Chapter 2-04
CITY COUNCIL Revised 2/26
Sections:
2-04.010 Time of regular meetings.
2-04.020 Place of regular meetings.
2-04.030 Improper conduct at meeting.
2-04.040 Approved minutes as official record of proceedings.
2-04.050 Council compensation.
2-04.070 Commission appointments.
2-04.090 Qualifications of the members of the City Council. Revised 2/26
2-04.100 Council districts. Revised 2/26
2-04.010 Time of regular meetings.
A. The regular meetings of the City Council of the City of Laguna Hills shall be held on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month as follows: starting at five p.m. for closed session business and/or study sessions, when scheduled, and starting at six p.m. for the general business session. Notwithstanding the foregoing, closed session meetings of the City Council may be scheduled as part of the general business session, when necessary, and nothing herein shall operate to preclude the City Council from reconvening into closed session as part of the general business session for purposes of completing closed session discussions in the event the City Council does not complete the closed session discussion between five p.m. and six p.m.
B. Subsequent to the adoption of this section, the City Council may change the day and time of its regular meetings by resolution of the City Council. (Ord. 2024-3 § 1; Ord. 2013-1 § 1: prior code § 2-04.010)
2-04.020 Place of regular meetings.
Except as otherwise provided by law, the regular meetings of the City Council shall be held in the Council Chamber of the Laguna Hills City Hall, which is located at the Laguna Hills Civic Center, 24035 El Toro Road, Laguna Hills, California. (Ord. 2013-1 § 2: Ord. 2004-6 § 2; prior code § 2-04.020)
2-04.030 Improper conduct at meeting.
Any person using profane, vulgar, loud, or boisterous language at any meeting or otherwise interrupting the proceedings, who refuses to be seated or keep quiet when ordered to do so by the Mayor or other presiding officer of the legislative body, is guilty of a misdemeanor and may be ordered removed. (Prior code § 2-04.030)
2-04.040 Approved minutes as official record of proceedings.
A. Approval of Minutes. Unless the reading of the minutes of a meeting of the City Council or City Commission is requested by a member of the Council or Commission, such minutes may be approved without reading if the City Clerk or Commission secretary has previously furnished each member with a copy thereof. Minutes may be approved by voice or roll call vote.
B. Designated as Official Record. The approved written minutes constitute the official record of City Council proceedings and actions and are superior to any other record, recordation, document, transcript, audiotape, videotape, or other memorial or writing of said proceedings and actions. Any other recordings, tapes, and records of Council proceedings which may be deemed duplicate records shall be kept only as required by Government Code Section 54953.5(b) as it presently exists and as it may from time to time be amended. The City Council authorizes the City Clerk to store and destroy said duplicate records in accordance with said section of the Government Code.
C. Audio/Video Tape Retention. Any audio and/or video tape of City Council or Commission proceedings shall be retained in accordance with the city’s retention schedule.
D. Audio/Video Tape Accessibility to the Public. During the period that an audio and/or video tape of a City Council or Commission meeting is in the custody of the City Clerk, and subject to subsection B of this section, the City Clerk shall, upon request, make the tape available to interested members of the public during normal business hours. Whenever a member of the public is listening to a City Council meeting tape, a city employee shall be present to ensure the security and integrity of the same.
E. Subsections A through D of this section shall apply to the minutes of the meetings of any city board, commission, committee, task force, or agency after the board, commission, committee, task force, or agency and the City Council have approved the same.
(Prior code § 2-04.040)
2-04.050 Council compensation.
The compensation for City Council members shall be six hundred twenty-three dollars and sixty-six cents ($623.66) per month, and may be adjusted in accordance with state law. Such compensation shall be payable in the same manner as salaries are paid to other officers and employees of the city. (Ord. 2005-14 § 3: Ord. 2001-9 § 3: Ord. 98-1 § 2; prior code § 2-04.050)
2-04.060 Reimbursement.
In accordance with California Government Code Section 36514.5 and upon submission of an itemized account, any Council Member may be reimbursed for the actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of official duties. (Prior code § 2-04.060)
2-04.070 Commission appointments.
