Board Of Supervisors Rules Of Procedure

(a) Except as otherwise provided in this Rule, a regular meeting of the Board shall be held on Tuesday of each week commencing at the hour of 9:00 a.m. and Wednesday of each week commencing at the hour of 9:00 a.m. in the North Chamber (room 310) or Conference rooms (rooms 303 or 335-A), located at the San Diego County Administration Center, 1600 Pacific Highway, San Diego, California. The Wednesday meeting is to be known as the Land Use meeting. No meeting shall commence prior to the time specified in this subsection.

(b) When a Tuesday regular meeting day is a holiday, the Tuesday meeting shall be held on Wednesday at the same place at 9:00 a.m. and the Land Use meeting shall be continued to Thursday at the same place at 9:00 a.m. When the Land Use meeting day is a holiday, the Land Use meeting shall be held on Thursday at the same place at 9:00 a.m. All matters on the posted agenda for any meeting continued pursuant to this subsection shall be automatically continued to the continued meeting.

(c) The Board may designate legislative activity weeks and Board recess periods during which regular meetings of the Board will not be held. The Clerk of the Board shall maintain the official meeting calendar, and shall post same in the Security Office located at the South End of the First Floor of the San Diego County Administration Center and on the bulletin board located at the North Chamber (room 310), Third Floor, County Administration Center.

(d) Any meeting of the Board may be adjourned to any date and time when necessary for the transaction of business. Any adjourned meeting of the Board is part of a regular meeting.

(e) Special meetings of the Board may be called pursuant to and in accordance with Section 54956 of the Government Code. The Clerk shall prepare the notice and call of any special meeting. The notice shall specify the time and place of the special meeting and the business to be transacted. No other business shall be considered at such special meeting. A copy of the notice of a special meeting shall also be posted at the places designated in subsection (b) of Rule 2.

(a) Items for the agenda for any regular meeting of the Board may be included on the agenda only with the approval of the Chief Administrative Officer; provided, however, Board Members may file an item for the agenda for a regular meeting directly with the Clerk.

(b) The Clerk shall prepare and issue an agenda for each regular meeting of the Board. Items filed with the Clerk for the agenda shall be complete. The Clerk shall not accept any additional material on an agenda item or any new agenda item except those approved by the Chairperson and the County Counsel as noted below. All items to be included on the agenda for the regular Tuesday meeting of the Board must be filed in the Office of the Clerk no later than 12:00 Noon on the Monday, 8 days before the Tuesday meeting, except for the closed session agenda which must be filed by County Counsel in the Office of the Clerk no later than 8:30 a.m. on the Friday, 4 days before the Tuesday meeting. If Monday is a holiday, Tuesday open session items must be filed in the Office of the Clerk no later than 12:00 Noon on the Friday preceding the holiday. If Friday is a holiday, the closed session agenda for the Tuesday meeting must be filed in the Office of the Clerk no later than 8:30 a.m. on the last business day preceding the holiday. All items to be included on the agenda for the Land Use meeting of the Board must be filed in the Office of the Clerk no later than 12:00 Noon on the Thursday, 13 days prior to the Land Use meeting, except for the closed session agenda which must be filed by County Counsel in the Office of the Clerk no later than 8:30 a.m. on the Friday, 5 days prior to the Land Use meeting. If Thursday is a holiday, Land Use open session items must be filed in the Office of the Clerk no later than 12:00 Noon on the Wednesday preceding the holiday. If Friday is a holiday, the closed session agenda for the Land Use meeting must be filed in the Office of the Clerk no later than 8:30 a.m. on the last business day preceding the holiday.

After the agenda for any regular meeting of the Board is issued by the Clerk, no additional item or additional back-up material will be added to the agenda unless the addition of the item to the agenda has been approved by the Board at a previous meeting or is submitted by County Counsel for closed session; provided, however, that the Chief Administrative Officer and designees, with the consent of the Chairperson, and Board members may place items on the agenda for open regular meetings where such late items require immediate action at the next appropriate Board meeting and would have a substantial detrimental effect (such as financial) on the County or public, if not acted upon. All late items approved for inclusion on the agenda must be filed in the Office of the Clerk no later than 8:30 a.m. on the Friday preceding the meeting date; or if Friday is a holiday, by 8:30 a.m. on the last business day preceding the holiday.

Written disclosures required by Section 1000.1 of the San Diego County Charter filed with the Clerk of the Board will automatically be processed by the Clerk in accordance with the requirements of the Charter. Supplemental disclosures filed at a meeting of the Board of Supervisors will be announced by the Clerk of the Board.

