CITY OF LAGUNA NIGUEL
CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM
To: Honorable Mayor and Council Members
FROM: Justin J. Martin, Deputy City Manager
DATE: February 1, 2022
SUBJECT: Introduction of Ordinance No. 2022-212, Amending the Laguna Niguel Municipal Code Related to the Military Support Committee
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Waive full reading, make any amendments to, and introduce Ordinance No. 2022-212 by title:
ORDINANCE NO. 2022-212
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF LAGUNA NIGUEL
AMENDING THE LAGUNA NIGUEL MUNICIPAL CODE RELATING TO
THE MILITARY SUPPORT COMMITTEE, INCLUDING PROVISIONS ON
APPOINTMENT AND REMOVAL OF MEMBERS, ROLE OF CITY
COUNCIL LIAISONS, DESIGNATION AND SELECTION OF CHAIR AND
VICE-CHAIR, UPDATING THE LIST OF DUTIES AND LIST OF EX-
OFFICIO MEMBERS TO REFLECT CHANGES IN ADOPTED MILITARY
UNITS AND PROVIDING FOR THE COUNCIL'S SELECTION OF
ADOPTED MILITARY UNITS, AND MAKING A FINDING OF
EXEMPTION UNDER CEQA IN CONNECTION THEREWITH
2. Direct that the proposed Ordinance, with any changes to it, be placed on the agenda for the February 15, 2022 City Council meeting and adopt the Ordinance at that meeting.
BACKGROUND
During the City Council meeting held on January 18, 2022, the City Council considered several updates and amendments to the provisions of the Municipal Code related specifically to the Military Support Committee. After public comment and discussion, the City Council did not take action to adopt the presented updates and amendments. The 2 City Council did however direct staff to return to the City Council with a new list of Municipal Code updates for the provisions related to the Military Support Committee.
The City Council's action requested that the following amendments be included on the City Council agenda:
• Provide that the appointment and removal of members of the Committee be completed by the City Council rather than by the City Council liaisons to the Committee;
• Provide that the City Council liaisons to the Committee shall serve as non-voting advisory members of the Committee and not as Co-Chairs; • Provide that the members of the Committee shall select the Chair and Vice Chair of the Committee; and,
• Update the Municipal Code provisions related to the listing of specific adoptive military units, including the list of ex-officio members from those units, and provide that the Council shall make the future designations of which military units are to be supported by the City and the Committee.
ANALYSIS
Appointment and Removal of Military Support Committee Members At current, the appointment and removal of all Military Support Committee members is the sole responsibility of the committee Co-Chairs. The request is to amend this process to make it identical to all other Committees and Commissions. The recommendation is to appoint and remove all Military Support Committee members through vote of the entire City Council.
The rationale behind this request it to create uniformity in the member appointment and removal process, during a public meeting, that includes a vote of the majority of the City Council.
City Council Liaisons to Serve as Non-voting Advisory Members, Not Co-Chairs At current, two City Council members are appointed by the entire City Council to serve as Co-Chairs to the Committee. The Co-chairs lead the Committee through the business of each meeting and through implementation of Committee guidelines. The request is to shift from City Council appointed Co-Chairs, to City Council liaisons. The recommendation is to no longer have City Council liaisons serve as Co-Chairs, but to instead serve as non-voting advisory member liaisons to the Committee.
The rationale behind this request is to make the City Council liaison structure match that of the other Commissions and Committees, excluding the Investment, Banking & Audit Committee (IB&A), resulting in a non-voting advisory role by the liaisons, and the appointment of a Chair and Vice Chair from the Committee membership. 3 Members of the Committee Shall Select the Chair and Vice Chair of the Committee At current, the Committee is Co-Chaired by two City Council members. The request is to have Committee members who are selected by the Committee to serve as Chair and Vice Chair of the Committee. The recommendation is that the Committee members, within 45 days of the effective date of the proposed Ordinance, select a Chair and Vice Chair from the appointed, voting members during a regular meeting and serve through the end of the current 1-year term. The selection of a Chair and Vice Chair will thereafter continue to be made annually.
The rationale behind this request is to make the Chair and Vice Chair structure match that of the other Commissions and Committees.
