Res No 172-20-15612Resolution No.172-20-15612
A Resolution of the Mayor and City Commission of the City of South Miami,
Florida, amending its rules for public meetings of the City Commission and
City Boards during a state of emergency due to a pandemic or similar event
requiring social distancing.
WHEREAS, on March 9, 2020, Governor Ron DeSantis, by virtue of the authority vested
in him by Article IV, Section (1)(a) of the Florida Constitution, Chapter 252, Florida Statutes, and
all other applicable laws, issued Executive Order (EO) 20-52 declaring that a state of emergency
existed in the State of Florida due to the outbreak of Novel Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-
19); and
WHEREAS, pursuant to the City's municipal home rule powers to prepare for and respond
to weather and other emergencies, the Mayor and City Commission of the City of South Miami
enacted Ordinance no. 11-93-1539, entitled "Emergency Management; and
WHEREAS, the City's Emergency Management ordinance provides for the City Manager
or designee to recommend a declaration of a public health emergency pursuant to sections I4-1
and 14-5 of the Code of Ordinances of South Miami; and
WHEREAS, COVID-19 posed a serious and deadly health risk to City of South Miami
residents, particularly elderly residents; and
WHEREAS, the threat posed by COVID-19 requires extraordinary and immediate actions
by the City of South Miami to protect the public health, safety and welfare of its citizens, business
owners and visitors; and
WHEREAS, on March 13, 2020, believing that it was prudent to declare a public health
emergency and to organize all available City resources to prepare for, respond to and recover from
all threats to the security, safety and health of the people who live or work in South Miami, the
City Manager for the City of South Miami issued an executive order declaring a state of emergency
in the City of South Miami due to the threat of Covid-19; and
WHEREAS, on March 20, 2020, Governor Ron DeSantis, under EO 20-69, suspended all
Florida Statutes that require a quorum to be present in person for local government to conduct
municipal business or requires a local government body to meet at a specific public place and gave
his blessing for government bodies to utilize communications media technology [CMT], such as
telephonic and video conferencing, as provided in section 120.54(5)(b)2., Florida Statutes ; and
WHEREAS, Section 252.38(3)(a), Florida Statutes, gives power and authority to political
subdivisions (defined therein as including municipalities) to declare and enact a State of Local
Emergency for a period of up to seven (7) days including unlimited extensions of additional seven
(7) day periods, and "to waive the procedures and formalities otherwise required of the political
subdivision by law pertaining to: a. Performance of public work and taking whatever prudent
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Res. No 172-20-15612
action is necessary to ensure the health, safety, and welfare of the community" as well as other
powers; and
WHEREAS, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention has advised that to slow the
spread of the Coronavirus/COVID-19, individuals should adopt far-reaching social distancing
measures and the appropriate wearing of masks; and
WHEREAS, § 120.54(4), Fla. Stat., provides that in an emergency, a state agency may
adopt any rules that are fair under the circumstances if the agency finds that an immediate danger
to the public health, safety, or welfare necessitates and requires emergency action and such
action is limited to what is necessary to protect the public interest under the emergency
procedure and at the time of the action it publishes the specific facts and reasons for finding an
immediate danger to the public health, safety, or welfare and its reasons for concluding that the
procedure used is fair under the circumstances. However, under Section 120.54 the emergency
rules may not be effective for a period longer than 90 days and shall not be renewable except
under limited circumstances; and
WHEREAS, there has been a loosening of the state restrictions on interactions between
people and it has led to a disregard for safety precautions and a failure of people to wear masks
and to socially distance themselves from one another; and
WHEREAS, the loosening of restriction has led to a rapid rise in the number of
Coronavirus cases; and
WHEREAS, the Florida Statute, Section 166.041 sets forth the minimum standards for
enacting ordinances and adopting resolutions. Subsection (4) states:
A majority of the members of the governing body shall constitute a quorum. An
affirmative vote of a majority of a quorum present is necessary to enact any ordinance
or adopt any resolution; except that two-thirds of the membership of the board is required
