REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Discussion and Direction Regarding Adoption of a Resolution to Create a Charter Review Committee to Review the Sunnyvale City Charter and Develop Potential Charter Amendments for the City Council to Consider for the November 2026 Election
Report
BACKGROUND
The Sunnyvale City Charter governs how the City operates and provides services to the community. Sunnyvale voters adopted the Charter in 1950 to increase local control over municipal affairs. Amendments to the Charter must be approved by a majority of Sunnyvale voters. The Charter was last amended in 2020 when voters approved changing to a district-based electoral system for selecting City councilmembers, with a directly elected mayor.
On November 28, 2023, a colleagues memo was added to the Council agenda to “request that a meeting be agendized to empanel a Charter Review [Committee] (CRC) to conduct a full review of the Sunnyvale City Charter, with the goal of placing proposed amendments on the November 2024 ballot.” Council directed staff to bring the item back for discussion. The colleagues memo outlined nine potential Charter amendments for a committee to consider and indicated a desire that the Committee have the ability “to review all provisions in the Charter and to freely propose amendments.”
On January 30, 2024 (RTC No. 24-0272), Council directed staff to take the following actions related to Charter amendments:
1. Return with analysis of items from the colleagues’ memo that could be considered without a Charter Amendment:
- Return within two years with a Council policy noting that Councilmembers represent the entire City, not individual districts and that "district prerogative" does not exist in Sunnyvale;
2. Pursue Council-directed Charter Amendments for 2024 and return with proposed ballot measure language for priority items identified by Council:
- A Charter Amendment to use gender neutral language throughout the Charter;
- A Charter Amendment to require 24 regular Council meetings per year rather than two (2) per month;
- A Charter Amendment to remove the registered voter requirement from all boards and commissions, with the exception of the Planning Commission, and research which boards and commissions should have a citizenship requirement; and
3. Return to Council in the fourth quarter of 2024 with options for a more thorough charter review process similar to the one undertaken in 2007, allowing for more opportunities for public participation and adequate time to prepare several potential changes for voter consideration in November 2026.
Staff returned on May 7, 2024 and the Council took action on items 1 and 2 (RTC No. 24-0406). This report addresses item 3 and recommends a project plan for a comprehensive Charter Review Committee process.
EXISTING POLICY
Elections Code Article 3 (City or City and County Charters)
Sunnyvale City Charter
Sunnyvale Municipal Code Section 2.31.030 (Eligibility and appointment of redistricting commissioners)
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The action being considered does not constitute a “project” within the meaning of the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines section 15378(b)(5) in that it is a governmental, organizational or administrative activity that will not result in direct or indirect changes in the environment.
DISCUSSION
This report outlines a six-phase project plan for a comprehensive Charter Review Committee process. While direction from Council is welcome regarding any of the four phases, the following specific decisions should be included in Council direction to create a Charter Review Committee:
A. Direction regarding the size of a Charter Review Committee
B. Any desired committee member attributes or potential restrictions
C. Any changes from the proposed application, recruitment and on-boarding steps
Charter Review Committee Project Timeline
|
Phase |
Dates |
|
1: Community Education Regarding the Charter Review Committee |
June - Oct. 2024 |
|
2: Committee Member Selection and On-boarding |
Nov. - Dec. 2024 |
|
3: Charter Review and Amendment Ideas* |
Jan. - May 2025 |
|
4: Charter Ballot Language Drafting and Refinement |
June - Dec. 2025 |
|
5: Council Approval of Ballot Language |
Jan. - April 2026 |
|
6: Voter Education |
May - Aug. 2026 |
*See potential Charter Review Committee meeting dates in Attachment 4
Phase 1: Community Education Regarding the Charter Review Committee
Should Council decide to create a Charter Review Committee, staff would conduct outreach in the community in a similar manner to recruitment for the City’s Boards and Commissions.
The outreach would include information about what the City Charter is, the process the Committee would take to propose Charter amendments, and recruitment.
Staff would engage the community through the following avenues:
- Advertisement in the Sunnyvale Sun
- Council announcements at City Council meetings
- City website
- Library display bulletin
- Announcements at Neighborhood Associations and boards and commissions meetings
- Utility insert
- Horizon Newsletter
- Posts on City social media outlets
- Direct outreach to civic organizations in Sunnyvale
Phase 2: Committee Member Selection and On-boarding
A. Charter Review Committee Size
The first decision point for Council is the number of members for a Charter Review Committee. Sunnyvale’s standing Boards and Commissions have five or seven members. Recent Charter Review Committees in Sunnyvale and Council district related bodies have ranged in size from 7-15 members.
Recent Sunnyvale Charter Review Committees
|
Meeting Body |
Number of Members |
Number of Alternates |
|
2021-22 Redistricting Commission |
7 |
6* |
|
2019 CVRA Citizens Advisory Committee |
9 |
n/a |
|
2018 Charter Review Committee |
11 |
n/a |
|
2011 Charter Review Committee |
11 |
n/a |
|
2007 Charter Review Committee |
15 |
n/a |
*Four out of six appointed Alternates served, one declined appointment and one resigned
Larger numbers of members can increase the number of ideas presented for consideration. It may also increase the length of Committee meetings and the amount of staff time needed to support Committee Members.
