CITY OF SEBASTOPOL
CITY COUNCIL
AGENDA ITEM REPORT
Meeting February 6, 2024 (This item was continued from the December 19, 2023 City Council Meeting and Contains Updated Information)
To: Honorable City Councilmembers
From: Agenda Review Committee
City Clerk
Subject: Conducting of City Meeting Format ( In person/zoom or in person) Recommendation: That the City Council Consider Retention of In Person/Virtual Meeting Format (Zoom) for City Meetings, or Consider Returning to In Person City Meetings Only Funding: Currently Budgeted: ☐ Yes ☐ No Not Applicable Account Code: N/A
INTRODUCTION/PURPOSE:
The item is to request Council consider:
1. Retaining in person and zoom virtual format meetings with live public comment (status quo);
2. Conduct in person/virtual meetings for viewing only (No virtual public comment);
3. Return to in person only meetings.
SUMMARY: Currently, the City of Sebastopol City Council, Planning Commission, Design Review Board, and Public Arts and Climate Action Committees, as well as the Budget Committee conduct in person and virtual meeting format (zoom). This agenda item was originally scheduled for December 19, 2023 but was continued due to the length of the City Council meeting. In person/Virtual meetings allows an additional format for public participation; however, in response to recent zoom bombings, as well as comments that were considered vulgar or derogatory at the December 5, 2023 City Council meeting, the Agenda Review Committee requested review of the current meeting format for Council consideration. The Committee is bringing this item forward for Council consideration of 1) retaining in person and zoom virtual format meetings with live public comment (status quo); 2) conduct in person/virtual meetings for viewing only; or 3) return to in person only meetings.
BACKGROUND
As of March 2020, the City of Sebastopol conducted virtual meetings only in response to the COVID 19 pandemic and once it was safe to do so, moved the meetings to an in person/virtual format to allow members of the public to attend meetings in person or have the option of attending remotely through the use of Zoom.
Currently the City utilizes AB 2449 which permits a non-majority number of legislative body members to utilize teleconferencing participation for meetings without complying with the traditional Brown Act requirements. To use the teleconferencing rules established under AB 2449, a public agency must comply with the following meeting requirements:
1) A quorum of the members of the agency’s legislative body must participate in person from a singular physical location identified on the agenda;
Agenda Item Number: 15 Agenda Item Number: 15
City Council Meeting Packet of: February 6, 2024
2) The legislative body must provide either (i) a two-way audiovisual platform, such as Zoom, which allows the meeting to be viewed and heard from a remote location, or (ii) a two-way telephonic service and a live webcasting of the meeting, this requirement may be satisfied with any combination of platforms that allows the meeting to be viewed and heard from a remote location;
3) The agenda must give notice of the means by which members of the public may access the meeting and offer public comment; and
4) The meeting must be paused (and no action may be taken), if the broadcasting platform, either audio or visual, is interrupted.
If a member of a legislative body wishes to participate remotely under the new procedures, all of the following requirements, (1) through (4), below, must apply:
1) The request to remotely participate must be on the basis of a circumstance that qualifies as a “just cause” or “emergency” circumstance within the meaning of AB 2449:
(i) Just Cause Circumstance: At the earliest opportunity possible (including at the start of a regular meeting), the requesting member must notify the legislative body that he/she has a “just cause” reason for participating remotely. The request must generally describe the specific circumstances that prevent in person participation.
Under AB 2449, “just cause” is specifically defined to mean any of the following circumstances:
a. A childcare or caregiving need of a child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, spouse, or domestic partner that requires them to participate remotely;
b. A contagious illness that prevents a member from attending in person; c. A need related to certain statutorily defined forms of physical or mental disability; or d. Travel while on official business of the public agency or for another state or local agency.
Under AB 2449, members are limited to a maximum of two (2) times per calendar year to invoke the “just cause” exception to in-person participation.
(ii) Emergency Circumstance: An “emergency circumstance” is defined to mean a “physical or family medical emergency that prevents a member from attending a meeting in person.” To invoke the “emergency circumstance” exception, the requesting member, as soon as possible, must request that the legislative body allow him/her to participate remotely due to some specified “emergency circumstance.” In turn, the member’s legislative body must take action to approve the request at the earliest opportunity. The legislative body shall also request a general description (not exceeding 20 words) that describes the circumstances relating to the requesting members “emergency.” The requesting member is not, however, required to disclose any medical diagnosis or disability, or any personal medical information that is already exempt under existing law. The member must also make a separate request for each meeting in which he/she seeks to participate remotely under the “emergency” exception.
