CITY OF PACIFICA
COUNCIL AGENDA SUMMARY REPORT
1/27/2025
1 SUBJECT:
Receive Update on City Council Workplan Item for Review of City Committee / Commission Charters and Provide Direction to Staff to Confirm this Workplan Item and Provide Updated Timeline; Establish Ad-Hoc City Council Subcommittee to Provide Input for Charter Reviews; Adopt Resolution to Amend the Charter for the Library Advisory Committee to Designated Two Positions for Youth Members
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
It is recommended that the City Council take the following actions:
1. Provide Direction to Staff to Confirm the City Council Workplan Item to Complete the Review and Update to Council Advisory Committee / Commission Charters and Updated Timeline; and
2. Establish Ad-Hoc City Council Subcommittee Consisting of Two Councilmembers to Provide Input to Staff for Questions to Pose to the Members of Specific Committees / Commissions to Facilitate Review and Staff Recommendations Regarding Charter Reviews for the Remaining Bodies: Beautification Advisory Committee; Emergency Preparedness & Safety Commission; and Parks, Beaches & Recreation Commission; and
3. Move to adopt the attached resolution titled, “A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Pacifica Rescinding Resolution No. 67-2023 and Amending the Charter of the Library Advisory Committee”.
STAFF CONTACT:
Sarah Coffey, City Clerk
(650) 738-7307
[email protected]
BACKGROUND:
The City Council adopted the Fiscal Year 2002-23 Priority Work Plan at its regular meeting on April 11, 2022, which included a Work Plan item to establish a review of all Council-appointed Commissions and Committees (C/Cs) charters as a priority for the City Council.
At its regular meetings held on March 27, 2023 and April 10, 2023, the City Council discussed and approved a process for reviewing charters for C/Cs and provided for a timeline for the review of charters beginning with the Open Space & Parkland Advisory Committee (OSPAC) and the Library Advisory Committee (LAC).
At the regular meeting held on April 10, 2023 the City Council appointed a two-councilmember limited-term ad hoc subcommittee consisting of Mary Bier and Tygarjas Bigstyck to work with the City Manager and designated staff to develop survey questions for each Committee / Commission to facilitate the review and recommendations for charter updates. The direction to the ad-hoc subcommittee indicated that some questions may be uniform for all the C/Cs, and some may be specialized to individual C/Cs. Some questions may ask for individual C/C member feedback, and others may seek majority advisory body input. The limited-term duration of the ad hoc committee was recommended to extend until December, 2023, or until survey Pacifica City Council 2
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questions have been completed for each C/C.
The Council approved the following process for review of C/C charters:
1. Development of survey questions for each C/C by Ad Hoc Committee;
2. Staff to agendize survey questions at a C/C meeting for discussion and direction from the C/C. Some questions will require majority member input; other questions will be for more individual feedback, which can be shared publicly at the joint study session with Council (see step 3);
3. Staff to prepare report for a joint study session between City Council and the C/C summarizing the C/C’s majority input for discussion and direction from the City Council.
C/C members may share individual feedback with City Council at the joint study session;
4. City Council direction from joint study session to be incorporated into charter amendments (and any other related municipal code/ordinance amendments) and brought back to City Council for adoption.
Timeline for Charter Review
April 11, 2022: The City Council adopted FY 2022-23 Priority Work Plan. This action established a review of all commission and committee charters as a priority for the City Council.
March 27, 2023: The City Council had discussion, directed staff to conduct commission/committee reviews and approach to gathering information from commission/committee members about their work. The City Council deferred discussion of the review timeline to the April 10, 2023, meeting.
April 10, 2023: The City Council had Discussion, appointed a two-councilmember limited-term ad-hoc subcommittee consisting of Mary Bier and Tygarjas Bigstyck to work with the City Manager and designated staff to develop survey questions for each Committee / Commission to facilitate the review and recommendations for charter updates, and directed staff as an aspirational goal to bring recommendations for the Library Advisory Committee (LAC) and Open Space & Parkland Advisory Committee (OSPAC) charter amendments by the end of June 2023.
