Anaheim Municipal Code Ch. 1.12 Procedural

.010 The regular meetings of the City Council shall be held in the Council Chambers of the City Hall within the Civic Center located at 200 South Anaheim Boulevard, Anaheim, California, or in such place within the City to which any such meeting may be adjourned. Regular meetings shall be held on the days and at the times as are specified by resolution of the City Council.

.020 Notwithstanding subdivision .010, above, when the Council Chambers are being remodeled or repaired or are otherwise not available for the holding of said Council meetings, such Council meetings may be held at such place within the City as is designated by the Mayor, or if he should fail to act, by three members of the City Council. (Ord. 534 §§ 1 — 2, as amended by Ord. 1407; October 13, 1959: 010 amended by Ord. 1537; December 20, 1960: Ord. 1941; November 12, 1963 and by Ord. 2565 § 1; August 27, 1968: Ord. 4193 § 1; November 25, 1980; Ord. 4352 § 1; July 27, 1982; Ord. 4795 § 1; January 20, 1987; Ord. 4947 § 1; August 9, 1988; Ord. 4985 § 1; December 20, 1988; Ord. 5062 § 1; September 12, 1989; Ord. 5193 § 1; December 18, 1990; Ord. 6226 § 1; November 8, 2011.)

* See Charter §§ 506 — 508.

.010 The City Clerk is hereby designated and directed to post any public notices, agendas, and other matters required to be publicly posted pursuant to any applicable provision of the law including but not limited to agendas for regular meetings and other matters required to be posted pursuant to Sections 54954.2(a), 54956, and 54956.5 of the Government Code of the State of California.

.020 Every agenda for regular meetings of the City Council shall provide an opportunity for members of the public to directly address the City Council on items of interest to the public that are within the subject matter jurisdiction of the City Council.

.030 No resident or property owner within the City of Anaheim shall be denied the right to be heard by the City Council.

.040 Unless otherwise waived by the City Council, the total amount of time allocated for public testimony on a particular issue shall not exceed ten minutes and the amount of time for each individual speaker shall not exceed three minutes.

.050 The procedures and rules set forth in subsections .020, .030, and .040 above shall not apply to, nor be a limitation upon, any testimony given to the City Council in any hearing required by law. (Ord. 4787 § 1; December 16, 1987.)

.010 Rules of Decorum for Persons Addressing the Council.

.0101 Each person who addresses the City Council during any meeting of the City Council shall refrain from personal, threatening, abusive, slanderous or profane remarks to any member of the Council, staff or general public which remarks disrupt, disturb or impede the orderly conduct of the Council meeting. Any person who makes such disruptive remarks, or engages in any conduct which disrupts, disturbs or impedes the orderly conduct of any Council meeting, shall, at the discretion of the presiding officer or a majority of the Council, be barred from further addressing the Council during that meeting.

.0102 For purposes of this section, conduct which disrupts, disturbs or impedes the orderly conduct of the meeting shall include, but shall not be limited to: (a) continuing to speak after having been advised by the presiding officer that the time limit for such comments as set by the City Council or the presiding officer has expired, or (b) unduly repetitious comments as determined by the presiding officer, or (c) comments regarding any matter not within the subject matter jurisdiction of the City Council, or (d) comments which are irrelevant or otherwise not related to a specific agenda item for which public comments are then being received.

.020 Enforcement of Decorum. The rules of decorum set forth above shall be enforced in the following manner:

.0201 The presiding officer may request that a person who is breaching the rules of decorum set forth in subsection .010 above be orderly and otherwise comply with the applicable rule of decorum being breached. If, after receiving a warning from the presiding officer, a person persists in disrupting, disturbing or impeding the meeting, the presiding officer may order him or her to refrain from further speaking at such meeting. If such person fails or refuses to be and remain silent, the presiding officer may order such person to leave the meeting room. If such person does not remove himself or herself in an orderly and expeditious manner, the presiding officer may order any law enforcement officer on duty at the meeting to remove that person from the meeting room.