Participation via teleconference under the “emergency circumstance” exception does not count toward the twomeeting limitation applicable to the “just cause” exception.
Agenda Item Number: 15 Agenda Item Number: 15
City Council Meeting Packet of: February 6, 2024
2) The member must publicly disclose at the meeting before any action is taken, whether any other individuals 18 years of age or older are present in the room at the remote location with the member, and the general nature of the member’s relationship with any such individuals. 3) The member must participate through both audio and visual technology. 4) A member’s remote participation may not exceed (i) three consecutive months, or (ii) 20% of a legislative body’s regular meetings within a single calendar year. Also, if the legislative body regularly meets fewer than 10 times per calendar year, a member’s participation from a remote location cannot be for more than two meetings total.
DISCUSSION:
The public comment period is an essential part of local government meetings. The public comment section of the agenda provides the public with an opportunity to address the Council (or any City Commisison, Board or Committee), on any item that is within the jurisdiction of the City and which does not appear on the agenda. The Brown Act also provides that the public must be allowed to speak on a specific item of business before or during the legislative body’s consideration of it. At the December 5, 2023 City Council meeting, as well as at various other city meetings throughout the County and the State, the Council and public endured “Zoom bombings” which disrupted the public comments portion of the Council agenda or agenda item. These zoom bombings contained what could be termed as vulgar comments and foul language. At this meeting, the Mayor and City staff muted those individuals but not until such time that some of the offensive comments were made in public.
As noted not only with Sebastopol but with many other cities, zoom bombing is unfortunately progressively getting worse and is becoming more common for many California cities to grapple with this surge emanating from participation by virtual remote attendance at City meetings. For the past few months, cities up and down the Bay Area, as well as State-wide, have been targeted during public meetings by online speakers, some who initially appear to be average citizens commenting on city business, who instead pivot to slur-filled rants or vulgar speech.
The City values public participation and the primary goal of any of our public meetings is to encourage participation in our local governance, provide a time and process for public to submit written and oral comments, and also ensure preservation of free speech. The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution provides protection to and opportunity for free speech in public forums. The City public meetings are considered a “limited public forum” where the city has protocols in place for public comment. The Council protocols encourage members of the public who have an interest in local government to be able to speak their minds about what’s happening and to present ideas of ways to do things better in a safe, non-confrontational or abusive environment whether by oral public comment or written comments. Sebastopol is an inclusive City, values the input of the community, but also has a responsibility to provide a format to those members of the Council, staff, and members of the general public who may be greatly affected by the recent comments in public comment.
With the recent comments and disruption at the December City Council Meeting, the City is considering the future format of City meetings. This ranges from remaining status quo with in person/virtual format and allowing the continuation of live remote public comment; maintain in person/virtual format but limit online access to viewing only; or return to in person meetings only.
The City provides various ways for the public to participate in public meetings and staff is seeking direction on what methods the City Council would like to continue to offer. Currently the City utilizes the following process for public comments:
• Written public comment
Agenda Item Number: 15 Agenda Item Number: 15
City Council Meeting Packet of: February 6, 2024
• Public Comment in Person at City Meetings
• Public Comment through use of Zoom virtual format
• Public Comments submitted verbally to City staff either in person or over the phone. If a member of the public wants to provide public comment over the phone to a city staff member, the city staff member will inform the caller that they have two minutes, similar as if there were in person or on zoom for public comment. For lengthier comments, City staff encourages members of the public to send emails to [email protected] for submission of detailed public comments that are distributed to the City Council, made a part of the public record, and posted to the city website.
Regardless of whether the meetings are in person or a combination of in person/and virtual format, the City meetings will continue to be streamed utilizing Live Stream for viewing purposes only. City staff is also looking into streaming the meetings with use of Facebook Live and/or You Tube.
