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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWSA - SUNSHINE ORDINANCEREQUEST FOR COUNCIL ACTION CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE: SEPTEMBER 17, 2012 TITLE: SUNSHINE ORDINANCE 1 C -- CITY MANAGER RECOMMENDED ACTION CLERK OF COUNCIL USE ONLY: APPROVED ? As Recommended ? As Amended ? Ordinance on 1" Reading ? Ordinance on 2"d Reading ? Implementing Resolution ? Set Public Hearing For_ CONTINUED TO FILE NUMBER Discuss SACReD's proposed Sunshine regulations, staff's alternative proposal and take one of the following actions: 1. Direct staff to prepare a revised ordinance and schedule for next City Council meeting on October 1, 2012, 2. Introduce and hold first reading of ordinance, as prepared by staff, 3. Provide additional direction. BACKGROUND On June 14, 2012, the Ethics Committee considered a draft Sunshine Ordinance submitted by Santa Ana Collaborative for Responsible Development (SACReD). Sunshine Ordinances typically encompass expansion of the Brown Act and Public Record Act concepts. SACReD's proposal would go beyond the typical Sunshine regulations to include a broader focus on open government as it applies to development projects. Although staff believes that the City has transparent processes and conducts business in an open manner, at the July 2, 2012 City Council meeting the City Council directed staff to meet with representatives from SACReD to listen to and solicit their issues and concerns and to subsequently develop a set of proposals for the Council to consider. The summary below identifies each of the proposals made by SACReD and some alternative approaches. DISCUSSION There are six main categories covered by the proposed Sunshine Ordinance: 1. Site Plan Review Pre-Application Meetings 2. Increased Notification of City Legislative Meetings 3. RFP Evaluation Panels WSA-1 Sunshine Ordinance September 17, 2012 Page 2 4. Budget Outreach and Strategic Plan 5. Open Calendars 6. Lobbyist Registrations 1. Site Plan Review Pre-Application Meetings The Santa Ana Coalition for Responsible Development (SACReD) has requested that the City consider requiring early community meetings for significant development projects, and the City Council has directed staff to make recommendations in this regard. Existing Transparency It is important to note that the City has informally implemented similar types of measures for a number of years. Most recently, for example, the City worked with Orangewood Children's Foundation to ensure that the community was involved in the approval process for the Academy Charter High School. Any New Requirements Should Meet Certain Goals So long as the requirements are balanced, staff is supportive of formalizing the existing community meeting practices. Four goals have guided this analysis and staff recommendation. Staff believes that the requirements should not: 1. Lengthen the development process 2. Add significant new costs for applicants 3. Require significant additional City resources, staffing or otherwise 4. Be overly complicated to implement Community Meeting Should Only Apply to Larger, More Complex Projects The recommended ordinance requires one community meeting be conducted at the beginning of the development review process. This requirement would apply only to the larger, more complex projects such as: City-sponsored projects (including but not limited to those that involve a development agreement or a disposition and development agreement), new residential projects with 25 or more units; new non-residential projects with buildings that are greater than 10,000 square feet in size and involve a Negative Declaration or Environmental Impact Report; projects that involve changes to General Plan, zoning, or Specific Plan. WSA-2 Sunshine Ordinance September 17, 2012 Page 3 Community Meetings Should Occur Early and Not Delay Development Projects In order to ensure that the community outreach does not otherwise delay the development process, the community meeting must be conducted within about three weeks after the City receives the development application. The recommended ordinance sets forth timeframes to make sure this happens. Bilingual Public Notice Should Be Provided, Be Sent to Both Property Owners and Residents The recommended ordinance requires a 10-day public notice be provided by the applicant prior to the community meeting. This notice would be sent to both property owners and residents within a 500 foot radius of the project site, and be provided in both English and Spanish. The recommended ordinance also requires that the notice be published in a newspaper of general circulation, and be posted on the project site. The City's current informal practice for community meetings relies on notifying the community by working with the nearby neighborhood association leaders, rather than sending formal mailed notices. And to be consistent staff recommends that the City include both property owners and residents in all other notices the City sends concerning development projects. This would have a fiscal impact to the City estimated at $8,500 annually. It is further estimated that these notice requirements would add $700 in costs to the average applicant. Communitv Meetings Should Be Convenient The recommended ordinance provides that the community meeting be conducted at times and locations that are convenient for community members. Early evenings or Saturdays are preferable, though adjustments are acceptable if they better serve the community members who are planning to attend. The recommended ordinance also provides that the community meetings take place within one mile of the project site, or at the closet City facility. Community Meetings Should Provide Translation Services When Requested The recommended ordinance provides that an applicant make translation services available should it receive a request prior to the meeting. Based on City experience, and assuming a two-hour meeting, it is estimated that this requirement will cost an applicant $200 when translation services are necessary. Written Summary of Community Meetings To Be Part of the Public Record The recommended ordinance requires an applicant to provide the City with a summary of the community meeting. The meeting summary would become part of the public record WSA-3 Sunshine Ordinance September 17, 2012 Page 4 and would be included as an attachment to applicable Planning Commission and City Council staff reports. 2. Increased Notification of City Legislative Meetings SACReD recommends a 14-day advance notification of all Regular Meetings, 72-hours for Special Meetings and Spanish translation of all notices. An alternative staff recommendation is to increase notification of regular meetings from 72- hours to 96-hours and have agendas identify all upcoming public hearings at least 14-days in advance, as well as list future "major projects." The special meetings would remain the same with a 24-hour advance noticing requirement to allow for emergency or time sensitive matters to be considered. Finally, translation of agendas and notices are available on all City webpages through a free translation application referred to as "Google Translate" that allows for up to 64-languages. There are no fiscal impacts to implement this provision. 