For Council’s reference, below is the make-up of the most recent Charter Review Committee in peer Santa Clara County charter cities. Santa Clara is the only peer City that staff is aware of that has recently convened a Charter Review Committee
- Santa Clara: 2023 Charter Review Committee, 7 members - one per Council district and one at-large
- Gilroy: no Charter Review Committee
- Mountain View: 1970 Charter Review Committee, 7 at-large members and one Councilmember
- Palo Alto: 1968 Charter Review Committee, 14 at-large members
For the 2021-22 Redistricting Commission, Alternate Members participated in all deliberations. They voted only when they were filling in for an absent Commissioner. Council authorized the Mayor to set a priority for Alternates, which determined which Alternate(s) would serve if one or more Commissioners were absent from a meeting. If Council would like to include Alternates for the Charter Review Committee, direction related to the Alternates role should be included in Council’s direction. Allowing alternates to participate in all deliberations also extends meeting duration and may result in a broader array of potential Charter amendments for Council to consider and for the Committee to work on.
Balancing broad participation with the ability to complete thorough review and recommendation on Council-supported Charter amendments will be important to the success of this effort. To that end, staff recommends a seven-member Charter Review Committee to ensure sufficient time to conduct meetings on a robust array of topics given Council’s desire to invite amendment topics from the Committee. The Charter review process will build in time seek input that considers broader community perspectives. Should Council desire a larger Committee, staff would recommend that the total committee size not exceed 11, inclusive of members and alternates (e.g., 7, 9, or 11 members and 2 or 4 alternates, if any). If alternates are utilized, staff would recommend that they participate in deliberations during meetings when they are required to vote due to absence of another committee member, and participate as members of the public at other meetings.
B. Member Attributes-Potential Restrictions
Direction regarding the composition of the Charter Review Committee should also include any membership requirements desired by Council. For example, several of the City’s Boards and Commissions currently have a registered voter requirement (though this may change with a November 2024 Charter Amendment), and most Board and Commission Members need to be residents of Sunnyvale. The Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission, Human Relations Commission and Sustainability Commission each have a non-resident category for Commissioners who meet specific criteria.
For the 2021-22 Redistricting Commission, Council provided a robust list of desirable qualifications of applicants, required qualifications, and certain criteria that would render someone ineligible for appointment. Council also included restrictions for Redistricting Commissioners during and after their service on the Commission. The details of these applicant qualification and restrictions can be found in Sunnyvale Municipal Code Section 2.31.030 (Eligibility and appointment of redistricting commissioners) (Attachment 2).
Council should provide direction regarding any required applicant qualifications, desirable applicant qualifications and any restrictions on Committee Members.
C. Application, Recruitment and On-boarding
Staff will prepare an application for the Charter Review Committee that aligns with the 2018 Charter Review Committee application (Attachment 3). The questions will be updated to address qualifications or restrictions as directed by Council.
Applications for the Charter Review Committee will be due in October 2024, aligning the recruitment for Committee members with the planned Board and Commission recruitment to fill any vacancies due to Board or Commission resignations. The application and deadline information will be included with Phase 1 Community Outreach.
Unless Council provides alternative direction, applicant interviews with the City Council will be scheduled in November and follow the same 15-minute interview format as interviews for the City’s Boards and Commissions.
Council appointments to the Charter Review Committee will take place later in November and the first meeting of the Committee will tentatively take place in December 2024 or January 2025. The first meeting will focus on training for the new Committee Members on the Ralph M. Brown Act (California’s open meetings law) and parliamentary procedure along with an orientation to their role on the Committee and the City Charter.
Charter Review Committee Decision Points (Attachment 5) summarizes the various choices for Council regarding the Charter Review Commission.
Phase 3: Charter Review and Amendment Ideas
The Draft Charter Review Committee Timeline covers calendar year 2025 (Attachment 4), with the Committee spending the first few months generating new Charter Amendment ideas, refining existing ideas and narrowing the scope of ideas for Council’s consideration. Staff anticipate providing additional suggested items for the Committee to consider.
The following items remaining from the November 28, 2023 Colleagues Memo would be included for the Committee to consider unless Council provides direction to remove any items from that list for consideration:
• Allowing Councilmembers appointed to fill vacancies to serve until the next feasible November general election, as opposed to the next feasible election (i.e., appointees could no longer go up for election in a primary).
• Examining the role of the mayor, including whether the position of mayor should be considered full-time.
• Examining Council salary and compensation.
• Evaluating whether to adopt an alternative voting system, such as ranked-choice or approval voting, or retain the existing first-past-the-post system for districts and mayoral elections.
• Establishing rules for empaneling Redistricting Commissions.
The draft timeline allocates time for the Committee to develop a refined list of potential amendments and the Council to provide direction on that list in May 2025. Direction could include accepting additional ideas proposed by the Committee, dropping ideas or adjusting the scope of the presented Charter amendment ideas.
