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31 ORDINANCE NO. 2024-_____
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF CULVER CITY,
CALIFORNIA AMENDING CULVER CITY MUNICIPAL
CODE SECTIONS 3.01.130, 3.01.135 AND 3.01.145
RELATING TO RULES OF ORDER, PUBLIC MEETING
PARTICIPATION AND DECORUM
WHEREAS, the Culver City Municipal Code (CCMC) sets forth various provisions in Chapter 3.01 relating to rules of order, public meeting participation and decorum, which have not been updated in many decades; and WHEREAS, the purpose of establishing rules o f order and decorum is to promote mutual respect, civility, and orderly conduct among elected and appointed City officials, City staff, and members of the public; and
WHEREAS, this Ordinance amends the CCMC to be consistent with current City Council and Commission, Board and Committee (CBC) meeting procedures, and to be consistent with current state law.
NOW, THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of Culver City, California DOES HEREBY ORDAIN as follows:
SECTION 1. Culver City Municipal Code Section 3.01.130 is hereby amended to read as follows (additions in underlined text; deletions in strikethrough text):
§ 3.01.130 RULES OF ORDER.
The proceedings of the Council shall be governed by the latest edition of Roberts Rosenberg’s Rules of Order, on all matters pertaining to parliamentary law, but no ordinance, resolution, proceeding or other action of the Council shall be invalidated, or the legality thereof otherwise affected, by the failure or omission to observe or follow said rules. This Section 3.01.130 shall also apply to the City’s Commissions, Boards and Committees.
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31 SECTION 2. Culver City Municipal Code Section 3.01.135 is hereby amended to read as follows (additions in underlined text; deletions in strikethrough text):
§ 3.01.135 ADDRESSING THE CITY COUNCIL , COMMISSIONS,
COMMITTEES AND BOARDS.
A. Any person may address the City Council at a public meeting on an item within the subject matter jurisdiction of the City Council. The City Council may establish public comment procedures, including time limits, which shall be included in the posted agenda.
Any person wishing to verbally address the City Counci l, Commissions, Committees, Boards or other legislative bodies (collectively “the Council”) shall first fill out a speaker's card, including the speaker's name and address. Upon securing the permission of the Presiding Officer to address the Council, the s peaker shall approach the microphone, give his/her name and, unless further time is granted by the Presiding Officer, limit his/her comments to the time allotted by the Council. Preference to verbally address the Council shall be given to those who have no tified the Presiding Officer, City Clerk or Secretary in advance of a desire to speak. Any interested party, taxpayer, resident of the city or an authorized representative may also submit written communication to the Council.
B. This Section 3.01.135 shall also apply to the City’s Commissions, Boards and Committees.
B. After a motion is made by the City Council, Commissions, Committees or Boards that the hearing is closed, no person shall address the City Council without permission.
SECTION 3. Culver City Municipal Code Section 3.01.1 45 is hereby amended to read as follows (additions in underlined text; deletions in strikethrough text):
§ 3.01.145 DECORUM; ENFORCEMENT BY EX -OFFICIO SERGEANT-
AT-ARMS
A. Decorum. The purpose of the rules of decorum is to promote mutual respect, civility, and orderly conduct among elected and appointed City officials, City staff, and members of the public. Other rules and standards of decorum and civility may be established by resolution of the City Council.
1. By Council mMembers. While the City Council is in session, the Council mMembers must preserve order and decorum including, but not
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31 limited to, treating everyone courteously, listening to others respectfully, providing fair and equal treatment for all persons and matters coming before the City Council, and allowing other Council Members and members of the public to speak without intimidation or interruption, and a member shall neither, by conversation or otherwise, delay or interrupt the proceedings or the peace of the City Council nor disturb any member while speaking or refuse to obey the orders of the City Council or its Presiding Officer, except as otherwise herein provided.
2. By audience . Any person making personal, impertinent, or slanderous remarks or who shal l become boisterous while addressing the Council shall be forthwith, by the Presiding Officer, barred from further audience before the Council, unless permission to continue be granted by a majority vote of the Council.
2. By members of the public. Members of the public are expected to observe the rules of order and decorum established by the City Council, including, but not limited to treating others courteously, listening to others respectfully, and allow Council Members and others to speak without intimidation or interruption.
a. No person shall disrupt a City Council meeting.
b. As used in this Section, “disrupting” means engaging in behavior during a City Council meeting t hat actually
disrupts, disturbs, impedes, or renders infeasible the
orderly conduct of the meeting and includes, but is not limited to, one of the following:
i. A failure to comply with reasonable and lawful
regulations adopted by the City Council pursuant
to Government Code Section 54954.3 or any
other law.
ii. Engaging in behavior that constitutes use of force or a true threat of force.
c. “True threat of force” means a threat that has sufficient indicia of intent and seriousness, that a reasonable
observer would perceive it to be an actual threat to use force by the person making the threat.
B. Removal. The Presiding Officer of the City Council or their designee may remove, or cause the removal of, an individual for disrupting the meeting.
1. Prior to removing , or causing the removal of, an individual, the Presiding Officer or their designee shall warn the individual that their behavior is disrupting the meeting and that their failure to cease their behavior may result in their removal. The Presiding Officer or their designee may then remove , or cause the remova l of, the individual if they do not
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31 promptly cease their disruptive behavior. This paragraph does not apply to any behavior described in Section 3.01.145.A.2.b.ii.
BC. Enforcement. The Chief of Police or designee shall be ex -officio Sergeant-at-Arms of the City Council. He They shall carry out all orders and instructions given him them by the Presiding Officer for the purpose of maintaining order and decorum in the Council Chambers. It shall be unlawful for any pe rson in the audience to use loud, boisterous or profane language at a Council meeting, or language tending to bring the Council, or any of its members, into contempt, or to persistently interrupt the proceedings of the Council, or refuse to keep quiet or t ake a seat when ordered to do so by the Presiding Officer.
D. Commissions, Boards and Committees. This Section 3.01.145 shall also apply to the City’s Commissions, Boards and Committees.
SECTION 4: Nothing in this Ordinance shall be construed to affect any suit or proceeding impending in any court, or any rights acquired, or liability incurred, or any cause or causes of action acquired or existing, under any act or Ordinance hereby repealed or amende d as cited in this Ordinance; nor shall any just or legal right or remedy of any character be lost, impaired, or affected by this Ordinance.
SECTION 5: Pursuant to Section 619 of the City Charter, this Ordinance shall take effect thirty (30) days after its adoption. Pursuant to Section 616 and 621 of the City Charter, prior to the expiration of fifteen (15) days after the adoption, the City Clerk shall cause this Ordinance, or a summary thereof, to be published in the Culver City News and shall post this Ordinance or a summary thereof in at least three (3) places within the City.
SECTION 6: The City Council hereby declares that, if any provision, section, subsection, paragraph, sentence, phrase or word of this Ordinance is rendered or declared invalid o r unconstitutional by any final action in a court of competent
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31 jurisdiction or by reason or any preemptive legislation, then the City Council would have independently adopted the remaining provisions, sections, subsections, paragraphs, sentences, phrases, or words of this Ordinance, and as such they shall remain in full force and effect.
APPROVED and ADOPTED this _____ day of ___________, 2024.
________________________________
YASMINE-IMANI MCMORRIN, Mayor
City of Culver City, California
ATTEST: APPROVED AS TO FORM:
_______________________ _________________________
JEREMY BOCCHINO HEATHER BAKER
City Clerk City Attorney