The Chief Administrative Officer shall determine the placement of agenda items within subject matter designations, and shall identify policy matters with an asterisk to be placed alongside the agenda number. The agenda for the Tuesday and Land Use meetings shall be issued and posted by the Clerk no later than the preceding Thursday. The agenda also shall include notice of items to be heard by the Board in its separate and distinct capacity as:

Air Pollution Control Board of the San Diego County Air Pollution Control District

Board of Directors of the San Diego County Flood Control District

Board of Commissioners of the Housing Authority of San Diego County

Board of Directors of the County of San Diego Industrial Development Agency

Board of Directors of the Redevelopment Agency of the County of San Diego

Boards of Directors of five Sanitation Districts

Each agenda shall be posted at the South Entrance of the First Floor of the San Diego County Administration Center and on the bulletin board located at the North Chamber (Room 310), Third Floor, County Administration Center. Copies of the agenda, agenda back-up material, Board of Supervisors Policies, Board of Supervisors Rules of Procedure, and Statements of Proceedings shall be available in the Office of the Clerk and on the County?s Internet Web Site. The agenda shall be made available to the Chairperson of each Planning Group, Sponsor Group, community newspaper and daily newspaper. The Clerk of the Board is directed to use the most efficient and cost effective means to make the agenda available. The primary means of distribution shall be through the County Internet Web Site, followed by electronic mail, followed by facsimile (fax) transmission, and followed by United States Postal Mail Service. Mail subscriptions to the agendas and Statements of Proceedings may be procured through the Department of General Services  Document Services Unit.

(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this Rule, if the Board continues an agenda item scheduled for the Tuesday or the Land Use meeting for one or two weeks in order to receive additional staff reports, the additional staff report must be filed in the Office of the Clerk no later than 8:30 a.m. on the Friday preceding the meeting date; or if Friday is a holiday, by 8:30 a.m. on the last business day preceding the meeting date.

(d) As required by the Ralph M. Brown Act, items not on the posted agenda for a meeting shall not be considered by the Board except as follows:

(1) Upon determination by a majority vote of the Board that an emergency situation exists. The determination shall be made prior to Board consideration?of the emergency item. An emergency situation is limited to:

    (a)work stoppage or other activity which severely impairs public health, safety or both.

    (b)crippling disaster which severely impairs public health, safety, or both.

(2) Upon determination by a two-thirds vote of the Board Members present, or a unanimous vote if less than two-thirds of the Members are present, that there is a need to take immediate action and that the need for action came to the attention of local agency subsequent to the agenda being posted. The determination shall be made prior to Board consideration of the item.

(3) The item was posted for a prior meeting occurring not more than five calendar days prior to the date action is taken on the item and at which prior meeting, the item was continued to the meeting at which action is being taken.

Whenever an off-docket item is presented by a Board Member or the Chief Administrative Officer, it shall be submitted with a separate cover sheet prepared by the Board Member or Chief Administrative Officer and headed "Chairperson's Statement to Public to be Read on the Record."? This cover sheet shall contain the subject title of the item, a short explanation of the matter and, if any, the recommendation.

(e) Any item on the posted agenda for a regular Tuesday or Land Use meeting which has not been considered or acted upon shall be deemed continued to the next regular Tuesday or Land Use meeting. Such item shall be relisted on the agenda pursuant to subsection (a) of this Rule and all material relating to the item shall be redistributed with the agenda.

(f) A quorum of three members must be present in order for the Board to conduct business, including presentation of Proclamations and special awards. Three votes are required for the adoption of any motion that is in order, except where the law requires or permits otherwise.

(g) In the event a motion fails because of a tie vote, the Board may continue the item for consideration at a future meeting. If for any reason the Board fails to continue such item, the Clerk shall place the item on the agenda for the next regular meeting. The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to items coming within subsections (h) or (i) of this Rule.

(h) Whenever the Board of Supervisors holds a hearing on a planning and zoning and land use matter subject to Article XXIa of the Administrative Code and thereafter takes no action because a motion on the item failed to carry by the required affirmative vote, the Board may at that meeting continue the matter for future consideration. If the Board does not do so, any member of the Board may, within thirty days after the date on which the motion failed to carry, docket with the Clerk of the Board a request that the Board reconsider the matter. If no such request is docketed within said 30-day period, or if the Board after reconsidering the matter again fails to take action because a motion thereon fails to carry by the required affirmative vote, then the following shall occur:

(1) If the matter is an appeal from a decision of a lower decision-making body, the decision from which the appeal was taken shall be deemed sustained.

