HomeMy WebLinkAboutR-10659 Creating the Creative Vision Team for the Downtown Concept Plan Update and Defining its Term and ChargeRESOLUTION NO. 10659 (2015 Series)
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN LUIS
OBISPO, CALIFORNIA, CREATING THE CREATIVE VISION TEAM
FOR THE DOWNTOWN CONCEPT PLAN UPDATE AND DEFINING
ITS TERM AND CHARGE
WHEREAS, the City Council designated funding to update the Downtown Concept Plan
during the 2015 -2016 Fiscal Year, following update of the Land Use Element; and
WHEREAS, the community benefited greatly from the generous volunteer efforts of five
community members with strong design skills during the creation of the Downtown Concept
Plan during the early 1990's; and
WHEREAS, four members of the original group of volunteers (Physical Plan Design
Committee) have offered to be actively involved in the update of the Downtown Concept Plan;
and
WHEREAS, public participation has been a long tradition in land use issues in the City
of San Luis Obispo and public involvement is essential in updating the 1993 Downtown Concept
Plan; and
WHEREAS, the public participation strategy calls for a Creative Vision Team (CVT) to
assist with the visioning process and work with the community and affected stakeholders to
provide recommendations for Council consideration; and
WHEREAS, the composition of the CVT should include the four remaining members of
the Physical Plan Design Committee, plus three additional resident volunteers and one alternate
with design and graphic skills who are willing to commit time to the update effort and represent
the future needs of the community; and
WHEREAS, establishing CVT Ground Rules and Terms of Engagement will provide a
framework for collaborative communication among stakeholders and decision - makers; and
WHEREAS, the City Council has duly considered all evidence, including the testimony
of interested parties, and the evaluation and recommendations by staff presented at said hearing.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the City of San Luis
Obispo that a Creative Vision Team is hereby created with a composition, term, charge, ground
rules and staff support as follows:
SECTION 1. CVT. The Creative Vision Team shall be comprised of representatives to
be appointed by the Council. The CVT shall be comprised of an odd number of participants.
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Council Resolution No. 10659 (2015 Series)
SECTION 2. Action
Page 2
1. Appoint volunteers Chuck Crotser, Andrew Merriam, Pierre Rademaker, and Kenneth
Schwartz to serve on the CVT.
2. Direct Staff to provide notice and solicit applications and resumes to serve on the
CVT to be submitted to the City Clerk by September 30, 2015.
3. Appoint a sub - committee of Council members to review applications and resumes
and, based on recommendations of the original four CVT members named above,
select an additional five members and one alternate who shall serve at the pleasure of
the City Council and may, by a majority Council vote, be appointed, dismissed, or
replaced.
4. The CVT is hereby established until December 31, 2016, at which point it will no
longer be a standing committee with the possible extension of this term to be
considered by the City Council prior to that time.
5. The purpose of the CVT is to advise the City in developing recommendations to
update the Downtown Concept Plan.
6. The City will provide staff support to the CVT, with the Community Development
Director to be primarily responsible for providing this support, to include preparation
of agendas and minutes, compilation of material for discussion at CVT meetings, and
assistance with public outreach efforts.
7. The CVT Guidelines as shown in Exhibit A, and as may be amended by the City
Council, shall apply to the CVT upon formation by the City Council, including
compliance with the Ralph M. Brown Act governing open meetings for local
government bodies.
Upon motion of Council Member Rivoire, seconded by Council Member Christianson, and on
the following roll call vote:
AYES: Council Members Christianson, and Rivoire,
Vice Mayor Ashbaugh, and Mayor Marx
NOES: None
RECUSED Council Member Carpenter
ABSENT: None
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Council Resolution No. 10659 (2015 Series) Page 3
The foregoing resolution was adopted this 18th day of August 2015.