.0202 Any person who resists removal from the meeting room by any law enforcement officer shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. (Ord. 5830 § 1; October 15, 2002.)

The City Council shall, from time to time, establish by resolution such committees among its members as it shall deem advisable for the administration of City business. (Section 2101 of the Anaheim Municipal Code adopted by Ord. 803; July 22, 1952.)

.010 All bids for public projects shall be received at the office of the City Clerk of the City of Anaheim as set forth in the public notice inviting bids for such project up until the time set forth in said notice for receiving said bids, and no bids shall be received at said office after the time specified in said notice.

.020 All bids received at the office of the City Clerk shall be enclosed in a sealed envelope and shall be identified as bids for the designated project on the outside of said envelope.

.030 All bids shall be opened in public by the City Clerk or a designated deputy and by a representative of the department directly involved in the project, and all bids shall be opened at the time and place as stated in the public notice.

.040 After all bids are opened they shall be referred to the representative of the department directly involved in the project for tabulation.

.050 The representative of the department to whom the bids are referred for tabulation shall report all bids and the tabulation of all bids to the City Council for its consideration at a meeting which shall be no later than thirty days after the bids are opened.

.060 Upon receiving the report, the City Council shall determine the sufficiency or insufficiency of the bidders' security and shall act upon the bids in conformity with the applicable provision of the Government Code of the State of California.

.070 This Section 1.12.050 shall apply only to projects for the construction of public works for which bids are required pursuant to the provisions of Section 1211 of the Charter of the City of Anaheim.

(Ord. 1180 (part) as amended by Ord. 1399; September 29, 1959; Ord. 3684 § 1; April 19, 1977; Ord. 4387 § 1; January 18, 1983; Ord. 5774 §§ 42, 43; July 24, 2001.)

.010 Procedures prescribed by the state legislature governing the presentation, consideration and enforcement of claims against charter cities or against officers, agents and employees of those cities shall apply to the presentation, consideration and enforcement of claims against the City.

.020 In the absence of applicable procedures prescribed by the state legislature, and to the extent not inconsistent with state law, all claims for damages against the City must be presented in writing to the City Clerk within six months after the occurrence, event or transaction from which the damages allegedly arose, and shall set forth in detail the name and address of the claimant, the time, date, place and circumstances of the occurrence and the extent of the injuries or damages sustained.

.030 Any claim for money or damages, from whatever cause arising (including claims for the taking of, or damage to, private property pursuant to Section 19 of Article 1 of the California Constitution and claims based on contract) for which no claim is required to be presented by the provisions of the Government Code or for which a claim is not required by any other provision of law shall be presented in accordance with subsection 1.12.060.020.

.040 Any claim required to be presented pursuant to subsection 1.12.060.030 shall be presented not later than six months after the occurrence, event or transaction from which the damages allegedly arose.

.050 Any claim (for other than death or injury to person or personal property or growing crops) for which a claim is required by subsection 1.12.060.020 to be presented within six months shall be presented not later than one year after the accrual of the cause of action, in the event a court of competent jurisdiction determines that the six month claim requirement of subsection 1.12.060.020 is inapplicable thereto.

.060 The filing and rejection of any claim required by this section is a prerequisite to suit thereon. No suit shall be brought for money or damages against the City or any board, commission or officer thereof on any cause of action for which the general law or any City code requires a claim to be presented until a claim or demand for the same has been presented as provided herein and the claim or demand has been rejected in whole or in part. If rejected in part, suit may be brought to recover the whole. Failure to approve or reject any claim or demand within forty-five days from the day it is presented shall be deemed a rejection thereof unless that time is extended by mutual agreement of the City and the claimant. (Ord. 4280 § 1; November 3, 1981: Ord. 4518 § 1; July 24, 1984: Ord. 5389 §§ 1, 2; September 14, 1993: Ord. 6532 § 1; August 9, 2022.)

.010 The provisions of Section 2080 et seq. of the Civil Code of California or any successor statute thereto, shall govern the disposition of unclaimed or abandoned property in the possession of the Anaheim Police Department.

