All powers of the City shall be vested in the City Council, subject to the provisions of this Charter and to the Constitution of the State of California. It shall be the duty of the City Council to enact all necessary legislation to govern the City, consistent with the provisions of this Charter, and to enact all ordinances to enforce the provisions of this Charter.
Neither the City Council, nor any of its members, nor the Mayor of the City shall order or request, directly or indirectly, the appointment of any person to an office or employment, or the removal of any person therefrom by the City Manager, or by any of the elective officers or other department heads in the administrative service of the City. The City Council and the Mayor shall conduct all business with the administrative branch of the municipal government solely through the City Manager. Neither the City Council, nor any members thereof, nor the Mayor shall give orders to any subordinates of the City Manager, either publicly or privately; provided that the foregoing shall not prevent the City Council, and the members thereof, or the Mayor from:
(a)
Contacting officers and employees of the City for the purpose of inquiry or obtaining information, or
(b)
Contacting officers and employees for the purpose of advising said officers and employees of citizen complaints relating to the operation of City government.
[1]
9.1, 9.3—as amended by election 3-8-83 and 3-7-23.
The City Council shall hold regular meetings at least twice a month at times fixed by ordinance or resolution, and may adjourn or readjourn any regular meeting to a date and time certain, which shall be specified in the order of adjournment and when so adjourned, each adjourned meeting shall be a regular meeting for all purposes.
[1]
9.2—as amended by election 3-8-83 and 6-3-86.
Special meetings or emergency meetings may be called, and notice given, as provided in Title 5, Division 2, Part 1, Chapter 9, of the Government Code as it now exists or may hereafter be amended.
[1]
9.1, 9.3—as amended by election 3-8-83.
All meetings shall be convened in the Council Chambers of the City Hall, but may be thereafter adjourned when necessary or convenient to such other location as may be selected by the City Council. Except as provided by law, all meetings of the City Council shall be open to the public. If by reason of any public emergency in the City it becomes unsafe or impractical to hold the City Council meetings in the City Hall, then and in that event, the City Council may hold its meetings at such place as is designated by the Mayor or by a majority of the City Council until such condition is alleviated.
[1]
9.4, 9.5—as amended by election 3-8-83.
No citizen shall be denied the right, personally or through counsel, to present grievances or offer suggestions for the betterment of municipal affairs, provided however, that the City Council shall have the right and privilege to hold and conduct its meetings in accordance with an agenda and may specify the matters which shall be considered at each meeting and shall have the right to establish a time at which all communications shall be on file in the office of the City Clerk in order that such communications may be considered at the next regular meeting of the City Council.
[1]
9.4, 9.5—as amended by election 3-8-83.
Three (3) members of the City Council shall constitute a quorum to do business. A lesser number may adjourn from time to time. In the absence of all of the City Council from any regular meeting or adjourned regular meeting, the City Clerk may declare the same adjourned to a stated day and hour. Notice of an adjourned meeting called by the City Clerk shall be given in the same manner as specified in this Charter for the giving of notice of special meetings of the City Council. Notice of such adjourned meeting may be waived in the same manner as a call for special meetings.
The City Council shall be the judge of the qualifications of its members and of the Mayor as set forth by the Charter and shall judge all election returns.
The City Council may establish rules for the conduct of its proceedings and punish any member or any other person in attendance for disorderly conduct at any of its meetings. The Mayor or presiding officer shall have the power to administer oaths and affirmations in any investigation, hearing or proceeding pending before the City Council. The City Council shall have the power to compel the attendance of witnesses, to examine them under oath and to compel the production of evidence before it. Subpoenas may be issued in the name of the City and be attested by the City Clerk. Disobedience to such subpoenas, or the refusal to testify, unless such refusal is based upon constitutional grounds, shall constitute a misdemeanor, and shall be punishable in the same manner as violations of this Charter are punishable.
The City Council shall cause the City Clerk to keep a true and correct record of all of its proceedings and at the demand of any member or upon the adoption of any ordinance, resolution, or order for the payment of money, the City Clerk shall call the roll and shall cause the ayes and noes to be taken on any question to be entered in the minutes of the meeting. All other matters coming before the City Council may be ordered approved or rejected by the Mayor without the necessity of a formal vote by members of the City Council.
