§ 4.05.010 — Definitions

4.05.010 - Definitions.

Words or phrases in this ordinance shall be defined pursuant to the Ralph M. Brown Act, Government Code § 54950 et. seq. and the Public Records Act, Government Code § 6250 et. seq., unless otherwise specified as follows: (A) Advisory Body shall mean: (1) Any advisory board, commission, or task force established by City Charter, ordinance, or by motion or resolution of the City Council, except for a Policy Body; (2) Any advisory board, commission, or task force created an appointed by the Mayor, which exists for longer than a 12-month period; and (3) Any standing committee of any Advisory Body. (B) Agenda shall mean the agenda of a local body which has scheduled the meeting. The agenda shall meet the requirements of Government Code § 54954.2, except that the timing requirements of this shall control. For closed sessions, the agenda shall meet the requirements set forth in Government Code § 54954.5. The agenda shall contain a brief, general description of each item of business to be transacted or discussed during the meeting and shall avoid the use of abbreviations or acronyms not in common usage and terms whose meaning is not known to the general public. The agenda may refer to explanatory documents, including, but not limited to, correspondence or reports, in the agenda related material. A description of an item on the agenda is adequate if it is sufficiently clear and specific to alert a person of average intelligence and education whose interests are affected by the item that he or she may have reason to attend the meeting or seek more information on the item. (C) Agenda related materials shall mean the agenda, all reports, correspondence and any other document prepared and forwarded by staff to any local body, and other documents forwarded to the local body, which provide background information or recommendations concerning the subject matter of any agenda item. Notwithstanding the foregoing, agenda related materials shall not include: 1) the written text or visual aids for any oral presentation so long as such text or aids are not substituted for, or submitted in lieu of, a written report that would otherwise be required to meet the filing deadlines of this chapter, and 2) written amendments or recommendations from the Mayor or a member of a local body pertaining to an item contained in agenda related materials previously filed pursuant to Section 4.05.050 or Section 4.05.060. (D) Business Day shall mean any weekday, except for Saturdays, Sundays, or City-observed holidays (E) Local Body shall mean any Policy Body or Advisory Body, unless the context in which it is used clearly indicates otherwise. "Local body" shall not mean any congregation or gathering which consists solely of employees of the City of Riverside. (F) Meeting shall mean any congregation of a majority of the members of a local body at the same time and location, including teleconference location as permitted by Government Code § 54953, to hear, discuss, deliberate, or take action on any item that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the local body and shall also mean a meal or social gathering of a majority of the members of a local body immediately before, during or after a meeting of a local body; (1) A majority of the members of a local body shall not, outside a meeting defined in this subsection G., use a series of communications of any kind, directly or through intermediaries, to discuss, deliberate, or take action on any item of business that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the local body. (2) Subparagraph G.1. shall not be construed as preventing an employee or official of a local agency, from engaging in separate conversations or communications outside of a meeting defined in this subsection G. with members of a local body in order to answer questions or provide information regarding a matter that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the local agency, if that person does not communicate to members of the local body the comments or position of any other member or members of the local body. (3) Nothing in this subsection G. shall impose the requirements of this chapter upon any of the following: (a) Individual contacts or conversations between a member of a local body and any other person that do not violate subparagraphs G.1. and 2.; (b) The attendance of a majority of the members of a local body at a conference or similar gathering open to the public that involves a discussion of issues of general interest of the public or to public agencies of the type represented by the local body, provided that a majority of the members do not discuss among themselves, other than as part of the scheduled program, business of a specified nature that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the local agency. Nothing in this paragraph is intended to allow members of the public free admission to a conference or similar gathering at which the organizers have required other participants or registrants to pay fees or charges as a condition of attendance; (c) The attendance of a majority of the members of a local body at an open and publicized meeting organized to address a topic of local community concern by a person or organization other than the local agency, provided that a majority of the members do not discuss among themselves, other than as part of the scheduled program, business of a specific nature that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the local body of the local agency; (d) The attendance of a majority of the members of a local body at an open and noticed meeting of another local body of the local agency, or at an open and noticed meeting of a local body of another local agency, provided that a majority of the members do not discuss among themselves, other than as part of the scheduled meeting, business of a specific nature that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the local body of the local agency; or (e) The attendance of a majority of the members of a local body at a purely social and ceremonial occasion, provided that a majority of the members do not discuss among themselves business of a specific nature that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the local body of the local agency. (G) Notice shall mean the posting of an agenda in a location that is freely accessible to the public 24 hours a day and as additionally specified in Section 4.05.050 and Section 4.05.060. (H) On-Line shall mean accessible by computer without charge to the user. (I) Policy Body shall mean: (1) The Riverside City Council; (2) Board of Ethics, Board of Public Utilities; Charter Review Committee, Citizens Police Review Commission, and Planning Commission; (3) Any standing committee of any Policy Body. (J) Software or hardware impairment means the City is unable to utilize computer software, hardware and/or network services to produce agendas, agenda related material or to post agendas on-line due to inoperability of software or hardware caused by the introduction of a malicious program (including but not limited to a computer virus), electrical outage affecting the City's computer network, or unanticipated system or equipment failure. "Software or Hardware Impairment" may also include situations when the City is unable to access the internet due to required or necessary maintenance or the installation of system upgrades that necessitates de-activating the system network; however, the City shall make reasonable efforts to avoid a delay in the preparation, distribution, or posting of agendas and agenda related material as a result of required or necessary maintenance or installation of system upgrades. (K) Standing Committee shall mean any number of members of a local body which totals less than a quorum and which has a continuing subject matter jurisdiction or a meeting schedule fixed by charter, ordinance, resolution or formal action of the local body.

(Ord. 7757, § 62, 2026; Ord. 7712, § 1, 2025; Ord. 7301 § 1, 2015)