.020 Under the provisions of Section 217 of the Welfare and Institutions Code of California, any bicycles or other children’s toys in the possession of the Anaheim Police Department may be turned over to any charitable or non-profit organization, as determined by the United States Internal Revenue Service, which is competent to provide a program or activity designed to prevent juvenile delinquency within the City of Anaheim. (Ord. 917 (part); August 24, 1954: Ord. 1607 § 1; August 15, 1961: Ord. 1992; May 5, 1964: Ord. 2500 § 1; April 9, 1968: Ord. 3001 § 1; January 11, 1972: Ord. 4605 § 1; May 7, 1985: Ord. 4890 § 1; December 29, 1987: Ord. 5829 § 1; Oct. 1, 2002.)

.010 A filing fee of twenty-five dollars is hereby established for candidates' nomination papers for elective offices at municipal elections held in the City of Anaheim.

.020 The filing fee shall be paid to the City Clerk by each candidate for an elective office at the time the candidate's nomination paper is filed with the City Clerk.

.030 The City Clerk shall pay to the City Treasurer all fees received which shall be deposited in the General Fund.

.040 Notwithstanding subsection .010 above, a candidate may submit to the City Clerk a petition containing four signatures of registered voters for each dollar of the filing fee, or any portion thereof, in lieu of the fee otherwise required pursuant to this section.

.050 The City Clerk shall furnish to each candidate, upon request, and without charge therefor, forms for securing signatures pursuant to this section. Such forms shall be made available commencing forty-five days before the first day for circulating nomination papers. No other form except the form furnished by the City Clerk shall be used to secure signatures. The substitution of signatures for fees shall be subject to the following provisions:

.051 A voter may sign both a candidate's nomination papers and his or her in-lieu-of-filing-fee petition.

.052 Any registered voter may sign an in-lieu-of-filing-fee petition for any candidate for whom he is eligible to vote.

.053 If a voter signs more candidates' petitions than there are offices to be filled, the voter's signatures shall be valid only on those petitions which, taken in the order they were filed, do not exceed the number of offices to be filled.

.054 In-lieu-of-filing-fee petitions shall be filed at least fifteen days prior to the close of the nomination period. Upon receipt of the minimum number of in-lieu-of-filing-fee signatures required, or a sufficient combination of such signatures and pro rata filing fee, the clerk shall issue nomination papers provisionally. Within ten days after receipt of a petition, the clerk shall notify the candidate of any deficiency. The candidate shall then, prior to the close of the nomination period, either submit a supplemental petition, or pay a pro rata portion of the filing fee, to cover the deficiency.

.055 Each candidate may submit a greater number of signatures to allow for subsequent losses due to invalidity of some signatures. The clerk shall not be required to determine the validity of a greater number of signatures than that required by this section. (Ord. 3232 § 1; November 20, 1973: Ord. 4117 § 1; April 15, 1980.)

.010 Where an environmental impact report is required pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act prior to the approval by the City of Anaheim of any lease, permit, license, certificate or other entitlement for use, such environmental impact report shall be completed and certified within the time provided by law.

.020 Where a negative declaration is required pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act

prior to the approval by the City of Anaheim of any lease, permit, license, certificate or other entitlement for use other than a tentative map or parcel map for the subdivision of property, such negative declaration shall be completed and certified within the time provided by law.

.030 Where a negative declaration is required pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act prior to the approval by the City of Anaheim of any tentative map or parcel map for the subdivision of property, such negative declaration shall be completed and certified within the time provided by law.

.040 The time limits set forth in this section shall apply only to those circumstances where the City of Anaheim is a lead agency with regard to such approval or project as defined in the California Environmental Quality Act.

.050 The time limits specified in this section may be extended for additional reasonable periods of time upon consent of the project applicant to such extension or extensions.