Another consideration for tonight’s item is the fiscal emergency declaration that was recently adopted by the City Council. As the Council is aware, the City utilizes the Sebastopol Cultural Community Center staff, as well as an outside vendor, PCA, to:
• Set up the City Meetings to include Audio/Visual
• Zoom Set Up and Controls and Submission of Codes to Closed Captioning • Live streaming Meetings through Live Stream and/or You Tube • Posting of Videos of Meetings at the Conclusion of the Meeting • Editing Videos of Meetings if needed (at an additional cost); This is needed when the meetings are zoom bombed and the meeting has to be edited to remove the vulgar and offensive material. • Take down and storage of audio/visual equipment
Recently, the City has encountered issues with technical difficulties with the zoom component of the meetings, to include restarting of computers/lack of sound issues/garbled or distorted voices and loss of connection with Live Stream, etc. Staff has met with the current vendors to address these technical issues; has met with the current vendors to discuss issues, and is reviewing use of existing staff to be trained in the technical components of the meeting to potentially reduce the need for outside use of vendors. IT would still be required to edit meeting videos. If a meeting was zoom bombed or hate speech or vulgar language was on the video for that meeting, the video would need to be edited to remove that portion of the meeting prior to posting to the city website.
Returning to in person only meetings and eliminating Zoom from the process would solve the current technical issues, but would also remove the ability for members of the public to participate via virtual format.
AB 2449: Use of in person/virtual format would still allow the use of AB 2449. If a Councilmember has requested to utilize AB 2449, the City would need to provide the mechanism for members of the public to be allowed to provide public comment through Zoom Online virtual format if a Councilmember is participating remotely pursuant to the provisions of Assembly Bill 2449. The City is currently utilizes AB 2449 with in person/virtual format.
Traditional Brown Act requirements for in person meetings: Teleconferencing may be used for all purposes during any meeting.
· At least a quorum of the city council must participate from teleconferencing locations within the city’s jurisdiction.
· Each teleconference location must be identified in the notice and agenda of the meeting. · Agendas must be posted at each teleconference location. · Each location must be accessible to the public.
Agenda Item Number: 15 Agenda Item Number: 15
City Council Meeting Packet of: February 6, 2024
· The agenda must provide the opportunity for the public to address the legislative body directly at each teleconference location.
· All votes must be by rollcall
Removal of the zoom aspect of the meeting could result in the elimination of one staff person from the IT vendor who currently conducts the work needed in the background for Zoom Council meetings. This is a potential savings of approximately $20,000 (this amount is dependent upon number of hours worked for each Council meeting). If the Council chose to return to the in-person format, the Council could approve use of zoom for consultants only to help keep costs to a minimum. An additional vendor employee would not be needed for that type of format and that function would fall to the one IT vendor who would be responsible for the set up for the presentation by a consultant if needed.
City staff contacted local cities for their current format. The results are listed below:
City In
person
only
Both in
person and
Virtual
Public
Par�cipa�on
In person only and Public Viewing Only Submission of Public Comment Cloverdale X U�lizes Live Stream for viewing purposes. In person or writen.
Cota� X
We offer inperson and
Zoom
par�cipa�on
via Zoom
webinars
The Mayor calls for public comment in
the chamber first, followed by public
comment via Zoom.
Healdsburg X Members of the public may observe the mee�ng on Zoom Webinar or via the web stream on the
City website or Facebook.
Members of the public may submit
public comment in person
Petaluma X To be reevaluated in
the new
year if we
go back to
hybrid
public
comments.
X Yes, the public may observe virtually but not
provide public comment at this �me.
How to Observe and/or Par�cipate and
Provide Public Comment at a Mee�ng
Atend In-Person: Petaluma City Council
Chamber located at 11 English Street,
Petaluma, CA. Please fill out a speaker
card for each item you wish to speak
on, and place it in the speaker card box
next to the City Clerk.
At this �me, the City is temporarily
suspending virtual par�cipa�on by
Zoom at Council mee�ngs and will reevaluate at a future date.
Observe Virtually via Zoom
Watch on TV: Comcast channel 28, UVerse channel 099
Submit writen public comment: e-mail
comments to
[email protected] or submit
your comment online through the
agenda portal. Comments that are
received at least two hours prior to the
mee�ng will be distributed to the
Mayor and City Councilmembers and
placed on the City's website as part of
the agenda packet for the mee�ng.
Agenda Item Number: 15 Agenda Item Number: 15
City Council Meeting Packet of: February 6, 2024
Comments received a�er the cutoff
�me will be posted online and made
part of the record the next business
day.
Rohnert
Park
X Members of the public may observe the mee�ng
on this page, Cable Channel 26, or on our YouTube
channel at
htps://www.youtube.com/CityofRohnertPark.
Members of the Public can provide live
public comment at the mee�ng.
Comments are limited to three minutes
per appearance with a maximum
allowance of 30 minutes alloted per
comment period, subject to
modifica�on by the City Council in
accordance with the adopted City
Council Protocols.
