notifying them of their non-compliance and are subject to monetary fines. Continued noncompliance shall be grounds for removal from the Commission.
All statements filed are maintained in the City Clerk’s Office and are available for public review.
The following Table depicts Deadlines for filing Form 700:
TYPE OF FILING OCCURRENCE
Assuming Office Within (3) days of assuming office
Annual Each year on or before April 1st
Leaving Office Within (30) days of leaving office
ETHICS TRAINING
All those appointed by the Los Altos City Council to serve on Commissions shall complete at least two hours of public service ethics training every two years. New members must receive this training within 30 days of assuming office. Ethics training courses must have been reviewed and approved by the FPPC and the California Secretary of State. Members shall attend training sessions that are offered locally or by completing online training. Non-compliance shall be grounds for removal from the Commission.
It is the responsibility of a commissioner to provide proof of completion of the ethics training program to the City Clerk. These documents are public records and are subject to public review.
The City Clerk provides periodic reports of Form 700 and Ethics Training compliance to the City Council. The Council may remove any non-compliant Commissioner.
THE BROWN ACT
The Ralph M. Brown Act (Brown Act) is the State of California’s open government law. Its purpose is to ensure that deliberations and actions of local agency bodies are open to the public and that there is meaningful public access to a local agency’s decision-making process. All City Commissions are subject to the Brown Act. Staff liaisons to Commissions are versed in the elements of the Brown Act and will help Commissioners understand their obligations related to the Brown Act. In addition, certain Ad Hoc subcommittees may be subject to the provisions of the Brown Act. Commissioners should consult with their staff liaison regarding questions about the Brown Act. Ultimately, it is up to the individual Commissioner to ensure that they are complying with the Brown Act.
A major element of the Brown Act relates to meetings of legislative bodies. A meeting is defined as the coming together of a majority or more of those members currently seated on a particular body (also known as a quorum) where the business of that body is discussed. Meetings must be properly noticed and held in facilities that are open and accessible to all. All meetings must be held within the City of Los Altos. A discussion which occurs outside of a properly noticed meeting, and which involves a majority or more of a body, is a violation of the Brown Act. This includes serial discussions which involve only a portion of the Commission but eventually involve a majority.
The two most common serial discussions are daisy chain and hub and spoke.
DAISY CHAIN
A daisy chain is when Member A contacts Member B who then contacts Member C who then contacts Member D and so forth, until a majority of members have discussed an item within the Commission’s subject matter jurisdiction.
HUB AND SPOKE
A hub and spoke meeting are when one individual (the hub) contacts members individually (the spokes) until a majority has been achieved. The hub could be a commissioner, staff member or member of the public.
To attempt to avoid serial meetings, emails from Commissioners that are intended for fellow Commissioners should be sent through the staff liaison. Commissioners should take care to not ‘reply all’ on emails.
VIOLATIONS
Penalties for Brown Act violations can range from invalidation of an action taken to prosecution as a misdemeanor offense. In addition, there may be fines and/or attorney’s fees associated with a violation of the Brown Act. Commissioners who violate the Brown Act may be subject to removal.
Whenever a questionable area arises, it should be brought to the attention of the City Attorney or City Clerk so that corrective actions or “cures” may be taken. Advice from the City Attorney or City Clerk should be followed completely to ensure all actions of the City comply with the Brown Act.
TYPE OF MEETINGS
There are two types of meetings which Commissions hold. The first, and most common, are regular meetings. These meetings are where a Commission accomplishes the vast majority of its work.
Regular meeting days, times and locations are established by formal action of the Commission.
The second type is special meetings. A special meeting is any meeting held outside of the normal meeting day, time or location. Action may be taken at special meetings and agendas for those meetings should indicate the action recommended to be taken.
Special meetings may include study sessions. Study sessions are held to provide Commission members with the opportunity to discuss and better understand a particular subject/item. Generally, no action is taken at study sessions.
