Beverly Hills Municipal Code Art. 1 General Provisions

Council shall create such commissions and committees as required by State law or as deemed appropriate for the performance of specific City functions. Commissions shall be created by ordinance and committees shall be created by ordinance, resolution, or motion of the Council. (1962 Code § 2-13; amd. Ord. 92-O-2156, eff. 12-11-1992)

COMMISSION: An agency charged with the consideration of an indefinitely recurrent sequence of transactions and whose members serve for a specified term and hold meetings on a regular publicized schedule.

COMMITTEE: An agency charged with the consideration of a single nonrecurring subject or matter, or a matter which recurs sporadically, and which holds meetings only as appropriate. (1962 Code § 2-13)

A. Every commission shall continue indefinitely until abolished by Council.

B. Every committee shall automatically terminate on the first anniversary of its creation, unless otherwise provided by Council. (1962 Code § 2-13)

A. Appointments to any commission or committee shall be made by the City Council.

B. Any person appointed to a commission or committee shall be a resident of the City, unless otherwise designated in the instrument creating such commission or committee, and shall meet such other requirements as designated by Council.

C. Any person appointed to a commission or committee shall serve without compensation for service on such commission or committee.

D. Any person appointed to a commission or committee (other than the Sunshine Task Force Committee) shall not have been a legislative advocate as defined in section 1-9-102 of this Code for at least two (2) years prior to the start of the term and once appointed, shall not function as a legislative advocate while serving on a commission or committee; provided, however, the foregoing provisions shall not apply to the Architectural Commission or Design Review Commission if necessary to meet the membership requirements specified in section 10-3-3002 or 10-3-4402 of this Code, as applicable, and the legislative advocate limits his or her legislative advocacy to the area of expertise for which he or she was appointed. (Ord. 17-O-2742, eff. 12-22-2017)

A. Appointments to a commission shall be for an initial term of two (2) years. At the discretion of the City Council, Commissioners may be reappointed to a second term. Appointments to a second term may be for up to four (4) years. The City Council may appoint any commission member or members to terms shorter or longer than those set forth in this subsection if the City Council determines that a shorter or longer term or terms is in the best interest of the commission or is appropriate to stagger the terms of appointees so that the terms of all or a majority of members do not expire concurrently or inappropriately close in time.

B. Appointees who have served two (2) successive terms shall not be eligible for reappointment to the same commission.

C. A member may serve beyond expiration of that member's term until such time as a successor is appointed.

D. A Commissioner must wait one year after the end of the Commissioner's term before applying to another commission other than the Planning Commission.

E. Committee members shall be appointed at the time of creation of the committee. Where the committee continues in existence for three (3) years or more, original appointments shall expire on the third anniversary of the committee where the committee consists of three (3) members, and shall expire on the fourth anniversary of the committee where the committee consists of four (4) or more members. Any committee which continues in existence beyond a period of three (3) years shall be governed by the appointment provisions of subsections A, B and C of this section. (Ord. 15-O-2673, eff. 3-6-2015)

Membership on a commission or committee shall terminate under the following conditions, unless otherwise specifically provided in this Code:

A. Membership shall terminate automatically upon resignation or death of a member.

B. If a commission or committee regularly meets once per month, and a member is absent from three (3) regular meetings within a twelve (12) month period, such Commissioner shall meet with an ad hoc committee appointed by the Mayor to discuss the reasons for such absence. If the ad hoc committee believes that the absences are likely to continue, the ad hoc committee will request that the matter be placed on a City Council agenda. The City Council, in its sole discretion, may consider the following actions: 1) if the Council finds that the absences were due to health reasons or for other unusual hardship that justifies the absence, the Council may excuse the absences and if necessary, appoint a temporary Commissioner to fill the role until such time as the Commissioner is able to serve; or 2) remove such Commissioner and if necessary, appoint a temporary Commissioner until such time as a new Commissioner is appointed.

C. If a commission or committee regularly meets at least twice per month, and a member is absent from four (4) regular meetings within a twelve (12) month period, such Commissioner shall meet with an ad hoc committee appointed by the Mayor to discuss the reasons for such absence. If the ad hoc committee believes that the absences are likely to continue, the ad hoc committee will request that the matter be placed on a City Council agenda. The City Council, in its sole discretion, may consider the following actions: 1) if the Council finds that the absences will not likely continue, the Council may allow the Commissioner to continue serving; or 2) remove such Commissioner and if necessary, appoint a temporary Commissioner until such time as a new Commissioner is appointed. Notwithstanding the foregoing, a Commissioner's term shall automatically terminate in the event a Commissioner is absent from six (6) regular meetings in a twelve (12) month period, or nine (9) regular meetings within a twenty four (24) month period.

D. Membership shall terminate automatically if a member ceases to reside in the City, unless residence is not required for membership or unless a member has temporarily ceased to reside in the City because of unusual circumstance or hardship, has not purchased a home outside the City in which the member is residing, intends to move back into the City, and has not previously ceased to reside in the City at any time while serving on the commission. For the purposes of this subsection "temporarily" means a period not exceeding six (6) months starting from the date a member ceased residence in the City.

E. Membership shall terminate automatically if a member's office would be vacated under the provisions for disqualification from office set forth in section 1770 of the California Government Code. Provided, however, that the provisions of this section governing absences shall supersede the provisions of section 1770 regarding absences.

F. The City Council may remove any member from a commission or committee for any reason. Such removal may be accomplished by resolution or minute order of the City Council.

G. In the event of a Commissioner vacancy due to resignation or termination, the City Council liaisons to the affected commission shall recommend a former Commissioner until such time as a new Commissioner is appointed to fill such vacancy, subject to City Council approval. (Ord. 15-O-2673, eff. 3-6-2015)

Unless otherwise provided in the ordinance or resolution creating a commission or committee the following provisions shall apply in the conduct of business of such commission or committee:

A. The city council shall adopt rules of conduct and procedure for all commissions.

B. Each commission shall have regularly scheduled meetings at least once each month, and may call special meetings as provided in section 54956 of the State Government Code.

C. Committees are not required to have regularly scheduled meetings, and meetings may be called by the Chairperson or by a majority of the membership.

D. A majority of the designated membership shall constitute a quorum, and any action shall require a majority of the quorum for either affirmative or negative action.

E. A Chairperson and a Vice Chairperson shall serve for one year. A rotation progression of the Chair and the Vice Chair position among Commissioners shall be established by the City Clerk based upon seniority of appointment to the commission. If a Commissioner declines to serve as Chairperson, such Commissioner shall wait until the other Commissioners currently serving at such time are eligible for Chairperson before assuming the Chair, regardless of seniority of appointment. A Commissioner shall not serve as Chairperson or Vice Chairperson during his or her first year as a Commissioner. A Commissioner shall not serve as Chairperson if such Commissioner's term will end before such Commissioner is able to serve one complete year as Chairperson.

F. An official record of all considerations and decisions shall be made and filed with the City Clerk; and a report shall be made to Council.

G. The City Manager shall designate such staff as necessary to provide administrative support, unless otherwise designated by Council. (Ord. 15-O-2673, eff. 3-6-2015; amd. Ord. 20-O-2799, 1-28-2020)