City of Culver City, California
City Council Agenda Item Report
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends the City Council discuss a proposed City Council Policy on public
notification and adopt a resolution establishing the proposed Policy.
BACKGROUND:
The City Council discussed this topic on July 10, 2006. At that time and after very
brief discussion, the City Council directed staff to return at a later date with a
proposed updated policy related to Public Notification. Therefore, this item is
presented to the City Council this evening for consideration.
DISCUSSION:
Culver City has had a tradition of encouraging public participation in the
governmental process. As part of that tradition, the City has provided public
notification in excess of the levels required by law. In the following sections, the
various levels of public notification will be discussed.
Legally Required Notice
Under applicable federal and state law and as provided for in the City Charter and
Culver City Municipal Code, the City provides notification to a subset of the Culver
City community of certain actions being considered by the City Council, the City’s
Commissions (especially the Planning Commission), and certain administrative
actions taken by City Staff.
Meeting Date: 12/03/07 Item Number: A-7
AGENDA ITEM: Discussion and Adoption of a Resolution Establishing a City
Council Policy on Public Notification.
Contact Person/Dept.: Martin R. Cole,
Assistant City Manager
Phone Number: (310) 253-6000
Fiscal Impact: Yes [X] No [] General Fund: Yes [X] No []
Public Hearing: [] Action Item: [X] Attachments: [X]
Public Notification:
Master Notification List (11/28/2007).
Department Approval:
Martin R. Cole (11/26/2007)
City Attorney Approval:
Carol Schwab (by H. Iker) (11/28/07)
Fiscal Impact Review:
Marlee Chang (11/28/07)
City Manager Approval:
Jerry B. Fulwood (11/28/07) City of Culver City, California
City Council Agenda Item Report
Section 610 of the City Charter states the following:
The City Council shall comply with the applicable provisions of State law
regarding the giving of notice for regular and special meetings. The City
Council shall consider whether it should establish additional procedures to
provide efficient, timely and cost-effective notice in a manner consistent
with currently available technology.
Consideration of this item and the associated Policy meets the requirements of this
Section of the Charter.
Notification Process under Current Practice
In addition to legally required notice, current City practice provides for an “enhanced”
public notification process. This involves the preparation and mailing of post cards,
publishing of courtesy notices in the local newspapers, and researching past
minutes to find persons and organizations interested in various topics. Also, in
instances where the minimum legal requirement is to provide notice to property
owners, the City also provides notice to residents as well.
The current process can be staff time intensive (because of the need for manual
research). Further, while staff strives to include every interested person in a
notification effort, a manual system may result in some interested persons being
inadvertently missed.
Points for Consideration
In distributing items for public notification purposes, the City should attempt to
balance the cost of notification with the efficacy of the notification effort. Additionally,
the City should also consider the subjects of resource conservation and
sustainability.
In an attempt to reach the broadest number of persons, the City currently sends
postcards to property owners as well as residents. The Information Technology
Department has attempted to electronically “sift” the lists so that if the property
owner is the resident, then only one notification postcard is generated. However,
sometimes the information utilized for this process may be several months old and
duplication may occur. From time to time, the City Council has heard from residents
who receive multiple notifications for the same item.
Even with this process, a Citywide mailing costs approximately $0.50 per post card.
With approximately 22,000 postal addresses in the City, a City-wide mailing costs a City of Culver City, California
City Council Agenda Item Report
minimum of $11,000. With respect to newspaper notification, a quarter-page legal
advertisement costs approximately $150 per insertion.
As directed by the City Council, staff has prepared the attached draft policy for the
City Council’s consideration. In drafting the proposed policy, staff is recommending
the following:
• Continued compliance with the minimum notification requirements established
in applicable law;
• Continued use of the “extended radius to end of block” methodology currently
in use;
• Reduction of the use of postcard notifications in favor of E-mail notification.
• Utilize the GIS System as the basis of creating the address lists for mail
notifications with radii being extended to the end of blocks.
• Increased use of E-Mail notifications
• Increased use of a revised Speaker’s Card to allow persons to sign-up for the
City’s e-mail notification list
• Routine placement of public notices on the City’s Website
• Provide for the establishment of a mail notification list and allow persons to
self-select areas of interest
• Department Heads may provide for extended notification based upon specific
circumstances
Generally, the City is continually moving toward more efficient processes. For
example, the City Council has approved online application and payment for
recreation class registrations and certain permits. And, on November 14, 2007, the
City Council authorized the purchase of software to allow Business License
Certificates to be renewed online. Staff recommends the City Council adopt a Public
Notification Policy that also takes advantage of the efficiencies of electronic
processing. This process has significant benefits by decreasing use of resources
and reducing the number of missed notification requests.
Publicizing the New Notification Process
To help the Community become more aware of the public notification processes
available, staff will advertise the availability of the e-mail and postal notification lists
on various existing City “publications” including on the City’s website, city
documents, with internal flyers and through other similar methods.
PROCESSES USED BY WESTSIDE COG CITIES
City of Culver City, California
City Council Agenda Item Report
In preparing this report, staff contacted the cities of Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, and
West Hollywood. The following table includes the results of this brief survey:
City Process Used
Beverly Hills In addition to legal minimums, the City posts its
notices on their website. Items of a non-
routine nature may be noticed through
announcement at a City Council meeting.
Santa Monica Provides the legally required notice.
West Hollywood In addition to legal minimums, the City posts
notices on City bulletin boards at City Hall and
all City Parks. Notices are also posted at the
Sheriff’s Station and on their Cable TV
Channel.
FISCAL ANALYSIS:
It is anticipated that the new policy will resulted in the reduction in the use of mail
and the increase in the use of E-Mail. In addition to the cost reductions for
supplies and mailing, the staff time currently utilized in the preparation and mailing
of post cards would be available for other City’s priorities. The exact of potential
cost reduction is difficult to project at this time; however, it is estimated to be in the
tens of thousands of dollars annually. Overall, it will have a positive fiscal impact
to the City’s and it will also fulfill the commitment to the City’s Sustainable
Community Plan.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Proposed Resolution (including Council Policy)
2. Proposed Revised Speaker’s Card.
MOTION:
That the City Council:
1. Discuss the topic of Public Notification; and
2. Adopt the resolution establishing the Public Notification Policy.