'Ex Officio Members' and 'Duties of the Committee' Section Updates Pertaining to the Listing of Specific Adoptive Military Units
The Municipal Code currently lists the City's adoptive military units as being the USS McClusky and the USMC 1/4. Since the Committee's selected adoptive units have changed with the retirement of the USS McClusky, language is being recommended to remove reference to the specific units and to become broader, so any future adoptive unit change does not need to be made to the Municipal Code, in the future. The request is to remove reference to past, current, and future adoptive military units in the 'Ex Officio Members' section and in the 'Duties of the Committee' section. The recommendation is to include the phrase 'city council's selected adoptive military units in all provisions that include specific reference currently. Additionally, language specific to the City Council making the future designations of which military units are to be supported by the City and the Committee is also recommended for inclusion.
The rationale behind this request it to avoid having to adopt future ordinances to update the Municipal Code in the future should adoptive military units be changed, and to clearly designate the authority to select adoptive units to the City Council.
To make all of the aforementioned amendments and additions, staff has prepared Ordinance 2022-212 (Attachment A), pertaining to the Military Support Committee.
ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED
The City Council may elect to:
1. Make no changes to the existing Ordinance.
2. Make additional edits to the provisions of Commissions, Boards and Committees.
FISCAL REVIEW
Adoption of Ordinance No. 2022-212 has no additional fiscal impact to the City. 4 LEGAL REVIEW
The City Attorney's Office has approved the report and Ordinance No. 2022-212 as to form.
CONCLUSION
To further update the provisions on City Commissions, Boards and Committees, specifically the Military Support Committee, staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Waive full reading, make any amendments to, and introduce Ordinance No. 2022-212 by title:
ORDINANCE NO. 2022-212
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF LAGUNA NIGUEL
AMENDING THE LAGUNA NIGUEL MUNICIPAL CODE RELATING TO
THE MILITARY SUPPORT COMMITTEE, INCLUDING PROVISIONS ON
APPOINTMENT AND REMOVAL OF MEMBERS, ROLE OF CITY
COUNCIL LIAISONS, DESIGNATION AND SELECTION OF CHAIR AND
VICE-CHAIR, UPDATING THE LIST OF DUTIES AND LIST OF EX-
OFFICIO MEMBERS TO REFLECT CHANGES IN ADOPTED MILITARY
UNITS AND PROVIDING FOR THE COUNCIL'S SELECTION OF
ADOPTED MILITARY UNITS, AND MAKING A FINDING OF
EXEMPTION UNDER CEQA IN CONNECTION THEREWITH
2. Direct that the proposed ordinance, with any changes to it, be placed on the agenda for the February 15, 2022 City Council meeting and adopt the Ordinance at that meeting.
Tamara S. Letourneau
City Manager
Rever I Emis
Kevin G. Ennis, Esq.
City Attorney
Attachments:
A. Ordinance No. 2022-212
ATTACHMENT A
Ordinance No. 2022-212 Amending the Laguna Niguel Municipal Code Related to the Military Support Committee
ORDINANCE NO. 2022-212
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF LAGUNA NIGUEL
AMENDING THE LAGUNA NIGUEL MUNICIPAL CODE RELATING TO
THE MILITARY SUPPORT COMMITTEE, INCLUDING PROVISIONS ON
APPOINTMENT AND REMOVAL OF MEMBERS, ROLE OF CITY
COUNCIL LIAISONS, DESIGNATION AND SELECTION OF CHAIR
AND VICE-CHAIR, UPDATING THE LIST OF DUTIES AND LIST OF EX-
OFFICIO MEMBERS TO REFLECT CHANGES IN ADOPTED MILITARY
UNITS AND PROVIDING FOR THE COUNCIL'S SELECTION OF
ADOPTED MILITARY UNITS, AND MAKING A FINDING OF
EXEMPTION UNDER CEQA IN CONNECTION THEREWITH
The City Council of the City of Laguna Niguel does hereby ordain as follows:
Section 1. Recitals.
a. On October 1, 2019, the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 2019-198, amending the Laguna Niguel Municipal Code to include previously adopted provisions for the operation of all City Commissions, Boards and Committees into Division 3 of Title 2 of the Laguna Niguel Municipal Code. Ordinance No. 2019-198 became effective thirty days thereafter, on October 31, 2019.
b. On February 18, 2020, the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 2020-203 to further amend Division 3 of Title 2 by amending Section 2-3-21 governing the procedures for removal of members of the Military Support Committee and making other changes to other advisory committees and commissions.
