City Council Public Hearing Notices
Generating a staff report and going through the review process usually takes more attention from our authors, but properly noticing your agenda items in the IJ is what enables us to legally hear the agenda item at the meeting. There are our usual 10-day noticing requirements, but depending on the agenda item, it may need to be noticed in the Marin IJ 15-days prior, or twice in a two-week period, etc. We hope that this guide serves as a useful tool for anyone who is planning to bring an agenda item to the city council that requires public hearing notices to be posted in the Marin IJ.
Step 1: Speak with your Department Director
Verify with your Department Director that the agenda item is confirmed for the date it is being noticed for. They will with with the City Manager's office to make sure that date works for agenda planning. WHY: This is an crucial step, because if it gets noticed in the Marin IJ, but isn't confirmed for the agenda we are forced to add it to the agenda and recommend the City Council continue it to a future meeting. This can be confusing for members of the public who saw it in the Marin IJ, and took time out of their evenings to attend a meeting where their item of interest isn't even being heard. Publishing it in the IJ limits our ability to remove it if it's not quite ready for City Council review yet.
Step 2: Determine Legal Noticing Requirements
Determine the legal requirements for noticing pertaining to your specific agenda item. If it requires a 15-day notice, it is your responsibility to have it sent to the City Attorney's office for review/edits, and then to our office, in final form, to be sent to the Marin IJ by the deadline required by law. You can find noticing requirements in this cheat sheet to help assist you in determining when your item needs to be noticed by. Below are some of the noticing requirements we often have for our hearings:
| Type | Noticing Requirement | Code |
| Ordinances | Public Hearing Notice (depending on type); and
At least 5 days prior to meeting at which ordinance is to be adopted (summary ordinance); and Within 15 days after adoption (Clerk's Certification) |
Govt. Code 36933 |
| Adoption of codes by reference | After the first reading of the ordinance and the code to be adopted by reference, once a week for two successive weeks with at least five days in between | Govt. Code 50022.2 & 50022.3 |
| Adoption or amendment to zoning ordinance which changes zoning on property; or imposes any regulation listed in Govt. Code 65850; or appeal of Planning Commission's recommendation to deny rezoning | 10-day noticing | Govt. Code 65853 / 65856 / 65090 / 65092 |
| Adoption or amendment of General Plan | 10-day noticing | Govt. Code 65355 / 65090 / 65092 |
| Approval, amendment or cancellation of a Development Agreement | 10-day noticing | Govt. Code 65867 / 65090 / 65091 / 65092 |
| BID Annual Assessments | No notice at first meeting (consent calendar - resolution if intention to hold public hearing
2nd meeting: 10-day public hearing notice |
|
| Assessment Districts | No notice at first meeting (consent calendar - resolution if intention to hold public hearing
2nd meeting: 10-day public hearing notice |
|
| Triennial Building/Fire Code Adoption by reference | After the first reading of the ordinance and the code to be adopted by reference, once a week for two successive weeks with at least five days in between
1st meeting: consent calendar introducing ordinance and setting public hearing date 2nd meeting: public hearing adopting ordinance (include staff report) |
Step 3: Create the Public Hearing Notice
Once you have confirmed it is scheduled for a meeting, and you know the legal noticing requirement for your item, you will need to create the public hearing notice to be reviewed by the City Attorney's Office. For your assistance, we have provided a template below. The only information that should be modified are the highlighted sections.
Public Hearing Notice Template
Download Public Hearing Notice Template
Step 4: Route to City Attorney's Office for Review by IJ Deadline
Once your public hearing notice has been generated, send it to the City Attorney's office for their review. If they are recommending edits, you will need to accept their changes, or modify as recommended. Once the notice is in final form, you will need to send it to the City Clerk's office to be published in the Marin IJ. The City Clerk's office staff are the only ones to send any public hearing notices to the Marin IJ for City Council meeting public hearings.
Deadlines:
The Marin IJ requires notices to be sent by the City Clerk's office no later than two-business days prior to the intended noticing date, at 12:00 p.m. This means if your notice needs to be published on a Friday, it needs to be in final form to the City Clerk's office no later than at 12:00 p.m. on the prior Wednesday. If you send it to the City Clerk's office later than the deadline imposed by the Marin IJ, there is no guarantee it will be published by the date required by law, and would force staff to push the agenda item to the next city council meeting.
Step 5: Summary Ordinances Following Ordinance Introduction
Most ordinances require a 10-day noticing requirement. If the City Council approves the introduction of the ordinance, it will then be scheduled for adoption at the next city council meeting on the consent calendar. However, a summary of the ordinance is required to be published in the Marin IJ five days prior to adoption of the ordinance. Below is a template for summary ordinances, and they are due in the City Clerk's office, in final form, the Wednesday following the City Council meeting introducing the ordinance, by 2:00 p.m., and will be published that Friday.
The process above changes when adopting codes by reference, but the above will apply the majority of the time.