Lomita Municipal Code Ch. 1 City Council Procedure

The city council shall hold regular meetings on the first and third Tuesdays, of each month at the hour of 6:00 p.m. or as soon thereafter as is reasonable in the council chamber of the Lomita City Hall, 24300 Narbonne Avenue, in the city, or in such other place within the city limits to which said meeting may be adjourned. If by reason of fire, flood, or other emergency, including anticipated overcrowding of the council chamber, it shall be unsafe to meet in the regular council chamber, the meetings may be held for the duration of the emergency at such other place as is designated by the mayor or, if he should fail to act, by three (3) members of the city council. When the day for any regular meeting falls on a legal holiday, no meeting shall be held on such holiday, but a regular meeting shall be held on the next succeeding business day, which is not a holiday. However, the council may designate by vote of a majority of the council any other date and/or time as suits its convenience for the rescheduling of a regularly scheduled meeting which falls on a holiday.

(Ord. No. 185, § 1, 7-21-75; Ord. No. 458, § 1, 1-4-90; Ord. No. 767, § 1, 5-19-14; Ord. No. 776, § 2, 12-9-15; Ord. No. 790, § 1, 7-18-17; Ord. No. 800, § 2, 2-19-19)

The city council may meet in study sessions at such places as may be determined by the council, for the purpose of hearing reports from the staff or other persons, and reviewing, discussing and debating matters of interest to the city. Such sessions shall be open to the public and the press. No official action shall be taken at a study session; provided, however, that nothing herein shall be deemed to prevent the taking of an informal opinion poll on any matter under discussion. The participation of the public in such sessions shall be subject to the discretion of the presiding officer.

Special meetings may be called at any time by the mayor, or by three (3) members of the city council, by delivering personally or by mail written notice to each councilman and to each local newspaper of general circulation, radio or television station requesting notice in writing. Such notice must be delivered personally or by mail at least twenty-four (24) hours before the time of such meeting as specified in the notice. The call and notice shall specify the time and place of the special meeting and the business to be transacted. No other business shall be considered at such meetings. Such written notice may be dispensed with as to any councilman who at or prior to the time the meeting convenes files with the city clerk a written waiver of notice. Such waiver may be given by telegram. Such written notice may also be dispensed with as to any councilman who is actually present at the meeting at the time it convenes.

The city council may adjourn any regular, adjourned regular, special or adjourned special meeting to a time and place specified in the order of adjournment. Less than a quorum may so adjourn from time to time. If all members are absent from any regular or adjourned regular meeting, the city clerk may declare the meeting adjourned to a stated time and place and he shall cause a written notice of the adjournment to be given in the same manner as provided in section 2-1.03, above, for special meetings, unless such notice is waived as provided for special meetings. A copy of the order or notice of adjournment shall be conspicuously posted on or near the door of the place where the regular, adjourned regular, special or adjourned special meeting was held within twenty-four (24) hours after the time of the adjournment. When a regular or adjourned regular meeting is adjourned as provided in this section, the resulting adjourned regular meeting is a regular meeting for all purposes. When an order of adjournment of any meeting fails to state the hour at which the adjourned meeting is to be held, it shall be held at the hour specified for regular meetings by section 2-1.01, above.

All regular and special meetings of the city council shall be public; provided, however, the city council may hold executive sessions during a regular or special meeting, from which the public may be excluded, for the purpose of considering the matters referred to in section 54957 of the Government Code of the State of California.

No member of the city council, employee of the city, or any other person present during an executive session of the council shall disclose to any person the content or substance of any discussion which took place during said executive session unless the city council shall authorize the disclosure of such information by majority vote.

All reports, communications, ordinances, resolutions, contract documents, or other matters to be submitted to the council at a regular meeting shall be delivered to the city clerk not later than 12:00 noon on the Thursday preceding the meeting. The city clerk shall prepare the agenda of all such matters under the direction of the city manager. The agenda shall be delivered to the councilmen and the city attorney on or before the Friday preceding the council meeting to which it pertains and shall be made available to the public no later than 4:30 p.m. on the Friday preceding the council meeting; provided, however, that in the event Friday shall be a legal holiday, such agenda shall be made available the preceding working day.

