Note: Prior history: Prior code §§ 2-1.01—2-1.18 and 5-17.01 and Ords. 96-18, 98-14, 10-08 and 12-06.
A. 
Regular meetings of the city council shall be held in the city council chambers, 400 North Douty Street, Hanford, California. The city council shall establish the dates and times for regular meetings by resolution.
B. 
All meetings of the city council are open to the public; however, the city council may hold closed sessions as provided by the laws of the state of California.
C. 
If the regular meeting place is unavailable or is unable to accommodate the number of persons anticipated to attend the meeting, the city council may order the meeting be held in another location with proper notification given to the public.
D. 
Special and emergency meetings of the city council shall be called as provided by Sections 54956 and 54956.5, respectively, of the Government Code.
(Ord. 16-10 § 2, 2016)
Salaries for the councilmembers may be fixed in accordance with Section 36516 of the Government Code of the state of California and amendments thereto enacted by the council by ordinance. Councilmembers may be reimbursed for actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their official duties as allowed by California Government Code Section 36514 and amendments thereto and city council Resolution 90-50-R and amendments thereto.
(Ord. 16-10 § 2, 2016)
This section is adopted for the purpose of implementing procedures for the conduct of public hearings by the Hanford city council ("council") and Hanford planning commission ("commission"). The provisions of California Government Code Section 65854 as amended from time to time, are incorporated herein by this reference.
A. 
Notice. Notice of any public hearing shall be published and mailed as required by law, including, without limitation, California Government Code Sections 65090, 65091 and 65854, as amended from time to time.
B. 
Introduction and Presentation of Staff Report. At the appropriate time in accordance with the meeting agenda, the presiding officer shall announce the subject matter of the public hearing and the procedures for conducting the public hearing, which procedures shall be in accordance with the provisions of this section. The presiding officer shall then declare the public hearing open. City staff shall present the written staff report and provide an oral staff report to the council/commission. The written staff report and all attachments thereto prepared for any public hearing shall be made available to the public at the city clerk's office by 8:00 a.m. of the day prior to the day when the public hearing will be held. The written staff report and all attachments thereto shall be received and filed with the city clerk/commission secretary and made part of the public hearing record. The oral staff report shall be presented and council members/planning commissioners may ask questions of staff during or at the conclusion of the oral staff report. Documents other than the written staff report which are submitted prior to the commencement of the public comment portion of the public hearing shall be received and filed with the city clerk/commission secretary and made a part of the public hearing record.
C. 
Public Comment. After the staff report portion of the public hearing has concluded, the presiding officer shall open the public comment portion of the public hearing. Members of the public shall be given the opportunity to testify in support of or in opposition to the matter being considered by the council/commission. Those persons speaking in support of the matter being considered shall speak first. However, the presiding officer shall have the option of allowing members of the public to speak in support of or in opposition to the matter being considered at the same time during the public comment portion of the public hearing. The presiding officer shall advise the public present at the public hearing that each speaker must speak from the podium and give his or her name and address before speaking. the maximum time limit for each speaker shall be five minutes. When all speakers in opposition have concluded their statements, a single spokesperson for the proponent shall be given a maximum of five minutes to present a rebuttal statement. The rebuttal statement shall only address issues which were raised for the first time by the opponents and not addressed by the proponents during their initial testimony. At the conclusion of proponent's rebuttal, the presiding officer shall close the public comment portion of the public hearing.
The presiding officer shall have the right to extend or reduce the maximum speaking time period so that the public comment portion of the public hearing can be completed in a timely fashion as follows: (1) in order to expedite the public comment portion of the public hearing and to avoid repetitious presentations, whenever any organization or large number of persons wish to address the council/commission on the same subject matter, the presiding officer may require that the proponents and opponents of the matter which is the subject of the public hearing, select a single spokesperson to present the position of proponents and opponents; (2) each spokesperson will be given a maximum of 15 minutes, or a greater period of time as the presiding officer may determine, to make a presentation; (3) all other persons wishing to speak during the public comment portion of the public hearing will be limited to a maximum of five minutes; (4) the statements from speakers, other than the spokesperson, shall be limited to facts not already presented by the spokesperson; and (5) speaking time limits may not be assigned by one speaker to another speaker or spokesperson in order to increase the speaking time limit of the other speaker or spokesperson.
All oral statements, documents, exhibits, communications, petitions, maps, ballots or displays submitted during the public comment portion of the public hearing shall be received and filed with the city clerk/commission secretary and made part of the public hearing record.
Questions raised by speakers regarding issues addressed in the staff report or identified by another speaker may be noted by the presiding officer and may be answered during council/commission deliberations.
D. 
Council/Commission Deliberation. Following the closing of the public comment portion of the public hearings, the presiding officer may seek answers to questions raised by individual speakers. Council/commission members may ask questions of the staff or any individual who spoke during the public comment portion of the public hearing. During this portion of the public hearing, individual council members/commissioners may make statements regarding the matter which is the subject of the public hearing.
E. 
Council/Commission Action. Upon completion of council/commission deliberations, the council/commission may continue the public hearing to a specific date and time if a majority of the council/commission require additional information before taking action on the matter. Continuing the public hearing to a specific date and time shall not require additional written notice. If the public hearing is not continued, the presiding officer shall close the public hearing and the council/commission shall vote on the issue. A motion to reopen the public hearing or the public comment portion of the public hearing must be made prior to the adjournment of the meeting at which the initial public hearing was conducted.
F. 
Motion to Reconsider. A motion to reconsider any council/commission action must be made prior to the adjournment of the meeting at which the public hearing was held and the original action taken.
G. 
Resolution and Findings. If required by law or deemed necessary by the council/commission, the council/commission shall direct city staff to prepare a resolution and findings consistent with the action of the council/commission and the evidence submitted during the public hearing. Such resolution and findings shall be placed on the consent calendar for the council/commission's next meeting for acceptance of the form and wording of the resolution and findings.
(Ord. 16-10 § 2, 2016)