3. RFP Evaluation Panels SACReD recommends that an independent panelist serve on the selection panels for all RFP or RFQ processes valued at $50,000 or more. An alternative recommendation is to adopt a provision similar to the City of Gilroy's Sunshine Ordinance, requiring that all RFP's be posted on the City's website from the date it was issued up to a period of 30 days after it is awarded. Additionally the website would be updated to include the name of the person or company awarded the contract upon award. Communications between the bidders and the City would be open to inspection immediately after a contract has been awarded. Assigning an outside panelist to the RFP or RFQ evaluation panel raises serious concerns regarding confidentiality and the City's ability to maintain the integrity of the RFP/RFQ process. The information considered by a panel in the review process extends beyond price to consider other factors such as responsiveness of the proposal, experience, past performance, qualifications of the firm, methodology, and performance schedule. It is an extended and complex process that requires strict confidentiality to ensure a fair and objective evaluation. City staff is highly regulated by the Santa Ana Municipal Code and personnel policies to ensure that conflicts of interest, other improprieties, or appearances thereof do not exist. These include, but are not limited, Political Reform Act - Conflict of Interest Code and Form 700, City of Santa Ana Gift Ban, Code of Ethics, and applicable Federal and State Regulations. WSA-4 Sunshine Ordinance September 17, 2012 Page 5 The City has no ability to ensure that an outside panelist is independent nor does it have a mechanism to enforce compliance with the RFP/RFQ process and regulations that City officials and staff are held to. The inability to ensure or enforce compliance comprises the RFP/RFQ process and may jeopardize the City's ability to negotiate and obtain services at optimum price. 4. Budget Outreach and Strategic Plan In preparation of the City budget and the pending strategic plan, staff has incorporated a variety of public outreach initiatives. During the normal budget adoption process, presentations are made to neighborhood associations, business forums and employee groups. To ensure public viewing of the document, staff places the budget on the website, CityNews, and available as a hard copy at the City Libraries and City Hall. To ensure more educational outreach to the community on the budget, staff would work to host an informative session prior to the budget adoption to assist constituents understand the budget and to add comment and suggestions. Staff would also be available to meet with any group upon request. Regarding the strategic plan, prior to adoption, the plan would include a number of community outreach meetings to solicit feedback. These comments would be shared with Council and staff to incorporate as appropriate into the plan. 5. Open Calendars An alternative two-tier calendaring option is presented whereby the calendars of elected officials would be posted on-line while the department head calendars would be accessible pursuant to a public records request. There will be exemptions from disclosures based on policy and legal reasons such as meetings relating to attorney client or work product as well as meetings relating to personnel issues. An alternative Open Calendar Option would not mandate posting of council calendars on-line. It also would not apply to department heads. In addition, Councilmembers would be required to make public a monthly calendar that is updated throughout the month with additions and/or deleted meetings. 6. Lobbyist Registrations SACReD proposes lobbyist provisions that would require lobbyists who are attempting to influence City legislation, administrative decisions, or City Council elections or local initiative measures to register with the Clerk of the Council. An alternative staff recommendation models the City of Milpitas' ordinance that allows special interest lobbyist that receive at least $250 total compensation in any month to register with the Clerk of the Council Office. WSA-5 Sunshine Ordinance September 17, 2012 Page 6 The disclosure requirement would be triggered for all of the following: 1. Compensation for lobbying 2. Campaign contributions to elected City officials 3. Fundraising activities on behalf of elected City officials 4. Contributions to political campaigns or charities made at the behest of City officials 5. Payments received for services as a consultant to the City or any other agency of the City 6. Any compensated work performed as a campaign consultant for any elected City official Staff does not recommend adopting mandatory registration provisions as these would be redundant of laws and regulations that currently exist at the State level, however a self- policing provision be adopted. There are minimal fiscal and staff impacts associated with this provision estimated at less than $5,000 annually. FISCAL IMPACT There are fiscal impacts associated with these items. Additional staff resources are needed to implement a variety of these proposals. Further, there are specific impacts to the business community for requirements associated with the additional notification requirement during the Site Plan Review process. There are also potential impacts to vendors and lobbyists conducting business with the City. A more detailed analysis would need to be done to obtain a more thorough fiscal impact. Paul M. Walters City Manager WSA-6 ORDINANCE NO. NS-XXX Qxs 09/13/12) AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF SANTA ANA ADDING ARTICLE 11.1 through ARTICLE 11.111 to CHAPTER 2 OF THE SANTA ANA MUNICIPAL CODE RELATING TO THE CITY OF SANTA ANA SUNSHINE ORDINANCE THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA ANA DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. The City Council of the City of Santa Ana hereby finds, determines, and declares as follows: A. That all public agencies' actions, to the greatest extent possible, should be taken openly and that their deliberations be conducted openly. B. An informed public is essential to democracy. It is the goal and intent of the City of Santa Ana Sunshine Ordinance that citizens of Santa Ana have timely access to information, opportunities to address the various legislative bodies prior to decisions being made, and easy and timely access to public records. C. The City Council's duty is to serve the public, reaching its decisions in full view of the public. D. The City Council, appointed legislative bodies, and other city officials exist to conduct the People's business. E. The City Council reaffirms its commitment to the purpose of the Brown Act that "all meetings of the legislative body of a local agency shall be open and public, and all persons shall be permitted to attend any meeting of the legislative body of a local agency." F. That while the Brown Act and Public Records Act exist to facilitate public participation