Subject: Updated Procedures for City Council Meetings

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On March 16, 2020, the Health Officer of Contra Costa County issued an Order through April 7, 2020, that directed that all individuals living in the County to shelter at their place of residence except that they may leave to provide or receive certain essential services or engage in certain essential activities and work for essential businesses and governmental services (the “Prior Shelter Order”).

On March 31, 2020, the County issued Order No, HO-COVID19-03 superseding the Prior Shelter Order and extending certain terms of the Prior Shelter Order to increase social distancing, reduce person-to-person contact and extend the shelter-in-place order until 11:59 p.m. on May 3, 2020.

On March 17, 2020, Governor Gavin Newsom issued Executive Order N-29-20, authorizing legislative bodies to hold public meetings via teleconferencing. Executive Order N-29-20 further provides that a legislative body that holds a meeting via teleconference and allows members of the public to observe and address the meeting telephonically or otherwise electronically, consistent with notice and accessibility requirements as set forth in the Order, shall have satisfied any requirement that the body allow members of the public to attend the meeting and offer public comment. Such a body need not make available any physical location from which members of the public may observe the meeting and offer public comment.
  
On March 19, 2020, Governor Newsom issued a statewide shelter- in-place order.
DUE TO THE SHELTER IN PLACE ORDERS, attendance at the meeting will be limited to Council members, essential City of Richmond staff, and members of the news media. Public comment will be confined to items appearing on the agenda and will be limited to the methods provided below. Consistent with Executive Order N-29-20, this meeting will utilize teleconferencing only. How to watch the meeting from home:

1.  KCRT – Comcast Channel 28 or AT&T Uverse Channel 99
2.  Livestream online at http://www.ci.richmond.ca.us/3178/KCRT-Live

Public comments may be submitted in multiple ways:

1.  Via email to  cityclerkdept@ci.richmond.ca.us by 4:00PM or during the meeting as set forth below. Email must contain in the subject line public comments – not on the agenda or public comments – agenda item #.
2.  Via mail received by 4:00 p.m. sent to 450 Civic Center Plaza, 3rd Floor, Office of the Clerk, Richmond, CA 94804.
3.  Via eComment. To leave a comment, click eComment on the City’s Meeting & Agenda Center webpage at https://richmond.granicusideas.com/meetings, select the item you wish to comment on and submit your written comment. The comment period will begin after the agenda is published and will close at
4:00 p.m. the day of the meeting.  Comments will be exported into a report,distributed to the City Council and staff and published on the City's Meeting & Agenda Center under Documents Received After Published Agenda.

Comments received via email during the meeting and up until the public comment period on the relevant agenda item is closed, will be read into the record and will be limited to a maximum of one to two minutes, depending on the number of commenters, as more fully described in the City Council meeting procedures below. For public hearing items, the time will be limited to a maximum of three minutes.

All comments received by the close of the public comment period will be available after the meeting as supplemental materials and will become part of the official meeting record.

The City cannot guarantee that its network and/or the site will be uninterrupted. To ensure that the City Council receives your comments, you are strongly encouraged to submit your comments in writing in advance of the meeting.

All comments received by 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, April 7, 2020, will be provided to the City Council via e-mail or report, considered a public record, put into the official record, and considered before Council action.

For future meetings, the City is working on additional ways for the public to submit comments.

Procedures for Removing Consent Calendar Items from the Consent Calendar Councilmembers and members of the public who wish to remove an item from the consent calendar must comply with the following procedures in order to remove an item from the consent calendar:

1.   Telephone or email a City staff member who has knowledge of the subject matter by
2:00 p.m. on the day of meeting.
2.   Inform the City Clerk’s Office by email at cityclerkdept@ci.richmond.ca.us or by phone at 510-620-6513, ext. 9, by 3:00 p.m. that they discussed the matter with staff with knowledge of the subject matter and that such Councilmember or member of the public, nonetheless, desires the item to be removed from the consent calendar for discussion.

Staff will be informed by the City Clerk’s Office as soon as reasonably practicable after notice of the request to remove the item from the consent calendar.  Staff may attend the meeting remotely.

Accessibility for Individuals with Disabilities
Upon request, the City will provide for written agenda materials in appropriate alternative formats, or disability-related modification or accommodation, including auxiliary aids or services and sign language interpreters, to enable individuals with disabilities to participate in and provide comments at/related to public meetings. Please submit a request, including your name, phone number and/or email address, and a description of the modification, accommodation, auxiliary aid, service or alternative format requested at least two days before the meeting. Requests should be emailed to cityclerkdept@ci.richmond.ca.us or submitted by phone at 510-620-6513, ext. 9, or 510-620-6509. Requests made by mail to City Clerk’s Office, City Council meeting, 450 Civic Center Plaza, Richmond, CA 94804 must be received at least two days before the meeting. Requests will be granted whenever possible and resolved in favor of accessibility.

Effect of Advisory on In-person public participation
During the pendency of the Executive Order N-29-20, the language in this Advisory portion of the agenda supersedes prior meeting procedures contemplating in-person public comment.