City Council
Staff Report
From: City Clerk
Report Type: ACTION ITEMS
Lead Department: City Clerk
Meeting Date: April 20, 2026
Report #:2604-6232
TITLE
Adoption of Recommendations by the Policy & Services Committee Implementing Changes to Meeting Procedures Related to Teleconferencing, Remote Public Participation, Translation and Interpretation Assistance, and Expanded Public Outreach; CEQA Status – Not a Project.
RECOMMENDATION
The Policy & Services Committee recommends the City Council:
1. Decline the use of expanded alternative teleconferencing for Boards, Commissions, and Committees (BCCs),
2. Receive an update on changes to remote public participation and provide direction on the format for general public comment for City Council and Council Committee meetings,
3. Approve the Two-Way Remote Public Access Disruption Policy (Attachment A),
4. Approve the following practices as reasonable assistance for third party translation and interpretation services, and
a. Arrange a space for interpreters at the meeting location, upon written request to the City Clerk at least 24 hours before the meeting,
b. Provide public speakers using interpretation extra time. Staff recommends providing twice as much time for individuals using interpretation, or an amount of time determined by the presiding officer,
c. Allow the public to use their own devices to access translation or interpretation devices, and
d. Loan city devices to the public to access translation or interpretation services upon written request to the City Clerk at least 24 hours before the meeting.
5. Direct the City Clerk to implement the following outreach practices a. Share information about agenda notification newsletters with community groups and organizations such as neighborhood associations, non-English news media, service organizations,
b. Post informational resources in the King’s Plaza and Council Chambers posting board and other public-facing City facilities with QR codes linking to the Agendas
webpage, newsletter sign-up page, meeting participation guide, and translation services webpage, and
c. Translate the Meeting Participation Guide 1 into the two most commonly spoken non-English languages as reported by the American Community Survey.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
In 2025, the California State Legislature adopted SB 707, which amended the Brown Act to modernize remote participation and expand public access to meetings. This report provides an overview of SB 707 requirements, identifies areas where the City is already compliant, and outlines recommended policy and operational updates where changes are required.
The Policy & Services Committee (P&S) unanimously recommended not authorizing expanded alternative teleconferencing for BCCs, while supporting staff recommendations related to translation, outreach, and related provisions. 2 Because SB 707 requires 3this report is not agendized on consent .
The primary policy considerations before the City Council include whether to authorize expanded alternative teleconferencing for BCCs, how to implement remote public comment requirements, and adoption of policies and practices related to meeting disruptions, translation, and outreach.
BACKGROUND
The enactment of SB 707 brought notable changes to the Brown Act, the law that ensures public access and participation in local legislative body meetings. The bill is intended to modernize public meetings in light of newer technology and expand public participation and engagement.
The updates concern expanded BCC teleconferencing, remote public participation, third-party translation assistance, and public outreach. Certain provisions only affect the City Council’s meetings, while others apply to all Brown Act bodies. Some requirements went into effect on January 1, 2026, but others are not operative until July 1, 2026 to give agencies time to plan implementation.
The table below summarizes SB 707’s key updates and P&S’s implementation recommendations. 1 City of Palo Alto Meeting Participation Guide: https://www.paloalto.gov/files/assets/public/v/1/city-clerk/city- charterprocedures/2025-meeting-participation-guide.pdf
2 Policy & Services Committee, February 10, 2026 Action Minutes:
https://recordsportal.paloalto.gov/WebLink/DocView.aspx?id=85416&dbid=0&repo=PaloAlto Topic Summary
Applicable
Meeting
Bodies
Effective
Date
BCC Expanded
Alternative
Teleconferencing
Council could authorize BCCs to meet fully virtually
for up to six months at a time. The P&S Committee
did not recommend authorizing this form of
teleconferencing.
BCCs 1/1/26
Remote Public
Participation and
Public Comment
SB 707 requires the City Council provide a two-way
audiovisual or telephonic platform. The City’s use
of Zoom for City Council, Council Committees, and
BCCs exceeds this requirement. The City Council
must update its practices to allow for remote
general public comment by 7/1/26. Staff
recommends allowing remote general public
comment for Council Committees to maintain
consistency across meeting bodies. P&S directed
staff to evaluate dividing general public comment
into two sections. In-person comments will be
heard at the beginning of the meeting and remote
comments will be heard at the end of the meeting.