(2) If the matter is one which by statute or ordinance is under the original jurisdiction of the Board of Supervisors, so that no lower decision has been made, then the matter shall be deemed disapproved.

(i) Whenever the Board directs that any item on the agenda be continued to a future date, the Clerk shall list such item on the regular agenda of such future date.

(j) The following persons are authorized to place matters on the Regular, Land Use and Closed Session agendas of meetings of the Board:

(1) Members of the Board of Supervisors;

(2) The Chief Administrative Officer and designees;

(3) The County Counsel with Chairperson's approval for closed sessions only; the Chairperson shall coordinate scheduling and notification of Closed Session meetings with all Board members and appropriate County staff.

All other elected officials of the County shall file items (using the prescribed format) for the agenda with the Chief Administrative Officer.

Requests for placement of items on the agenda by other persons or agencies must contain a brief summary of the subject matter of what is proposed to be orally presented to the Board; copies of any supporting documentary material, if appropriate; and the name(s) of the person(s) who will make the presentation. The request(s) will be referred by the Clerk to the Chief Administrative Officer, who shall make a recommendation to the Chairperson. With the concurrence of the Chairperson, the Chief Administrative Officer may place the request as an item on the agenda, with the recommendation of the Chief Administrative Officer, on the date designated by the Chairperson.

(k) If there is an item on the agenda which is reasonably expected to generate or involve considerable public participation, after consultation with and with the approval of the Chairperson, the Clerk shall set the item so as to minimize inconvenience to the participating public, such as setting the item at 10:00 a.m. or 2:00 p.m. The Chairperson shall limit the number of set matters to no more than two or three per meeting.

(a) The schedule of business for the Tuesday meeting shall be:

9:00 a.m. - 12:00 Noon - Agenda Matters

12:00 Noon - 2:00 p.m. - Recess

2:00 p.m. - Until Adjournment into Closed Session Agenda Matters

Closed Session (if necessary) - Closed Session Agenda Matters

Reconvene into Open Session to report Closed Session actions (if necessary)

Whenever the Monday immediately preceding the Tuesday meeting day is a holiday, the Tuesday meeting shall begin at 2:00 p.m.

(b) The order of business of the regular meeting held on Tuesday shall be:

- Roll Call

- Invocation

- Pledge of Allegiance

- Presentation of Proclamations

- Public Communication, pursuant to Rule 4 (f)

- Approval of Minutes

- Agenda review at call of the Chairperson to identify those items on agenda which a Member of the Board or of the public requests the opportunity to discuss.

- Approval at the call of the Chairperson of those items for which there is no request for discussion. Approval for such items shall be the recommendation of the Chief Administrative Officer, or, in the event the item has been filed by a Member of the Board, the recommendation of the Member of the Board.

- Discussion of items that the public has requested an opportunity to discuss shall be taken in sequential order followed by discussion of all other items to be discussed taken in sequential order; provided, however, the Chairperson may take items out of sequential order for the purpose of accommodating the public or expediting the conduct of the meeting.

- Closed Session and reporting of Closed Session Actions (if necessary).

The Chairperson may alter or deviate from this schedule.

(c) The agenda of Special Districts will generally be considered during the week of the month indicated below:

Reports/Issue Updates from other County elected officials, Assessor/Recorder/County Clerk, Treasurer-Tax Collector, Sheriff and District Attorney, will be scheduled by the Chairperson, as appropriate.

Whenever the Monday immediately preceding the Tuesday meeting day is a holiday, the Tuesday meeting shall begin at 2:00 p.m.

Except as otherwise indicated in this subdivision, in the event any item on the agenda of one of the above listed agencies is to be discussed, the Chairperson shall announce the time the item will be discussed.

With usual notice to the public by posting and making copies available, agendas for Special Districts may be considered on other Tuesdays or Wednesdays if there are urgent items or items related to an other agenda to be considered by the Board in its other governing body capacities.

