CITY OF HUNTINGTON BEACH
CITY COUNCIL MEETING – COUNCIL MEMBER ITEMS REPORT
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
FROM: NATALIE MOSER, CITY COUNCIL MEMBER
DATE: FEBRUARY 7, 2023
SUBJECT: REQUEST TO REINSTATE REMOTE CITIZEN PARTICIPATION AT P UBLIC
MEETINGS
Huntington Beach is a dynamic community represented by many groups including seniors, individuals with mobility issues, students, young adults, families, busines s owners, and more. However, not all individuals receive or provide input to the City in the same wa ys. Some engage with the City using online tools such as our website, the MyHB app, and Zoom, while others use more traditional means such as cable TV, mailings, and phone calls.
Over the last few years, the City has doubled down on expanding its communication tools to increase transparency, participation, and communication. This has allowed greater access for residents to receive information and share input, as well as for elected rep resentatives and staff to hear from a wider range of community members, which is critical to making an informed decision at a public meeting.
However, the recent decision to remove remote public participat ion (via Zoom) at meetings of the City Council and Boards, Commissions and Committees (BCC) limit s the ability of some residents to engage with us. We all have experienced days where an unexpect ed illness, traffic jam, childcare i s s u e , o r w o r k h a s g o t t e n i n t h e w a y o f w e l l ‐ l a i d p l a n s t o a t t end scheduled events like a Council meeting. Yet the remote option has provided flexibility for those individuals to provide public comment, when they otherwise could not. This particularly applies to individuals with limited mobility, who might never have previously been able to fully en gage with the City until we offered this remote public participation option.
This flexibility is important for our large and dynamic community. Remote public participation at City m e e t i n g s i s a l o w ‐ c o s t s o l u t i o n t h a t i n v i t e s a w i d e r r a n g e o f residents into the Chambers, albeit virtually. Without this option, the input we receive, particul arly before a major Council decision is made, would be limited.
At this time, several major Orange County cities still offer on line public participation including Santa Ana, Irvine, Fullerton and Costa Mesa. It would be beneficial for Huntington Beach, as the fourth largest city in Orange County, to provide the same option to our residents.
RECOMMENDED ACTIONS
I would like to request the City Council to reinstate the remot e public participation option during meetings of the City Council and all BCCs, in the spirit of increasing public access, civic discourse, and transparency. If needed, the City Council could reassess the n eed for remote options periodically, moving forward.