Division 1 — CITY COUNCIL

SEC. 2-1. MEETINGS; RULES OF PROCEDURE.

(A) Regular city council meetings - Unless otherwise approved by city council action, city council shall conduct regular meetings on the first and third Tuesdays of every month in the city council chambers at 305 West Third Street at a time set by resolution of the city council.

(B) Rules of procedure -

(1) The rules contained in the current edition of Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised shall govern the city's legislative bodies in all cases to which they are

applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with any special rules of order the city council may adopt by resolution. The city council may by resolution establish standing rules unrelated to parliamentary procedure.

(2) Any violation of such rules shall be deemed to be a violation of this code and shall be punishable as provided in section1-10 of this code.

(C) Notwithstanding Section 9217 of the Cal. Elections Code, the city council may amend subsection (A) of this section without submission to the voters to change the days and location for regular meetings.

(`64 Code, Sec. 2-1) (Ord. No. 483, 1379, 1490, 1615, 1825, 1911, 2356, 2368, 2949, 2992)

SEC. 2-1.1. ESTABLISHMENT OF CITY COUNCIL COMMITTEES.

(A) The following city council committees shall consist of three city council members per committee, appointed by the mayor and approved by at least four city councilmembers:

(1) The finance and governance committee;

(2) The public works and transportation committee;

(3) The community services, public safety, housing & economic development committee.

(B) Regular city council committee meetings- Unless otherwise approved by city council action, the city council committees shall conduct regular meetings on the second and fourth Tuesdays of every month in the city council chambers at 305 West Third Street at a time set by resolution of the city council.

(C) The city council shall adopt bylaws for each committee setting forth the powers and duties of the city council committees established in this section.

(Ord. No. 2949, 3031)

SEC. 2-1.2. ALLOWABLE MEETING TIMES.

Meetings of the city's legislative bodies, as defined by and subject to the Ralph M. Brown Act (Cal. Gov’t Code, Sections 54950et seq.), shall commence no earlier than 5:00 p.m. on weekdays and 9:00 a.m. on weekends. Notwithstanding, this requirement shall not apply to purely advisory bodies, emergency meetings, meetings held in closed session, or meetings conducted outside the city's geographical boundaries. Moreover, by a four-fifths vote this requirement may be waived by an advance reasonable determination that extenuating circumstances surrounding the starting time of a particular meeting prevent the legislative body from fulfilling its duties and that such circumstances cannot otherwise be obviated by alternative or additional meeting dates. Actions taken at meetings held in violation of this section shall be deemed invalid.

(Ord. No. 2992)

SEC. 2-1.3. PARLIAMENTARY TRAINING.

(A) The city shall provide each member of the city's legislative bodies with a copy of the current edition ofRobert's Rules of Order Newly Revised.

(B) The city shall make use of the services of a professional registered parliamentarian certified by the National Association of Parliamentarians or a certified parliamentarian credentialed by the American Institute of Parliamentarians to train members of the city's legislative bodies on Robert's Rules.

(Ord. No. 2992)

SEC. 2-1.4. STAFF PRESENTATIONS IN ADVANCE OF MEETINGS.

To provide the fullest opportunity for public input on all matters coming before the city's legislative bodies, staff presentations for each agenda item shall be videotaped in advance, and then posted on the city's website and made available for viewing on city premises at the time of the posting of the agenda for the meeting. The primary role of staff at meetings is to answer questions posed by the legislative body, not the reenactment of pre-recorded presentations.

(Ord. No. 2992)

SEC. 2-1.5. PUBLIC COMMENT.

(A) In addition to opportunities for public comment required by state law, the agenda shall provide an opportunity for members of the public to address the legislative body on any item that has already been considered by a committee composed exclusively of members of the legislative body.

(B) Each person shall be allowed no less than three minutes to comment on an agenda item at a meeting.

(C) Reasonable accommodations shall be made to facilitate the presentation of videos, PowerPoint or similar presentations during public comments. Presenters shall be required to provide hard copies of presentations to members of the legislative body.

(Ord. No. 2992)

SEC. 2-2. DECLARATION OF PURPOSE REGARDING DISTRICT ELECTIONS.

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

(Ord. No. 2934)

SEC. 2-2.5. CITY COUNCIL DISTRICTS ESTABLISHED.

Six city council districts are hereby established in the City of Oxnard. The boundaries and identifying number of each district shall be described on NDC Map 203A codified as Appendix A, and incorporated herein by this reference.

(Ord. No. 2934, 3008)

SEC. 2-3. ELECTION OF MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL BY DISTRICT; ELECTION OF MAYOR AT-LARGE; LENGTH OF TERMS OF OFFICE.

(A) Members of the city council shall be elected “by district” as defined in Cal. Gov’t Code, Section 34871, or any successor statute. The term of the office of each member elected to the city council shall be four years.

(B) The mayor shall be separately elected on an at-large basis. The term of office of mayor shall be four years.

(C) Registered voters signing nomination papers or voting for a member of the city council shall be residents of the geographical area making up the district from which the member is to be elected.

(Ord. No. 2934, 2974, 2976)

Editor’s note:

This section was amended by Measure C, adopted by the electorate on November 8, 2022

SEC. 2-3.1. FILLING OF COUNCIL VACANCIES.

If a vacancy occurs on the city council, or in the office of mayor, and the city council determines to fill such vacancy by appointment, the person appointed to fill such vacancy shall hold office only until the date of a special election which shall immediately be called to fill the remainder of the term. The special election may be held on a date permitted by Cal. Gov’t Code, Section 36512(c)(3).

(Ord. No. 2995)

SEC. 2-3.5. COMMENCEMENT OF DISTRICT ELECTIONS.

(A) Commencing with the general municipal election in November 2018 and thereafter, the voters in districts one, two and five shall elect members of the city council by district for full four year terms.

(B) For the general municipal election in November 2018 only, the voters in district six shall elect their member of the city council by district for a two year term.

(C) Commencing with the general municipal election in 2020 and thereafter, the voters in districts three, four and six shall elect members of the city council by district for full four year terms.

(D) Pursuant to Cal. Elections Code, Section 21606, the term of office of any council member 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/she was elected.

(Ord. No. 2934)

SEC. 2-4. TERM LIMITS.

(A) Any person who has served in elective city office for two consecutive full terms, or a combination of full or partial terms totaling seven consecutive years, shall be ineligible to be elected or appointed to an elective city office until two consecutive years has elapsed since the person last held elective city office.

(B) For purposes of this section:

(1) The phrase “elective city office” means major and city council member.

(2) Any person who, either by appointment or election, serves more than one-half of a term in elective city office, shall be deemed to have served a full term.

(3) Notwithstanding subsection (2), a person who resigns or is removed from elective city office any time during a term, other than to assume a different elective city

office, shall be deemed to have served a full term.

(4) This section shall not impose an absolute limits on the number of terms a person may serve in his or her lifetime, but only imposes a limit on the number of

consecutive years a person may serve in any combination of elective city offices.

(Ord. No. 2974, 2976)

Editor’s note:

This section was amended by Measure C, adopted by the electorate on November 8, 2022

Appendix A

(Ord. No. 2934, 3008)