Council directed that the timeline for the remaining C/C charter review process for second phase with Beautification Advisory Committee (BAC), Economic Development Committee (EDC) and Emergency Preparedness & Safety Commission (EPSC); and third phase with Parks, Beaches & Recreation Commission (PB&R) and Planning Commission (PC) would be determined following completing the charter review process for LAC and OSPAC. The Council agreed with the City Manager’s recommendation that the C/C charter review process should be phased because the process would be time consuming. The City Manager recommended to begin with the Open Space & Parkland Advisory Committee (OSPAC) and Library Advisory Committee (LAC) reviews, followed by second phase with Beautification Advisory Committee (BAC), Economic Development Committee (EDC) and Emergency Preparedness & Safety Commission (EPSC); and third phase with Parks, Beaches & Recreation Commission (PB&R) and Planning Commission (PC).
Details and specific timelines for individual C/C’s for which charter reviews have been completed are discussed below.
May 15, 2024: The City Council adopted FY 2023-24 Strategic Plan and Priority Work Plan.
The work plan updated and continued the item related to the review of commission and committee charters as a priority for the City Council.
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To date, Charter reviews and updates have been completed for the following C/Cs:
➢ Library Advisory Committee (LAC)
o Resolution No. 67-2023 adopted June 26, 2023
➢ Open Space & Parkland Advisory Committee (OSPAC)
o Resolution No. 21-2024 adopted March 25, 2024
➢ Economic Development Committee (EDC)
o Resolution No. 35-2024 adopted April 22, 2024
Summary of Library Advisory Committee (LAC) Review Process and Charter Update Because the LAC had not met regularly since the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020 and had not convened a meeting through the date that staff undertook a review of the LAC charter as directed the City Council’s Work Plan item, staff based the charter review and recommendations for amendments on observations and challenges experienced while the LAC was meeting regularly. The City Council ad-hoc subcommittee and the LAC members were not involved in establishing and/or providing feedback to survey questions in the charter review process for the LAC.
➢ June 26, 2023: The City Council adopted Resolution No. 67-2023, dissolving the LAC and re-forming the Committee with the recommended charter amendments.
Summary of Open Space & Parkland Committee (OSPAC) Review Process and Charter Update ➢ April 10, 2023: The City Council ad-hoc subcommittee, consisting of Councilmembers Bier and Bigstyck, assisted staff with the creation of survey questions for the OSPAC members to gauge their responses on various topics related to their work. ➢ July 17, 2023: Consistent with the City Council ad hoc subcommittee’s input, staff launched an online survey to seek individual OSPAC member input. ➢ July 19, 2023: Discussion of collective survey questions by committee members at the monthly OSPAC meeting.
➢ August 16, 2023: OSPAC vote on draft resolution (i.e., charter) for City Council consideration.
➢ August 28, 2023: Joint study session of City Council and OSPAC to discuss survey results and draft resolution voted on by OSPAC on August 16, 2023. ➢ January 17 and February 21, 2024: OSPAC meetings to consider and request City Council approval of an updated draft authorizing resolution. ➢ March 25, 2024: The City Council adopted Resolution No. 21-2024 amending the OSPAC Charter.
Summary of Economic Development Committee (EDC) Review Process and Charter Update Pacifica City Council 4
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➢ January 5, 2024: The City Council ad-hoc subcommittee, consisting of Councilmembers Bier and Bigstyck, assisted staff with the creation of survey questions for the EDC members to gauge their responses on various topics related to their work. ➢ January 30, 2024: Consistent with the City Council ad-hoc subcommittee’s input, staff launched an online survey to seek individual EDC member input. ➢ February 13, 2024: At the monthly EDC meeting, Economic Development Committee members discussed the survey question results and the possible revisions of the existing charter.
➢ March 12, 2024: EDC voted on draft amended resolution for charter revisions for recommendation to transmit to for City Council consideration. ➢ March 25, 2024, the EDC participated in a joint study session with City Council to discuss the revision of the 2019 Charter.
➢ April 22, 2024, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 35-2024 amending the EDC Charter.
DISCUSSION:
To date, Charter reviews and updates for the following C/Cs have not yet been initiated:
➢ Beautification Advisory Committee (BAC)
➢ Emergency Preparedness & Safety Commission (EPSC)
➢ Parks, Beaches & Recreation Commission (PB&R)
➢ Planning Commission (PC)
Specific decisions about each C/C’s charter will occur at the time of Council review of each C/C’s charter in the future and is not intended for discussion at this January 13, 2025 City Council meeting. Staff is seeking City Council direction on continuation of the charter review process and the aspirational timeline for completing the remaining C/C charter reviews and subsequent review and recommendations for updates to administrative aspects of the C/C advisory system.