C. The City Council now desires to further amend the provisions relating to the Military Support Committee that are contained Division 3 of Title 2 of the Laguna Niguel Municipal Code to: (1) provide for the appointment and removal of members of the Committee by the City Council rather than by the City Council liaisons to the Committee; (2) provide that the City Council liaisons shall serve as non-voting advisory members of the Committee and not as Co-Chairs; (3) provide that the members of the Committee shall select the Chair and Vice Chair of the Committee; and (4) update the Municipal Code provisions related to specific military units to be supported by the Committee, the list of ex-officio members from those units, and provide that the Council shall make future designations of which military units are to be supported by the City and the Committee.
Section 2. Section 2-3-21 (Establishment, membership and appointment) of Article 3 (Military Support Committee) of Division 3 (Commissions, Boards and Committees) of Title 2 (Administration and Personnel) of the Laguna Niguel Municipal Code, is hereby amended to read as follows with deletions shown in strikeout format and additions shown with underlining:
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Ordinance No. 2022-212 Page 2
"Sec. 2-3-21. - Establishment, membership and appointment. (a) The military support committee is hereby established. (b) The military support committee shall consist of not less than ten nor more than 20 members. Two members of the city council shall serve on the committee in a non-voting and advisory role as liaisons between the city council and the committee and shall be appointed by majority vote of the full city council. The two members appointed by the city council shall serve as co chairs of the committee.
(b) The remaining members of the committee shall be at-large members appointed by the city council co chairs as deemed appropriate, and may include representatives from local service clubs, charities, civic organizations, veteran's organizations, as well as interested Laguna Niguel residents, local veterans, business owners and individuals residing outside of the City of Laguna Niguel.
(c) The city council co chairs may appoint up to five at-large members nominated by specific charitable, service or civic organizations which by virtue of their significant and ongoing presence within the city are expected to make a substantial contribution to the mission of the Laguna Niguel Military Support Committee. Such at-large members shall be considered the liaisons to the specified organizations and shall serve at the discretion of the organization. The city council co-chairs may grant or revoke the right for an organization to appoint an at-large member at any time.
(d) The committee shall hold an annual organizational meeting and each at-large member who is appointed for a term of one year shall serve from their date of appointment until the committee's next annual organizational meeting and each at-large member who is appointed to serve a term of two years shall serve from the date of their appointment until the annual organizational meeting held in two years. (e) Within forty-five (45) days of the effective date of the ordinance that added this subsection (e), or as soon thereafter as the committee deems appropriate, the members of the committee shall select a chair and a vice chair of the committee from the appointed and voting members of the committee. The selected chair and vice-chair shall serve until the committee's next annual organizational meeting at which time the committee may select the same or different members to serve as chair and vice-chair. At each annual organizational meeting thereafter, or at such later time as the committee deems appropriate. the members of the committee shall make its annual selection of a chair and a vice chair of the committee from the appointed and voting members of the committee. The committee may select a chair and 13018-0001\2614514v3.doc
Ordinance No. 2022-212 Page 3
vice-chair to serve successive one-year terms in those positions. City Council members appointed as liaisons to the committee shall not be eligible to be selected as a chair or vice-chair of the committee. (e f) The city council co-chairs when making the annual appointments of the at-large members of the committee shall as to each member appointed designate whether that member shall serve for a term of one year or a term of two years. Each year, the city council co-chairs shall appoint enough at-large members to insure that with the members who had been appointed the previous year for a two-year term there are at least ten members of the committee and no more than 20 members of the committee.
(g) The city council tiaisons to the military support committee hasve the sole authority to remove any member of the committee before the expiration of their term and may do so with or without cause or with or without a reason."
Section 3. Section 2-3-22 (Ex Officio Members) of Article 3 (Military Support Committee) of Division 3 (Commissions, Boards and Committees) of Title 2 (Administration and Personnel) of the Laguna Niguel Municipal Code, is hereby amended to read as follows with deletions shown in strikeout format and additions shown with underlining:
"Sec. 2-3-22. - Ex officio members.
The following ex officio members shall serve on the committee in a non-voting advisory role:
(a) A liaison appointed by the commanding officer of each of the city council's selected adoptive military units. A liaison appointed by the commanding officer of the USS McClusky.
(b) A liaison appointed by the commanding officer of the USMC 1/4. (c) A representative appointed by the USS McClusky Spouse/Family support group.
(d) A representative appointed by the USMC 1/4 from the USMC 1/4 Spouse/Family support groups of each of the city council's selected adoptive military units.
(ec) One or more representatives from the Laguna Niguel Military Support Foundation."