(d) The schedule of business for the Land Use agenda meeting shall be:

9:00 a.m. - 12:00 Noon    Land Use Matters

12:00 Noon - 2:00 p.m.    Recess

2:00 p.m. - Until Adjournment into Closed Session Land Use Matters

Closed Session (if necessary)    Closed Session Agenda Matters

Reconvene into Open Session to report Closed Session actions (if necessary)

(e) The order of business of the regular Land Use meeting shall be:

- Roll Call

- Public Communication, pursuant to Rule 4(f)

- Approval of Minutes

- Agenda review at the call of Chairperson to identify those items on the agenda on which a member of the Board or of the public requests the opportunity to discuss.

- At the call of the Chairperson of those items for which there is no request for discussion, approval shall be in accordance with the recommendation of the Chief Administrative Officer, Planning Commission, or Planning and Environmental Review Board. In the event the item has been filed by a Member of the Board, approval shall be in accordance with the recommendations of the Member of the Board.

- Discussion of items shall be taken in sequential order; provided, however, the Chairperson may take items out of sequential order for the purpose of accommodating the public or expediting the conduct of the meeting.

- Closed Session and reporting of Closed Session actions (if necessary).

The Chairperson may alter or deviate from this schedule.

(f) The Chairperson shall coordinate scheduling and notification for meetings with Board Members and appropriate County staff.

(a) The policy of the Board is to permit public participation in Board meetings No person shall address the Board without the permission of the Chairperson The Chairperson may limit the time for presentation and the number of persons who may address the Board on any agenda item The general policy of the Board regarding public participation is as follows: three minutes per person; the Chairperson may set a limit for organized group presentations of three or more persons up to 15 minutes, and may set limits for each side when many persons request to speak on an agenda item The Chairperson of a Planning or Sponsor Group is the sole official spokesperson for the group unless this responsibility is delegated in writing or otherwise established by majority vote of the group and communicated in writing to the Chairperson of the Board of Supervisors Five minutes may be allowed for such presentation unless there are circumstances warranting additional time If there is a minority report from the Planning or Sponsor Group, the Chairperson may allocate up to five minutes for such presentation The Chairperson shall have discretion in setting time limits.

(b) Any person wishing to make a presentation to the Board on an agenda item must file with the Clerk a written Request to Speak form prior to the scheduled opening time of the meeting or prior to the time that the item is called for discussion if the item has not been adopted without discussion No person may yield speaking time to another person. Any person who does not wish to speak to the Board but wishes to have the record reflect a position in favor or in opposition to an agenda item may do so by indicating the same on the Request to Speak form If an agenda item is set for a specific time, a written Request to Speak form must be filed at least five minutes prior to that specified time

(c) In the event that any meeting of the Board is willfully interrupted or disrupted by a person or by a group or groups of persons so as to render the orderly conduct of the meeting unfeasible, the Chairperson may recess the meeting or order the person, group or groups of persons willfully interrupting the meeting to leave the meeting or be removed from the meeting.

(d) Placards, banners, signs, flags, or other large objects designed to interrupt or disrupt the orderly conduct of the meeting are not permitted in the Chambers.

(e) In the event that any meeting is willfully interrupted or disrupted by a person or by a group or groups of persons so as to render the orderly conduct of such meeting unfeasible and order cannot be restored by the removal of the person or persons willfully interrupting or disrupting the meeting, the Chairperson may recess the meeting or order the meeting room cleared and continue in session Only matters appearing on the posted agenda may be considered in such a session Duly accredited representatives of the press or other news media, except those participating in the disturbance, shall be allowed to attend or remain in the meeting.

(f) At each regular meeting there will be a total of ten (10) minutes scheduled at the beginning of the meeting for members of the public to address the Board, each speaker to be allowed no more than two minutes, on any subject matter within the jurisdiction of the Board and which is not an item on the agenda for that meeting or litigation which is pending against the County of San Diego or its officers or employees Each speaker must file with the Clerk a written Public Communication Request to Speak form at least 10 minutes prior to the scheduled opening time of the meeting In the event that more than five (5) individuals request to address the Board, the first five (5) will be heard at the beginning of the meeting The remaining speakers will be heard at the conclusion of the meeting and granted two (2) minutes each Any person filing a Public Communication Request to Speak form after the time deadline established by this subsection shall not be allowed to make a presentation to the Board All issues raised by a speaker will be automatically referred to the Chief Administrative Officer No other action may be taken by the Board at this time Members of the public shall not be permitted to address the Board during the public communication period specified above for the purpose of urging Board reconsideration of any Board action which has been taken in the preceding one-year period; provided, however, that members of the public may request to have their reconsideration recommendations placed on a Board agenda in accordance with the procedures set forth in the last paragraph of subdivision (j) of Rule 2.