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TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
ATTENTION: Ryan Smoot, City Manager
FROM: Mayra Ochiqui, City Clerk
SUBJECT: Consideration and possible action to read by title only, waive further reading and introduce Ordinance No. 1453 – An Ordinance adding Chapter 1.18 to the Bellflower Municipal Code to establish publication requirements for official City actions pursuant to the City Charter.
DATE: March 23, 2026
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Bellflower City Charter (“Charter”) grants the City Council authority over municipal affairs and authorizes the Council to implement the Charter by ordinance or resolution. If adopted, this Ordinance adds Chapter 1.18 to the Bellflower Municipal Code (“BMC”) to establish a Charter-based framework for publishing City ordinances, resolutions, notices, and other official City actions.
Chapter 1.18 preserves state law publication requirements for matters of statewide concern and authorizes the City to select lawful publication methods for municipal affair matters where state law does not prescribe a specific method. The Ordinance does not eliminate any state-mandated notice requirement and clarifies when publication is governed by state law and when the City may exercise local discretion under the Charter.
RECOMMENDATION TO CITY COUNCIL
1) Read by title only, waiving further reading, and introduce Ordinance No. 1453; or
2) Alternatively, discuss and take other action related to this item.
FISCAL IMPACT
Adoption of the Ordinance will have no fiscal impact. The Ordinance addresses internal publication procedures and preserves flexibility to use lower cost methods where state law does not mandate a specific method.
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Staff Report – Ordinance – Publication Requirements
March 23, 2026
PUBLIC NOTICE
This item has been noticed as part of the regular City Council agenda in accordance with state law. No additional public notice is required.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The Ordinance is exempt from additional review under the California Environmental Quality Act (Public Resources Code §§ 21000, et seq., “CEQA”) and the regulations promulgated thereunder (14 California Code of Regulations §§ 15000, et seq., the “CEQA Guidelines”) because, under CEQA Guidelines §§ 15061(b)(3) and 15378(b)(5), the Ordinance establishes internal governmental procedures that have no potential to cause a significant effect on the environment.
DISCUSSION
Charter Authority and Legal Framework
Charter Article VIII(C) authorizes the City Council to implement all aspects of the Charter by ordinance or resolution, and Article VIII(A) directs that the Charter be broadly construed to facilitate the City’s exercise of municipal powers. Under Charter Articles II and III, matters relating to municipal legislative and administrative procedure are municipal affairs.
Publication and notice requirements are procedural in nature. For charter cities, the existence of a statutory publication requirement does not, by itself, establish a matter of statewide concern. State law displaces local authority only where the Legislat ure has clearly identified a statewide concern and prescribed publication requirements reasonably related and narrowly tailored to that concern. Absent clear displacement, where state law does not clearly prescribe the method of publication as a matter of statewide concern, the Charter authorizes the City to determine appropriate publication methods by local ordinance.
Practical Application
The following examples are illustrative only and do not limit the City’s authority to evaluate publication requirements based on the Charter and applicable law. In each case, the controlling question is whether state law clearly prescribes the method of publication as a matter of statewide concern. BMC § 1.18.030 reflects the City’s default publication authority for municipal affair matters. BMC § 1.18.020 applies only in the limited circumstances where state law clearly displaces local discretion.
Municipal Affairs – Default Publication Authority (BMC § 1.18.030) • Ordinary City ordinances and resolutions not subject to a specific state law publication mandate.
• Administrative or procedural actions of the City Council or City departments where no statute prescribes publication.
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Staff Report – Ordinance – Publication Requirements
March 23, 2026
DISCUSSION – Continued
• Internal policy adoptions, administrative hearings, or community notices not governed by a statutory notice scheme.
• Public works and construction procurement procedures, which are municipal affairs for charter cities, particularly when locally funded, including without limitation, notices inviting bids, requests for proposals, and related contracting notices.
• Other public works-related notices implementing locally adopted bidding, contracting, or procurement procedures under the City’s Charter authority to regulate all aspects of public works contracting.
In these cases, the City may select among the authorized publication methods in BMC § 1.18.030, including newspaper publication, public posting, website posting, or a combination of methods.
California Law Prescribes Publication Method Under Statewide Regulatory Scheme (BMC § 1.18.020)
• Land use and planning hearings subject to the planning and zoning law (e.g., zoning amendments, conditional use permits, variances, general plan amendments) where Government Code § 65090 expressly prescribes newspaper publication as part of a comprehensive statewide land use and housing framework that applies to charter cities.