For background and context for this item, the City Council should keep in mind the following:
• C/Cs are staff-intensive: While intended to provide advice, recommendations, and assistance to the City Council, administering each C/C in accordance with the Brown Act, researching and preparing agenda reports, and conducting periodic recruitments requires dedicated staff resources;
• Governance Role of C/Cs: The Pacifica Municipal Code (PMC) states in Sec. 2-2.101 “The Council shall establish commissions and committees as desired to assist and advise the Council in the conduct of City business.” Further elaboration about C/Cs’ roles to “assist and advise the Council” is described in the C/C Handbook as follows:
Commission/Committee Role
The primary role of City commission and committees is generally to provide advice, recommendations and assistance to the City Council and to promote increased public input and citizen participation in the determination of City policies and program Pacifica City Council 5
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implementation. It would be impractical and too burdensome for the City Council to review and consider all specific issues related to all program areas of the City, so the Council often relies on commission or committees to guide its decision making.
The specific role of City commission and committees is to review and make recommendations to the City Council on matters within their scope of responsibility as defined in the Pacifica Municipal Code and the Resolution which establishes the commission or committee. Commission and committees are basically a citizens' advisory arm of the City Council, focusing their attention on specific programs of the City, although certain commission and committees may take final actions in certain prescribed areas. More importantly, commission and committees serve as a vehicle to provide public input into City programs and policies in order to broaden public involvement and to streamline the amount of City Council review of these matters.
On specific matters referred to it by the City Council, the commission or committee would normally serve as the initial reviewing body of the City...
Questions for Consideration
In order to help guide the Council’s discussion of process and timeline to continue this undertaking, Council is asked to review the following points/questions for confirmation, consideration and/or input. The process below follows the process previously directed by Council and undertaken with the reviews of the C/C’s charters that have been completed todate.
1. How should the Council identify what should be reviewed and potentially changed for each C/C’s charter? The City Council determines what C/Cs are necessary for advisement in the conduct of City business, and each C/C’s scope of responsibility (although certain Planning Commission functions are prescribed in state law).
Councilmembers, in their C/C liaison roles, may have ideas for how a C/C could better fulfill its advisory role. In addition, C/C members themselves may have their own ideas about how to better advise the Council. Therefore, this charter review process will likely need some sort of input and feedback process between each C/C and the City Council.
This could be structured in several ways, each with different timing impacts:
a. C/C discussion > staff analysis > Council direction > staff prep of final documents and Council approval;
b. Staff analysis > Council discussion > C/C discussion > Council direction > staff prep of final documents and Council approval;
c. Council & C/C joint study session discussion > staff analysis > Council direction > staff prep of final documents and Council approval.
The LAC process followed option 1a; the OSPAC and EDC process followed option 1c.
The City Manager is seeking Council input on which process to undertake for the remaining C/C’s. Note that the Council could select a different process for each C/C, catered to each C/C’s current situation.
2. Does the Council wish to establish a new City Council ad-hoc subcommittee to develop survey questions for each remaining Committee / Commission to facilitate the review and recommendations for charter updates? Alternatively, does the Council want to identify a uniform list of charter-related questions/topics for staff analysis and C/C discussion before Council direction? Identifying a uniform list of questions/topics, such as the ones listed below, could help bring structure and limitations to the work to be done.
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a. While wholesale revisions to C/C’s purpose are not being requested, what focused suggestions to amend the Council-directed scope of responsibility can be made, particularly to align with the City’s Strategic Plan? b. Does the C/C have the correct number of members, considering quorum and/or recruitment challenges (if any) and representation?
c. Are there other challenges consistently encountered with the C/C’s areas of responsibility?
3. Should the review process include staff work related to updating numerous administrative aspects of the C/C advisory system? There are potential improvements to administering the C/C advisory system that could be studied and implemented concurrent with the charter review process. Some of these work items would be more staff intensive than others, but also could help achieve better process efficiencies moving forward. These include:
a. Update the C/C Handbook;
b. Revisit the recruitment timelines and term expirations for C/Cs to increase recruitment efficiencies;
c. Revisit the purpose and structure of Council liaisons to C/Cs; d. Address a process and timeline for annual progress reports from C/Cs and annual C/C workplan approvals by Council;
e. Address allowing virtual C/C meetings (dependent on state law, meeting room/technology, etc.);
f. Clarify training expectations and budget for C/C members (e.g., mandatory ethics and Brown Act training, other professional development)
4. Should the review process continue to be phased with one or two C/Cs at a time and, if so, in what order? Alternatively, are there some C/Cs that may only warrant a limited and quicker review, such as a focused review of the number of members and representation? As described in #1 above, reviewing charters for every C/C is likely to be time consuming. Given the many workplan priorities, undertaking these reviews one or two at a time, or limited reviews, may make the most sense. If the Council agrees with this approach, the City Manager recommends the following preliminary schedule:
• By end of June, 2025: BAC and EPSC charters review;
• By end of December, 2025: PBR and PC charters review.
