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31 RESOLUTION NO. 2022_____
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
CULVER CITY, CALIFORNIA, TO CONTINUE THE ABILITY TO
HOLD TELECONFERENCE MEETINGS FOR CITY COUNCIL
AND ALL CITY COMMISSIONS, BOARDS AND COMMITTEES,
AS REQUIRED BY AB361 EVERY THIRTY DAYS, DURING THE
COVID-19 PROCLAIMED LOCAL EMERGENCY AND
CALIFORNIA STATE OF EMERGENCY.
WHEREAS, pursuant to the authority gr anted by Culve r City Municipal C ode (CCMC) Section 3.09.020, on March 14, 2020, the City Manager, as the Director of Emergency Services, iss ued a Proclamation of Loca l Emergency due to the Coronavirus (COVID -19) pandemic, which was ratified by the City Council on March 18, 2020 by Resolution No. 2020- R015. Such acti on follow ed the Los Angeles County D epartment of Public Health’s and t he Chair of the Board of Supervisor’s declarations of a local health emergency and the State of California’s d eclaration of a State of Eme rgency on March 4, 2020, and the declaration o f a National Emergency on March 13, 2020; and
WHEREAS, beginning on March 16, 2 020, under the auth ority of CCMC Section
3.09.020, the C ity Manager has issued an initial Public Order and 39 Supplements to Public Order, that included at various times business closures, restrictions on non -essential activities, advising residents they should remain at home, mask and distancing requ irements when around persons not in one’s immediate family, capacity requirements for businesses a s well as refraining from social gatherings, and , at times, closing of indoor portions of non -essential businesses, and most recently, proof of vaccination to enter indoor portions of certain categories of businesses and indoor portions of City facilities; and WHEREAS, the Public Order s issued by the City Manager have all been confirmed by the City Council; and
WHEREAS, to mitigate the spread of COVID -19 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention rec ommended that people “ avoid crowded spaces ,” “choose events that take
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31 place outside with enough space for attendees to stay at least six-feet apart,” and to “have a virtual gathering”; and
WHEREAS, due to the continuing community transmission of COVID -19 in the County of Los Angeles, and the ongoing concerns about the Delta variant and the new Omicron variant, which even fully vaccinated and boosted persons who become infected can spread to others, the County of Los Angeles continues to issue Public Health Orders, with the most recent Order issued on December 31, 2021 (December 31 County Order); and WHEREAS, the December 31 County Order was issued in light of the “drastic increases in [COVID -19] cases and resultant hospitalizations, and to lessen the severity of the Omicron and Delta variant surge in Los Angeles County.” The December 31 County Order sets out the isolation and quarantine requirements in alignment with the State Public Health Officer’s recent guidelines, and also requires employers to provide a nd require “well-fitted medical grade” masks, or higher; and
WHEREAS, as of January 4, 2022 , the number of positive cases continues to mount, with Johns Hopkins University report ing 294,178,768 confirmed COVID -19 cases globally and 5,453,857 deaths; 56,654,195 confirmed cases in the United States, with 828,824 deaths. In California, there have been 5,428,522 confirmed cases, with 75,924 deaths. Further, as of January 3, 2021 , the Los Ange les County Department of Public Health (LACDPH) reported 1,757,522 cases in Los Angeles County with 27,647 deaths, which includes 4,174 cases and 116 deaths in Culver City; and
WHEREAS, on March 17, 2020, California Governor Newsom issued Executive Order N -29-20, which suspended and modified t he t eleconferencing requirements under the Brown Act so that legislative bodies may hold public meetings via teleconference as long as the meeting agenda identifies the teleconferencing procedures to be used; and WHEREAS, on June 11, 2021, Governor Newsom issued Executive Order N -08- 21, which extended the provision of N-29-20 concerning the conduct of public meetings through September 30, 2021; and
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31 WHEREAS, California Assembly Bill 361 (AB361) was signed into law on September 16, 2021, amending Government Code Section 54953; and WHEREAS, AB 361 has several requirements to ensure the public is able to watch public meetings and make public comments during the teleconferenced public meetings, including:
• Providing notice of the means by which members of the p ublic may access the meeting and offer public comment, including an opportunity for all persons to attend via a call-in option or an internet-based service option; • Restricting the Legislative Body from taking further action on agenda items when th ere is a d isruption which prevents the public agency from broadcasting the meeting, or in the event of a disruption within the local agency’s control which prevents members of the public from offering public comments, until public access is restored;
• Prohibiting the legislative bo dy from requiring public comments to be submitted in advance of the meeting and specifying the le gislative body must provide an opportunity for the public to address the legislative body and offer comment in real time;