in local government decisions and to curb misuse of the democratic process by secret legislation by public bodies, the Santa Ana Sunshine Laws are designed to reaffirm and strengthen the need for transparency as represented by these laws. G. The City Council enacts this Sunshine Ordinance to ensure that the people of Santa Ana remain in control of the government that they have created. Ordinance No. NS-XXX WSA-7 Page 1 of 10 SECTION 2. The adoption of this ordinance is exempt from CEQA and a Notice of Exemption will be filed if this ordinance is adopted. SECTION 3. Chapter 2, ARTICLE 11.1, Section 2-150 of the Santa Ana Municipal Code is hereby added such that it reads as follows: ARTICLE 11.1 PUBLIC ACCESS TO MEETINGS Sec. 2-150. - Meetings and Agenda Postings for City Council Pursuant to Government Code Section 54953.7 of the Brown Act the City of Santa Ana is imposing the following additional requirements on itself to allow greater community access to its meetings: (1) City Council meeting agendas as required by the Brown Act must be posted at least 96 hours before the meeting. (2) Notices can be accessed online at the City's web site in various languages including Spanish through use of Google Translation. (3) Agendas will list future items on major projects. The list of "major projects" identified for the City Council agenda will be compiled at the discretion of the City Manager. SECTION 4. Chapter 2, ARTICLE 11.11, Section 2-151 of the Santa Ana Municipal Code is hereby added such that it reads as follows: ARTICLE 11.11. PUBLIC MEETINGS FOR CERTAIN DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS Sec. 2-151. - Definitions For purposes of this article, the following terms have the following respective meanings: a) Public subsidy: As used in this division, the term "public subsidy" means financial assistance provided by the City, including, but not limited to: grants; rent subsidies or reductions; loans; loan forgiveness; City-issued bond financing; a sale or lease of City-assembled land for less than its fair market value (i.e., a "land write-down"); a Development Agreement or Disposition and Development Agreement; contingent obligations taken on Ordinance No. NS-XXX Page 2 of 10 WSA-8 by the City such as any guarantee or pledge of City funds; and any City fee or tax reduction or waiver. b) City-sponsored development project: any development project that has received or will receive public subsidy from the City of Santa Ana. C) Community meeting: any meeting required pursuant to Section Sec. 2- 153(a) whose purpose is to provide input into the review of development projects. SECTION 5. Chapter 2, ARTICLE 11.11, Section 2-152 of the Santa Ana Municipal Code is hereby added such that it reads as follows: Sec. 2-152. - Plan Approval Prior to the submittal of the application for discretionary approval which meets the criteria of Section Sec. 2-153(a), the applicant shall meet all community meeting requirements as set forth in section 2-153(a). SECTION 6. Chapter 2, ARTICLE 11.11, Section 2-153 of the Santa Ana Municipal Code is hereby added such that it reads as follows: Sec. 2-153 - Public input through community meetings prior to discretionary approval (a) Applicability: The requirements of ARTICLE 11.11 apply to development projects requiring discretionary approval and that meet one or more of the following criteria: 1. City-sponsored development projects; 2. New residential projects containing 25 or more units; 3. New non-residential projects (including additions to existing buildings) of 10,000 square feet or more and which are subject to a Negative Declaration or Environmental Impact Report as defined under the California Environmental Quality Act; 4. Development projects requiring a zone change, Specific Plan amendment, or General Plan amendment. Ordinance No. NS-XXX Page 3 of 10 WSA-9 (b) Number and timing of community meeting: For those development projects that meet the criteria listed in Sec. 2-153(a) the applicant shall hold one community meeting no later than 20 days after submittal of an application for administrative site plan review. Should the applicant fail to hold the community meeting within this time, the completion of administrative site plan review shall be delayed until such time as the community meeting is held. (c) Noticing: Notice of the community meeting shall be provided to all property owners, and occupants having a valid United States Postal Service address within a 500 foot radius of the subject property. Said notice shall be mailed no less than 10 days prior to the community meeting. The notice shall also be posted on the development project site and published in a newspaper of general circulation no less than 10 days prior to the community meeting. The City shall then post the notice on the City's website. It shall be the sole responsibility of the applicant to prepare and distribute this notice. (d) Notice content: The notice shall include the time, place and date of the community meeting; a map depicting the location of the subject property, including the properties contained within the notification boundary; a brief description of the project; and the applicant's contact information. The notice shall be written in English and Spanish and include instructions as to how to request language interpretation services for those wishing to have interpretation during the community meeting in languages other than English. (e) Community meeting time and place: The community meeting should be held either on a weeknight during the early evening hours or on a Saturday. If there are special circumstances under which it is more convenient for the meeting attendees to attend the meeting at a different time, the applicant may adjust the meeting time accordingly. The meeting shall be held in any facility that is accessible to the public and that is no more than 1 mile from the project site. Should there not be any such facilities available in the required area, the applicant may arrange, at their own expense and subject to availabijity, to use the next closest City facility. (f) Community meeting language interpretation: Should the applicant receive a request for language interpretation services prior to the meeting, it shall be the applicant's responsibility to arrange for such services to be available at the community meeting. (g) Community meeting format and content: During the community meeting the applicant should give a presentation detailing the components of the proposed development project and a description of any impacts or benefits to the community, and provide contact information so that members of the public can contact them for further information. The applicant should allow enough time for the attendees to ask questions and provide input. The applicant shall prepare Ordinance No. NS-XXX Page 4 of 10 WSA-10 detailed minutes of the meeting including a written record of the comments provided by the community members. (h) Providing information to City after community meeting: Not less than four days following the community meeting the developer shall submit an affidavit under penalty of perjury that the required community meeting