Narrowing down a list of potential amendments to pursue further will be critical to allowing sufficient time for the Charter Review Committee to discuss and evaluate each idea and bring recommendations forward to Council with time for feedback and ballot language finalization leading up to the November 2026 election.
Phase 4: Charter Ballot Language Drafting and Refinement
Following direction from Council in May 2025 on the potential amendments to evaluate, the Committee would delve into detailed review of the Council approved Charter amendment ideas and potential ballot measure language. The draft timeline envisions one to two Committee meetings per month in 2025, with the Committee submitting its final draft Charter amendments to the Council by December 2025.
Phase 5: Council Decision to Place Measure(s) on the November 2026 Ballot
Council would review the Committee’s recommendations and decide to place Charter amendment measure(s) on the November 3, 2026 ballot. Because the Charter Review Committee’s recommendations are non-binding, Council could modify any recommended amendments and choose to only place a subset of the recommended Charter amendments on the ballot.
Phase 6: Voter Education
Voter education would take place once Council determines which measures to place on the ballot. The target timeline would be May through August 2026 and include:
- Advertisement in the Sunnyvale Sun
- Council announcements at City Council meetings
- City website
- Library display bulletin
- Announcements at Neighborhood Associations and boards and commissions meetings
- Mailers
- Horizon Newsletter
- Posts on City social media outlets
- Direct outreach to civic organizations in Sunnyvale
FISCAL IMPACT
The fiscal impact of placing charter amendment(s) on the November 2026 ballot will depend on the format Council chooses for the review process, the number of measures placed on the ballot, and the length of those measures.
For the November 2026 Election, the County Registrar of Voters estimates a cost of $138,926 for each 6-page ballot measure. Project 835020 (Sunnyvale Biennial Elections) includes $713,834 for all items placed on the November 2026 ballot, mandated translation and legal noticing costs along with any City covered candidate statement costs in alignment with Sunnyvale Municipal Code Section 2.28.030 (In lieu petitions for cost of candidate’s statement).
Project 835020 includes funding to cover two 6-page ballot measures for the November 2026 Election; a budget amendment would be required to cover costs associated with more ballot measures or ballot measures longer than 6 pages.
Public information regarding potential proposed changes would also be recommended. Staff estimate $30,000 would cover a public information campaign and will return for a budget modification when Council places one or more ballot measures on the November 2026 ballot.
Staff support for the Committee will be absorbed by existing staff in the City Manager’s Office and the City Attorney’s Office. This will be a significant staffing effort that will compete with other one-time projects for staff time and may impact the timing of study issues or other work efforts in these departments.
PUBLIC CONTACT
Public contact was made by posting the Council meeting agenda on the City's official-notice bulletin board at City Hall, at the Sunnyvale Public Library and in the Department of Public Safety Lobby. In addition, the agenda and this report are available at the NOVA Workforce Services reception desk located on the first floor of City Hall at 456 W. Olive Avenue (during normal business hours), and on the City's website.
ALTERNATIVES
1. Determine the number of Charter Committee members and adopt a Resolution (Attachment 1 to the report) establishing the Charter Review Committee.
2. Provide direction to staff on (a) Committee formation, including membership requirements, eligibility, and the selection process for Committee membership, (b) scope of the committee, and (c) general timeline for the Committee’s work.
3. Other direction as provided by Council.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
Staff makes no recommendation. This report is developed to facilitate a conversation for the public hearing and action by the City Council related to the formation of a Charter Review Committee.
Levine Act
LEVINE ACT
The Levine Act (Gov. Code Section 84308) prohibits city officials from participating in certain decisions regarding licenses, permits, and other entitlements for use if the official has received a campaign contribution of more than $250 from a party, participant, or agent of a party or participant in the previous 12 months. The Levine Act is intended to prevent financial influence on decisions that affect specific, identifiable persons or participants. For more information see the Fair Political Practices Commission website: www.fppc.ca.gov/learn/pay-to-play-limits-and-prohibitions.html
A check or “Y” in the checklist below indicates that the action being considered falls under a Levine Act category or exemption:
SUBJECT TO THE LEVINE ACT
___ Land development entitlements
___ Other permit, license, or entitlement for use contract
___ Contract or franchise
EXEMPT FROM THE LEVINE ACT
___ Competitively bid contract
___ Labor or personal employment
_x_ General policy and legislative actions
Staff
Prepared by: David Carnahan, City Clerk
Reviewed by: Melissa Tronquet, Senior Assistant City Attorney
Reviewed by: Jaqui Guzmán, Deputy City Manager
Reviewed by: Sarah Johnson-Rios, Assistant City Manager
Reviewed by: Rebecca Moon, City Attorney
Approved by: Kent Steffens, City Manager
ATTACHMENTS
1. Resolution Establishing a Charter Review Committee
2. Sunnyvale Municipal Code Section 2.31.030 (Eligibility and appointment of redistricting commissioners)
3. 2018 Charter Review Committee Application
4. Draft Charter Review Committee Timeline
5. Charter Review Committee Decision Points