to enact an emergency ordinance. ***
; and
WHEREAS, the Florida Statute, Section 166.041 defines a statutory quorum as a majority
of the membership of the governing body and a majority of the City Commission membership is
three members; and
WHEREAS, the Florida Statute, Section 166.041(4) prohibits an ordinance from being
enacted and prohibits a resolution from being adopted unless it is done by an affirmative vote of a
majority of a statutorily defined "quorum", e. g., 3 members of a 5 member governing body being
present; and
WHEREAS, the City's Charter and City Ordinances do not require that a quorum of the
City Commission be present in order to adopt resolutions or enact ordinances; and
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Res. No. 172-20-15612
WHEREAS, the Office of the Florida Attorney General has consistently held that Florida
Statutes require that the requisite number of members to form a quorum be physically present in
the same room and, that if a quorum is physically present, the participation of an absent member
may be by video conferencing; and
WHEREAS, the Office of the Florida Attorney General has been inconsistent over the
years as to whether a member of a Commission, board or committee may attend remotely when a
quorum is physically present and it has done so without any basis in law, either statutory or case
law; and
WHEREAS, there is no statutory regulation of municipal boards in terms of the number
of members who must be present to conduct business; and
WHEREAS, the City's Code of Ordinances require that some boards must have a quorum
present to conduct business; and
WHEREAS, the City's Land Development Code once required that a quorum be present
before business could be conducted by the City's Planning Board, its Environmental Review and
Preservation Board (ERPB) and its Historic Preservation Board. However, those sections of the
LDC have been amended to allow for a quorum to be present over a CMT platform; and
WHEREAS, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention has advised that for the county
to slow the spread of the Coronavirus, individuals should adopt far-reaching social distancing
measures; and
WHEREAS, the E O 2020-69 implied that local government bodies should adopt rules of
procedure for virtual meetings, in accordance with section 120.54(5)(b)(2), Fla. Stat. which
require: (1) Uniform rules for the scheduling of public meetings, hearings, and workshops; (2)
Uniform rules .... that provide procedures for conducting ... [those meetings], and for taking
evidence, testimony, and argument at such ... [meetings], in person and by means of
communications media technology. *** [A]ll evidence, testimony, and argument presented
... [must] be afforded equal consideration, regardless of the method of communication. If a ... [the
meetings are] to be conducted by..., or if attendance may be provided by ...[communication media
technology], the notice shall so state. The notice ... shall state how persons interested in attending
may do so and shall name locations, if any, where communications media technology facilities
will be available. ** * Limiting points of access to ... [meetings] to places not normally open to the
public shall be presumed to violate the right of access of the public, and any official action taken
under such circumstances is void and of no effect. * * * As used in this subparagraph,
"communications media technology" means the electronic transmission of printed matter, audio,
full -motion video, freeze-frame video, compressed video, and digital video by any method
available.
WHEREAS, the City adopted rules of procedure for virtual meeting on May 5, 2020 and
pursuant to Resolution No. 041-20-15481; and
WHEREAS, the Governor's EO 20-69 has expired and thus Section 166.041 is in full
force and effect. If the Attorney General opinions as to their interpretation of quorum requirements
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Res. No. 172-20-15612
of Section 166.041 is upheld by a court of competent jurisdiction, then a statutory quorum of three
members must be present to legally enact ordinances and adopt resolutions by the City
Commission; and
WHEREAS, the City Commission finds that if a member of the City Commission feels
unsafe attending the Commission meeting in person due to the risks associated with the
Coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic, and wishes to attend the meeting virtually or telephonically,
the City Commission finds that there are currently "extraordinary circumstance" that warrant a
member's remote attendance, so long as there is a physical quorum present in the room; and
WHEREAS, the City Commission desires to amend its emergency rules to account for the
Governor's failure to continue the suspension of the quorum requirements of Section 166.041, Fla.