(Ord. No. 699, § 1, 4-2-07)

(a) Availability to the public. Correspondence addressed to the city council which is received by the city clerk or any other officer or employee of the city shall not become a public record until received and filed by the council at a regular, special or adjourned meeting of the council. Correspondence received in the city clerk's office or other offices after 12:00 noon on the Thursday preceding a regular council meeting shall not be placed on the agenda unless it concerns a matter to be considered by the council at the next regular meeting or is determined by the mayor or the city manager to be an urgent matter which should be brought to the immediate attention of the council. Correspondence shall not be read aloud at a council meeting unless requested by a member of the council.

(b) Authority of the city manager. The city manager is authorized to open and examine all mail or other written communications addressed to the city council and to give it immediate attention to the end that all administrative business referred to in said communications and not necessarily requiring council action may be acted upon between council meetings.

(Ord. No. 699, § 1, 4-2-07)

The business of the council shall be taken up for consideration and disposition in the following order:

(a) Call to order and roll call;

(b) Pledge of allegiance and invocation;

(c) Standard motion to waive further reading;

(d) Approval of minutes;

(e) Fiscal matters;

(f) Oral communications;

(g) Consent agenda;

(h) Public hearings, except for appeals from the planning commission;

(i) Old business;

(j) New business;

(k) Public hearings, appeals from the planning commission;

(l) Matters presented by council and city manager;

(m) Adjournment.

(Ord. No. 216, § 1, 3-22-76; Ord. No. 312, § 4, 2-19-80; Ord. No. 322, § 1, 3-2-81; Ord. No. 451, § 1, 8-7-89; Ord. No. 699, § 1, 4-2-07)

The city clerk shall have the responsibility for preparation of the minutes of the council meetings, and any directions for changes in the minutes shall be made only by majority action of the city council.

Unless the reading of the minutes of a council meeting is ordered by a majority vote of the council, such minutes may be approved without reading if the city clerk has previously furnished each councilman with a copy.

The mayor shall be the presiding officer at all meetings of the city council. In the absence of the mayor, the mayor pro tempore shall preside. In the absence of both the mayor and mayor pro tempore, the city clerk shall call the council to order, whereupon a temporary presiding officer shall be elected by the councilmen present to serve until the arrival of the mayor or mayor pro tempore or until adjournment. Wherever in this chapter the term "mayor" is used, it shall apply equally to the presiding officer as defined in this section.

(a) Participation. The presiding officer may move, second, debate and vote from the chair.

(b) Seating arrangement for city council. The mayor shall, following each councilmanic election and at such other time as he may deem it necessary, establish the seating arrangement of the members of the council. The mayor pro tempore shall always be seated immediately next to the mayor.

(c) Question to be stated. The presiding officer or such member of the city staff as he may designate shall verbally restate each question immediately prior to calling for the vote. Following the vote the city clerk shall announce whether the question carried or was defeated. The presiding officer in his discretion may publicly explain the effect of a vote for the audience, or he may direct a member of the city staff to do so, before proceeding to the next item of business.

(d) Signing of documents. The presiding officer shall sign all ordinances, resolutions, contracts, and other documents necessitating his signature which were adopted in his presence, unless he is unavailable, in which case the signature of an alternate presiding officer may be used.

(e) Sworn testimony. The presiding officer may require any person addressing the city council to be sworn as a witness and to testify under oath, and the presiding officer shall so require if directed to do so by a majority vote of the council.

(a) Prerequisite to debate. Before any matter is open to formal debate or audience participation, it is necessary that a motion and a second be made by members of the council and that the motion be stated by the presiding officer. Informal consultation and discussion among the council and staff is permitted prior to the motion being made or stated.

(b) Getting the floor. Every councilman desiring to speak shall first address the chair, gain recognition by the presiding officer, and shall confine himself to the question under debate, avoiding personalities and indecorous language.