• Prohibiting the legislative body from closing the public comment period until the public comment period has elapsed or until a reasona ble amount of time has elapsed; and
WHEREAS, the City is already implementing the above p ublic meeting requirements now codified in Government Code Section 54953(e)(2)(B-G); and WHEREAS, Government Code Section 54953(b)(3) permits public meetings to be conducted by teleconference but requires agendas be posted at all teleconference locations , each teleconference location sh all be identified in the notice and agenda o f the meeting or proceeding, and each teleconference location shall be accessible to the public; and WHEREAS, Government Code Section 54953(e)(3)( A-B) provides an alternative to having public meetings in accordan ce with Government Code Section 54953(b)(3) when City Council has reconsidered the circumstances of the COVID -19 state of emergency an d that the following circumstances exist:
1. The state of emergency as a result of COVID -19 continues to directly impact the ability of the membe rs of City Council and t he members of the City’s subordinate Commissions, Boards and Committees to meet safely in person; or
2. The State of California and the City of Culver City continue to impose or
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31 recommend measures to promote social distancing; and
WHEREAS, the City of Culver City continues to impose and recommend public health protocols, including measures to promote social distancing, such as:
1. Requiring City employ ees to either be vaccinated or have a medical or religious exemption approved;
2. Requiring staff and the public to wear well-fitted masks in City facilities;
3. Posting COVID -19 safety measures in City facilities, and on the City’s social media pages.
4. Allowing the public to conduct certain types of City business online rather than in person; and
WHEREAS, the City h eld its first meeting pursuant to AB 361 on October 11, 2021, and on October 26, 2021 the City adopted a Resolution to make the required findings under AB361 , and further reconsidered the local emergency on N ovember 18, 2021 and December 13, 2021, and adopted a Resolution each time, making the required findings; and WHEREAS, the proposed action is exempt from the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) in accordance with CEQA Guidelines Section 15378(b)(5 ), in that adopting a Resolution to continue to conduct teleconferenced public m eetings for city Council a nd all the City’s Commissions, Boards and Committe es does not m eet CEQA's definition of a “project,” because the action does not have the potential f or resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment or a reasonabl y foreseeable indirect physical change in the e nvironment, and because the acti on constit utes organizational or administrative activities of governments that will not result i n direct or indirect physical changes in the environment, and is exempt pursuant to Section 15269(c) of the CEQA Guidelines, as specific actions necessary to prevent or mitigate an emergency; and WHEREAS, the City Council has considered all information r elated to this matter, as presented at the public meetings of the City Council id entified herein, including any supporting reports by City Staff, and any information provided during public meetings.
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31 NOW, THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of Culver City, California, DOES HEREBY RESOLVE as follows:
SECTION 1. Declares that t he ab ove recitals are true and c orrect and are incorporated into this Resolution as findings of the City Council.
SECTION 2. Finds that City Council has reconsidered the circumstances of the COVID-19 state of emergency and local emergency on October 26, 2021, November 18, 2021, December 13, 2021, and again on January 10, 2022, and that one of the following circumstances exist:
• The state of eme rgency as a result of COVID-19 continues to d irectly impact the abi lity of the members of City Council and the members of the City’s subordinate Commissions, Boards and Committees to meet safely in person; or
• The State of California, Los Angeles County and the City of Culver City continue to impose o r recommend measures to promote social distancing.
SECTION 3. Declares that, as a result of the findings in Section 2 above, the City Manager is authorized to continue to implement teleconferenced public meetings for City Council and all the City’s Commissions, Boards and Committees pursuant to Assembly Bill 361.
SECTION 4. Finds that the proposed action is exempt from the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) in accordance with CEQA Guidelines Section 15378(b)(5), in that adopting a Resolution to authorize the City to conduct teleconferenced public meetings for all the City’s Commissions, Boards and Committees does not meet CEQA's definition of a “pr oject,” because the action does not have the potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environm ent or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment, and because the act ion constitutes organizational or adminis trative activities of governments t hat will not resu lt in direct or indirect physical changes in the environment. and i s exempt pursuant to Section 15269(c) of the CEQA Guidelines, as specific actions necessary to prevent or mitigate an emergency.
SECTION 5. If any section, subsection, sen tence, clause, ph rase or word of this