Stat., as well as to make other modifications to the emergency rules of procedure for meetings and
notices of public meetings during the Covid-19 pandemic or similar health emergencies.
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY
COMMISSIONERS OF THE CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA:
Section 1. The foregoing recitals are hereby ratified and confirmed as being true and they
are incorporated into this resolution by reference as if set forth in full herein.
Section 2. The rules of procedure for public meetings and notices of those meetings during
the Covid-19 pandemic, or similar health emergencies, are hereby amended and are as set forth in
the attached Exhibit A to this Resolution. The City Attorney is authorized to make changes to the
rules, consistent with the Commission's intent and to comply with best practices, as they are
developed.
Section 3. Corrections. Conforming language or technical scrivener -type corrections
may be made by the City Attorney for any conforming amendments to be incorporated into the
final resolution for signature.
Section 4. Severability. If any section clause, sentence, or phrase of this resolution is for
any reason held invalid or unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction, the holding will
not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this resolution.
Section 5. Effective Date. This resolution will become effective immediately upon
adoption.
PASSED AND ADOPTED this I` day of December, 2020.
ATTEST: APPROV D:
CIT CLERK AYOR
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Res. No. 172-20-15612
READ AND APPROVED AS TO FORM,
LANGUAGE, LEGALITY AND EXECUTION
.c ra J1
,TAM
Pagc 5 of 13
COMMISSION VOTE: 5-0
Mayor Philips:
Yea
Vice Mayor Welsh:
Yea
Commissioner Gil:
Yea
Commissioner Harris:
Yea
Commissioner Liebman:
Yea
Res. No. 172-20-15612
Exhibit A
RULES OF PROCEDURES FOR MEETINGS AND HEARINGS
OF THE SOUTH MIAMI CITY COMMISSION
(LEGISLATIVE AND QUASI-JUDICIAL) AND
FOR ALL CITY BOARDS
These rules are established in accordance with the Florida Governor's Executive
Order 20020-52 and 2020-69 (as amended), Chapter 252, Sections 120.54 and
166.0411 Fla. Stat., Chapter 14 of the City's Code of Ordinances, and the City's
Home Rule Powers. They apply to all City Commission and board meetings and
are intended to address both legislative and quasi-judicial items.
Unless the Governor suspends Section 166.041(4) as it applies to a statutory
quorum being present to adopt resolutions and enact ordinances, a statutory
quorum of the City Commission will be present in Commission Chambers at City
Hall for all public meetings where resolutions are adopted and ordinances are
enacted and other members', as well as staff and the public, may attend remotely
using Communication Media Technology ("CMT" and throughout these rules it
may also be referred to as "Zoom"), such as the Zoom.us platform. The meetings
of all City Boards will be conducted using CMT and board members and City
Staff may attend remotely.
This action is taken in response to the Coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic to
comply with social distancing recommendations intended to protect the life and
safety of City elected and appointed officials, City Staff and the public.
All references to the "chairperson" are a reference to the Mayor for City
Commission meeting procedures and the Board chairperson for all Board meeting
procedures.
PLATFORM:
The video conference platform Zoom, or other similar platforms, will be used for
all virtual City Boards and City Commission meetings. The City has a subscription
with Zoom, and it is the current platform used by the City Clerk for live remote
public comments for City Commission meetings held during the state of
' While the City remains in a State of Emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the existence of the pandemic is
hereby determined to constitute an "extraordinary circumstance." (.See AGO 03-41)
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emergency. The word "Zoom" as used in these rules means any CMT platform
that allows a participant to appear live at any meeting.
Video of the virtual meeting will be streamed on the City's website. In addition, a
dedicated phone line will be available so that any individual who does not wish (or
is unable) to use Zoom may listen to, and when appropriate, participate in, the
meetings via phone.
NOTICE:
The meetings and hearings will be noticed in the same manner and at the same
locations as all City Commission meetings and hearings are noticed (including
mailed notice, as may be required by the City Code or Zoning Code). The Zoom
conference number (along with instructions) and phone number for participants
will be published on the City Commission agenda and will be included everywhere
that the meetings and hearings are noticed.