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Mayor A Marx
ATTEST:
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the official seal of the City
of San Luis Obispo, California, this . 2.,+,. day of V 1 ZG SS
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Cit
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Council Resolution No. 10659 (2015 Series)
EXHIBIT A
EXHIBIT A
CVT GUIDELINES
Guidelines for the Creative Vision Team (CVT)
City of San Luis Obispo
Community Development Department
1. Introduction
The purpose of these Guidelines is twofold:
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1) To clarify the respective roles of the each participant in the citizen advisory
committee process; and
2) To outline the roles, responsibilities and relationship of CVT and Staff to clarify
expectations and understanding of the overall process, so that CVT and Staff
contribute to moving toward accomplishing the committee's specific goals within an
appropriate schedule and budget.
The advisory committee process is a collaborative one involving an often diverse array of
individuals, stakeholders, and viewpoints, levels of expertise and matters of concern. The public,
CVT appointees, and respective Community Development Department staff (CDD staff), and
staff from other agencies and offices all benefit in having a clear understanding of their
respective roles and responsibilities in the committees' conduct of their official business.
An effort has been made to cover all essential aspects of the committee operations, such as how
appointments are made, how long each member's term is, the responsibilities of different
participants, conflict of interest issues, and meeting procedures. Nonetheless, these Guidelines
are not exhaustive, they do not incorporate statutes and regulations which may apply to CVT
operations, e.g. State open meetings law (Brown Act). The Guidelines strive to make adequate
reference to other rules, as appropriate.
2. Applicability
These Guidelines apply to the Council- appointed Creative Vision Team (CVT) whose primary
mission involves products and activities of the update to the Downtown Concept Plan.
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EXHIBIT A
3. Establishment of CVT
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The CVT is being established to advise the City on matters related to the update of the
Downtown Concept Plan. The advice provided by the CVT is communicated to City staff which
is tasked with providing recommendations to Advisory Bodies and City Council. This CVT is
appointed by a City Council sub - committee; its establishment is not specifically required by any
State laws or regulations. Therefore, the City Council has discretion to create, modify, and
terminate the CVT, its membership, mission statement, schedule, etc. at any time. The CVT is
an agent of the City of San Luis Obispo and members should be cognizant that their actions as
individuals or as a whole can have consequences to the City.
4. Team Authority
The CVT is advisory in nature and has no authority to approve, deny, or require modification to
any policy under the CVT's consideration. The team's advice shall be conveyed to Advisory
Bodies, Planning Commission and City Council in all staff reports. City staff will acknowledge
CVT input in formulation of recommendations for action by Advisory bodies and City Council
and will note where a differing recommendation is being made and the reasons for the difference.
When recording votes in meeting minutes, members voting for and against items will be noted.
Staff is assigned responsibility for the timely completion of Council - approved Downtown
Concept Plan update work program as reflected in the Request for Proposal.
5. Appointment Process and Membership Term
A) Size
The size of a CVT shall be established by the City Council upon creation of the team. The team
shall have an odd number of members; this eliminates ambiguity as to what constitutes a
quorum, and minimizes the possibility of tie votes.
B) Composition
The composition of a CVT shall be determined at the time of its creation, to ensure that members
with strong design and visioning skills who are committed to community service are represented
in the membership. All members must be residents of the City of San Luis Obispo. Paid
advocates will not be considered to serve on the CVT. The CVT will be created by Council
resolution.
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EXHIBIT A
C) Vacancies and Application Process
A vacancy or vacancies on a CVT shall exist:
1) When the committee is created
2) When a member or members is /are formally removed by the City Council, or
3) When the Council receives and acknowledges a letter of resignation from an
incumbent.
Vacancies on the CVT shall be advertised by the City Clerk in the same manner as the original
appointments by the Council. Applications for CVT membership shall be submitted on forms
provided by the City Clerk, and shall be accepted by the Clerk. The temporary absence of
members to fill vacancies as described in this section shall not affect a recommendation by staff
and/or the CVT to Advisory Bodies or to the Council.
D) Selection Process
Upon the close of an application period, a copy of each application submitted will be given to the
Council sub - committee for review. Appointment(s) shall be made by the sub - committee
appointed by the full Council. When considering members, a goal of service to the entire
community rather than special interests will be weighed. All members must be residents of the
City of San Luis Obispo. Paid advocates will not be considered to serve on the CVT.
E) Term of Office
The term of office for the CVT and its members is established by the City Council when it
creates the committee. The CVT shall serve at the discretion of the Council for the term of
appointment outlined in a resolution.