Except as hereinafter specified, no ordinance shall be adopted by the City Council on the day of its introduction, nor within five (5) days thereafter, nor at any time other than at a regular or adjourned regular meeting. At the time of introduction of an ordinance or resolution, it shall be read in full unless, after the reading of the title thereof, the further reading thereof is waived by motion of the City Council regularly made and approved by a majority consent of the Councilmembers present. After the introduction of an ordinance and for a period of not less than five (5) days prior to the adoption of such ordinance, a copy of the ordinance shall be posted at the City Hall. 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 motion of the City Council regularly made and approved by majority consent of the Councilmembers present. In the event that any ordinance is materially altered after its introduction, the same shall not be finally adopted except at a regular or adjourned regular meeting, held not less than five (5) days after the date upon which such ordinance was so altered. The correction of typographical or clerical errors shall not constitute the making of an alteration within the meaning of the foregoing.
Unless a greater number of votes is required by other provisions of this Charter or by the laws of this State under which any action is taken by the City Council, the affirmative votes of at least three (3) members of the City Council shall be required for the enactment of any ordinance or resolution, or for the making or approving of any order for the payment of money.
[1]
9.10—as amended by election 4-11-67 and 3-7-23.
Any ordinance declared by the City Council to be necessary as an emergency measure for preserving the public peace, health or safety, and containing a statement of the reasons for its urgency, may be introduced and adopted at one and the same meeting if passed by at least four (4) affirmative votes.
No order for the payment of money shall be adopted or made at any other than a regular or adjourned regular meeting. Provided, however, that this provision shall not be construed to prevent the filling of any vacancies, the creation of any job, or the award of any contract, or order of any materials or supplies, wherein such appointment and/or award require the City Council to set the salaries or amounts of the contract, when the same are made at special meetings of the City Council.
Every act of the City Council establishing a fine or other penalty, or granting a franchise, creating a commission, board, or agency, or in any way restricting or governing the use of property and in addition thereto every act required by the City Charter to be done by ordinance shall be by ordinance.
The enacting clause of all ordinances shall be substantially as follows: The City Council of the City of Redondo Beach does ordain as follows:
The City Clerk shall cause each ordinance, or a summary of each ordinance, to be published at least once in the official newspaper of said City within 15 days from and after the date of adoption of said ordinances; however as an alternative, that when an ordinance solely pertains to the municipal affairs of the City, except as otherwise provided by this Charter or by ordinance of the Council, the City Clerk may satisfy the publication requirement by posting the ordinance in at least three public places in the City as designated by the Council and posted on the City's online website or other publicly available City-controlled internet site in lieu of such publication.
[1]
9.15—-as amended by election 3-4-25.
No ordinance shall become effective until thirty (30) days from and after the date of its adoption, with the exceptions hereinafter specified. In the event of the adoption of the following ordinances, such ordinances shall become effective immediately upon adoption:
(a)
An ordinance calling or otherwise relating to an election;
(b)
Any improvement or assessment proceeding ordinance adopted under some law or procedural ordinance;
(c)
An ordinance declaring the amount of money necessary to be raised by taxation, or fixing the rate of taxation or adopting the budget; or
An ordinance may be repealed by action of the City Council in the same manner as said ordinance was adopted. In the event the City Council desires to repeal an ordinance prior to publication thereof said City Council shall order the City Clerk to withhold publication of said ordinance and thereafter said ordinance shall be null and void without the necessity of the City Council adopting an ordinance repealing the same, provided, however, that such order withholding publication shall be adopted by the same number of votes required for the adoption of the ordinance itself.
A violation of any ordinance of the City shall constitute a misdemeanor, unless it is made an infraction. The maximum fine or penalty for the violation of any ordinance which is a misdemeanor shall be the sum of One Thousand ($1,000) Dollars or a term of imprisonment for a period not exceeding six (6) months, or by both fine and imprisonment. The maximum fine or penalty for the violation of any ordinance which is an infraction shall be as provided for in Government Code Sec. 36900 or any amendments thereto. A violation of any ordinance may be prosecuted in the name of the People of the State of California or may be redressed by civil action.
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9.18—as amended by election 11-6-84.
The amendment of any section or sections of an ordinance may be accomplished solely by the reenactment of such section or sections at length, as amended.
Any or all ordinances of the City which have been enacted and published in the manner required at the time of their adoption, and which have not been repealed, may be compiled, consolidated, revised, indexed and arranged as a comprehensive ordinance code and such code may be adopted by reference by the passage of an ordinance for such purpose. Such code need not be published in the manner required for other ordinances, but not less than three (3) copies thereof shall be filed for use and examination by the public in the office of the City Clerk prior to the adoption thereof. Ordinances codified shall be repealed as of the effective date of the code. Subsequent amendments to sections of the code shall be enacted in the same manner as herein required for the amendment of ordinances generally. Detailed regulations pertaining to the subject, such as the construction of buildings, plumbing, wiring, or other subjects which require extensive regulations, after having been arranged as a comprehensive code, may likewise be adopted by reference in the manner hereinabove provided.