(c) Questions to staff. Every councilman desiring to question the city staff shall, after recognition by the presiding officer, address his questions to the city manager, the city clerk, the city treasurer, or the city attorney, who shall be entitled either to answer the inquiry himself or to designate a member of his staff for that purpose.

(d) Interruptions. A councilman, once recognized, shall not be interrupted when speaking unless called to order by the presiding officer, unless a point of order or personal privilege is raised by another councilman, or unless the speaker chooses to yield to a question by another councilman. If a councilman, while speaking, is called to order, he shall cease speaking until the question of order is determined and, if determined to be in order, he may proceed. Members of the city staff after recognition by the presiding officer shall hold the floor until completion of their remarks or until recognition is withdrawn by the presiding officer.

(e) Points of order. The presiding officer shall determine all points of order subject to the right of any councilman to appeal to the council. If an appeal is taken, the question shall be, "Shall the decision of the presiding officer be sustained?" A majority vote shall conclusively determine such question of order.

(f) Point of personal privilege. The right of a councilman to address the council on a question of personal privilege shall be limited to cases in which his integrity, character or motives are questioned or where the welfare of the council is concerned. A councilman raising a point or personal privilege may interrupt another councilman who has the floor only if the presiding officer recognizes the privilege.

(g) Privilege of closing debate. The councilman moving the adoption of an ordinance, resolution or motion shall have the privilege of closing debate.

(h) Limitation of debate. No councilman shall be allowed to speak more than once upon any particular subject until every other councilman desiring to do so shall have spoken.

(i) Modification of motion. A moving councilman may, at any time prior to the vote, withdraw his motion, or, with the consent of the second, modify his motion, in which event the presiding officer shall state such modified motion.

(Ord. No. 699, § 1, 4-2-07)

A councilman may request through the presiding officer the privilege of having an abstract of his statement on any subject under consideration by the council entered in the minutes. If the council consents thereto, such statement shall be entered in the minutes.

Any councilman shall have the right to have the reasons for his dissent from, or his protest against, any action of the council entered in the minutes. Such dissent or protest to be entered in the minutes shall be made in the following manner: "I would like the minutes to show that I am opposed to this action for the following reasons…"

Except as provided in this Code, other rules adopted by the city council, or applicable provisions of State law, the procedures of the council shall be governed by the latest revised edition of Robert's Rules of Order.

Rules adopted to expedite the transaction of the business of the council in an orderly fashion are deemed to be procedural only and the failure to strictly observe such rules shall not affect the jurisdiction of the council or invalidate any action taken at a meeting that is otherwise held in conformity with law.

(a) Manner of addressing the council. Each person desiring to address the council shall be requested to step up to the microphone, state his/her name and address for the record, state the subject he/she wishes to discuss, state whom he/she is representing if he/she represents an organization or other persons, and, unless further time is granted by majority vote of the council, shall limit his/her remarks to three (3) minutes. All remarks shall be addressed to the council as a whole and not to any member thereof. No question shall be asked a councilmember or a member of the city staff without the permission of the presiding officer.

(b) Spokesman for group of persons. In order to expedite matters and to avoid repetitious presentations, whenever any group of persons wishes to address the council on the same subject matter, it shall be proper for the presiding officer to request that a spokesman be chosen by the group to address the council and, in case additional matters are to be presented by any other member of said group, to limit the number of such persons addressing the council.

(c) After public hearing closed. After a public hearing has been closed, no member of the public shall address the council from the audience on the matter under consideration without first securing permission to do so by a majority vote of the city council.

(Ord. No. 840, § 2, 9-20-22)

(a) Councilmen. While the council is in session, the members must preserve order and decorum, and a member shall neither by conversation or otherwise delay or interrupt the proceedings or the peace of the council nor disturb any member while speaking or refuse to obey the orders of the presiding officer. Members of the council shall not leave their seats during a meeting without first obtaining the permission of the presiding officer.