Consideration of Further Amendments to LAC Charter
Summary of Library Advisory Committee (LAC) Review Process and Charter Update The Library Advisory Committee (LAC) was established by Resolution No. 02-2016 adopted by the City Council on January 11, 2016. The LAC serves in an advisory capacity to staff and their feedback assisted staff in making key recommendations to the City Council regarding the New Pacifica Library Project. The Library Advisory Committee convened its first meeting on July 27, 2016 and met regularly on the second Wednesday of each month at 6:30 PM until January 8, 2020, prior to the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic and had not convened a meeting through the date that staff undertook a review of the LAC charter as directed the City Council’s Work Plan item.
At its inception, the LAC was established as a 14-member committee with membership Pacifica City Council 7
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consisting of two categories: (1) nine members selected by other bodies / stakeholder groups:
the City’s Economic Development Committee, PB&R Commission, Planning Commission, Pacifica Library Foundation, Pacifica Friends of the Library, Pacifica School District, Jefferson Union High School District, Pacifica Chamber of Commerce and a position to be determined from a Citizens Bond Oversight Committee (which would be established if a bond measure is passed for the library construction funding); and (2) up to five at-large community members appointed by Council to represent segments of the community, including families with children, seniors, Sharp Park Area residents, service organizations and environmental organizations.
In the recently adopted 2023-2030 Pacifica Strategic Plan, the City Council identified the Strategy to “Pursue planning and financing for the Library projects” as part of the Goal to “Improve and steward City infrastructure, streets and facilities.” In addition, since 2020, the City has continued work related to the Library projects, with the City Council identified scope of work as:
Continue to inform the community about the advantages of a New Sharp Park Library & Renovated Sanchez Library to gain support for a future bond measure to fund construction of the project. Apply for grant opportunities as feasible.
Expand services at Sanchez Library through installation of a library vending machine.
The duties and purpose of the LAC have been confirmed as the following in Resolution No. 67- 2023 and are recommended in the proposed Resolution with no amendment:
1. Increase project transparency by holding meetings open to the community and in compliance with Brown Act requirements.
2. Assist City staff by providing feedback on various elements of the project such as project priorities, direction, and selection of professional consultants as needed.
3. Facilitate communication between the City and community in various ways including engaging in public outreach to solicit feedback and opinions on the Library Project.
At the August 28, 2023 meeting, City Council appointed seven at-large members to the LAC and directed staff to conduct a further recruitment for up to two additional members targeting youth under the age of 18. Following that recruitment, at the October 23, 2023 City Council meeting, City Council appointed two youth members to the LAC as at-large, voting members each for a one-year term ending October 2024.
Upon term expirations, staff conducted a recruitment for at-large voting members for the two expiring terms and Council appointed two youth members and directed staff to designate two of the nine voting member positions on the LAC for youth under the age of 18.
Recommendations for Membership Amendments to the LAC
Based on direction expressed by City Council during the appointment process taken with respect to the LAC at the August 28, 2023, October 23, 2023 and October 14, 2024 City Council meetings, staff has proposed amendments to the LAC charter as highlighted in the redline version of Exhibit A to the proposed Resolution included as Attachment B. A clean version of the proposed amended charter is attached as Exhibit A in the proposed Resolution. The changes can be summarized as follows:
1. Size of Committee:
Amend the number of voting member positions from a range of 7 to 9 to a total of 9. Of these 9 voting positions, 7 will be for at-large members appointed by Council from a broad cross-section of the community as further described in Exhibit A and 2 will be designated Pacifica City Council 8
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for youth under the age of 18 each for a one-year term to expire in October of each year.
Amend to include additional detail regarding the three to five non-voting ex-officio members to list the five designated groups specified by Council: Pacifica Friends of the Library, Pacifica School District, Jefferson Union High School District, Pacifica Families’ Club, and Seniors In Action.