All notices will make clear that City Hall (and other meetings spaces where
advisory or quasi-judicial meetings/hearings may be held) is open for a limited
number of the public, especially for those members of the public who wish to
participate but who do not have the ability to participate in the hearing by CMT.
All notices will provide that any person needing an accommodation to listen or
participate in the meeting should contact the City's Clerk_
STAFF/PUBLIC PARTICIPATION:
Each member of the public will be given 3 minutes to participate in the meeting.
The board or the City Commission may increase or decrease the time by a vote of a
super majority of the members attending the meeting.
The public may comment on any non -quasi-judicial item on the agenda during
public remarks or during an advertised public hearing but will not be allowed to
comment twice on the same item. If the item is quasi-judicial, the public may only
comment during the taking of public testimony when the item is heard. Members
of the public who attend the meeting must keep their microphones muted at all
times, except when acknowledged by the chairperson to speak on a particular
agenda item.
City Manager is authorized and instructed to adopt and strictly enforce rules to
prevent the spread of Covid-19 which must include the requirement that masks be
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appropriately worn (covering both the mouth and nose and referred to as
Appropriately Wearing) in public. Everyone must maintain a distance from one
another of no less than 6 feet (Appropriate Social Distancing) and at all times when
entering and being within any building located in the City of South Miami.
Currently, the Commission Chambers, has a limited capacity of approximately 16
people depending on the conditions
QUASI-JUDICIAL HEARINGS:
Everyone who participates in a quasi-judicial hearing must appear in Chambers
in person, or, if they attend remotely, their live image must appear on the video
screen or if not, they must have pre -registered with the City Clerk and provided the
Clerk with sufficient identification as set forth below in the City's pre -registration
meeting sign-up form.
Summary of Procedure
a. A member of the City's Staff will present a report on the item.
b. The Applicant will follow the Staff report and will present all its
evidence supporting the application.
C. The public will be called upon to speak.
d. The public speaking for or against this application will have a 3-
minute time limit for public testimony.
e. All speakers will be sworn in individually and the public speakers
may be cross-examined by the Applicant or the Applicant's attorney.
However, the law does not give the public the right to cross-examine
anyone.
f. The applicant or its attorney will be given opportunity to cross
examine each speaker.
g. The applicant will be given an opportunity to provide rebuttal
evidence and a closing statement.
h. The members of the Commission or Board will be given an
opportunity to ask questions of the applicant, the applicant's attorney, the
applicant's witnesses, and the public speakers.
i. The Commission or Board will then deliberate and vote on the
item.
Exhibits: For all quasi-judicial hearings except appeals, a list of all proposed
exhibits and a copy of the proposed exhibits must be provided to the City
Clerk/board liaison, five (5) days prior to the hearing, unless the Clerk or board
liaison determines that a smaller or greater amount of time is needed, in a format
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that is easily viewable on the Zoom platform. All exhibits must be clearly labeled
to allow for efficient retrieval and display on the Zoom platform during the hearing.
All exhibits will be posted online, as is customary.
MINUTES:
Minutes and a recording of the meeting will be kept as customary.
ZOOM WEB -BASED VIRTUAL CITY MEETING PROCEDURE
Live Remote Public Comment Process
The City of South Miami is providing the ability to submit Live Remote Public
Comments and testimony to its virtual Meetings. Anyone wishing to submit a live
remote public comment through the Zoom process, will appear live on the TV
screens in Commission Chambers as well on the computer screen of the other
participants, including members of the applicable board, committee or commission
during the meeting.