(b) Employees. Members of the city staff and employees shall observe the same rules of order and decorum as are applicable to the city council, with the exception that members of the city staff may leave their seats during a meeting without first obtaining the permission of the presiding officer.

(c) Persons addressing the council. Any person making impertinent, slanderous, or profane remarks or who becomes boisterous while addressing the council shall be called to order by the presiding officer and, if such conduct continues, may at the discretion of the presiding officer be ordered barred from further audience before the council during that meeting.

(d) Members of the audience. Any person in the audience who engages in disorderly conduct such as hand clapping, stamping of feet, whistling, using profane language, yelling, and similar demonstrations, which conduct disturbs the peace and good order of the meeting, or who refuses to comply with the lawful orders of the presiding officer shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon instructions from the presiding officer it shall be the duty of the sergeant at arms to remove any such person from the council chamber and to place him under arrest.

(e) Persons authorized to be within council area. No person except members of the council and the city staff shall be permitted within the council area without the consent of the presiding officer.

The chief of police, or such member or members of the police department as he may designate, shall be sergeant at arms of the city council and shall carry out all orders given by the presiding officer for the purpose of maintaining order and decorum at the council meetings. Any councilman may move to require the presiding officer to enforce the rules and the affirmative vote of a majority of the council shall require him to do so.

Any vote of the council, including a roll call vote, may be registered by the members by answering "Yes" for an affirmative vote or "No" for a negative vote upon his name being called by the city clerk.

Any councilman who is disqualified from voting on a particular matter by reason of a conflict of interest shall publicly state or have the presiding officer state the nature of such disqualification in open meeting. Where no clearly disqualifying conflict of interest appears, the matter of disqualification may, at the request of the councilman affected, be decided by the other councilmen. A councilmen who is disqualified by reason of a conflict in interest in any matter shall request and be given the permission of the presiding officer to step down from the council table and leave the council chamber. A councilman stating such disqualification shall not be counted as part of a quorum and shall be considered absent for the purpose of determining the outcome of any vote on such matter.

Every councilman should vote unless disqualified by reason of a conflict of interest. A councilman who abstains from voting in effect consents that a majority of the quorum may decide the question voted upon.

Tie votes shall be lost motions and may be reconsidered.

A member may change his vote only if he makes a timely request to do so immediately following the announcement of the vote by the city clerk and prior to the time that the next item in the order of business is taken up. A councilman who publicly announces that he is abstaining from voting on a particular matter shall not subsequently be allowed to withdraw his abstention.

A motion to reconsider any action taken by the council may be made only on the day such action was taken. It may be made either immediately during the same session, or at a recessed or adjourned session thereof. Such motion may be made only by one (1) of the councilmen who voted with the prevailing side. Nothing herein shall be construed to prevent any councilman from making or remaking the same or any other motion at a subsequent meeting of the council.

(a) All ordinances shall be prepared by the city attorney. No ordinance shall be prepared for presentation to the council unless ordered by a majority vote of the council, or requested by the mayor, or city manager, or prepared by the city attorney on his own initiative.

(b) Prior approval by administrative staff. All ordinances, resolutions and contract documents shall, before presentation to the council, have been approved as to form and legality by the city attorney and shall have been examined and approved for administration by the city manager or his authorized representative.

(Ord. No. 699, § 1, 4-2-07)

At the time of adoption of an ordinance, it shall be read in full unless, after the reading of the title thereof, the further reading thereof is waived by unanimous consent of the councilmen present. Such consent may be expressed by a statement by the presiding officer that "If there is no objection, the further reading of the ordinance shall be waived." If any councilman so requests, the ordinance shall be read in full.

The mayor shall be a councilperson and he or she shall be elected by members of the city council. He or she shall be elected to such office for a term of one (1) year. No councilperson shall hold the office of mayor for two (2) successive terms. However, any councilperson may be elected to the office of mayor when he or she has not held such office for the year immediately proceeding his or her election to such office. During even-numbered calendar years, the election for mayor shall be held at the second regular meeting of the city council in the month of November. During odd-numbered years, the election of mayor shall be held at the time prescribed by section 36801 of the Government Code.