.060 Where any provision of this Code establishes a time limit within which a public hearing must be set for any matter for which an environmental impact report or negative declaration is required, and which does and which time does not conflict with applicable law, calculation of such time limit shall be deemed to commence upon the date of completion of such draft environmental impact report or negative declaration notwithstanding any other provision of this Code to the contrary. (Ord. 5131 § 1; June 5, 1990; Ord. 5774 §§ 44, 45, 46, 47; July 24, 2001 .)

Notwithstanding any other provision of this Code to the contrary, in the event of a tie vote upon any motion, resolution or ordinance, or in the event a motion, resolution or ordinance fails to receive the minimum number of affirmative votes legally required for adoption, and no other action is taken at the same meeting with regard to such subject matter, the following rules shall apply with regard thereto:

.010 If such failure of action is the result of the absence of one or more City Council members who would otherwise have been legally qualified to vote on such matter and which vote(s) could have resulted in the adoption of the motion, resolution or ordinance, the matter shall be deemed automatically continued by operation of law to the next regular meeting for further consideration.

.020 If such failure of action is the result of an abstention by one or more City Council members (whether legally required or otherwise) upon any matter previously acted upon by a lower tribunal and which action of the lower tribunal would have become final but for an appeal to or review by the City Council, the decision of the lower tribunal, including all findings of fact and/or conditions of approval contained in such decision, shall be deemed reinstated and in full force and effect by operation of law as of the date of such failure of action. In all other instances, such failure of action shall be deemed a denial of the matter, request or application by operation of law. The term “lower tribunal” as used herein shall mean the Planning Commission, or any other commission, board, official, hearing officer or employee of the City when making a decision which, by law, would be final in the absence of an appeal to or review by the City Council.

.030 Any action by operation of law pursuant to subsection .020 above shall be deemed a final decision for all purposes as of the date of the vote which results in such failure of action by the City Council (subject to any rehearing procedures otherwise available), except that any action pursuant to either subsection .010 or .020 above shall be subject to rescission or reconsideration in the time and manner set forth in the City Council Rules of order adopted by resolution of the City Council. (Ord. 5846 § 1; January 7, 2003: Ord. 6156 § 1; September 22, 2009.)

.010 Any person or entity (hereinafter "petitioner") aggrieved by any administrative order or decision made by the City Council as the result of a proceeding in which by law a hearing is required to be given, evidence is required to be taken and discretion in the determination of facts is vested in the City Council, shall, as a prerequisite to seeking any judicial review or relief relating to such order or decision, request a rehearing of such matter by the City Council when any of the following grounds exist:

.011 That the City Council has proceeded without, or in excess, of its jurisdiction;

.012 That there was not a fair hearing and the petitioner was thereby deprived of any rights;

.013 That there was a prejudicial abuse of discretion by the City Council within the meaning of Section 1094.5 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the State of California; or

.014 That there was relevant evidence which, in the exercise of reasonable diligence, could not have been produced by the petitioner, or which was improperly excluded by the City Council, at the hearing.

.020 A request for a rehearing pursuant to this section shall be accompanied by a supporting affidavit or declaration of merit (hereinafter "affidavit") specifying in detail the subsection or subsections of Section 1.12.100.010 pursuant to which the rehearing is requested and the facts showing an entitlement to the relief sought under each such subsection.

.030 The request for rehearing shall be filed in the Office of the City Clerk not later than seven calendar days after the date on which the order or decision of the City Council is rendered.

.040 Notwithstanding subsection .030 above, where (i) the order or decision is not rendered at the same meeting at which the hearing is completed, or (ii) the order or decision is rendered by the adoption of an ordinance or resolution, or (iii) the order or decision requires the adoption of findings of fact which are not announced at the meeting when the order or decision is rendered, such request for rehearing shall be filed by said petitioner in the Office of the City Clerk not later than the tenth calendar day following the date the City Clerk deposits a copy of such order or decision, or notice thereof, in the course of transmission with the United States Postal Service, postage prepaid, addressed to (i) the permit applicant and (ii) the petitioner in cases where the petitioner is not the permit applicant and has theretofore filed a written request for a copy of such order or decision. Where the petitioner is neither the permit applicant nor has filed a written request for a copy of such order or decision as above provided, the time to file a request for rehearing shall commence on the date of mailing of such order or decision, or notice thereof, to the permit applicant as above provided.