You can test your connection to Zoom by clicking on the following link:
http://zoom.us/test
Please make sure that your computer has a working speaker, microphone and,
preferably, a working webcam so that you can hear and be heard and see and be seen
on the City Hall monitors and by the other Zoom participants in the live streaming
of the meeting. Some computers and/or smartphones have both features. Should it
be impossible or undesirable for you to attend virtually by computer or smartphone,
you may participate in the meeting by telephone by dialing: +1-786-635-1003 and
entering Meeting ID: 3056636338 or join the meeting using the system set up at City
Hall and as explained in the notice of the meeting that is posted at City Hall and also
at hgp://www.southmiamifl.gov/580/Public-Meetings-Notices. There is limited
space for the public to attend and those who have contacted the City Clerk in advance
of the meeting and who have reserved a space will have a preference over those who
did not register for the meeting. Each Board may change its telephone number and
meeting ID provided it is clearly shown in its public meeting notice.
At the beginning of all meetings, the participants will need to silence or turn off all
cell phones and silence or turn off the sound on all devices that are in the room
with the participant at their remote location, other than the device that they will be
using to participate in the meeting. Those who are attending in person in the
commission chambers, which is limited to approximately 16 people depending on
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the conditions, must turn off all sound on all devices. If a participant's devise
emits any sound while in the commission chambers and if the participant fails to
immediately silence it, or if it happens twice on that same day, the participant will
be asked to leave the chambers and will not be allowed to return with any
electronic devise that emit sound.
If a Participant has not yet done so and a Participant will be participating during
public remarks or at a public hearing using Zoom, the Participant must have, at a
minimum, a free Zoom account, a Participant should have entered the Participant's
actual name in the Participant's Zoom profile and the Participant should sign -in to
the Participant's Zoom account in order to participate in the meeting. If the
Participant has a Zoom account, ensure that the profile shows the Participant's real
name so that when the Participant raises a "virtual hand" to speak the chairperson
will know who the Participant is, otherwise the Participant may not be called upon
to speak depending on the circumstances. More instructions are also posted on the
City Clerk's webpage at HTTP://WWW.SOUTHMIAMIFL.GOV/580/PUBLIC-
MEETINGS-NOTICES and at City Hall on the Clerk's outside bulletin board
located outside the side entrance to the building.
If the Participant is using Zoom to attend the meeting, the Participant may
need to change the screen from "full screen" to "gallery" or "speaker view". To do
this, move your mouse pointer/cursor around in the upper righthand corner of your
Zoom screen and you will see the options.
To be able to participate, the participant must open the participant column.
To do this, the mouse pointer/cursor must be moved over and around the bottom of
the Zoom screen to reveal the menu and in the middle is an icon and the word
"participant". Click on that word, "participant" and a column should open up to
the right of the Zoom screen and it will show the names of all of the Commission
or Board members and all of the people attending through Zoom and attending
over a telephone line.
For Zoom users, in the lower righthand corner of the participant column is
an icon of a "virtual hand" or the words "Raise Hand".
If chairperson asks for certain people to raise their "virtual hand" and if the
participant is using Zoom, the participant must click on the "virtual hand" icon. If
there isn't a "virtual hand" icon, look for the words "Raise Hand" or similar words
and click on them.
Those participants who are calling in on a phone line, in order to participate
they must dial 786-635-1003, and when asked for the meeting ID, type in 305-663-
6338. If asked for the participant ID type the same number, 305-663-6338.
If a participant is one of those people who have been asked to raise a "virtual
hand" and he or she is using a telephone line to participate, then to raise a "virtual
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hand" when called upon, and only when called upon, enter the star symbol (or
asterisk) on the phone keyboard and then the number 9. To take a "virtual hand"
down, do the same thing a second time.
If participants want to mute themselves, enter the star (or asterisk) on the
phone keyboard and then the number 6. To unmute themselves, do the same thing.
If a participant is muted either while using Zoom or on a phone line, the
chairperson may or may not be able to unmute the participant when the chairperson
is ready to call upon the participant. The chairperson may need to ask the
participant to unmute themselves. If the chairperson does so, and the participant is
using a phone line, enter the star symbol or asterisk and then the number 6. It may
take a few seconds for it to work so be patient. Count to 3 before trying again. If
the participant is on Zoom, there are 3 ways to unmute themselves. Move the
mouse pointer/cursor around the upper righthand corner of the small screen
showing the participant's face or screen name. It should show the word "unmute".
