RESOLUTION NO.
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PASADENA
ADOPTING A REMOTE ACCESS DISRUPTION POLICY FOR CITY
COUNCIL MEETINGS IN COMPLIANCE WITH SENATE BILL 707 AND GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 54953.4
WHEREAS, the City of Pasadena City Council conducts meetings in accordance with the Ralph M. Brown Act (Government Code § 54950, etseq.) to ensure transparency and public participation in local government; and WHEREAS, the City provides remote public participation through a two-way audiovisual platform to enhance accessibility and promote civic engagement; and WHEREAS, the City utilizes Zoom as its two-way audiovisual platform; and WHEREAS, Senate Bill 707 (Durazo) requires "eligible legislative bodies," which includes the City of Pasadena, that provide remote participation to adopt procedures to address technological disruptions that prevent remote public access to public meetings; and
WHEREAS, a remote access disruption may prevent members of the public from attending, observing, or participating in City Council meetings remotely; and WHEREAS, the City Council desires to establish uniform procedures to ensure compliance with state law and to maintain transparency and public access in the event of such disruptions; and
WHEREAS, the proposed "Remote Access Disruption Policy" establishes procedures for identifying disruptions, calling a recess, making good faith restoration efforts, documenting actions taken, and determining whether to continue or adjourn a meeting; and
WHEREAS, adoption of the Remote Access Disruption Policy will ensure the City remains compliant with state law while maintaining orderly and accessible public meetings.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PASADENA RESOLVES AS FOLLOWS:
1. The City Council hereby adopts the Remote Access Disruption Policy for City Council meetings, attached hereto as Exhibit A ("Policy"). 1 XOVIC3560D1R4D
2. City staff is directed to implement the Policy and ensure it is publicly available on the City's website and through the City Council's agenda webpage.
3. The Policy is adopted in compliance with Government Code Section 54953.4(b)(1)(A) and (B) and shall guide City Council meeting procedures when remote access disruptions occur.
Adopted at the regular meeting of the City Council on the 2026 by the following vote:
day of August,
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
ABSTAIN:
Approved as to form:
Mark Jomsky
City Clerk
c.
02^
\.
'O'Connell
Assistant City Attorney
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TECHNOLOGY DISRUPTION POLICY FOR CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS
1.Purpose
As of July 1,2026, all open and public meetings ("Meeting") of the City of Pasadena City Council ("City Council") held pursuant to the Ralph M. Brown Act (codified at Government Code § 54950, etseq.; "Brown Act") shall include an opportunity for members of the public to attend such meetings either through a Two-Way Telephonic Service or a Two-Way Audiovisual Platform ("Platform"). The City of Pasadena utilizes a Platform (such as Zoom) for its City Council meetings.
The purpose of this Remote Access Disruption Policy ("Policy") is to establish procedures for the City Council to follow in the event there is a disruption to its Two- Way Audiovisual Platform that prevents members of the public from attending, observing or otherwise participating in the Meeting through that internet-based platform.
This Policy is adopted in compliance with California Senate Bill 707 (Durazo) and the Brown Act, specifically Government Code Section 54953.4(b)(1).
2. Definitions
For purposes of this Policy, the following definitions apply:
• Meeting: A meeting held by the City Council pursuant to Brown Act. • Remote Access Disruption: A failure or interruption of the City's chosen Two-Way Audiovisual Platform that prevents the public from attending, observing, and/or providing public comment through the remote access options identified on the City Council Meeting agenda.
• Two-Way Audiovisual Platform or Platform: An online meeting platform that provides members of the public with the ability to participate in a Meeting of the City Council via an interactive video conference option.
3. Applicability
This Policy applies to all regular, special, and adjourned Meetings of the City Council except for those Meetings listed in Government Code Section 54953.4(b)(1)(A)(i)(tl)(ia), (ib), (1c), (id) and (ie).
