-1-
1 2
3 4
5 6
7 8
9 10
11 12
13 14
15 16
17 18
19 20
21 22
23 24
25 26
27 28
29 30
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 action followed the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health’s (LACDPH) and the Chair of the Board of Superv isor’s declarations of a local health emergency and the State of California’s declaration of a State of Eme rgency on March 4, 2020, and the declaration of 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
-2-
1 2
3 4
5 6
7 8
9 10
11 12
13 14
15 16
17 18
19 20
21 22
23 24
25 26
27 28
29 30
31 place outside with enough space for attendees to stay at least six-feet apart,” and to “have a virtual gathering”; and
WHEREAS, in January 2022 the County, state and the country experienced a significant surge of positive cases and hospitalizations, due to the rapid community transmission of the Omicron variant, where even fully vaccinated and boosted persons became infected, and unvaccinated persons experienced a rate of infection and hospitalization multiple times higher than those vaccinated, and during the highest peaks in the surge there were over 40,000 cases per day in Los A ngeles County, to wit, 45,584 new cases on January 9, 2022; and
WHEREAS, although the daily new cas e numbers have dropped significantly since January, between March 1st through 7th, Los Angeles County averaged 1258 new positive cases per day, and while improving, this number of positive cases is still six times what it was at the June 2021 baseline of 200 cases per day; and WHEREAS, as of its March 3, 3022 Public Order, although the universal mask mandate has been lifted, LACDPH still strongly recommends wearing a well -fitted mask in indoor public settings, especially if a person or someone they live with is unvaccinated or is at elevated risk for serious illn ess from COVID -19, m asks continue to be required for indoor settings with higher risk of transmiss ion such as public transit and healthcare settings, and employers are required to offer , for voluntary use, medical grade masks and respirators to employees working indoors in close contact with other workers, customers, and/or members of the public; and
WHEREAS, on March 17, 2020, California Governor Newsom issued Executive Order N -29-20, which suspended a nd 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
-3-
1 2
3 4
5 6
7 8
9 10
11 12
13 14
15 16
17 18
19 20
21 22
23 24
25 26
27 28
29 30
31 WHEREAS, on June 11, 2021, Go vernor 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
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 memb ers of the public 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 there is a d isruption wh ich 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 offer ing public comments, until public access is restored;
• Prohibiting the legislative body 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 le gislative 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 implement ing 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 teleconfer ence locations, each teleconference location sh all be id entified in the notice an d 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 al ternative 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:
-4-
1 2
3 4
5 6
7 8
9 10
11 12
13 14
15 16
17 18
19 20
21 22
23 24
25 26
27 28
29 30
31 1. The state of emergency as a resu lt of COVID -19 continues to directly impact the ability of the membe rs of City Co uncil and t he members of the City’s subordinate Commissions, Boards and Committees to meet safely in person; or
2. The State of C alifornia and the City of Culver City continue to impose or recommend measures to promote social distancing; and
WHEREAS, the Cit y 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 va ccinated or have a medical or religious exemption approved;
2. Either requiring or strongly recommending staff and the public to wear well- fitted masks in City facilities;
3. Posting COVID -19 safety measures in Ci ty facilities, and on the City’s social media pages.
4. Allowing the public to condu ct 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 November 18, 2021, December 13, 2021, January 10, 2022, and February 14, 2022, 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 meetings 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 for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment or a reasona bly foreseeable indirect physical change in the e nvironment, and because the acti on constit utes organizational or admin istrative activities of governments that will not result in di rect or indirect physical changes in the environment, and is exempt pursuan t to Section 15269(c) of the CEQA Guidelines, as specific actions necessary to prevent or mitigate an emergency; and
-5-
1 2
3 4
5 6
7 8
9 10
11 12
13 14
15 16
17 18
19 20
21 22
23 24
25 26
27 28
29 30
31 WHEREAS, the City Council has considered all information related to this matter, as presented at the public meetings of the City Council i dentified herein, including any supporting reports by City Staff, and any information provided during public meetings.
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 circumstan ces of the COVID-19 state of emergency and local emergency on October 26, 2021, November 18, 2021, December 13, 2021, January 10, 2022, February 14, 2022, and again on March 14, 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 member s 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 im pose 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 teleconferen ced 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 a dopting 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