Click on that word. In the lower left-hand corner of the big Zoom screen, if the
mouse pointer/cursor is moved around that area a symbol of a microphone will
appear. If the participant is muted there will be a line striking through the mic
symbol. Clicking on the mic symbol will unmute the microphone. Finally, if the
participant has opened the participant column to the right of the Zoom screen, next
to the participant name is a mic symbol with a line striking through it. Moving the
mouse pointer/cursor around in that area will reveal the word "unmute". Click on
that word. In any case, wait 3 seconds before trying again. If the participant has
not unmuted the participant's microphone, the chairperson will ask a second time
for the participant to unmute his or her microphone. The chairperson will wait 5
seconds and if the participant has not unmuted the microphone, the chairperson
will go to the next person.
If the participant wants to participate but the participant's live image is not
appearing on the Zoom screen, the participant may want to log out of the meeting
and log back into the meeting with a phone or another computer that does have a
webcam, otherwise, without a live image appearing on the Zoom screen AND
without pre -registering for the meeting with appropriate identification, the
chairperson will not be able to swear the participant in and the participant will not
be allowed to speak as to any quasi-judicial item on the agenda.
PRE -REGISTRATION
MEETING SIGN-UP FORM
This form must be submitted to the City Clerk via email at
npayne@southmiamifl.gov or by phone at 305-663-6340, by 4:00 p.m., one
business day before the meeting.
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PARTICIPANT INFORMATION
Name:
Address:
Phone:
Facsimile (if any):
Email (if any):
Description of the item on the agenda item ("Topic") upon which you intend
to present your verbal comments/evidence:
If attending meeting via ZOOM
Please provide your Zoom screen name, which should be your real
name
If attending meeting via the TELECONFERENCING OPTION
Please provide the phone number you will be using to call into the meeting:
QUASI-JUDICIAL ITEMS
If the item to which you want to speak is quasi-judicial and you are called
upon to be sworn in but your live image will not be visible on -screen, you
must also deliver ONE of the following to the Clerk along with the Zoom
screen name or telephone name that will be appearing on the Zoom screen
representing your presence in the Zoom meeting:
• a copy of your Florida identification card; or
• a copy of your driver license; or
• a copy of the page of a valid passport that has your photograph on it; or
• a copy of other identifying documents as described in s. 117.05(5)(b)2, Fla.
Stat. ^^
WITHOUT YOUR SCREEN NAME AND THIS INFORMATION,
YOU WILL NOT BE SWORN IN AND WILL NOT BE ALLOWED
TO TESTIFY AT THE QUASI-JUDICIAL HEARING.
GENERAL MEETING PROCEDURE
If the participant has signed up in advance of the meeting, the participant may be
given priority ahead of others who did not sign up. The participant will be called
upon and may speak on the Topic and present evidence (physical and testimonial)
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or comments through the participant's choice of communication (i.e., Zoom,
teleconferencing, or in person).
At the appropriate time, all participants who want to speak will be asked to raise
their virtual hands. If the Mayor/Chairperson requests that all or some speakers
take their hands down and if a participant fails to do so, or otherwise disrupts the
meeting, the chairperson may permanently mute that person's microphone and
video image for that meeting, and said person will not be allowed to participant in
that meeting.
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Agenda Rem No:5.
City Commission Agenda Item Report
Meeting Date: December 1, 2020
Submitted by: Thomas Pepe
Submitting Department: City Attorney
Item Type: Resolution
Agenda Section:
Subject:
A Resolution of the Mayor and City Commission of the City of South Miami, Florida, amending its rules for public
meetings of the City Commission and City Boards during a state of emergency due to a pandemic or similar
event requiring social distancing. 3/5 (Vice Mayor Welsh)
Suggested Action:
Attachments:
Res re Covid-19 AmendedRules for Mtgs.docx