was held in compliance with this section and will submit copies of all notices, notification lists, site postings, advertisements, or other communications used to publicize the meeting. The applicant shall also provide a copy of the minutes and the written record of the public comments made at the community meeting. The public input will be made part of the public record and included as attachments to Planning Commission staff reports. (i) Notice of planning commission public hearings shall be in conformance with the requirements provided in section 2-153(c), except that it shall be the responsibility of the applicant to provide the director of planning and development services the mailing lists of the names and addresses of those entitled to receive notice under subsection 2-153(c). The noticing provisions contained 2-153(c) shall supersede those contained in section 41-672. SECTION 7. Chapter 2, ARTICLE 11.111, Section 2-154 of the Santa Ana Municipal Code is hereby added such that it reads as follows: ARTICLE 11.111. PUBLIC INFORMATION AND PUBLIC RECORDS Sec. 2-154 - Access to Contracts, Bids and Proposals (a) All initial City Requests for Proposals ("RFP's") shall be kept in a central repository and shall be made available for public inspection upon request. In addition, RFP's shall be placed on the City's website for a period from the date the RFP was issued to the date that the RFP is due and for a period of 30 days after the RFP is awarded the City shall notice on the City website the name of the person or company awarded the contract. (b) Contracts, contractors' bids, responses to requests for proposals and all other records of communications between the department and persons or firms seeking contracts shall be open to inspection immediately after a contract has been awarded. Nothing in this provision requires the disclosure of a private person's or organization's net worth or other proprietary financial data submitted for qualification for a contract or other benefit. All bidders and contractors shall be advised that information provided which is covered by this subdivision will be made available to the public upon request. Immediately after any review or evaluation or rating of responses to a RFP has been completed, a ranking of the firms can be made available. Evaluation forms and score sheets used by Ordinance No. NS-XXX WSA-11 Page 5 of 10 persons in the RFP evaluation or contractor selection process may be made available for public inspection after contract negotiations have been concluded. SECTION 8. Chapter 2, ARTICLE 11.111, Section 2-155 of the Santa Ana Municipal Code is hereby added such that it reads as follows: CALENDARS OPTION 1: Sec. 2-155 - Calendars of Certain City Officials (a) Members of the City Council (including the Mayor), the City Manager, Clerk of the Council, City Attorney, Community Development Agency Director, Finance and Management Services Director, Parks, Recreation and Community Services Director, Planning and Building Director, Planning and Building Director Police Chief, Director of External Affairs, and Public Works Director shall maintain a monthly City Calendar. (b) The Calendar shall include all scheduled City-related appointments, meetings, including regular and special City Council meetings, public events or speaking engagements, meetings with developers, meetings with union representatives, meetings with consultants, meetings with lobbyists, regional meetings, and meetings of subcommittees or task forces. The description shall include the meeting's duration, and shall include a listing of all principal individuals present at these meetings. (c) The Calendars of the Mayor, City Council, and City Manager shall be a public record subject to inspection during normal business hours at the office of the Clerk of the Council and additionally available in electronic format on the City's official website. Council members shall be trained in the operation and procedures for entering or re-entering data into an automated calendaring system maintained on the City's website. The Calendars of the other department heads listed in subsection (a) shall be subject to inspection as a public record but need not be maintained on-line. (d) Each City-related appointment must include the following information: name(s), title(s), affiliated organization(s) and a general statement of the issues discussed. The following information shall be exempted: (1) Personal appointments; (2) Information protected by the attorney-client privilege; (3) Information about attorney work product; (4) Information about City staff recruitment; (5) Information about a personnel issue; (6) Information about corporate recruiting and retention; Ordinance No. NS-XXX Page 6 of 10 WSA-12 (7) Information about criminal investigations and security; (8) Information about whistle blowers; (9) Information about those who may fear retaliation; and (10) Information that is otherwise prohibited from disclosure. CALENDARS OPTION 2: Sec. 2-155 - Calendars of Certain City Officials Members of the City Council (including the Mayor) shall maintain a monthly City Calendar. The Calendar shall include all scheduled City-related appointments and meetings related to: (1) Meetings of public bodies; (2) Public events or speaking engagements; (3) meetings with developers having current projects under review by the City; (4) meetings with union representatives to discuss pending City negotiations; (5) County or regional task forces or subcommittees; and (6) Meetings with lobbyists The calendar shall be made available on the 1St of each month and shall reflect the schedules of the previous month. -----SAMPLE Monday, September 10, 2012 MP Meeting at OCTA Bd 10am Meeting with Supervisor at noon re Homeless Shelter ST Meeting with City Manager noon Ethics Committee mtg 7pm VS Meeting with applicant and staff at 5pm DB Presentation to Boys and Girls Club MM Meeting with South Main Assoc CA Meeting with City Manager re OCFA operations SECTION 9. Chapter 2, ARTICLE 11.111, Section 2-156 of the Santa Ana Municipal Code is hereby added such that it reads as follows: Sec. 2-156 - Lobbyist Registration Ordinance No. NS-XXX Page 7of10 WSA-13 For purposes of the Santa Ana Sunshine ordinance and this article, the following terms have the following respective meanings: (a) LOBBYISTS ON BEHALF OF THE CITY (1) "City Lobbyist" means (i) any person or entity that is designated to represent the City and (ii) that receives compensation for influencing legislative or administrative action or that compensates its employees or members for their lobbying activities. (2) No person shall be deemed a lobbyist on behalf of the City under section (a), unless that person receives or becomes entitled to receive at least $250 total compensation in any month for influencing legislative or administrative action on behalf of the City of Santa Ana. No business or organization shall be deemed a lobbyist under section (a) unless it compensates its employees or members for their lobbying activities on behalf of the City of Santa Ana, and the compensated employees or members have at least 25 separate contacts with local, state, regional