Members of the public may also
provide advanced comments by email
at [email protected]
Comments are requested by 3:00 p.m.
on the day of the mee�ng, but can be
emailed un�l the close of the Agenda
Item for which the comment is
submited. Email comments must
iden�fy the Agenda Item Number in
the subject line of the email. The emails
will not be read for the record but will
be provided to Council. Please note
that all e-mails sent to the City Council
are considered to be public records and
subject to disclosure under the
California Public Records Act.:
Santa Rosa X MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC CAN PARTICIPATE IN
THE MEETING BY ATTENDING IN-PERSON FROM
COUNCIL CHAMBER AT 100 SANTA ROSA AVENUE
THE PUBLIC CAN ALSO VIEW OR LISTEN TO THE
MEETING LIVE AT:
1. HTTPS://SANTAROSA.LEGISTAR.COM/CALENDAR. CLICK ON THE "IN PROGRESS" LINK TO VIEW;
2. VIA ZOOM WEBINAR BY VISITING
HTTPS://SRCITY-ORG.ZOOM.US/J/86876779687,
OR BY DIALING 877-853-5257 AND ENTERING
WEBINAR ID: 868 7677 9687;
3. COMCAST CHANNEL 28, AT&T U-VERSE
CHANNEL 99; AND
4. VIA YOUTUBE AT
HTTPS://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/CITYOFSANTAROSA
Public Comment may be made live
during the mee�ng In-Person from
Council Chamber or submited in
advance via email at cc[email protected] by 5:00 p.m. the Monday before the City Council
Mee�ng.
Sebastopol X Anyone interested may atend in
person, by phone or by computer and
be heard at this mee�ng. City staff asks
for public comment from in Chambers
first; then Zoom; then return to
Chambers; then Zoom, etc.
SUBMITTING COMMENTS: For staff
report inclusion, all comments must be
received one week prior to the mee�ng
date. Comments shall be submited by
email to
Agenda Item Number: 15 Agenda Item Number: 15
City Council Meeting Packet of: February 6, 2024
[email protected]
or mailed/le� at City of Sebastopol or
you may also leave a voice mail that will
be made a part of the public record. If
recorded, your voice mail will be
transcribed and provided to the City
Clerk as a public record but will not be
read into the minutes at the City
Council mee�ng. Comments received
a�er pos�ng of the agenda will be
provided to the Council and made part
of the public record.
Sonoma X (*) *City of Sonoma suspended the use of
zoom as Jan 2024..
Windsor X Windsor holds all their mee�ngs for Council and the Commission in person
We offer Zoom as a viewing op�on in addi�on to
web streaming video on Granicus.
Members of the public who wish to
address the Council, by providing public
comment, during the mee�ng
must do so in-person in the Civic Center
Council Chambers at 9291 Old
Redwood Highway, Building 400 in
Windsor, where the mee�ng
is being publicly held. As an alterna�ve,
members of the public may also
provide writen public comment
submited via email to:
[email protected],
please submit them via email to the
Council by 12:00 p.m. on the day of the
mee�ng.
INFORMATION UPDATED AS OF THE LAST REPORT:
After the City Council meeting of December 19th, 2023, the City Clerk met with various executives of Zoom, as well as employees of zoom from their security department, to review the security settings that the City has in place for the zoom meetings. The City Clerk has also met with community members who are knowledgeable in zoom to address the issues the City has been facing, and based upon those conversations, the City has put in place additional security measures to help address the concerns of zoom bombing. Although not 100 percent fail safe, City staff believes that have put the tools in place to reduce or eliminate zoom bombings.
An issue separate from zoom bombing is hate speech. Currently Zoom does not have any tools in place to delay any potential hate speech or vulgar comments from being zoomed out to the public. However, even if there was a delay built in, City staff would need to be subjective in determining what is hate speech and the City Clerk would request that the City Attorney notify City staff during the meetings when a person can be muted/removed in regard to hate speech, freedom of speech rights, etc.
ANALYSIS OF CITY STAFF:
Removing the zoom virtual format could reduce public participation as members of the public who are elderly, are parents of school aged children, are persons who may be ill, may have mobility problems, or persons may have other valid reasons for not attending meetings in person. An in person/ virtual meeting format allows for those members to participate remotely. Returning to in person is a convenience that would be taken away from members of the community who may be away on travel or vacation, driving from one destination to another, at a meeting or function where they could disengage themselves from to be able to provide public comment and would not be able to participate if it were in person only. In person/virtual meeting format also reduces Agenda Item Number: 15 Agenda Item Number: 15
City Council Meeting Packet of: February 6, 2024
greenhouse gas emissions as not all members of the public would not need to drive to city meetings, but could observe and participate remotely.
