Commissioners told a May 15 sea-level-rise meeting was noticed as a community event, raising Brown Act questions

City staff told the Forest and Beach Commission that a community meeting on sea level rise scheduled for May 15 was noticed as a public community meeting rather than as a meeting of the Brown Act body, meaning the full commission could not attend without turning the session into a noticed public meeting.

The difference has prompted questions from commissioners who said they expected prior community workshops on related topics to have been noticed so any commissioner could attend. "The meeting is noticed as a community meeting. It wasn't noticed as a meeting of this Brown Act body," said Brandon, assistant city administrator, who described the current status and said staff would consult the city attorney to see whether the notice could be changed.

Brandon told commissioners he could not change the notice at the meeting and asked staff time to consult the city attorney. "What I need to do is we need to talk to our attorney and see if, one, we have time to change the notice because if the whole body wants to show up to that, then it does need to be noticed as a Brown Act meeting," he said. He added that if the notice is changed, planning commission members and city council members could also attend under Brown Act notice, and that the meeting will be recorded if it proceeds as currently noticed.

Commissioners pressed staff about consistency with previous community workshops for the urban forest master plan and whether the change was intentional. Several commissioners said past workshops were noticed so that commissioners could attend and questioned why this community meeting had been handled differently. Staff said there was no intent to exclude commissioners and that the current notice likely reflected an administrative oversight. "If it's too late for that, then we can give a report out or it's recorded, I believe," Brandon said. He said staff would work with the chair and the commission to determine next steps and to notify commissioners individually if the meeting is re-noticed.

Why it matters: The Brown Act governs public meeting notice and attendance for California legislative bodies; whether a session is a Brown Act meeting affects what commissioners can legally do and how many may attend. Commissioners said they wanted to be able to attend and listen to consultants and community feedback in person without creating a legally problematic quorum.

What happens next: Staff said they would consult the city attorney, coordinate with the chair, and report back quickly about whether the May 15 meeting can be re-noticed as a Brown Act meeting. If re-noticed, the public steering committee, planning commission and city council could attend as appropriate; if not, commissioners can watch the recording after the fact.