or national officials for the purpose of influencing legislative or administrative action within any two consecutive months. "Total compensation" shall be calculated by combining all compensation received from the City of Santa Ana during a month of lobbying activities on matters at the local, state, regional or national level. "Total number of contacts" shall be calculated by combining all contacts made during a two- month period on behalf of the City of Santa Ana for all lobbying activities on matters at the local, state, regional or national level. (3) Funds of the City of Santa Ana shall not be used to support any lobbying efforts to restrict public access to records, information, or meetings, except where such effort is solely for the purpose of protecting the identity and privacy rights of private citizens. (b) REGULATIONS GOVERNING SPECIAL INTEREST LOBBYISTS AND CONTACTS WITH ELECTED OFFICIALS (1) "Special Interest Lobbyist" means any person or entity that is paid by and represents any non-City agency, organization, or entity seeking to influence City policy. (2) Special Interest Lobbyists may file a report with the Clerk of the Council specifying the general nature of the issues they are trying to influence, compensation ranges received from their clients, all campaign contributions to elected City officials, all fundraising activities conducted on behalf of elected City officials, all contributions to political campaigns or charities made at the behest Ordinance No. NS-XXX Page 8 of 10 WSA-14 of City officials, all payments received for services as a consultant to the City or Redevelopment Agency, and any compensated work performed as a campaign consultant for any elected City official. The City may institute a registration fee established by the City Council. SECTION 10. Chapter 2, ARTICLE 11.111, Section 2-157 of the Santa Ana Municipal Code is hereby added such that it reads as follows: Sec. 2-157 -- Public Meetings related to City three-year Strategic Plan and Annual Budget (a) From time to time, the City Manager will coordinate a public meeting to present the City's three (3) year Strategic Plan to the community. The purpose of the meeting will be share the City's plan and goals with the community and to gain public input on any issues related to the City's three (3) year Strategic Plan. (b) In preparation for the annual budget, upon request, staff will make itself available to coordinate, at various public locations throughout the city, community meetings with neighborhood associations, community groups, and others, meetings to discuss the budget process and any other issues related to the budget. SECTION 11. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or portion of this ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by the decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this ordinance. The City Council of the City of Santa Ana hereby declares that it would have adopted this ordinance and each section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or portion thereof irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, sentences, clauses, phrases, or portions be declared invalid or unconstitutional. ADOPTED this day of , 2012. Miguel A. Pulido Mayor Ordinance No. NS-XXX Page 9 of 10 WSA-15 APPROVED AS TO FORM: Sonia R. Carvalho, City Attorney By: (name) City Attorney AYES: Councilmembers NOES: Councilmembers ABSTAIN: Councilmembers NOT PRESENT: Councilmembers CERTIFICATE OF ATTESTATION AND ORIGINALITY I, Maria D. Huizar, Clerk of the Council, do hereby attest to and certify that the attached Ordinance No. NS-XXX to be the original ordinance adopted by the City Council of the City of Santa Ana on , and that said ordinance was published in accordance with the Charter of the City of Santa Ana. Date: Clerk of the Council City of Santa Ana Ordinance No. NS-XXX Page 10 of 10 WSA-16 Santa Ana Collaborative for Responsible Development (SACReD) Proposal WSA-17 POLICY 1- PRE-MEETING AND HEARING REQUIREMENTS FOR DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS (SAMC 41.688 ET. SEQ.) GOALI Developers should inform and take input from the public about certain projects before submitting the project application to the City EXISTING LAW/POLICY No such requirement exists before application is filed. Hearing is required only for certain projects. (SAMC 41.688 et. seq.) PROPOSED POLICY FOR PRE-APPLICATION MEETING REQUIREMENT Development projects will be redefined to include "the commencement of operation of a retail facility or business having 15,000 square feet or more of floor area following a change in ownership of that facility or business". The following development projects are required to have the pre-application meetings: (1) that receive a public subsidy; (2) that require a specific plan, general plan update, or a zoning code amendment; (3) that may result in the displacement of residents; (4) that will include 25 residential units or more, except where 100% of the residential units will be affordable to households with incomes at or below 80% of the Area Median Income for a term of at least 30 years; (5) that will seek or require a liquor license; (6) that contain commercial and adjacent to a residential zone; (7) that are commercial and contain 15,000 square feet or more of floor area or have anticipated annual gross revenue in excess of $10 million; (8) that contain office space, will result in over 300 new vehicle trips daily and are within 2,000 feet of a residential area, pubic park or school; (9) that contain office space and are within 1,000 feet of residential area, public park or school; (10)that are within 3,000 feet of a residential area, public park or school and will involve (a) the production or use of toxic chemicals, (b) waste management, or (c) heavy manufacturing; or (11)that will have any industrial use within 300 feet of a residential zone. (12)that will impact a structure designated by a government body as having historical or cultural significance. The pre-application meetings will be conducted in the following manner: 1. Each person or entity seeking plan approval for a development project under this division must obtain community input about that development project by holding two public meetings in accordance with this section, the first occurring at least 240 days before the person or entity files the application for plan approval, and the second occurring between 7 and 14 days before the person or entity files the application for plan approval. 2. At the first public meeting, the developer will provide an accurate description of the basic features of the project, including any impacts on or benefits to the public. The developer will reserve at least WSA-18 2 1 hour at the end of the meeting to allow questions and comments from all attendees. These questions and comments must be accurately recorded by the developer and brought to the second meeting. At the second meeting, the developer will provide a draft of its application for plan approval, a detailed description of the project, an accurate description of any impacts on or benefits to the public, the record of oral and written public comments made at previous meeting(s), and a description of the ways in which it has incorporated input received from the public into its plans for the project. 