AGENDAS
Agendas for Commission meetings contain those items the Commission will discuss during a meeting. Agendas are based on City Council agendas and follow the same general format. Changes to the agenda format must be in accordance with State law and the Council Norms and approved by the staff liaison.
The staff liaison, in collaboration with the Chair, is responsible for preparing all agendas of a Commission. All items of business that will be considered or discussed at a meeting shall be briefly described on the agenda. The description should define the proposed action to be considered so that members of the public will know the nature of the action under review and consideration. No discussion or action may be taken by a Commission on any item not on the agenda.
The Chair, or a majority of the Commission, may decide to take matters listed on the agenda out of the prescribed order.
All agendas and meeting materials are posted to the City’s website as set forth in the Brown Act and the City’s Open Government Policy. All Commissioners should sign up to receive meeting notices and associated agenda materials for their specific Commission through the City’s website.
MEETING MINUTES
Written minutes of all regular and special meetings are kept as the official record of business transacted and are taken by the staff liaison. Minutes are modeled after the City Council form of minutes known as “action minutes” and include a record of the legislative actions from the meeting. They do not include summaries of comments or discussion made by Commissioners or members of the public. The staff liaison will endeavor to distribute draft minutes within 10 days of the meeting. Action minutes will state the text of a motion voted on by the Commission, the result of the vote, identify which Commissioners voted “aye”, “no”, abstained, recused, or were absent. Action minutes will also identify whether a motion passed or failed.
Any document submitted at a meeting, whether by a member of the public or a commissioner, becomes part of the public record. The staff liaison should make a notation on the document of the date it was submitted and file it with the meeting packet. The staff liaison is responsible for posting the materials received within 48 hours of the meeting to the City’s website and forwarding the material to the members of the commission.
ADDING ITEMS TO FUTURE AGENDA
Commissioners may request that items be placed on a future agenda. This is done by requesting an item during the “Potential Future Agenda Items” portion of the meeting. Requests must be for items that are under purview of the Commission. One less than a majority of members is required to place an item on an agenda. The staff liaison will work with the Chair to determine the best meeting to place an item on an agenda. Any background materials or information should be provided to the staff liaison for inclusion in the agenda packet. Future agenda items must be consistent with the Commission’s Aapproved Work Plan.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
Commission members are subject to all aspects of the Political Reform Act. Commission members must not make, participate in making, or attempt to influence in any manner a governmental decision which he/she knows, or should know, may have a material effect on a financial interest.
It is ultimately the responsibility of the Commission member to identify whether they may be engaging in incompatible activities or have a perceived conflict of interest. The City Attorney should be consulted as early as possible on any matters regarding incompatible activities or perceived conflicts of interest.
A Commission member should disclose any perceived conflicts of interest prior to any discussion of the Commission. A Commission member should recuse themselves for a conflict of interest.
INCOMPATIBLE ACTIVITIES
Per state law, a public official, including commissioners, may not engage in any activity for compensation that is inconsistent, incompatible, or in conflict with their official duties with the City.
PERCEIVED CONFLICT OF INTEREST
A perceived conflict of interest for a commissioner may arise from personal relationships, financial interests, serving on bodies or boards that have shared or overlapping subject matter jurisdiction as those under the jurisdiction of the Commission, or when it appears that the Commissioner’s private interests impact on the official duties of the Commissioner, or influence his/her decisionmaking.
If a Commission member is appointed to an agency or body that has shared or overlapping subject matter, after their service on a City Commission has started, the Commission member will notify the Council liaison and staff liaison. The Commission member may be required to resign their role as a Commissioner.
A Commission member who has a conflict of interest shall, immediately prior to the consideration of the matter, do all of the following: 1) publicly identify the financial interest that gives rise to the conflict of interest or potential conflict of interest in detail sufficient to be understood by the public, except that disclosure of the exact street address is not required; 2) recuse himself or herself from discussing and voting on the matter; and 3) leave the room until after the discussion, vote, and any other disposition of the matter is concluded. Notwithstanding this, a Commission member, not in the member’s capacity as a commissioner, may speak on the issue during the time that the public speaks on the issue.