• CEQA notices (e.g., Notices of Preparation, Notices of Intent, and Notices of Determination) where CEQA statutes or Guidelines specifically prescribe publication methods as part of a uniform statewide environmental review scheme.
• Other actions where the California Supreme Court has clearly and expressly found, as a matter of statewide concern, that newspaper publication as a condition of validity.
In these cases, the City must publish notice in the manner required by California law.
Methods authorized under BMC § 1.18.030 may be used only as supplemental notice.
For further background of publication requirements, please see the attached October 10, 2022, Staff Report.
ATTACHMENTS
October 10, 2022, Staff Report (without attachments) .................................................... 4 Ordinance No. 1453 ........................................................................................................ 6
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TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
FROM: Jeffrey L. Stewart, City Manager
Mayra Ochiqui, City Clerk
SUBJECT: Consideration and possible action to select an adjudicated newspaper for purposes of publishing legal notices for the City.
DATE: October 10, 2022
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Official publications must be made only in a “newspaper of general circulation” within the jurisdiction. If a particular jurisdiction does not have such a newspaper, the publication must be made “in a newspaper of general circulation published nearest thereto.” Per Government Code §§ 6027 and 6028, in order to qualify as a newspaper of general circulation, a newspaper must obtain a judicial decree. In a recent review by staff, staff identified two local adjudicated newspapers in Los Angeles County with judicial decrees that could serve the City: the Bellflower Herald American and Los Cerritos Community News. Staff is requesting the City Council select an adjudicated newspaper for purposes of publishing legal notices for the City.
RECOMMENDATION TO CITY COUNCIL
1) Select an adjudicated newspaper and direct staff to publish legal notices for the City in the selected publication; or
2) Alternatively, discuss and take other action related to this item.
FISCAL IMPACT
Each department is responsible for submitting legal notices for publication . Therefore, there is funding currently allocated in each department for this purpose.
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Staff Report – Publication of Legal Notices
October 10, 2022
BACKGROUND
In 1995, the City Council directed staff to publish legal notices for City ordinances in the “Local Section” of the Long Beach Press-Telegram and the Bellflower Today.
Bellflower Today ceased to exist in the summer of 1995 and staff continued publishing in the Long Beach Press-Telegram. In 2006, the City Council re-evaluated publishing procedures and directed staff to continue publishing in the Long Beach Press-Telegram in the “Public Notices” section. Although the direction was specifically for legal requirements for ordinances, staff followed the same procedures for all notices that required legal advertising. This practice continued until 2016, when staff re-evaluated publishing procedures and discovered that the Bellflower Herald American had a judicial decree and was a newspaper of general circulation. As a result, staff began to publish all legal notices in the Bellflower Herald American.
DISCUSSION
Recently, the Los Cerritos Community News newspaper submitted a Public Records Act request and subsequently inquired why the City chose to publish in the Bellflower Herald American, noting that it too held a judicial decree and was a newspaper of general circulation for Los Angeles County. Upon further research by staff, its judicial decree was confirmed.
Government Code § 6041 requires official publications be made only in a “newspaper of general circulation” within the jurisdiction. If a particular jurisdiction does not have such a newspaper, the publication must be made “in a newspaper of general circulation published nearest thereto.” Regrettably, this phrase is not interpreted by any published cases nor is it defined by the statute itself. The relative Government Code sections also do not provide a system or criteria for ranking publications if multiple adjudicated publications exist, so the City must make the determination of which newspaper of general circulation to publish the City’s required legal notices.
Attached for your reference is a Comparison Table of Local Adjudicated Newspapers (Attachment 1) and the Judicial Decree and Media Kits for each publication. Please note that not all of the information requested from the Bellflower Herald American was received.
ATTACHMENTS
1. Comparison Table – Adjudicated Newspapers ........................................................... 2
2. Herald American Judicial Decree, Pricing and Media Kit ............................................ 3
3. Los Cerritos Community News Judicial Decree, Pricing and Media Kit ..................... 17
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CITY OF BELLFLOWER
ORDINANCE NO. 1453
AN ORDINANCE ADDING CHAPTER 1.18 TO THE
BELLFLOWER MUNICIPAL CODE TO ESTABLISH
PUBLICATION REQUIREMENTS FOR OFFICIAL CITY ACTIONS
PURSUANT TO THE CITY CHARTER
THE CITY COUNCIL DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1: The City Council finds and declares as follows:
A. Bellflower City Charter (“Charter”) Article VIII(C) authorizes the City Council to implement all aspects of the Charter by ordinance or resolution, and Charter Article VIII(A) directs that the Charter must be broadly construed to facilitate the City’s exercise of municipal powers.
