The Huntington Beach City Council on Tuesday approved a staff recommendation responding to a cease-and-desist letter from the American Civil Liberties Union, saying the city will "cease and desist" the challenged conduct but without admitting any violation of the Brown Act.

The action adopted the language from the staff report that, “without admitting any violation of the Brown Act, the city of Huntington Beach hereby unconditionally commits that it will cease and desist from and not repeat the challenged past action described in the letter from the ACLU dated 05/22/2025.” The motion passed on a roll call vote of 6-0-1, with Councilman Andrew Gruel recorded absent.

Why it matters: the ACLU letter alleged the city violated open-meeting requirements when the mayor curtailed public comments at a prior meeting. The council’s formal pledge is intended to address those allegations without litigation, according to the staff report presented at the meeting.

Council discussion was brief. The city attorney had no report from closed session, and staff presented the proposed response and moved it forward for council consideration. The motion was seconded and then approved by roll call: Councilman Twining — yes; Councilman Kennedy — yes; Mayor Pro Tem McKeon — yes; Mayor Pat Burns — aye; Councilwoman Vandermark — yes; Councilman Williams — yes; Councilman Andrew Gruel — absent.

The staff report cited the ACLU letter (dated May 22, 2025) and framed the recommended action as a commitment to cease the specified practices rather than an admission of legal fault. The council did not direct further investigation or additional corrective steps at the meeting.

The council announced the next regular meeting for July 1; no additional follow-up related to the ACLU item was scheduled in open session at this meeting.

Ending: The vote resolves the immediate procedural dispute in open session. Any legal challenges or further administrative steps would be reflected in future agendas if raised by council or by the letter’s author.