2. Duties: No amendments have been made to the duties.
3. Length of Terms:
Terms and General Provisions section is proposed to be amended to specify terms for youth members to be one-year terms to expire in October of each year and terms for atlarge members shall be for four-year terms unless otherwise designated at the committee’s inception to create staggered terms.
Council may wish to consider further discussion or direction regarding the designated groups for non-voting ex-officio members. To date, the Pacifica Families Club and Pacifica School District have designated representatives as ex-officio members, but the Pacifica Friends of the Library has occasionally directed a member to attend LAC meetings but has not designated a specified representative to attend regular LAC meetings, and the Jefferson Union High School District and Seniors in Action have not designated a member as the ex-officio representative to LAC.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION:
The City Council may provide direction to staff to specify an alternate process for the continuation of the charter review process for C/C’s. The Council may decline to appoint a new City Council ad-hoc subcommittee related to charter review questions for C/C’s. The City Council may make modifications to the LAC duties, membership, terms, or general provisions as it deems appropriate.
RELATION TO CITY COUNCIL GOALS AND WORK PLAN:
Goal 5 “Broaden Public Communications and Collaboration” – Work Plan Item 5.4.2 “Complete review and update to Council Advisory Committee / Commission Charters” FISCAL IMPACT:
The recommended action has no direct fiscal impact.
ORIGINATED BY:
City Clerk
ATTACHMENT LIST:
Attachment A: Proposed Library Advisory Committee Charter as amended - Clean (PDF) Attachment B: LAC Amended Membership - Youth_REDLINE (PDF) Pacifica City Council 9
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RESOLUTION NO. ____
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PACIFICA RESCINDING RESOLUTION NO. 67-2023 AND AMENDING THE CHARTER OF THE
LIBRARY ADVISORY COMMITTEE
WHEREAS, on November 23, 2015, the City Council directed staff to move forward with several actions toward constructing a new Pacifica Library including creation of a Library Advisory Committee (LAC); and
WHEREAS, on January 11, 2016, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 02-2016 creating the Library Advisory Committee (LAC) and establishing the duties, membership and general provisions of the committee; and
WHEREAS, on June 26, 2023, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 67-2023 rescinding Resolution No. 02-2016 and amending the Charter of the Library Advisory Committee (LAC) including its comprised membership; and WHEREAS, the LAC serves in an advisory capacity to staff and their feedback assists staff in making key recommendations to the City Council regarding the Pacifica Libraries Project; and
WHEREAS, the City Council directed staff to conduct a targeted recruitment for LAC membership to include youth members under the age of 18 and the Council appointed two youth members under the age of 18 to at-large voting members positions on the LAC in October 2023 each to a one-year term; and
WHEREAS, the City Council reviewed the participation by youth under the age of 18 appointed as at-large members of the LAC following one-year of participation at the time of those terms expiring and directed staff to propose amending the membership of the LAC to specifically designate two (2) voting positions for youth under the age of 18; and WHEREAS, no amendments will be made to the LAC purpose and duties as established in Resolution No. 67-2023; and
WHEREAS, the LAC shall be comprised of nine (9) voting members appointed by City Council and three (3) to five (5) non-voting ex-officio members as appointed by stakeholder groups designated by City Council; and
WHEREAS, the LAC will be attended to by the City Manager or designee and a Council Liaison (or designated Council Liaison Alternate) as selected by City Council; and WHEREAS, City Council direction and actions with respect to LAC membership, terms, and general provisions discussed in the process of appointments to the LAC are reflected in the amended provisions in Exhibit A;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council of the City of Pacifica does hereby authorize the change in membership of the Library Advisory Committee (LAC) from a body consisting of 7 to 9 at-large community members and 3 to 5 non-voting ex-officio Pacifica City Council 10 January 27, 2025
members to a body of 9 voting members appointed by City Council, including 2 youth members under the age of 18 and 7 at-large community members from a broad cross-section of the community, and 3 to 5 non-voting ex-officio members and to specify membership terms as provided in Exhibit A.
• • • • •
PASSED AND ADOPTED at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Pacifica, California, held on the 27th day of January, 2025, by the following vote:
AYES, Councilmembers:
NOES, Councilmembers:
ABSENT, Councilmembers:
ABSTAIN, Councilmembers:
_________________________________
Sue Beckmeyer, Mayor
ATTEST: APPROVED AS TO FORM:
______________________________ _________________________________ Sarah Coffey, City Clerk Michelle Kenyon, City Attorney Pacifica City Council 11 January 27, 2025
EXHIBIT A