pages: OpenGovernmentCommission/2015-02-02.pdf, 23
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OpenGovernmentCommission | 2015-02-02 | 23 | redrafted pretty easily to say that members cannot comment on items they are going to make a judicial decision on. The Assistant City Attorney stated this area of the law is murky; development plan in Alameda are legislative acts, not quasi-judicial, so the judicial rules would not apply; however, for a use permit, which is quasi-judicial, the point is well taken; on the other hand, courts recognize that elected and appointed officials are out in the community; part of being an elected official is listening to the community; the community wants to hear official's opinions on matters; there is a fine line between expressing interest and listening to people, but not showing improper bias; the line can be difficult to draw; drafting something may be difficult, but he will take a stab to try to address the issue more clearly. Commissioner Dieter requested the Assistant City Attorney to explain the last sentence: appointed policies bodies moreover may not take formal action nor undertake activities such as writing a letter that contradicts a policy or a position that the City Council has adopted or expressed. The Assistant City Attorney stated that he has seen situations were an advisory body takes formal action, such as writing a letter, that is contradictory to what the City Council has done; it cases the City and City Council some embarrassment; the idea is to put into written form that advisory bodies are not to do that; it is a policy decision; the language can be left or removed; he has seen it cause difficulty for a City Council in the past, so he put it in. In response to Commissioner Bonta's inquiry, the Assistant City Attorney stated the line is not always bright; a commission can express reservation about a City Council policy or action; however, the commission communicating in a formal way is what this is intended to say should not be done. Commissioner Dieter inquired whether it has ever happened in Alameda, to which the Assistant City Attorney responded that he does not know if it has happened in Alameda; stated that he is aware of it happening in other jurisdictions. Commissioner Dieter inquired whether writing a letter means writing a letter to the City Council, to which the Assistant City Attorney responded it would mean writing a letter to an outside agency for example. Commissioner Dieter stated the language should definitely say "to an outside agency. " The Assistant City Attorney responded the Section is not intended to prevent communication between a commission and the City Council; the language could be clearer. Vice Chair Foreman stated there should be something somewhere about how to remove people from commissions. Meeting of the Open Government Commission February 2, 2015 23 | OpenGovernmentCommission/2015-02-02.pdf |