6. Team Operations
A) Team Mission and Responsibilities
The specific mission for the CVT and its term of service shall be to:
1) Advise the City in the development of recommendations during the process of
discussing issues, opportunities and vision; reviewing alternatives; and
developing policy as part of the Downtown Concept Plan update.
2) Review and comment upon other matters related to the CVT's function as part of
the Downtown Concept Plan update, upon specific direction by the City Council.
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B) Officers and Rules of Conduct
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The responsibilities of the CVT also include an election of officers, consisting of at least a Chair,
Vice - Chair, and Recording Secretary. The Chair shall lead all meetings, be the primary
spokesperson for the CVT, and be the primary committee liaison to City staff and the public.
Staff in consultation with the Chairperson shall develop the agenda for each CVT meeting. The
Vice -Chair shall fulfill the duties of Chair in the latter's absence. The Recording Secretary will
be the Community Development Director or his /her designee, who will take action minutes of
motions. At a minimum, these minutes shall clearly convey actions and motions taken by the
CVT. These minutes are to be considered, amended as needed and approved by the full task
force at the earliest possible time, and signed by the Chairperson. In addition, the task force may
adopt specific rules of conduct and procedure, as long as such rules are consistent with
applicable laws and regulations (including these Guidelines).
C) Meeting Procedure
The CVT is subject to the Brown Act, which set standards for public notice as to meeting time,
date and location as well as items to be discussed. Significant implications are as follows:
1) Noticing of all CVT meetings, including time, location and an agenda, must be
posted in a public place within the applicable area. Efforts should be made to
provide adequate public notice beyond minimum Brown Act requirements of
seventy -two (72) hours.
2) All CVT meetings must be open and public. Meetings are to be held in a facility
which makes adequate provision for attendance by all interested members of the
public.
3) Members of the public are to be given an opportunity to speak to the CVT on any
regular agenda item at the time it is being discussed. Members of the public will
also be given an opportunity to speak to any relevant non - agenda item. All public
speakers are subject to reasonable time constraints established by the CVT
Chairperson and any adopted procedures. All public speakers are to identify their
names and relevant business and/or personal interests they are representing for the
record.
4) The CVT will attempt to establish a consistent regular meeting time and location
in their rules of conduct.
5) Minutes of CVT meetings will be kept on file by the Community Development
Department. These minutes shall be available for any interested person to
examine.
6) The CVT will elect officers no later than its second meeting and until such time,
the Community Development Director or his /her designee shall serve as the Chair
Pro -Tem.
7) Meetings shall run in a parliamentary style. Substantive issues will have higher
priority than matters of procedural detail. The Chair has discretion in guiding
discussion of items among CVT members while allowing for appropriate public
input.
8) Staff may address the CVT at any time, with timely recognition by the Chair.
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9) Quorum: A majority of the members of the CVT constitute a quorum. Decisions
are made by a majority of the members present and voting. No business may be
transacted if fewer than a quorum is present. Formal votes by a committee are to
have a motion and second, prior to allowing further discussion and a vote.
10) Members of the CVT shall not vote on issues which involve a legal or ethical
conflict of interest or duty (See section 7)
11) Subcommittees: The CVT may select subcommittees to focus on issues or
subjects meriting more detailed work outside of the team. Subcommittees are
made up of CVT members only, and must number fewer than a quorum of the full
CVT. Subcommittee meeting arrangements may be set by either the staff or the
CVT. Such meetings are not legally required to be noticed or posted, but every
effort should be made by a subcommittee officer or member to notice and/or post
the meetings, as they are open to any interested member of the public.
Information about their time and location is to be made available through the
overall CVT secretary and through CDD staff. Subcommittees shall choose a
Chair and a Vice - Chair, and may choose a Recording Secretary for preparing
informal minutes. A report from any subcommittee meeting shall be made at the
next full CVT meeting. Staff support for subcommittee meetings may be
provided, but is not required.