B. Under Charter Articles II and III, matters relating to municipal legislative and administrative procedure, including the manner and method of publishing ordinances, resolutions, notices, and other official City actions, constitute municipal affairs subject to municipal control.
C. The purpose of this Ordinance is to implement the Charter by establishing publication requirements in the Bellflower Municipal Code (“BMC”) for City ordinances, resolutions, notices, and other official actions, including by distinguishing between matters of municipal affairs and matters of statewide concern, consistent with the Charter’s liberal construction and the City’s authority over municipal legislative procedures.
SECTION 2: BMC Chapter 1.18 is added to the BMC to read as follows:
Ҥ 1.18.010. Purpose.
This Chapter establishes clear rules for publishing City ordinances, resolutions, notices, and other official actions. It authorizes lawful publication methods for municipal affairs and preserves full compliance with state law.
§ 1.18.020. Matters of Statewide Concern.
For matters that do not solely concern municipal affairs, the City publishes notices in the manner required by applicable California law.
§ 1.18.030. Municipal Affairs; Publication Methods.
A. For matters that solely concern municipal affairs and for which California law does not require a specific publication method, the City Clerk may publish notice by one or more of the following methods:
1. Publication in a newspaper of general circulation.
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City of Bellflower
Ordinance No. 1453
2. Posting in three or more public places within the City designated for official notices.
3. Posting on the City’s official website.
B. The City may use additional publication methods when the City Clerk determines that doing so will better inform the public.
§ 1.18.040. Administration.
The City Clerk administers this Chapter. The City Clerk may coordinate publication schedules, adjust notice language to meet publication deadlines, and take other actions necessary to implement this Chapter in compliance with applicable law including, without limitation, the selection of the newspaper or newspapers for publication. For purposes of this chapter, “City Clerk” includes the City Clerk or designee.”
SECTION 3: Construction. This Ordinance must be broadly construed to achieve the purposes stated in this Ordinance. It is the City Council’s intent that the provisions of this Ordinance be interpreted or implemented by the City and others in a manner that facilitates the purposes set forth in this Ordinance.
SECTION 4: Enforceability. Repeal of any provision of the Bellflower Municipal Code does not affect any penalty, forfeiture, or liability incurred before, or preclude prosecution and imposition of penalties for any violation occurring before this Ordinance’s effective date. Any such repealed part will remain in full force and effect for sustaining action or prosecuting violations occurring before the effective date of this Ordinance.
SECTION 5: Electronic Signatures. This Ordinance may be executed with electronic signatures in accordance with Government Code §16.5. Such electronic signatures will be treated in all respects as having the same effect as an original signature.
SECTION 6: Severability. If any part of this Ordinance or its application is deemed invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, the City Council intends that such invalidity will not affect the effectiveness of the remaining provision or application and, to this end, the provisions of this Ordinance are severable.
SECTION 7: Recordation; Validity of Previous Code Sections. If this entire Ordinance or its application is deemed invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, any repeal or amendment of the BMC or other city ordinance by this Ordinance will be rendered void and cause such previous BMC provision or other the city ordinance to remain in full force and effect for all purposes.
SECTION 8: Environmental Assessment. The City Council finds that adoption of this Ordinance is exempt from additional review under the California Environmental Quality Act (Public Resources Code §§ 21000, et seq., “CEQA”) and the regulations promulgated thereunder (14 California Code of Regulations §§ 15000, et seq., the “CEQA Guidelines”) because, under CEQA Guidelines §§ 15061(b)(3) and 15378(b)(5) the Ordinance establishes internal governmental procedures that have no potential to cause a significant effect on the environment.
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City of Bellflower
Ordinance No. 1453
SECTION 9: Publication. The City Clerk is directed to certify the passage and adoption of this Ordinance; cause it to be entered into the City of Bellflower's book of original ordinances; make a note of the passage and adoption in the records of this meeting; and, within 15 days after the passage and adoption of this Ordinance, cause it to be published or posted in accordance with California law.
SECTION 10: Effective Date. This Ordinance will take effect on the 30th day following its final passage and adoption.
ORDINANCE NO. 1453 HAD ITS FIRST READING ON MARCH 23, 2026, ITS SECOND READING ON ____________, AND WAS DULY PASSED, APPROVED, AND ADOPTED BY
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BELLFLOWER AT ITS REGULAR MEETING OF ___________.
Sonny R. Santa Ines, Mayor
ATTEST:
__________________________
Mayra Ochiqui, City Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
___________________________
Karl H. Berger, City Attorney
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