However, returning to in person could also reduce the financial costs of the outside vendor by reducing the need for one employee of the vendor, and could reduce technical difficulties as we rely on the internet as well as the Zoom meeting format to host virtual meetings. In person only format can also create a more intimate face to face environment but could also be challenging for those who are uncomfortable in an in person format.
Although there is potential costs savings for returning to in person meetings, it is City staff’s opinion that providing multiple avenues for community involvement in by providing opinions, expertise, concerns or support in City decisions that impact the residents and community of Sebastopol, outweighs the financial costs or technical issues of in person/virtual format of meetings. Therefore, staff would recommend continuation of the in person/virtual format of city meetings (status quo) with the current protocols in place and relying on the City Attorney to advise when a person can be removed from a meeting. Protocols include:
1. Mutes everyone upon entry
2. Does not allow anyone to unmute unless asked by IT to unmute
3. Does not allow anyone to rename themselves
4. Does not allow videos to be used for participants
5. Use of password/passcode required
6. Does not allow chat during meetings
7. Removed passcode from online zoom link
8. Submission to zoom of zoom bombers
GOALS:
This action supports the following City Council Goals and General Plan Actions:
• Goal 5: Provide Open and Responsive Municipal Government Leadership • 5.3.3. Encourage and increase public awareness of City Policies, decisions, programs and all public processes and meetings, by investigating effective methods of communication and obtaining feedback from the community.
• Goal 6: Maintain a highly qualified Staff that works to provide services to serve and protect the residents, visitors and business of this community.
• Action CHW 5c: Practice an open-door policy in City programs, and actively engage and encourage participation from all individuals regardless of ethnicity, race, religion, class, disability, sexual orientation, and gender.
• Expand and Encourage Community Involvement in the Government Process by Increasing the Public’s Understanding of local Government Operations and Increasing Interaction with Elected Officials’ • Continue to maximize public participation in local government actions and maintain excellent levels of City government service.
PUBLIC COMMENT:
As of the writing of this staff report, the City has not received any public comment. However, if staff receives public comment from interested parties following the publication and distribution of this staff report, such comments will be provided to the City Council as supplemental materials before or at the meeting. In addition, public comments may be offered during the public comment portion of the agenda item.
Agenda Item Number: 15 Agenda Item Number: 15
City Council Meeting Packet of: February 6, 2024
PUBLIC NOTICE:
This item was noticed in accordance with the Ralph M. Brown Act and was available for public viewing and review at least 72 hours prior to the scheduled meeting date.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no fiscal impact associated with the action taken tonight; however, it is anticipated that IT costs (audio/visual/broadcasting of meetings) could be reduced by approximately $20,000 if the Council returned to in person meetings only. Although the amount is significant in today’s City budget, the Council should weigh the financial costs against the transparency and open governance and the Council’s goal of increasing interaction between members of the public and elected officials and appointed members of the Commission, Board and Committees.
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends the City Council Approve Option Number 1 below (continuation of in person/virtual meeting format).
1. Continuation of In Person and Teleconference Meeting Accommodations (Traditional Brown Act and AB 2449 Requirements) for Brown Act Meetings of the City Council and City Boards, Commissions and Committees with Continued use of Zoom Virtual Meeting Format for Public Participation (Status Quo); or
2. Continuation of In Person and Teleconference Meeting Accommodations (Traditional Brown Act) and Viewing only of meetings (no virtual public comment); or
3. Return to In Person Meetings Only of the City Council and City boards, commissions, and committees; with the continued use of Traditional Brown Act Requirements Only; and Use of Live Stream for Viewing Purposes
If there any change to the format of meetings as approved tonight, City staff will return amend the protocols to reflect the change.
Attachments:
None
Approvals:
Department Head Approval: Approval Date: 1-29-2024
CEQA Determination (Planning): Approval Date: January 17, 2024 The proposed action is exempt from the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Administrative Services/Financial Approval: Approval Date: January 17, 2024 Costs authorized in City Approved Budget: ☐ Yes ☐ No N/A City Attorney Approval: Approval Date: N/A
City Manager Approval: Approval Date: January 29, 2024
Agenda Item Number: 15 Agenda Item Number: 15
City Council Meeting Packet of: February 6, 2024