.050 When the time limits specified in subsections .030 and .040 above would otherwise expire upon a day when the Office of the City Clerk is not open for business, such time limits shall be deemed extended to the close of the next following day when the Office of the City Clerk is open for business.

.060 The order or decision of the City Council shall be deemed final as to any petitioner upon the expiration of the time within which a request could be filed pursuant to this Section 1.12.100 in the absence of a request for rehearing that is filed timely and in the manner specified herein. In the event of denial by the City Council of a timely filed request for rehearing, such order or decision shall be deemed final on the date of such denial. If the City Council does not act upon a timely filed request for rehearing within thirty days of the filing of such request at the office of the City Clerk, such request for rehearing shall be deemed denied.

.070 The procedure set forth in this section shall apply to any petitioner aggrieved by any administrative order or decision made by the City Council in any rehearing granted pursuant to this section which order or decision results in any modification of a prior order or decision.

.080 Any request for rehearing shall be accompanied by the supporting affidavit and the applicable filing fee as established by the City Council. The City Clerk shall refuse to file any request for rehearing which is not accompanied by both such fee and supporting affidavit.

.090 Any rehearing granted by the City Council shall constitute a de novo hearing and shall entirely vacate the prior order or decision of the City Council for all purposes as of the date such rehearing is granted. (Ord. 4541 § 1; September 11, 1984: Ord. 4579 § 1; February 26, 1985: Ord. 4642 § 1; August 17, 1985; Ord. 5774 § 48; July 24, 2001.)

The purpose of this Section is to identify the types of hearing officers used by the City when referring hearings on matters that would otherwise be under the jurisdiction of the City Council or a City officer or employee as designated in any provision of the Anaheim Municipal Code, and to establish the procedures for such hearings, as appropriate.

.010 Definitions.

.0101 "City Hearing Officer." The term "City Hearing Officer" shall mean the person appointed by Resolution of the City Council to conduct hearings, receive evidence, and, in specified circumstances, make final decisions on behalf of the City.

.0102 "Employee Hearing Officer." The term "Employee Hearing Officer" shall mean a regularly employed City employee appointed by either the City Council, its designee, an authorized City employee, or by operation of law, to conduct a hearing, receive evidence, and, in specified circumstances, make final decisions on behalf of the City. Unless otherwise expressly provided therein, provisions in the Anaheim Municipal Code which authorize a regularly employed City employee to appoint a hearing officer shall require appointment of an Employee Hearing Officer.

.0103 "Hearing." The term "hearing" as used in this Section shall mean any proceeding required by law in which evidence is required to be taken and discretion in the determination of facts is vested in the City Council, or a designated City officer or employee, which discretion, in specified instances, is delegated to a Hearing Officer.

.0104 "Hearing Officer." The term "Hearing Officer," for purposes of this Section, shall collectively include the City Hearing Officer, Employee Hearing Officers and Stipulated Hearing Officers.

.0105 "Parties." The term "Parties" as used in this Section shall mean (i) the City of Anaheim and (ii) the permit or project applicant, and (iii) the owner of the property which is directly the subject of the hearing, if any.

.0106 "Stipulated Hearing Officer." The term "Stipulated Hearing Officer" shall mean the person appointed, subject to mutual agreement of the Parties, to conduct a hearing, receive evidence, and in specified circumstances, make final decisions on behalf of the City.

.020 Procedure Applicable Where Hearing Officer Makes Advisory Recommendation to City Council. In the absence of any procedure expressly made applicable by any other provision of this Code, the procedures set forth in this subsection .020 shall apply to hearings in which the Hearing Officer is required to conduct a hearing and make advisory recommendations to the City Council.

