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CC - Adoption of a Resolution Approving the Amended and Updated Culver City Advisory Committee on Housing and Homelessness Bylaws.
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Meeting Date: July 12, 2021
Contact Person/Dept: Tevis Barnes/CDD/Housing
Christina Stoffers/CDD/Housing
Phone Number: (310) 253-5780
Fiscal Impact: Yes [] No [X] General Fund: Yes [] No [X]
Public Hearing: [] Action Item: [X] Attachments: [X]
Commission Action Required: Yes [] No [] Date:
Public Notification: Advisory Committee on Housing and Homelessness (05/25/2021); Landlord Tenant Mediation Board (07/07/2021); Saint Joseph Center (06/29/2021); Upward Bound House (06/29/2021);(E-Mail) Meetings and Agendas - City Council (07/07/2021);
Department Approval: Sol Blumenfeld, Community Development Director (06/30/2021)
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RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends the City Council adopt the Resolution approving the amended and updated Advisory Committee on Housing and Homelessness (ACOHH) Bylaws (Attachment 1).
BACKGROUND:
To better address homelessness in Culver City, the City Council at its regular meeting on July 26, 2004 approved the formation of the Homelessness Ad Hoc Committee and adopted short and long-term strategies to address homelessness in the City. The Ad Hoc Committee was fully established and recognized as the Culver City Committee on Homelessness (COH) on April 22, 2008. Although the former COH was established as a full committee, no bylaws were created to govern the body until Council approved bylaws on August 22, 2011.
In 2020, a subcommittee was established to review the current bylaws and recommend updates to better reflect the evolution of the COH to include the topic area of housing in its mission and the name of the body. Chair Karlo Silbiger, Vice-Chair Mark Lipman and Committee Member Dr. Khin Khin Gyi, served on this subcommittee.
DISCUSSION
On April 19, 2021, a joint meeting was held between the City Council and formerly named COH. During this meeting, City Council approved the renaming of the COH to the Advisory Committee on Housing and Homelessness (ACOHH). The amendments detailed below were discussed by the City Council and the ACOHH with direction to staff to incorporate such changes into the bylaws and return to City Council for consideration. The ACOHH reviewed and approved the final draft of the amended bylaws at their May 25, 3021 regular meeting.
Proposed Amendments to the ACOHH Bylaws
• Title/Name - Rename body to: "Advisory Committee on Homelessness and Housing".
• Purpose/Mission Statement - Amend the Purpose / Mission Statement to: The primary goal of the Culver City Advisory Committee on Housing and Homelessness (“Committee”), formerly known as the Committee on Homelessness, is to identify and advocate for solutions to end homelessness and methods and means for improving the quality of housing and life for all individuals, in the following ways:
o Advise City Council and City Staff on the appropriate funding to implement solutions for ending homelessness;
o Advising the City Council and Staff in identifying short, medium, and long-term strategies to end and prevent homelessness;
o Being solutions-focused, specifically towards the decriminalization of homelessness, for a housing, services, and equity-based approach;
o Reviewing the homelessness services provided by independent City contractors and making recommendations to City Council to improve service delivery;
o Outreaching to the Culver City community along with neighboring and overlapping jurisdictions to help create local and regional solutions to ending homelessness; and
o Collaborating and educating within our communities and acting as a voice for the public.
Organization/Composition - Amend composition to state: The Committee consists of nine members. Six members shall be appointed at large and shall be Culver City residents. To the extent possible, the three other appointees shall consist of one member who is currently experiencing homelessness or who has previously experienced homelessness; one-member age 16-25; and one-member age 65 or older. If no applications are received from individuals meeting these three specific categories, members at large may be substituted for these seats. Members are not required to be Culver City residents; however, the member must have some current or former connection to the Culver City community (e.g. attending a school in Culver City, having formerly experienced homelessness in Culver City, active member of the Culver City senior center, etc.).
• Organization/Terms of Members - Amend terms of members to include: Appointed Committee Members shall serve four-year, staggered terms.
• Meetings - Amend meeting schedule to state: The Committee shall meet regularly on the third Tuesday of every month at 7:00 p.m., and at other times as needed at the City of Culver City, City Hall, or other location if determined by City Hall staff to be necessary to accommodate and/or facilitate public attendance at the meeting.
• Staff Support - Amend staff support to state: City staff that work with the unhoused population should attend Committee meetings on an as-needed basis. At a minimum, the following City Departments should attend as a non-voting representative to participate in Committee meetings: Community Development Department/Housing Division; Culver City Fire Department; Culver City Police Department; and, City Attorney’s Office.
Consistency with other Commission, Committee and Boards (CBCs)
Under the advisement of the City Clerk and the City Attorney’s Office, to be more consistent with other CBCs, the following additional provisions were included under the Meetings and Amendment to Bylaws sections:
• Brown Act
All meetings shall be called, noticed, held, and conducted in accordance with the provisions of the Ralph M. Brown Act (commencing with California Government Code Section 54950). All meetings, including study sessions and workshops, shall be open and public. A quorum of Committee Members shall not discuss Committee business except at an open and public meeting. Regular meeting agendas shall be posted in a public place at least 72 hours in advance of the meeting, and special meeting agendas shall be posted in a public place at least 24 hours in advance of the meeting, and discussion shall be limited to the topics on the agenda. Committee Members who believe they may have a concern related to Brown Act compliance shall consult with the City Attorney.
• Quorum and Voting
A majority of Committee Members shall constitute a quorum. Each Committee Member shall be entitled to one vote. Approval of any matter requires an affirmative simple majority vote of the Committee Members present. Abstention is not considered voting. In absence of a quorum, no formal action shall be taken except to adjourn the meeting to a subsequent date. As the Committee is strictly advisory, voting shall be on matters of recommendation to City Council and shall not constitute the final approval of the recommended action.
• Conduct of Meetings
The latest edition of Robert's Rules of Order (or similar rules of parliamentary procedure, e.g. Rosenberg’s Rules of Order) shall constitute the parliamentary guidelines for transaction of the Committee's business. Where there is a conflict between the parliamentary guidelines and these Bylaws, the Bylaws shall have precedence. Failure to strictly follow parliamentary guidelines shall not invalidate any action of the Committee.
While considering items at Committee meetings, disagreements may arise, which is a normal part of the process in participatory government. However, it is important that Committee Members conduct meetings with proper decorum and respect.
• Placing Items on an Agenda
Consensus among a majority of the Committee Members present and voting must exist in order to place an item on a future agenda for discussion or to request research by staff.
• Amendment to Bylaws
These Bylaws may only be amended by resolution of the City Council.
In addition to the above changes to the provisions of the bylaws, the formatting of these bylaws has also been changed, to reflect the formatting found in other CBCs’ bylaws.
FISCAL ANALYSIS:
There is no fiscal impact to adopt a resolution to approve the amended ACOHH Bylaws.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Resolution Approving the amended and updated Advisory Committee on Housing and Homelessness Bylaws (including Bylaws attached as Exhibit A to the Resolution)
MOTION(S):
That the City Council:
Adopt a Resolution approving the amended and updated Culver City Advisory Committee on Housing and Homelessness Bylaws.