If a Commission member has obtained a letter or other documentation from the FPPC to discuss and vote on an item, then the member shall provide the letter to the staff liaison and the City Clerk upon receipt of the letter and disclose at the next Commission meeting the existence of the letter or other authorization, briefly describe the circumstances of why the member sought clarification, the basis for the FPPC’s conclusion, and the file number or other unique identifier so that members of the public can request a copy from the FPPC. In addition, the member shall provide the staff liaison with a copy of the letter or other authorization no later than 24 hours after the meeting at which the letter or other authorization is disclosed, so that a copy may be forwarded to any member of the public who requests a copy.
COMMISSION ORGANIZATION
Each Commission consists of between five and seven members, except the Youth Commission which consists of eleven members. Each member has an equal voice and votes on the Commission.
CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR
To facilitate meetings and the work of the Commission, each Commission appoints a Chair and Vice Chair from the members of the Commission. The positions of Chair and Vice Chair shall rotate annually. Selection of Chair and Vice Chair occurs at the first meeting in after October 1. In the event of either resignation or removal, the Commission shall elect another member to fill the remainder of the year. No member of a commission may serve consecutive terms as the chair, meaning that the chair must change annually.
The role of the Chair is to preside at Commission meetings and to run a timely and orderly meeting.
The Vice Chair is to preside in the absence of the Chair. If both the Chair and Vice Chair are absent, the Commission may elect a Chair Pro-Tem to conduct the meeting. It is incumbent upon the Chair to limit discussion and recommendations on to those items on the agenda.
AD HOC SUBCOMMITTEE
A Commission may appoint Ad Hoc subcommittees, consisting of less than a majority of the body, but never 50% or greater of Commissioners seated to work on specific tasks. Each Ad Hoc subcommittees should be focused on one (1) specific topic and shall not last more than one (1) year. These Ad Hoc subcommittees are working bodies and may be responsible for the generation of reports and analyses, which are reviewed by staff prior to distribution to the full Commission.
Commissions shall not create standing committees.
To establish an Ad Hoc Subcommittee, the topic of the formation of the Ad Hoc Subcommittee must be posted and noticed on the regular agenda.
Commission members currently serving on an Ad Hoc Subcommittee are not eligible to serve on another Ad Hoc Subcommittee simultaneously.
The motion of establishment must include that the Ad Hoc Subcommittee:
It isIs comprised solely of members of the Commission establishing the Ad Hoc Subcommittee,
Consists of less than a quorum of the Commission,
Includes a defined purpose and the timeframe to accomplish that purpose and is less than one year in duration,
Will automatically terminate when a final report is given to the Commission, or when the timeframe established by the Commission is met, unless extended by the Commission at a public meeting,
Will not be re-established or renewed in multiple years, and
It isIs advisory in nature and is not established to work on an item where continuing jurisdiction exists.
In accordance with the Brown Act, Ad Hoc Subcommittees do not need to post notice of their meetings or hold meetings in public, unless directed to do so by the City Council.
WORKING PAIRS
From time to time, Commissions may also utilize working pairs to begin exploring a topic on the Commission’s Work Plan. Working pairs consist of two members of a Commission who choose to work together to begin exploring a topic. They are less formal than Ad Hoc Subcommittees. All findings of a working pair are only presented during a properly agendized Commission meeting.
A working pair may become an Ad Hoc Subcommittee at the discretion of the Commission.
COMMISSION LIAISON ASSIGNMENTS
Commissions may assign individual Commissioners to act, by a majority vote, as a liaison to other boards, commissions, or agencies, without establishing an Ad Hoc Subcommittee. The work, findings, conclusions, and any updates of the liaison should be brought back to the Commission at a regularly scheduled meeting for a report or discussion and, if applicable, action. The positions supported by the liaison are to be in alignment with the positions that the Commission or the City Council have taken, if they have considered the topic.