City
Council
7/1/26
Disruption of
Remote Public
Access Policy
The City Council must recess and attempt to
restore remote access if Zoom is disrupted during
a meeting. The City Council must adopt a
disruption policy describing these procedures by
7/1/26. P&S recommended adoption of the policy
(Attachment A).
City
Council
7/1/26
Third-Party
Translation and
Interpretation
Assistance
SB 707 requires the City Council to provide
reasonable assistance to individuals receiving
third-party translation and/or interpretation at
meetings. It does not require the City to provide
translation and/or interpretation services. P&S
recommended arranging space for interpretation
to occur, allotting extra public comment time for
individuals using interpretation, allowing
individuals to use their own devices for
interpretation and loaning City devices for
translation upon advance request.
City
Council
7/1/26
Outreach Efforts SB 707 requires cities to make reasonable efforts to encourage participation from groups that
traditionally do not engage in public meetings.
P&S recommends continuing existing outreach
practices and enhancing transparency and
accessibility by clarifying how community
City
Council
7/1/26
members may request language assistance and
participate remotely, consistent with SB 707’s
intent to broaden civic engagement.
ANALYSIS
The following section details Brown Act changes brought by SB 707 that will affect the City and staff’s recommended implementations. The City’s current practices already satisfy or surpass some of SB 707’s requirements (detailed in Attachment B), but others will require a change in practice or policy.
Expanded Alternative Teleconferencing for Eligible Subsidiary Bodies (effective January 1, 2026) Following COVID-19, the State Legislature amended the Brown Act to allow members of legislative bodies to participate in meetings remotely under specific circumstances (i.e. “just cause” or “emergency circumstances”) with fewer noticing requirements than traditional Brown Act teleconferencing. This form of teleconferencing, which does not require remote attendance locations to be published on the agenda or accessible to the public, is referred to as alternative teleconferencing. The City Council incorporated SB 707’s changes, detailed in Attachment B, to alternative teleconferencing in its most recent Procedures and Protocol Handbook update.7 SB 707 allows the City Council to authorize an additional form of remote participation, called expanded alternative teleconferencing, for eligible subsidiary bodies, a category that includes the City’s BCCs. Commissioners are permitted to use alternative teleconferencing regardless of the City Council’s decision regarding expanded alternative teleconferencing. Council Committees are not eligible because SB 707 does not permit Councilmembers to use expanded alternative teleconferencing. Expanded alternative teleconferencing would allow BCC members to attend remotely without opening their location to the public and without just cause, subject to the minimum requirements listed below. Unlike alternative teleconferencing, expanded alternative teleconferencing does not require a quorum to attend from a singular physical location and therefore could allow a fully virtual meeting. This provision is optional and requires affirmative Council action to implement.
The City Council may authorize expanded alternative teleconferencing for up to six months and every six months thereafter. To authorize expanded alternative teleconferencing, the City Council must take formal action approving the expanded use of alternative teleconferencing for a period of up to six months, and include findings that Council has:
Considered the circumstances of the subsidiary body,
Determined that teleconferencing would enhance public access, Ensured publication of remote and physical access and comment options, and 7 City Council, February 9, 2025, Agenda Item #12; Staff Report # 2601-5874 https://recordsportal.paloalto.gov/WebLink/DocView.aspx?id=85860 Determined that teleconferencing would promote attraction, retention, and diversity of eligible board or commission members.
Meetings held via expanded alternative teleconferencing must meet the requirements below.
The City Council may impose additional requirements but may not remove requirements. The subsidiary body must provide a staffed physical meeting location where the agenda is posted and members of the body or public may attend and participate in-person, Elected officials may not use this section to appear remotely, and Remote members must appear visibly on camera, with limited exceptions.
While expanded alternative teleconferencing may improve flexibility and accessibility for BCC members, staff notes that in-person meetings provide important benefits that support the City’s public engagement goals. Face-to-face meetings facilitate stronger communication between Commissioners, staff, and community members, promote relationship-building, and allow for more dynamic public dialogue.
Further, a significant expansion of alternative teleconferencing presents compliance and administrative challenges. The City has eight BCCs addressing diverse subject areas ranging from stormwater management to arts and culture. These bodies are supported by staff from multiple departments, many of whom support BCC meetings infrequently. The Brown Act’s teleconferencing requirements are complex, and expanded alternative teleconferencing adds additional procedural obligations that increase the risk of inadvertent non-compliance.
