Los Altos Municipal Code Ch. 2.04 City Council

A.

The council shall hold its regular meetings in the community meeting chambers located at One North San Antonio Road, Los Altos, California on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month at 7:00 p.m. A special meeting of the city council may be called at any time by the mayor, or by a majority of the members of the city council, in accordance with state law. Any meeting of the city council may be cancelled in advance by majority vote of the council. The mayor may cancel a meeting in the case of an emergency or when a majority of members have confirmed in writing their unavailability to attend a meeting.

B.

Exception. The city council may from time to time, by resolution, change the day and/or time of a regular or special meeting or meetings as provided in subsection A of this section. If the city council so elects, a resolution shall be adopted which clearly states the duration of the change, or if no termination is stated, the revised start time shall prevail until altered by a resolution of the city council.

(Prior code § 2-2.01)

(Ord. No. 10-347, § 1, 4-13-2010; Ord. No. 2012-376, § 1, 1-24-2012; Ord. No. 2025-524, § 1(App. A), 4-8- 2025)

No person shall serve more than two consecutive terms on the Los Altos city council, plus the completion of any unexpired term to which such person was elected or appointed.

(Prior code § 2-2.02)

A regular election to select members of the council shall be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November of each even-numbered year.

(Ord. 08-322 § 1)

For the purposes of adoption by the council, ordinances shall be read by title only, unless any member of the council requests that the ordinance be read in its entirety.

(Prior code § 2-2.05)

A.

This section is enacted pursuant to California Government Code Sections 36516 and 36516.5 authorizing the city council to provide by ordinance that each member of the city council shall receive a prescribed salary;

B.

Each member of the city council shall receive, as salary, nine hundred and fifty dollars ($950.00) per month which shall be payable at the same time and in the same manner as the salaries paid to other officers and employees of the city;

C.

The city may provide other benefits to city council members as determined by resolution of the city council;

D.

The salaries and benefits prescribed in this section are and shall be exclusive of any amounts payable to each member of the city council as reimbursement for actual and necessary expenses incurred by the member in the performance of official duties for the city.

(Ord. No. 2024-509, § 1, 2-27-2024)

The city council hereby declares that the change of method of electing members of this city council hereby enacted is being made in furtherance of the California Voting Rights Act of 2001.

(Ord. No. 2024-518, § 2, 11-12-2024)

Five city council districts are hereby established in the City of Los Altos. The boundaries and identifying number of each district shall be as described on the City Council District Map F2A attached hereto as Exhibit A and incorporated herein.

City Council District Map F2A

(Ord. No. 2024-518, § 2, 11-12-2024)

A.

Following the effective date of this Ordinance and upon the commencement of "by-district" elections in the order established in Section 2.04.100 of this chapter, city councilmembers shall be elected "by-district" as defined in California Government Code Section 34871 or any successor statute. Any candidate for city council must have been a resident and elector of the district in which they seek election for at least thirty (30) days before the time they file nominating papers or an equivalent declaration of candidacy for the city council, or such person's appointment to fill a vacancy therein. No term of any city councilmember that commenced prior to the effective date of this Ordinance shall be affected by the adoption of this Ordinance.

B.

Registered voters signing nominating papers or voting for a city councilmember shall be residents of the geographical area making up the district from which the city councilmember is to be elected.

C.

The terms of the office of each city councilmember elected shall remain four years. Pursuant to Section 2.04.020 of the Los Altos Municipal Code, no person shall be eligible to serve as a city councilmember for more than two consecutive four year terms.

(Ord. No. 2024-518, § 2, 11-12-2024)

A.

Commencing on the general municipal election in 2026, and every four years thereafter, the voters in Districts 2 and 4 shall elect city councilmembers by-district for full four year terms. At the general municipal election in 2028, and every four years thereafter, the voters in Districts 1, 3, and 5 shall elect city councilmembers by-district for full four-year terms.

B.

The term of office of any city councilmember who has been elected and whose term of office has not expired shall not be affected by any change in the boundaries of the district from which he or she was elected.

(Ord. No. 2024-518, § 2, 11-12-2024)