D) Attendance
CVT members shall make every effort to attend regular meetings. Any member who is unable to
attend any meeting shall contact the CVT Chair or Community Development Department staff at
least seventy -two (72) hours prior to the meeting. Three (3) consecutive unannounced absences
or five (5) consecutive absences by a member shall be grounds for dismissal from the CVT,
subject to the discretion of the Council.
E) Appearance on CVT's behalf
The Chair, Vice - Chair, or other duly authorized CVT member shall speak for the task force at
any applicable non -CVT public hearing or other meeting as authorized by the CVT. Individual
members of CVT not so designated, who do testify at a public hearing or other meeting, shall
clearly identify themselves as speaking individually as a member of CVT, and shall clearly
indicate that they are not authorized to speak for the full committee.
F) Timely adjournment of evening meetings
To encourage public participation, evening meetings of CVTs will be organized, agendized, and
run so as to finish at a reasonable hour. If a particular CVT finds its evening meetings habitually
running past 9:30 PM, staff and the Chair will work together to shorten the agendas and, if
necessary, to expedite discussion and action on items.
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7. Conflicts of Interest
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CVT members are not considered to be "public officials" as defined in § 82048 of the California
Government Code, and therefore are not subject to the State Political Reform Act and its
disclosure provisions (Government Code §§ 81000 et seq.). Nevertheless, CVT members shall
remove themselves from all discussions and votes on matters in which they have any direct
personal financial interest, or where the member's professional allegiance and/or personal bias
cannot be set aside to allow the member's fair consideration of the issue(s) at hand.
In gauging such extra -legal conflicts of interest and/or duty, each member shall exercise careful
judgment and introspection in giving priority to the interests of fairness and objectivity; if there
is any reasonable doubt that the member has a conflict, the member shall refrain from
participation in the team's deliberations and vote(s). Should a member not refrain voluntarily,
and should the member's participation specifically be challenged by another CVT member, staff,
or the public, the member's participation on any item of official CVT business may be prevented
by a two - thirds majority vote of the full CVT (i.e., at least two - thirds of the total incumbent
membership, including the member in question). Pervasive or recurring conflicts of interest
and/or duty should lead a member to resign voluntarily from a CVT, and may be grounds for a
dismissal by the Council.
8. CVT Member and Staff Responsibilities
A) CVT Member Responsibilities
The responsibilities of the individual CVT members include:
1) Punctually and fully attend all regular and special meetings of the CVT and all
relevant subcommittee meetings, to the maximum possible extent;
2) Come to all meetings fully prepared, having reviewed the agenda and all related
written/graphic material available before the meeting;
3) Conscientiously follow high ethical standards in putting the broad public interest
ahead of any personal interest and/or bias, and to abstain from all discussions and
votes where this is not possible;
4) Promote full and open discussion of all matters of official CVT business;
5) Support the CVT Chair, Vice - Chair, and staff in maintaining order, keeping
discussions relevant to the business at hand, and following proper procedures,
while giving primary attention to matters of substance.
6) Be cognizant of the project time frame and constraints and strive to comment on
products /concepts presented in a productive and expeditious manner.
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EXHIBIT A
B) CDD Staff Responsibilities
Staff responsibilities in supporting the CVT include:
1) Timely completion of deliverables within budget.
2) Schedule all CVT meetings pertaining to Downtown Concept Plan update issues,
make arrangements for all facilities, distribute written/graphic materials, notices,
agendas, etc. For such meetings, coordinate necessary staff participation and guest
speakers;
3) For CVT meetings as appropriate, prepare recommendations and other material
for CVT review and comment. Advise the CVT on matters of both substance and
procedure;
4) Assist the CVT Chair in promoting full and open participation by all CVT
members and other people in attendance at any meeting, keeping discussion
pertinent to the business at hand;
5) Handle information requests for material and general information related to the
official business of the CVT;
6) Report the CVT's activities, recommendations and comments to Advisory Bodies
or other decision - makers and officials within the framework of the overall
presentation of staff recommendations on a team product -goal (i.e. draft concepts,
policies, or portion thereof);
7) Coordinate with the Chair and Secretary on CVT meeting schedules.
C) City Attorney
Staff support to the CVT will not be provided by the City Attorney. Specific legal issues are to
be directed through CDD to the City Attorney for response.
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