The P&S Committee did not recommend authorizing expanded alternative teleconferencing for BCCs. If the City Council wishes to authorize expanded alternative teleconferencing, staff recommends that it be implemented thoughtfully and incrementally, with clear, administrable rules and defined evaluation criteria. Staff suggests beginning with a modest pilot approach. For example, Council could authorize one specific Board or Commission to conduct a limited number of fully virtual meetings within a six-month period, allowing staff and the body to evaluate impacts on public participation, meeting quality, and administrative workload before considering broader implementation. Implementation of expanded teleconferencing may require additional staff training and coordination across departments, particularly for BCCs supported by decentralized staff.
Remote Public Participation and Public Comment (effective July 1, 2026) SB 707 mandates City Council meetings include an option for remote public participation and accept remote public comment via a two-way telephonic or audiovisual platform. Palo Alto already uses Zoom for its City Council, Council Committee and BCC meetings, which surpasses the new requirements. However, the City Council will have to adjust its general public comment practices. The City Council currently accepts general public comment for non-agendized items only in-person and accepts public comment on agendized items in-person and remotely. The City Council must allow remote general public comment beginning on July 1, 2026. This requirement does not apply to BCCs or Council Committees. Although not mandated by SB 707, staff recommends also accepting remote general public comment at Council Committee meetings to maintain consistency across City Council meeting bodies. Staff will communicate the change to the public prior to the effective date and update agenda materials and internal practices to comply with this provision.
P&S directed staff to explore splitting general public comment into an in-person portion at the start of meetings and a remote portion at the end of meetings. The City Council may implement this format for general public comment if it chooses. The City Council splits general public comment into two sections based on whether the speaker is in person or virtual. In-person speakers will be heard at the beginning of the meeting (subject to the existing 30-minute cap, after which remaining speakers will be heard at the end of the meeting) and virtual speakers will be heard along with any additional in-person speakers at the end. Staff is also seeking the City Council’s direction on general public comment for Council Committee meetings. This approach would accommodate an expected increase in general public comment while managing meeting capacity.
Policy on Disruption of Remote Public Access (effective July 1, 2026) SB 707 requires the City Council to take certain actions if remote public access to meetings is disrupted and adopt a policy describing these procedures. This requirement only concerns disruptions to Zoom, not additional services that allow only passive viewing, such as a YouTube livestream or local television broadcast. The disruption requirements do not apply to Council Committees or BCC meetings. The remote public access disruption policy must meet the following requirements, which are also depicted in the flowchart below. If a disruption prevents public participation through Zoom, City Council shall recess open session for at least one hour and attempt in good faith to restore service or adjourn the meeting,
City Council may meet in an agendized closed session during the recess, Open session may not reconvene until at least one hour has passed or service is restored, whichever comes first, and
If service is not restored, City Council may resume after adopting, by roll call vote, a finding that good faith efforts were made to restore service and that the public interest in continuing the meeting outweighs the public interest in remote access.
Staff from the City Clerk, City Attorney, and IT departments collaborated on the attached draft policy (Attachment A). The draft policy details the good faith efforts staff shall make to restore service, which may include:
Troubleshooting platform or teleconferencing software, Resetting or replacing audiovisual equipment,
Attempting alternative connection methods,
Contacting necessary support staff or service providers, and/or Switching to back-up equipment or platforms, if available.
The Policy & Services Committee recommended the City Council approve the attached disruption policy.
Third-Party Translation and Interpretation Assistance (effective July 1, 2026) As revised, the Brown Act requires the City Council to reasonably assist community members providing or receiving translation and interpretation services from third parties at City Council meetings. These requirements do not apply to Council Committees or BCCs. While SB 707 requires some jurisdictions to translate their agendas, agenda translation is not required in Palo Alto at this time.
The City must make available to the public a physical posting space where members of the public may post their own translations of the City Council’s agendas. The City will provide notice that these translations are provided by third parties, and that the City cannot verify the content or accuracy of publicly provided agenda translations. Staff recommends authorizing the City Clerk to designate an appropriate posting board for this purpose. Staff currently recommends making the King Plaza posting board available for translated agendas and will post instructions and guidelines for how the public may utilize the space.
