pages: OpenGovernmentCommission/2021-03-01.pdf, 18
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OpenGovernmentCommission | 2021-03-01 | 18 | Chair Tilos and Commissioner LoPilato suggested talking in terms of "sustained" and "unsustained.' The Chief Assistant City Attorney stated that Mr. Foreman is correct; there is a provision in the Sunshine Ordinance that if a person files two complaints in a 12-month period that are "unfounded," they would be prohibited from filing a complaint for five years; he is incorrect in that there is no definition of "unfounded" in the Sunshine Ordinance that would give it a different definition than "unsubstantiated" or "denied;" there is a penalty for having two unfounded complaints, but there is no requirement that the OGC reaches some special finding to declare it unfounded. Commissioner LoPilato moved approval of determining the complaint to be unfounded on the basis that it is not a question properly before the Commission because it requires legal analysis and requests a remedy beyond the scope of the Commission's authority for resolving Sunshine Ordinance complaints and because it is untimely; even if the complaint was properly before the Commission and timely, there was substantial compliance with the Brown Act and any alleged violation was cured by the multiple noticed, properly agendized meetings. Chair Tilos requested the motion be re-stated more concisely. Commissioner LoPilato moved approval of finding the complaint unfounded primarily on procedural grounds. Commissioner Chen seconded the motion. Under discussion, Chair Tilos stated there is gray line between ad hoc and legislative body; the ad hoc committee had one clearly defined mission and was reporting to the legislative body; at the end of the day, it is the legislative body that has the final say; the ad hoc committee does the research and helps out; the OGC formed an ad hoc committee to deal with the null and void issue and he sees the Renaming Committee as a similar situation; the spirit of the Sunshine Ordinance is to bring more people into the discussion; clearly, there was already a renaming policy and ARPD or the RPC could have just renamed the park without public input and it still would have been in the scope of their powers; they chose to create an ad hoc committee to make the process more open to the community, which is the whole point of open government. Commissioner Chen stated that she submitted a page from the League of California Cities guidebook on the Brown Act, which lists "what is not a legislative body;" it is very useful; there are two sections: 1) a temporary advisory committee composed solely of less than a quorum, and 2) groups advisory to a single decision maker or appointed by staff; she concurs with Mr. Harrison's statement that the RPC combined both groups to form a committee, which falls into a gray area; it will always be a gray area until the City actually defines what is not a legislative body or what is not a policy body; the term "ad hoc committee" is not defined in the ordinance; it should be defined for clarity; there are valid Meeting of the Open Government Commission March 1, 2021 18 | OpenGovernmentCommission/2021-03-01.pdf |