Sonoma Municipal Code Ch. 2.01 City Council

A. Location. The city council will hold regular city council meetings at 177 First Street West, City of Sonoma, Sonoma County, California.

B. Dates of Regular Council Meetings. The city council of the city shall from time to time establish, by resolution, the date and time of regular council meetings and may establish, by resolution, the procedures for the conduct of meetings. (Ord. 89-8, 1989).

A. Each member of the council shall receive, as salary, the sum of $300.00 per month, as prescribed in Section 36516 of the Government Code for cities of up to and including 35,000 in population, payable at the same time and in the same manner as the salaries are paid to other officers and employees of the city.

B. This section shall become operative only on and after the date upon which one or more members of the city council become eligible for the salary prescribed herein by virtue of beginning a new term of office following the general municipal election next succeeding the effective date of the ordinance codified in this section. (Ord. 06-2007 § 1, 2007).

A. Pursuant to Government Code Section 34886, commencing with the November 2026 general municipal election, members of the city council of the city of Sonoma shall be elected by-district in five single-member districts.

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

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 candidate seeks election at the time nomination papers are issued pursuant to Government Code Section 34882 and Elections Code Section 10227.

3. 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 candidate is to be elected.

4. Termination of residency in a district by a councilmember shall create a vacancy for that city council district unless the councilmember immediately declares a substitute residence within the district and establishes such substitute residence within 30 days.

5. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the councilmembers elected at-large and in office at the time this section takes effect shall continue in office until the expiration of the term to which the councilmember was elected. In the event a vacancy occurs before the expiration of the at-large elected 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. All five councilmembers shall be elected on a by-district basis from the council districts shown and numbered on the map titled “City of Sonoma District Map,” attached as Exhibit A to the ordinance codified in this section, a copy of which shall be on file in the city clerk’s office. Commencing with the general municipal election in 2026, and every four years thereafter, the following three city council districts shall be elected by-district: district 1, district 3, and district 5. Commencing with the general municipal election in 2028, and every four years thereafter, the following two city council districts shall be elected by-district: district 2, and district 4.

C. 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. 07-2025 § 2, 2025).