Additionally, the City must reasonably assist members of the public wishing to receive translation or interpretation services from a third-party during a City Council meeting, provided the translation does not disrupt the public meeting. This provision does not require the City Council to provide the services. P&S recommends the City adopt the following practices as reasonable assistance:
Arrange a space for interpreters at the meeting location, upon written request to the City Clerk at least 24 hours before the meeting,
Provide public commenters using interpretation extra time. Staff recommends providing twice as much public comment time for individuals using interpreters, or an amount of time determined by the presiding officer,
Allow the public to use their own devices to access translation or interpretation services, and
Loan City devices to the public to access translation or interpretation services upon request. Requests for City devices must be made in writing to the City Clerk at least 24 hours before the meeting. Information on borrowing City devices may be found on the City Clerk’s Translation Services webpage9.
Outreach to Underrepresented Groups (effective July 1, 2026) SB 707 requires the City to make “reasonable efforts,” as determined by the City Council, to invite groups who “do not traditionally participate in public meetings. 10” SB 707 provides examples of such groups, including media organizations, civil rights groups, and neighborhood organizations, including those that serve non-English-speaking communities.
The City prioritizes public engagement in public meetings and already engages in the following practices to promote outreach and access:
Publishes City Council agenda and agenda packet 11 days before meeting, rather than the minimum required 72 hours for regular meetings and 24 hours for special meetings, 9 City of Palo Alto Translation Services: https://www.paloalto.gov/Departments/City-Clerk/City-Meeting- Groups/Translation-Services
10 California Gov. Code Section 54953.4:
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=GOV§ionNum=54953.4. Provides physical agenda packets for public review at Mitchell Park and Rinconada libraries, in addition to posting agendas in King’s Plaza (accessible 24/7) and in Council Chambers,
Displays prominent link on city homepage to webpage with meeting schedule and agenda materials,
Distributes a weekly newsletter of published agendas and meetings sent to over 1,500 people and prominently displays newsletter sign-up link on agenda website, Maintains a City website explaining the format of public meetings and how the public may participate,
Publishes all City Council and Council Committee agendas, rather than only special meetings, in Palo Alto Weekly and Daily Post,
Enables automatic translation of the City website into Spanish or simplified Chinese, Enables automatic translation of HTML agendas for all meeting bodies into over 200 languages,
Offers free access to Wordly, a real-time audio and text translation service supporting over 50 languages, upon written request to the City Clerk at least 24 hours before the meeting. The public may use own device or borrow a City device to receive verbal and/or written interpretation. Instructions for requesting and using Wordly service are available on the City Clerk’s website, and
Livestreams public meetings on YouTube and broadcasts on local cable television.
Given the priorities of SB 707, staff recommends continuing the above efforts, taking the following additional actions, and continually updating and improving practices based on effectiveness:
Share information about agenda notification newsletters with community groups and organizations such as neighborhood associations, non-English news media, service organizations,
Post informational resources in the King’s Plaza and Council Chambers posting board and other public-facing City facilities with QR codes linking to the Agendas webpage, newsletter sign-up page, meeting participation guide, and translation services webpage, and
Translate the Meeting Participation Guide 13 into the two commonly spoken non-English languages as reported by the American Community Survey.
These efforts are consistent with the City’s broader goals of transparency, accessibility, and inclusive civic engagement.
13 City of Palo Alto Meeting Participation Guide: https://www.paloalto.gov/files/assets/public/v/1/city-clerk/city- charterprocedures/2025-meeting-participation-guide.pdf
FISCAL/RESOURCE IMPACT
The City Clerk’s Office has sufficient resources in its existing budget to implement the staff recommendations. Additional resources may be required depending on the City Council’s recommendations regarding expanded alternative teleconferencing, translation, and outreach.
STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
Staff in the City Clerk’s, City Attorney, and IT departments collaborated on the recommended implementation of SB 707. The City Clerk’s Office has also been in touch with BCC members and staff regarding Brown Act changes applicable to their bodies. P&S discussed updates to the Brown Act at its public meeting on February 10, 2026.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The proposed City Council action is not a project under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), as it involves organizational and administrative activities (CEQA Guidelines, Section 15378(b)(2).
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A: Two-Way Remote Public Access Disruption Policy Attachment B: City Practices Already in Alignment with SB 707 APPROVED BY:
Mahealani Ah Yun, City Clerk