Unless otherwise specifically provided in this code or by state law, all city board and commission appointments, shall be made by the City Council. (Prior code § 2-04.070)
2-04.080 Term limits.
A. No person shall hold office as a member of the City Council for more than two consecutive terms.
B. If a person serves for at least two years of a term of office as a member of the City Council, that person for purposes of subsection A of this section shall be considered to have served a full four-year term.
C. If a person is appointed to a vacant office as a member of the City Council for an unexpired term and serves for at least two years, that person for purposes of subsection A of this section shall be considered to have served a full four-year term of office as a member of the City Council.
D. Any person who has served two consecutive terms of office as a member of the City Council shall not be eligible to hold office again as a member of the City Council until the expiration of at least two years following the conclusion of such person’s last term of office as a member of the City Council.
E. The term limits established by this section shall be applicable prospectively only to all terms of office for members of the City Council commencing with the terms of members of the City Council elected at the November 2010 general municipal election.
(Ord. 2010-6 § 1)
2-04.090 Qualifications of the members of the City Council. Revised 2/26
Beginning with the November 2026 general municipal election, a person elected as a member of the City Council shall be a resident of his or her respective Council district created by Section 2-04.100 (as may be subsequently reapportioned as provided by applicable law) and shall be nominated and elected only by the voters of his or her respective Council district. A person is not eligible to hold office as Council member unless he or she is at the time of seeking nomination or appointment to office an elector of the City, residing in the district from which he or she is elected or appointed. If, during his or her term of office he or she moves his or her place of residence outside of the district boundaries or ceases to be an elector of the City, his or her office shall immediately become vacant. However, no Council member shall be deemed to have moved outside of his or her district as a result of district boundary changes which may occur during his or her term of office, and such Council member shall continue to serve until his or her term is complete or the office otherwise becomes vacant. (Ord. 2025-7 § 1)
2-04.100 Council districts. Revised 2/26
A. Council District Boundaries. Beginning with the November 2026 general municipal election, the City Council shall consist of five members elected by districts for terms of four years each. Descriptions of the boundaries for each of the five Council districts and their numbering are as shown on Exhibit “A” attached to the ordinance codified in this section along with a map entitled “City of Laguna Hills Council Districts Map,” a copy of which shall be on file in the City Clerk’s office.
B. Transition to Council Districts.
1. Nothing herein shall affect the terms of office of the five members of the City Council in office at the time the ordinance codified in this section establishing district elections takes effect, who shall continue in office until their respective terms expire and until their successors are elected and qualified. Vacancy and recall proceedings, if any, of such City Council members serving the remainder of an at-large elected term, and an appointment or election of a successor to such City Council member to complete that term, shall be considered or conducted at-large in accordance with applicable law.
2. Council members shall be elected in Council Districts 1, 2 and 4 at the general municipal election in November 2026 and at the general municipal election every four years thereafter. Council members shall be elected in Council Districts 3 and 5 at the general municipal election in November 2028 and at the general municipal election every four years thereafter.
C. Future Redistricting.
1. Future adjustments to the boundaries of the districts established herein shall be made in accordance with federal and state law applicable to general law cities, including, but not limited to, the provision of California Elections Code § 21600 et seq., as it may be amended from time to time, requiring the adjustments of the boundaries of any or all of the districts following each decennial federal census.
2. Pursuant to Elections Code § 21606, the term of office of any Council member who has been elected and whose term of office has not expired shall not be affected by any change in the boundaries of the district from which he or she was elected, whether or not that Council member is a resident within the boundaries of the district as adjusted. At the first election for Council following adjustment of the boundaries of the district, a person meeting the requirements of Government Code § 34882 shall be elected to the City Council for each district under the readjusted district plan that has the same district number as a district whose incumbent’s term on the Council is due to expire.
D. Annexations. At the time of any annexation of territory to the City, the City Council shall designate, by resolution adopted by a vote of at least a majority of the City Council, the contiguous district or districts to which the annexed territory shall be a part and shall amend the district boundaries if necessary in accordance with Elections Code § 21603, as it may be amended. (Ord. 2025-7 § 2)