.0201 The Hearing Officer shall hold such hearing within the time and manner, and notice of such hearing shall be given, as would otherwise apply had the hearing been held by the City Council.

.0202 The Hearing Officer shall receive evidence, both oral and written, at such hearing and shall prepare, or cause to be prepared, an administrative record of such hearing, which record, as certified by the Hearing Officer, together with the written recommendation of the Hearing Officer of the action to be taken, shall be submitted to the City Council within twenty days following the conclusion of such hearing.

.0203 Within thirty days following the receipt of the administrative record and written recommendation of the Hearing Officer, the City Council shall render a decision upon the matter in the manner required by law. The decision of the City Council shall be based upon the administrative record prepared by the Hearing Officer and the City Council shall not take or consider additional evidence. Notwithstanding the foregoing, oral argument shall be permitted by the City Council prior to its decision.

.0204 To the extent the time limits and procedures set forth in this subsection .020 are inconsistent with any other provision of this Code, specific time limits otherwise stated in the Code shall govern.

.0205 In the event the City Council is legally unable to act upon a matter following referral by the Hearing Officer, due to a tie vote, or the proposed motion or resolution receives more affirmative than negative votes, but fails to receive the minimum number of affirmative votes legally required for adoption, and such inability to act is the result of an abstention by one or more members of the City Council (whether legally required or otherwise), the recommendation of the Hearing Officer shall be deemed final and conclusive without further action of the City Council. The City Clerk shall certify the decision of the Hearing Officer as the final decision of the City and shall mail a copy of the certification to the Parties and such other persons or entities requesting notice of such decision.

.0206 Any request for a rehearing of the decision of the Hearing Officer, so certified as the final decision of the City by the City Clerk, shall be filed with the City Clerk within the time limits specified in subsection .040 of Section 1.12.100 of this Code.

.0207 The City Council shall either grant or deny any request for rehearing. In the event the City Council grants any request for rehearing for any matter where the hearing to which the request relates was held by the Hearing Officer, such rehearing shall be held by the Hearing Officer who initially heard the matter and made the recommendation to the Council, unless otherwise mutually agreed by the Parties.

.030 Procedure Applicable Where Hearing Officer Makes Final Decision. In matters wherein the Code specifies that the decision of the hearing officer shall be deemed final and conclusive without further action of the City Council or any subordinate body, officer or employee of the City being required, the Hearing Officer shall conduct the hearing in accordance with the procedures applicable to such matter as otherwise specifically set forth in the provisions of this Code applicable to such matter.

.040 The City Council may, due to illness or any other reason, including recusal, which causes the Hearing Officer to be unable to complete a hearing and make a decision, appoint a substitute Hearing Officer to complete the hearing and make the final decision.

.0401 No person appointed to be a substitute Hearing Officer, other than an Employee Hearing Officer, shall be eligible for a future appointment for a period of two years after the completion of such person's duties as Hearing Officer, except that the period of ineligibility may be waived by mutual agreement of the Parties.

.0402 The substitute Hearing Officer shall review the record of the portion of the hearing already conducted and, after considering the arguments of any person, determine whether to proceed with the hearing or to commence the proceedings anew.(Ord. 4799 § 1: February 3, 1987; Ord. 5774 § 49; July 24, 2001; Ord. 5866 § 1; June 17, 2003.)

In accordance with Anaheim’s commitment to transparency in City government, the City Manager shall cause to be created a, “Transparency in City Government” web page within the City’s website. A link to this web page shall be conspicuously identified on the primary page of the City’s website. The “Transparency in City Government” web page shall make available certain public reports, forms, city documents, and city financial information. The City Manager shall determine those materials which shall be available on the City’s “Transparency in City Government” web page, provided, however, that such material shall include, at a minimum, those public reports, forms, city documents, and city financial information specified by a Resolution of the City Council, as such resolution may be amended from time to time. Nothing in this section shall be construed to require the disclosure of documents, records and information which is exempt from disclosure under state and federal law. (Ord. 6185 § 1; October 26, 2010.)