The mayor may make or second any motion and present or discuss any matter as a member of the council. He or she shall preside at the meetings of the council and shall have such other duties as may be prescribed by law.

(A) By-district elections. Pursuant to California Government Code section 34886, members of the city council of the City of Lomita shall be elected by-district in five (5) single-member districts.

1. Members of the city council shall be elected in the electoral districts established by subdivision (B) of this Section and subsequently reapportioned as provided by state law. Elections shall take place "by-district" as that term is defined in California Government Code section 34871, meaning one councilmember shall be elected from each district, by the voters of that district alone.

2. A councilmember elected or appointed to represent a district must reside in that district and be a registered voter in that district, and any candidate for city council must reside in, and be a registered voter in, the district in which he or she seeks election at the time nomination papers are issued.

3. Termination of residency in a district by a councilmember shall create a vacancy for that city council. district unless a substitute residence within the district is immediately declared and established within thirty (30) days after the termination of residency.

4. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the councilmembers in office at the time this section takes effect shall continue in office until the expiration of the term to which he or she was elected. In the event a vacancy occurs before the expiration of the term of a councilmember in office at the time this section takes effect, a person who is appointed or elected by special election to fill such vacancy may reside anywhere within the corporate boundaries of the city. A person appointed or elected to fill such a vacancy shall hold the office in accordance with state law.

(B) City council districts and district elections. All five (5) councilmembers shall be elected on a "by-district" basis from the council districts shown and numbered on the map titled 'City of Lomita District Map' attached as exhibit A, a copy of which shall be on file in the city clerk's office. In 2024, and every four (4) years thereafter, the following two (2) city council districts shall be elected by-district: District 2 and District 4. In 2026, and every four (4) years thereafter, the following three (3) city council districts shall be elected by-district: District 1; District 3; and District 5.

(C) Amendment of district boundaries. Pursuant to Elections Code section 21601, as it may be amended from time to time, the city council shall adjust the boundaries of any or all of the districts following each decennial federal census to ensure that the districts are in compliance with all applicable provisions of law.

(Ord. No. 848, § 2, 5-2-23)

The date of the general municipal election in the City of Lomita, California, is the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November of each even-numbered year.

(Ord. No. 540, §§ 1, 2, 2-21-95; Ord. No. 784, § 2, 2-21-17)

Editor's note— Ord. No. 540, adopted February 21, 1995, did not specifically amend this Code; hence, §§ 1 and 2 were included as a new § 2-1.30 at the discretion of the editor.

(A) Purpose. On October 8, 2019, the governor signed Assembly Bill 571, setting campaign limits for elective city offices commensurate with state limits. Assembly Bill 571 also authorizes a city to set its own campaign contribution limits different than the state limits. The purpose of this section is to comply with the provision of Government Code Section 85702.5 which authorizes a city to impose its own limit on campaign contributions by ordinance or resolution.

(B) Definitions. Except as more specifically provided herein, the definitions set forth in the Political Reform Act of 1974 (Government Code Sections 81000, et seq., as amended) shall govern interpretation of this section 2-1.30.1 and are hereby incorporated by reference.

(C) "City election" shall mean any primary, general, or special election, including a recall election, held within the City of Lomita for elective city office or on a city measure. Each primary, general, or special election is a separate election for purposes of this section.

(D) "Elective city office" shall mean members of the city council.

(E) City campaign contribution limits. The city council hereby imposes no limit on the campaign contributions that a candidate for elective city office may receive for any separate city election.

(Ord. No. 831, § 2, 3-15-22)

There shall be no flags raised for any flag raising ceremony at the Lomita City Hall or any city-owned facility except for the flag of the United States, the flag of the political subdivisions of the United States or the nationally recognized flag of the prisoners of war and/or missing in action (POW/MIA).

(Ord. No. 575, § 1, 2-3-97)