3. To maximize community involvement, the community meetings must be held within 3 miles of the development site and on a weekday between 6 pm and 8 pm or Saturday between 9 am and 5 pm. 4. The developer will create an accurate record of public comments made during the public meetings and will make that record available to the City and any member of the public upon request. 5. Not less than 14 days prior to a public meeting, the developer will provide notice by direct mailing of the time and place of the public meeting in English and the primary languages of the residents impacted by the development project to all persons including businesses, corporations, or other public or private entities owning real property or residing within 1000 feet of the development project and to any person who requests such notice. The notice shall include any materials that the developer will provide to the public at the meeting, including any project description. 6. Not less than 14 days prior to a public meeting, the developer will advertise the public meeting in at least two local newspapers in English and two in the primary languages of the residents impacted by the development project; city web-site; the local station, channel 3; and at local schools within the impact zone,. 7. The developer will ensure contemporaneous language interpretation at the community meetings in the primary languages of the residents impacted by the development project. The developer will create and keep attendance records with the names of the persons that attended the community meetings. The developer shall submit an affidavit under penalty of perjury that the required community meetings were held in compliance with this section and will submit copies of the advertisements, attendance records of the community meetings, and the record of the public comments made at the community meetings with application for plan approval. GOAL 11 The City should conduct hearings and give better notice about the hearings to the public on all projects that require a pre-application meeting. The developer should hold a pre-hearing meeting similar to the pre-application meeting 15-21 days before the hearing. EXISTING LAW/POLIGY Hearing is required only for certain projects. Only 5 days notice is required for property owners within 300 feet of the development (SAMC 41.672). The developer is not required to hold a pre-hearing meeting with the public. E'I OPO sE'D POLICY FOR DEVEE.OPINIENI PROJECT HEARINGS 1. A public hearing shall be held for all development projects that require a pre-application meeting. The city will give notice of the hearing by mail 14 days prior to the hearing to all person who reside or own property within 1000 feet of the development 2. For development projects that must comply with the pre-application meeting requirement, the developer must hold an additional public meeting that complies with the requirements of the pre-application meeting requirements, 15-21 days before the hearing. At this public meeting the WSA-19 3 developer will provide a summary of the issues and purpose of the hearing, a draft of any material to be presented at the hearing, a detailed description of the project, an accurate description of any impacts on or benefits to the public, the record of oral and written public comments made at previous meeting(s), and a description of the ways in which it has incorporated input received from the public into its plans for the project. 3 WSA-20 4 POLICY 2- INCREASED NO`I'IFICA't ION OI,' CITY LEGISLATIVE MEUYINGS (t0AL Give the public more notice about city business to increase public participation in the legislative process EXISTING LAW/POLICY Presently the City of Santa complies with the minimum notification required by the Brown Act. 24 hours notice for special meetings and 72 hours agenda publication for regular meetings. PROPO EI) POLICY FOR PRE-APPLICATION MEETING REQUIRENIE?,\' Pursuant to Government Code Section 54953.7 of the Brown Act the City of Santa Ana is imposing the following additional requirements on itself and its appointed legislative bodies to allow greater community access to its meetings: 1. Special meetings as defined in the Brown act must be noticed at least 14 days before the time of the meeting. 2. Meeting agendas as required by the Brown act must be posted at least 14 days before the meeting. 3. All notifications must be noticed or posted in English and Spanish. 4 WSA-21 5 POLICY 3-INDEPENDENT COMMUNITY EXPERT IN RFP/RFQ PANELS FOR DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS GOAL Ensure that RFP/RFQpan.els who recommend recipients for awards of public funding, benefits, or property f6,r?development project have at least one independent community expert to assist with the decision. The scoring or ranking of the proposals/application shall be posted in the City website before the panel submits its recommendation to city council for approval. EXISTING LAW/POLICY There is no such requirement in the SAMC. PROPOSED POLICY 1. The city council shall appoint by a majority vote at least one independent panelist, who is employed by a 501(c)(3) non-profit, to each panel that scores RFPs and RFQs for development projects as defined in section 41-668. 2. Each RFP and RFQ scoring panel shall have at least one independent panelist for every 10 panelists. 3. The independent panelist shall have expertise in the subject matter of the RFP and RFQ to ensure meaningful participation in the decision making process. 4. The independent panelist shall not be employed by the city or any of the applicants for the RFP/RFQ and shall not be a direct relative of anybody employed by the city or any of the applicants for the RFP/RFQ. 5. The independent panelist shall be appointed for a term of two (2) years and shall be trained to ensure meaningfully participation in the decision making process. 6. Score sheets, names of scorers, and comments made by the review panel shall be made available to the public immediately after the RFP/RFQ panels decides on a recommendation and before it submitted to City Council for approval. WSA-22 6 POLICY 4- BUDGET OUTREACH HEARINGS MATRIX GOAL Obtain community input before the budget is approved by City Council and make the budget process more accessible to community members. EXISTING LAW/POLICY Section 604 of the Santa Ana Charter controls the yearly budget creation process. Only one public hearing is required before the budget can be approved by City Council. Only 10 days notice of this hearing is required. Section 604 cannot amended by city council without voter approval. (Section 1500) PROPOSED POLICY FOR SANTA ASIA MUNICIPAL CODE The City Manager shall hold two public hearings regarding the budget in each City Council ward prior to recommending and submitting the budget proposal to the City Council under Section 605 of the City Charter. b. The public hearings will be held, one at least ninety (90) days and the second at least forty-five (45) before the City Manager recommends and submits