Council
Organization and Procedure) of the Palo Alto Municipal Code is hereby amended as follows
(additions are in underline, deletions are in strikethrough):
2.04.010 Definitions
(a) The council of the city shall hold regular meetings on the first three
Mondays of each month, at six five- thirty p.m. in the council chambers of the City Hall, 250
Hamilton Avenue, in said city unless the council chambers shall be determined by a majority vote
of the council to be inadequate or unavailable for a meeting, in which event the council may
designate some other suitable place in the city for the conduct of the meeting. The determination
to hold the meeting at a place other than the council chambers may be made by the mayor prior
to the regular meeting date; provided, that notice of the change in place for conduct of the
meeting shall be published prior to the meeting in a newspaper of general circulation published in
the city, setting forth the reasons for the change, and a copy of the notice shall be posted on the
council chamber door for at least twenty-four hours prior to the time scheduled for the meeting
and during the meeting. If the council adjourns its meeting from the council chambers to another
place, notice to adjourn and the new place for holding the meeting shall be posted on the council
chamber door during the time the meeting is being held.
2
NOT YET APPROVED
Attachment A
(b) Each year, no later than the third meeting in February, the council shall by
resolution schedule its vacation for that year. The resolution shall designate the dates of this
scheduled vacation and the city clerk will give notice thereof by whatever means are deemed
appropriate. During said scheduled annual vacation, there shall be no regular meetings of the
council nor of the council standing committees, unless it is an adjourned regular meeting. The
mayor or a majority of the council may call a special meeting during the scheduled vacation if
necessary.
SECTION 3. Council action on this item is not a project as defined by the
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) because it is an organizational or administrative
matter that will not result in direct or indirect physical changes in the environment. (CEQA
Guidelines 15378(b)(5).)
SECTION 4. This ordinance shall be effective on the thirty-first day after the date
of its adoption.
INTRODUCED:
PASSED:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
ABSTENTIONS:
ATTEST:
____________________________ ____________________________
City Clerk Mayor
APPROVED AS TO FORM: APPROVED:
____________________________ ____________________________
City Attorney City Manager
____________________________
Director of Administrative
Services