Skip's Pages document
Here is information about the Santa Cruz City government that is helpful for the local activist. Additional information is available online at the City web site, http://www.ci.santa-cruz.ca.us. Much of the information below comes from there. It's a great resource. It includes the current agendas for the City Council and many department and advisory body meetings, the full text of City codes and ordinances, and City Council procedures.
City Council
City Departments
City Advisory bodies
809 Center Street, room 10, Santa Cruz, CA 95060
(408) 429-3550
citycncl@ci.santa-cruz.ca.us
The Council meets on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month. Not all sessions are open to the public. Regular public Council meetings are televised on TCI Community TV, channel 72.
The City has archives of the minutes of City Council meetings, and a two-month back file of City Council agendas, Council Addendums, and Calendars. You can also access the archive online at the above city web address, which has a really useful search capability. Also, the Central Branch Library keeps a one-year back file of agenda packets, action agendas, and audiocassette recordings of the Council Meetings.
Copies of the current City Council agenda are available at the City Clerk's Department at least two working days prior to the meeting, or at the main entrance of the Council Chambers during the meeting. The agenda is also posted outside of Council Chambers. A reference copy of the agenda is also available at the Central Branch Library.
Written material for every item listed on the agenda for the open sessions is available for review in the City Clerk's Department. Asterisked items have no written material.
The oral communications period is a time set aside for members of the public or their representatives to address the Council on matters which are not scheduled on the agenda. Unless further time is granted by the presiding officer (usually the mayor), the time limit is three minutes. You can try to get the Council to refer your item to staff for further investigation or information, or to get them to place it on a future agenda. You can also address the Council at public hearings. There are many public hearings--check the agenda.
When speaking, you should give your name and address aloud (for the benefit of the person taking minutes) and sign the sign-in sheet. You are supposed to address all remarks to the Council as a whole and not to any individual member. When any group of persons wishes to address the Council on the same subject, the presiding officer may request that a spokesperson address the Council. You should make a case for individual addresses if you want to all speak.
Ordinances are city laws. When approved and adopted, ordinances govern all aspects of city operations including fiscal matters, planning and zoning specifications, public works projects, and the health and safety. The first approval of an ordinance at a Council meeting is called "approval for publication." The ordinance is then published in a newspaper of general circulation. It is then resubmitted to the Council for "final adoption" at its next regular meeting. Most become effective thirty days after adoption. If the City Council declares an ordinance to be an emergency measure, it may be introduced and adopted at the same meeting, provided it passes with five or more votes, and it will then take effect upon adoption. Ordinances pertaining to elections and taxation are also dealt with in one meeting. Ordinances are numbered and are usually become a part of the Santa Cruz Municipal Code.
Resolutions are formal written decisions which govern various aspects of city operations or express the opinion or intention of the City Council. Resolutions cover a wide range of subjects.
If you wish to attend a public Council meeting and require special assistance such as an interpreter for American Sign Language, Spanish, or other special equipment, call the City Clerk's Department at least three days in advance.
City Clerk
809 Center Street, room 9, Santa Cruz, CA 95060
(408) 429-3784
cityclrk@ci.santa-cruz.ca.us
City Manager
809 Center Street, room 10, Santa Cruz, CA 95060
(408) 429-3540
citymgr@ci.santa-cruz.ca.us
Planning & Community Development Dept., 809 Center Street, room 206, Santa
Cruz, CA 95060
(408) 429-3555
No public e-mail address
Redevelopment Agency
323 Church Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95060
(408) 429-3045
cityra@ci.santa-cruz.ca.us
The other city departments are: Finance, Fire, Library, Parks & Recreation, Personnel, Police, Public Works, and Water.
Holds hearings, does studies, and makes recommendations to the City Council regarding the physical development of the City. Consists of seven members and one ex officio member from the University of California at Santa Cruz. Members are appointed by the City Council.
Meetings are held on the first and third Thursdays of the month at 7:30 p.m. in City Council Chambers.
The other city advisory bodies are: Affirmative Action Committee, Arts Commission, Board of Building Appeals, Citizens' Police Review Board, Commission for the Prevention of Violence Against Women, Downtown Commission, Historic Preservation Commission, Library Joint Powers Board, Louden Nelson Community Center Committee, Parks and Recreation Commission, Public Works Commission, Santa Cruz City Transportation Commission, Sister Cities Committee, Water Commission, and Zoning Board.
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©2007 by Skip Spitzer.