a proposed budget to the City Council. At the public hearings, the City Manager will provide an analysis of reserves; a breakdown of salaries and compensation for city staff executives highlighting any increases in pay; and a comparison of the original budget projections to what has actually been spent to date, including an explanation for any substantial modifications or changes in the budget . There shall be at least 1 hour of time designated for oral and/or written comment public comment, and a record kept of all public comments. d. In the second hearing, The City Manager will provide a draft of the proposed budget, the records of public comment from previous meetings, and a description of the ways in which it has incorporated input received from the public into the proposed budget.. e. The public hearings will be held in a public and accessible location that can seat at least 50 persons. To maximize community involvement, each budget outreach hearing will be held at an easily accessible site within its respective ward and on a weekday between 6 pm and 8 pm or Saturday between 9 am and 5 pm. The budget hearings will be advertised in at least two local newspapers in English and two newspapers in the primary language at least fourteen (14) days before the public hearings. g. The City will ensure contemporaneous language interpretation at the budget outreach hearings in the primary language(s) of the residents impacted by the budget. WSA-23 7 POLICY 5-OPEN CALENDARS GOAL, In order to ensure public confidence and the integrity of local government, certain city official should have their calendars accessible for public review. EXIST iNG LAW/POLICY There is no such requirement in the SAMC. PROPOSED POLICY Members of the City Council (including the Mayor), Department Directors, Planning Commission and the City Manager shall maintain a monthly City Calendar form which includes but is not limited to all City- related appointments, meetings, including regular and special City Council and Planning Commission meetings, public events or speaking engagements, meetings with developers, meetings with consultants, meetings with lobbyists, regional meetings, and meetings of subcommittees or task forces, but not to include social and personal events. The description shall include the meeting's duration, and shall include a listing of all principal individuals present at meetings with developers, meetings with consultants, and meetings with lobbyists. The Mayor, City Council, City Manager and Planning Commission members shall submit the updated calendar forms for the prior month onto their individual on-line calendars which shall be maintained and available to the public on the City website. Council members and Commissioners shall be trained in the operation and procedures for entering or re- entering data into an automated calendaring system maintained on the City's website. 7 WSA-24 8 POLICY 6- LOBBYIST ORDINANCE MATRIX GOAL I In order to ensure public confidence and the integrity of local government, lobbyists should be required to register themselves and file disclosure reports regarding the nature of their lobbying efforts, compensation, donations, and fundraising efforts with the City Clerk. The city clerk should make the registration and disclosure reports easily available to the public. EXIS PING JAW/POLICY The City of Santa Ana presently does not require lobbyists to register or file quarterly reports. SAMC only mentions lobbyist in Section 2-851 which regulates gifts to public officials. PROPOSED POLICY 1. "Lobbyist" means a person or business entity that receives $250 or more in a calendar year for communicating, using any means, with City officials or employees to influence current or future City legislation, administrative decisions, or City Council elections or local initiative measures. 2. The following persons or entities are exempt from the requirements of the Lobbyist Ordinance: a. Any public official acting in his or her official capacity, and any government employee acting within the scope of his or her employment. b. Any organization exempt from federal taxation pursuant to Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. 3. An individual or entity who qualifies as a lobbyist shall register with the City Clerk. A lobbyist shall also register each client that pays her $250 or more in a calendar quarter for engaging in lobbying. No person or entity who qualifies as a lobbyist shall contact or communicate with any official of the city without first registering as a lobbyist and identifying themselves as lobbyist. 4. Lobbyists shall file a yearly disclosure report with the City Clerk specifying in detail the nature of the issues they are trying to influence, compensation received from their clients, all campaign contributions and gifts to elected City officials, all fundraising activities conducted on behalf of elected City officials, all contributions and gifts to political campaigns, charities, religious institutions, or non-profits made at the behest of City officials, all payments received for services as a consultant to the City or any City Agency, any compensated work performed as a campaign consultant for any elected City official, and previous lobbying activity conducted in the City. The City may institute a registration fee. 5. The City Clerk shall make available to the public online and at the city clerk's office copies of the Registration statements, Disclosure reports, Political Contribution statements, and Fundraising Activity Disclosure statements. 6. LOBBYING DISCLOSURE, QUARTERLY REPORT - POLITICAL CONTRIBUTIONS. Each lobbyist, which makes one or more contributions to an elective City officer and/or to any or all of his or her controlled committees, shall file a detailed disclosure report of his/her political contributions with the City Clerk. every three months. 7. LOBBYING DISCLOSURE, QUARTERLY REPORT - FUNDRAISING ACTIVITY. Each lobbyist who within any 12 month period (i) engaged in fundraising activities on behalf of an elective City officer and/or any and all of his or her controlled committees, and which knows or has reason to know that the fundraising activities resulted in contributions, and/or (ii) delivered or acted as an intermediary for one or more contributions to the elective City officer and/or any and all of his or her controlled committees, shall file a detailed disclosure with the City Clerk every three months. 8 WSA-25 9 8. Any person who knowingly or willfully violates any provision of this article is guilty of a misdemeanor. Any person who knowingly or willfully causes any other person to violate any provision of this article, or who knowingly or willfully aids and abets any other person in the violation of any provision of this article, is guilty of a misdemeanor. No person convicted of a violation of this article may act as a lobbyist or otherwise attempt to influence municipal legislation for compensation for one year after such conviction. Santa Ana residents shall have third-party standing to enforce the Lobbying Ordinance through a civil action WSA-26 10 POLICY 7- 3 YEAR S'T'RATEGIC PLAN GOAL Create a 3 year strategic plan setting forth the City's mission, core values, three year goals, detailed measureable objectives and key performance measures. EXISTING LAW/POLICY Does not exist in Santa Ana PROPOSED POLICY FOR SANTA ANA iNTUNICIPAL CODE 1. Every three years the City Manager shall prepare and submit to the City Council a strategic plan setting forth the City's mission, core values, three year goals, detailed measureable objectives and key performance measures. 