If a Commission is not able to select a Commission member as a liaison to another board, commission, or agency and a staff member cannot serve in that capacity, the Commission may recommend an individual resident to represent the Commission upon approval by the Commission and City Council.
MEETING PROCEDURES
All Commission meetings are open to the public and should be approached in a dignified, respectful manner. It is the responsibility of all Commissioners to take their duties and obligations seriously and to ensure that all meetings are productive and further the mission of the City.
RULES OF ORDER
Rosenberg’s Rules of Order, with addendums adopted by the City Council, govern the conduct of Commission meetings. Information regarding the Rules of Order can be obtained from the City Clerk’s Office.
CONSIDERATION OF AGENDA ITEMS
The standard procedure for considering individual agenda items shall be as outlined in Figure 5below. From time to time, the prescribed order may be changed.
Official action requires a majority vote of the Commission/Committee of current members seated, not just those present. In the event that a Commission/Committee has a vacancy a majority vote shall be determined by the number of actively appointed members of the body. Example: the Planning Commission is a body of seven five (75) commissioners, but has two (2) vacancies, with five three (53) actively appointed Planning Commissioners. A majority vote of at least three two (32) commissioners is required to take action on an item.
PROCEDURES FOR CONSIDERING AGENDA ITEMS
1. Presentation by Staff, Commissioner or Ad Hoc subcommittee; then
2. Commissioners ask clarifying questions; then
3. Members of the public are given an opportunity to speak on the item; then
4. Commissioners discuss the item; then
5. If needed, a motion is made upon which the Commission votes on.
PUBLIC COMMENT
People Members of the public present in person at Commission meetings may comment on any item on the agenda. To facilitate an orderly meeting, each speaker is requested, but not required, to complete a Request to Speak card for each item they wish to speak on before discussion on of that item begins. To ensure that all are heard, speakers are typically given three minutes to speak on each item. If there are more than 10 requests to speak on an agenda item, the Chair may limit each speaker’s time to two minutes.
The Chair has the right to ask a member of the public to stop from speaking if over the allotted time or if comments are not related to the topic at hand.
During regular meetings, comments may be offered on items not on the agenda under that portion of the agenda identified for Public Comment. For special meetings, comments may be offered only on items only for topics listed on the agenda. The Commission may not discuss or act on any item raised during the Public Comments on Items nNot on the aAgenda portion of the meeting.
STREAMING OF COMMISSION MEETINGS
Commission meetings are held in person and simultaneously streamed via videoconferencing.
Members of the public may view Commission meetings via the stream, but may not provide public comments virtually. If a disruption prevents the public from viewing a Commission meeting via videoconferencing, the meeting will be recessed and a good-faith effort made to restore service according to State law. Upon resuming and if the videoconference cannot be restored, the Commission shall, by role-call vote, adopt findings that good-faith efforts were made and that resuming the meeting serves the public interest more than further delay. Otherwise, the meeting shall be adjourned to a future date.
TELECONFERENCING
Commission members may participate in meetings via teleconference in accordance with State law (Gov. Code sec. 54953 et seq. as amended byand AB 2449 and SB 707). Members participating via teleconferencing under AB 2449 for (Just Cause or Emergency Circumstances) must participate via audio and visual methods. In all other circumstances, members participating via teleconferencing shall participate via audio and visual methods, when practical. Members may participate via teleconference in no more than 20% of meetings in a calendar year (January to December), whether utilizing provisions of the traditional Brown Act or Just Cause or Emergency Circumstances. All meetings of the Commission must have a majority of members present in the physical meeting location within the City.