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4. Notice of Remote Access
For each City Council Meeting that is subject to this Policy, the Meeting agenda shall clearly identify:
A. The access option available to members of the public to participate remotely (Two-Way Audiovisual Platform);
B. Instructions for accessing the Meeting and providing public comment both in- person and remotely; and
C. Contact information for reporting technical difficulties during the Meeting.
5. Procedures for Technology Disruptions
5.1 Identification of Disruption
If City staff or members of the City Council become aware that a Remote Access Meeting Disruption is occurring, such person shall notify the Mayor or City Clerk that the Platform has been disrupted preventing those members of the public joining the Meeting remotely from accessing or participating in the Meeting. The Mayor shall then call a recess of the Meeting to allow City staff an opportunity to evaluate and address the technical disruption.
5.2 Calling a Recess
A, The Mayor shall recess the Meeting and make an announcement that (i) there is a Remote Access Disruption, or other technical issue, that has rendered the Platform non-operational, preventing the public from participating in the Meeting remotely; (ii) a recess will be called in order to evaluate and restore remote access services; and (iii) pursuant to the Brown Act, the recess may last for up to one hour or until remote access to the Meeting is restored, whichever occurs first.
B. The City Clerk shall record the time when the recess is called by the Mayor.
C. During the recess, the City Council may meet in closed session to hear any closed session items listed in the closed session agenda for that Meeting.
5.3 Good Faith Restoration Efforts
A. During the recess, City staff shall make good faith efforts to restore remote meeting access. This includes but is not limited to contacting technical support, working with Pasadena Media, troubleshooting any issues impacting connectivity, switching to backup systems, etc.
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B. If the City is successful in restoring service to the Platform within one hour of when the recess was called, the City Clerk shall inform the Mayor that the matter has been resolved, and the Meeting can be reconvened.
C. If the City is not successful in restoring remote meeting access after one hour of when the recess was called, the City Clerk shall inform the Mayor that after making good faith efforts to restore service to the Platform, City staff was unable to fix the issue. The City staff shall distribute to the Mayor and City Council a written description of the efforts made to restore service, which will be read into the record of the Meeting by the City Clerk.
5.4 Reconvening the Meeting if the Technology Disruption was Resolved If service to the Platform is restored within one hour of when the recess was called, the Mayor shall reconvene the Meeting and the Meeting will resume.
5.5 Reconvening the Meeting if the Technology Disruption was not Restored If service to the Platform was not successfully restored and more than one hour has passed, the Mayor shall reconvene the Meeting and inform the City Council and public that the Remote Access Disruption was not resolved within one hour of the start of the recess period. Thereafter, the City Council may take one of the following actions:
A. A member of the City Council may make a motion to adopt a finding that pursuant to its Remote Access Disruption Policy, (i) good faith efforts to restore remote meeting access were made and a description of those efforts were recited into the Meeting record; and (ii) that the public interest in continuing the in-person meeting outweighs the public interest in providing remote public meeting access. The Mayor shall ask for a second to the motion, and if a second is received, the City Clerk shall conduct a roll call vote to accept the finding and resume the Meeting. If the motion is passed by five affirmative votes of the City Council, the Meeting may resume; or B. The City Council may adjourn the Meeting to a future date and time, which subsequent Meeting shall be noticed in accordance with the Brown Act. 3 XAKOC50JOD3K3U
6. City Staff Responsibilities
The City staff shall be responsible for:
A. Monitoring the functionality of the Platform during Meetings; B. Maintaining current technical support and backup access information; C. Coordinating public communications related to Meeting access issues; D. Ensuring this Policy is publicly available on the City's website; and E. Ensuring that the Meeting minutes document the nature of the disruption; the duration of the recess; a description of the efforts made to restore service; and the decisions made regarding continuation or adjournment of the Meeting.
7. Public Availability
This Policy shall be posted on the City of Pasadena City Council Agendas & Minutes webpage, and is available by emailing [email protected].
8. Review and Updates
This Policy shall be reviewed periodically and updated as necessary to reflect changes in law, technology, or City procedures.
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