2. The City Manager shall hold three public hearings regarding the strategic plan in accordance with the provisions of this section prior to submitting the strategic plan to the City Council. During each of these hearings, the City Manager or designee will review a complete draft of the strategic plan and receive and record all oral or written public comments for at least an hour. The record of oral and written comment shall be filed with the City Clerk, made accessible to the public, and brought to subsequent meetings. During the second and third hearings, the City Manager or designee will discuss the specific ways in which the draft strategic plan reflects public comments received by the City. 3. The first public hearing will be held at least 120 days before the City Manager submits a proposed strategic plan to the City Council, the second public hearing will be held at least sixty days before the City Manager submits a proposed strategic plan to the City Council, and the third public hearing will be held at least thirty days before the City Manager submits a proposed strategic plan to the City Council. 4. The public hearings will be held in a public and accessible location that can seat at least 200 persons. 5. To maximize public involvement, each hearing will be held at an easily accessible site on a weekday between 6 pm and 8 pm or Saturday between 9 am and 5 pm. The hearings will be advertised in at least two local newspapers in English and Spanish at least seven days before the public hearings. 6. The City will ensure contemporaneous language interpretation at the hearings in the primary language(s) of the residents in attendance. 7. Upon receipt of the proposed strategic plan from the City Manager, the City Council shall proceed to the consideration of the proposed strategic plan and, by the affirmative vote of at least a majority of its members, may amend or adopt the strategic plan. The City Council must vote to adopt a strategic plan setting forth the City's mission, core values, three year goals, measureable objectives and key performance measures within thirty days of receiving the proposed strategic plan from the City Manager. Before adopting the strategic plan the City Council shall fix the time and place for holding a public hearing upon the proposed strategic plan on a weekday between 6pm and 8pm or a Saturday between gam and 5pm and shall cause to be published a notice thereof not less than ten days prior to said hearing, by at least one insertion in English and Spanish in the official newspaper. Copies of the proposed strategic plan shall be available for inspection by the public in English and Spanish in the office of the Clerk of the Council at least ten days prior to said hearing. At the time and place so advertised, or at any time and place to which such public hearing shall from time to time be adjourned, the City Council shall hold a public hearing on the proposed strategic plan, at 10 WSA-27 11 which interested persons desiring to be heard shall be given such opportunity. The City will ensure contemporaneous language interpretation from English into Spanish at the public hearing. 8. The strategic plan shall be presented at the annual budget outreach hearings in every ward, including recording and making accessible oral and written comments made during the evaluation. 11 WSA-28 Correspondence WSA-29 Mitre-Ramirez, Norma Subject: FW: Regarding Santa Ana Sunshine Ordinance From: Bryan Starr [mailto:BStarr@biaoc.com] Sent: Tuesday, September 11, 2012 2:17 PM To: 'Ana Siria Urzua' Cc: Tinajero, Sal; Sarmiento, Vince; Victor Cao Subject: RE: Regarding Santa Ana Sunshine Ordinance Thank you Ana, As I stated on the phone, we believe that the CEQA process is exhaustive and provides for ample notification of proposed development projects. That being said, we certainly understand the desire of your group to allow for a more collaborative community process. We encourage all of our members to hold public meetings in order to engage members of the community and get local input from interested citizens. We do not support a mandate that requires development project applicants to send notifications to every single lease tenant surrounding development projects and believe that provision should be eliminated from any proposed ordinance. State law already requires notification to adjacent property owners. The inefficiency and cost associated with tracking down lessees (or renters) would create a host of unintended consequences. For instance, if a lessee is overlooked, they may file a complaint or sue the applicant for a violation of any potential ordinance. Additionally, lessees that oppose a project could potentially claim that they did not receive notification in an attempt to stall the process. These are just two hypothetical situations, but the potential for these kinds of issues will be increased by going beyond existing law. The development industry in California is already one of the most regulated industries in the nation. Adding additional regulation, even well intended regulation, will further burden our member companies. In a time when our industry is suffering horribly from a failed economy, government should be doing all it can to assist the private sector by easing regulations. Adding additional burdens on our industry right now is, at the very least, bad timing. Thank you for seeking our input. Bryan M. Starr Chief Executive Officer BIA Southern California, Orange County Chapter 949-554-8563 From: asurzua(5gmail.com fmailto:asurzua(d)gmail.coml On Behalf Of Ana Siria Urzua Sent: Tuesday, September 11, 2012 1:57 PM To: Bryan Starr Cc: stinajero(a)santa-ana.org; vsarmientoCcbsanta-ana.org Subject: Regarding Santa Ana Sunshine Ordinance Hi Brian, I wanted to follow up on our conversation yesterday regarding the proposed Santa Ana Sunshine Ordinance. We do not yet have language available, it should be on the City's website by Friday. But as I shared with you in concept, the goal of the ordinance is to create opportunities and WSA-30 mechanisms for increased public participation in the City of Santa Ana, and increase transparency and trust in government. We believe that with broad and early notification, with easy access to information, and with opportunities to participate, the general public can be supportive in the goal we all have in common, a strong economy and a better quality of life for all. Much of the work has developed in conjunction with the Ethics Committee of the City, I have CC-ed both Councilmembers involved and I believe they are available for questions as well. Thank you for your time, Ana Siria Urzua Santa Ana Collaborative for Responsible Development (SACReD) 714-335-1528 WSA-31 WSA-32