At the beginning of a meeting in which a member is participating via teleconference, the Chair, or the Vice Chair if the Chair is participating remotely, will ask the member(s) participating via teleconference to confirm the teleconference location was properly noticed according to State Law, the teleconference location is accessible to members of the public and whether anyone eighteen (18) years or older is present in the teleconference location besides the member.
DECORUM
Commissioners shall render the utmost courtesy to each other, the City Council, staff and members of the public. Commissioners may be subject to dismissal for failure to observe these standards.
Members of the public attending Commission meetings shall observe the same rules of order and decorum applicable to Commission members. Los Altos Municipal Code Chapter 2.05 – Public Meetings Rules for Conduct shall apply to all meetings. To provide an environment in which all viewpoints may be expressed, noise emanating from the audience, whether in opposition or support, shall not be permitted. Continual disruption of meetings by members of the public may be grounds for the removal from the meeting.
TRAINING
Commissioners are expected to stay current on issues related to their service as public officials.
Members are provided with brief training following their appointment regarding their duties as a Commissioner and the Brown Act. Annual training courses are organized by the City Clerk and conducted by City staff to review roles and responsibilities and to provide information on any changes in laws or policies that may be relevant to conducting the work of the Commissions.
Attendance at this training course is required for all Commission members and staff liaisons.
Individuals who are unable to attend the training session will be required to watch the video of the training and certify that they have completed the training.
Members of Commissions are encouraged, within budget limitations, to attend training related to their area of responsibility. It is intended that such attendance will broaden a member’s knowledge and increase awareness of current developments relating to relevant areas of responsibility. The City may cover costs of registration and certain travel expenses in accordance with the City’s Legislative Body Travel Policy. Requests for use of City funds must be approved in accordance with the aforementioned Policy.
CONCLUSION
The City Council and staff appreciate your service as a Los Altos Commission member. The time and energy you expend help to make Los Altos the wonderful community it is. If at any time during your service, you have questions or concerns, do not hesitate to contact your staff liaison who can help to address any issue which may arise.
TIPS FOR CHAIR (AND VICE CHAIR)
(and anyone who may have to run a meeting)
The role of the Chair of the Commission is to preside at meetings and to help move the work of the Commission forward. The Chair (and Vice Chair) does not have any extra authority or power beyond that of his/her fellow Commissioners.
As Chair, you are responsible for conducting meetings of the Commission. It is important to limit discussion of to those items on the agenda. For each agenda item, it is suggested that you follow this procedure:
1. Announce what the item being considered is
2. Ask if there is a report for the item – generally, this is provided by the staff liaison but occasionally may be provided by another Commissioner
3. Ask Commissioners if there are any clarifying questions
4. Take public comment – instructions for how to take public comment are included in the “Meeting Procedures” section of the Commission and Committee Handbook
5. Facilitate discussion among the Commission – it is important that each Commissioner is given equal chance to speak and express his/her opinion
6. After discussion of the item, ensure that a conclusion is reached – this can be in the form of a motion, direction provided to staff or an Ad Hoc subcommittee, decision to continue the item to a date certain or not certain, or to take no further action.
DISRUPTIONS
Should a disruption occur, whether at the in-person meeting location or on the videoconferencing platform, the Chair of the meeting should call for a recess until the disruption can be resolved. If the disruption cannot be resolved, the meeting should be adjourned.
APPLICATIONS
On occasion, a Commission may receive an application from a resident or community group which the Commission is to consider. In these instances, applicants are given a total of up to ten minutes to present their position/input prior to hearing other public comments. This is done after the staff has presented its report. After the applicant(s) has been presented, public comment is taken from
the audience. Following public comment, the applicant is given five minutes to provide a rebuttal to any issue raised during public comments.
ANNOUCING ANNOUNCING VOTES
The Brown Act requires that all votes be clearly noted, both at the meeting and in the record. It is the Chair’s responsibility to ensure that the vote is noted during the meeting. This is done by announcing how each member voted on a particular issue. If the voting is unanimous, it is sufficient to state “passes unanimously.” The staff liaison will ensure that the minutes accurately reflect how each member voted on each issue.