Section 4. Section 2-3-23 (Duties of the Committee) of Article 3 (Military Support Committee) of Division 3 (Commissions, Boards and Committees) of Title 2 (Administration and Personnel) of the Laguna Niguel Municipal Code, is hereby 13018-0001\2614514v3.doc
Ordinance No. 2022-212 Page 4
amended to read as follows with deletions shown in strikeout format and additions shown with underlining:
"Sec. 2-3-24. - Duties of the committee.
The duties and responsibilities of the military support committee shall consist of the following:
(a) Maintain continuous communication and contact between the city and representatives of the city council's selected adoptive military units. USS McClusky and USMC 1/4.
(b) Determine the support needs of the personnel and families of the city council's selected adoptive military units. USS McClusky and USMG 1/4.
(c) Plan, organize and conduct programs and special events to support the personnel and families of the city council's selected adoptive military units. USS McClusky and USMG 1/4.
d) Represent the city at ceremonial and social events, upon the invitation of the commanding officer (or his/her representative) of the city council's selected adoptive military units. USS McClusky and USMC 1/4.
(e) Solicit and raise private funds and donations to support the Laguna Niguel Military Support Foundation's mission to support the city's adoptive relationship, programs and special events with the city council's selected adoptive military units. USS McClusky and USMG 1/4.
(f) Provide periodic updates to the city council on its activities.
Such other duties and responsibilities as may be assigned by the city council. Laguna Niguel City Council.
Section 5. Section 2-3-25 (Time and place of meetings; quorum) of Article 3 (Military Support Committee) of Division 3 (Commissions, Boards and Committees) of Title 2 (Administration and Personnel) of the Laguna Niguel Municipal Code, is hereby amended to read as follows with deletions shown in strikeout format and additions shown with underlining:
"Sec. 2-3-25. - Time and place of meetings; quorum.
The military support committee shall determine when and how frequently to meet. The committee shall meet at least once annually for the purposes of appointing and organizing its members and establishing such ad hoc committees that it deems necessary or appropriate. All meetings of the committee shall be held at the City of Laguna Niguel City Hall. A meeting may be called and 13018-0001\2614514v3.doc
Ordinance No. 2022-212 Page 5
scheduled by the chair, the vice-chair in the absence of the chair, or by a majority of the members of the committee, either co chair. A quorum shall consist of seven voting committee members being present at the meeting Section 6. Exemption from CEQA. The City Council hereby finds that it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility the adoption of this Ordinance will have a significant adverse effect on the environment because the Ordinance only contains administrative provisions related to the membership and operation of the City's Military Support Committee. The adoption of this Ordinance is therefore exempt from California Environmental Quality Act review pursuant to State CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3) because the Ordinance is covered by the general rule common sense exemption that CEQA applies only to projects which have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment. The adoption of this Ordinance only provides for the inclusion and amendment of the Laguna Niguel Municipal Code of the operational provisions for the City's already established Military Support Committee and does not have the possibility of resulting in any physical changes in the environment.
Section 7. Severability. If any section, subsection, subdivision, sentence, clause, phrase, or portion of this Ordinance is, for any reason, held to be invalid or unconstitutional by the decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Ordinance. The City Council hereby declares that it would have adopted this Ordinance and each section, subsection, subdivision, sentence, clause, phrases, or portion thereof irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, subdivisions, sentences, clauses, phrases, or portions thereof be declared invalid or unconstitutional.
Section 8. Effective Date of Ordinance. This Ordinance shall go into effect and be in full force and operation from and after thirty (30) days after its final passage and adoption.
Section 9. City Clerk's Certification. The City Clerk shall certify to the adoption of this Ordinance and cause the same to be posted at the duly designated posting places within the City and published once within fifteen (15) days after passage and adoption as required by law; or, in the alternative, the City Clerk may cause to be oublished a summary of this Ordinance and post a certified copy of the text of this Ordinance in the Office of the City Clerk five (5) days prior to the date of adoption of this Ordinance, and, within fifteen (15) days after adoption, the City Clerk shall cause to be published the aforementioned summary and shall post a certified copy of this Ordinance, together with the vote for and against the same, in the Office of the City Clerk 13018-0001\2614514v3.doc
Ordinance No. 2022-212 Page 6
PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED this day of _. 2022.
Elaine Gennawey, Mayor
ATTEST:
Ty Merritt, Acting City Clerk
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