RECESS
It is customary to have a short recess two hours after the beginning of a meeting. The established hour after which no new items will be started is four hours after the beginning of the meeting.
Remaining items, however, may be considered by consensus of the Commission/Committee.
League of California Cities Annual Conference — General Assembly Anaheim, California · Friday, September 25, 2026
Report from Vice Mayor Larry Lang
Purpose
At its meeting on September 8, 2026, the City Council designated me as Los Altos’ voting delegate to the General Assembly of the League of California Cities to convene at the annual conference, and directed me to oppose the one resolution on the agenda. This report describes what transpired and clarifies how the outcome has been reported since.
The resolution changed before the vote
The resolution, submitted by the City of Murrieta, changed substantially between the Council’s review and the General Assembly. The version the Council reviewed called for a “state constitutional amendment or other form of initiative to ensure final local authority over housing and land use decisions.” That approach would have reversed the long-standing constitutional framework in which state law takes precedence over local law on matters of statewide concern, including housing. That concern was part of the Council’s reason for opposing it.
The Resolutions Committee sent a revised version to the General Assembly that dropped the constitutional amendment. It instead asked the Legislature to respect local control over housing and land use, and added language supporting affordable housing. The revised resolution was less objectionable, but also less impactful. Support for local control is a long-standing Cal Cities position, which is unsurprising for an organization made up of cities.
Quorum
I checked in as Los Altos’s credentialed delegate before the General Assembly’s scheduled 8:30 a.m. start. The meeting began late because a quorum of member cities had not yet arrived.
Eventually 235 cities were reported present, and the chair declared a quorum (half the member cities).
The vote
I expected the resolution to be debated. Instead, it was agendized as a consent item with no discussion scheduled. Half Moon Bay moved to remove it from consent, and another city seconded. The motion failed on a voice vote.
The chair then took a voice vote on the resolution itself. As directed by the Council, I voted no on behalf of Los Altos. Multiple other cities also voted no. The chair ruled that the ayes
2 prevailed, and that ruling matched what I heard. Delegates could have requested a roll call, but since the motion to remove the item from consent failed, no one bothered. The meeting adjourned before 9 a.m.
Clarifying the reported vote count
A City of Cupertino informational memo reports that the resolution passed “234-0-1.” That figure has led some members of the public to conclude that Los Altos was the only city to oppose it. That conclusion is incorrect, for three reasons:
1. No count was taken. In a voice vote, delegates call out together and the chair rules on which side prevailed. No one counts individual votes, and no record is made of how any individual city voted. The source of the 234-0-1 figure is unclear. It may be derived from the 235 cities reported present (234 + 1 = 235), but it does not reflect a tally of votes.
2. “0” no votes is not what happened. Multiple cities, including Los Altos, voted no aloud.
3. The “1” in 234-0-1 is presumably an abstention, not a no vote. Under the usual yes–no–abstain format, an abstention means a city declined to vote either way. The voice vote did not include a call for abstentions, so the source of this number is unclear.
Cal Cities has not yet published minutes. When that happens, I will ensure they are made available to the Council and the public.
What the outcome means
The meaning of this outcome is ambiguous. It is true that the resolution passed in the Cal Cities General Assembly in correct parliamentary fashion. It is also true that, due to the scant quorum, fewer than half of the total membership voted in support. I expect Cal Cities will continue to lobby for more local control in housing, and the California legislature will continue to weigh that request with other demands as they shape state housing law.
Recommendation for future resolutions
The substantive work on Cal Cities resolutions happens in the Resolutions Committee, which revised this resolution before it reached the floor. The General Assembly mainly acts on the committee’s work. When a future resolution matters to Los Altos, I recommend the City engage at the committee stage, by seeking a seat on the committee or by submitting comments before it meets.
Respectfully submitted,
Larry Lang
Vice Mayor