Board of Supervisors Meeting Information

MEETING DATES AND LOCATION
The Board of Supervisors meetings are held at the County Administration Center, 1600 Pacific Highway, Room 310, San Diego, CA 92101. A regular meeting of the Board is held at 9 a.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday of each week. The Wednesday meeting deals with Planning and Land Use matters. View the Board meeting calendar for scheduled meetings. ANY EXCEPTIONS to the location or start time of the meeting will be shown on the Board of Supervisors' Agenda.

ASSISTANCE FOR THE DISABLED:
Agendas and records are available in alternative formats upon request. Contact the Clerk’s office at (619) 531-5434 (voice) or (619) 531-4803 (TTY) with questions or to request a disability-related accommodation. Assistive Listening Devices (ALD’s) are available from the Clerk of the Board in Room 402 prior to the meeting and are to be returned at the end of the meeting. Individuals requiring sign language interpreters should contact the Countywide ADA Title II Coordinator at (619) 531-4908. To the extent reasonably possible, requests for accommodation or assistance should be submitted at least 72 hours in advance of the meeting so that arrangements may be made. An area in the front of the chamber is designated for individuals requiring the use of wheelchair or other accessible devices.

LANGUAGE TRANSLATION ASSISTANCE:
Spanish language translation services for public speakers are available at Board of Supervisors meetings. Additional languages identified as languages with a Substantial Number of Limited English-Speaking Persons in the County (currently defined as Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), Korean, Persian (incl. Farsi, Dari), Somali, Spanish, Tagalog (incl. Filipino), and Vietnamese) may be made available upon request to the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors at least 72 hours prior to the meeting (refer to Board Policy A-139 for additional information). Please contact the Clerk’s office at (619) 531-5434 or via e-mail at PublicComment@sdcounty.ca.gov.

SPECIAL NEEDS/GROUPS:
Whenever possible, audience members accompanied by young children will be offered seats in the observation balcony or one of the other rooms to view the proceeding and to avoid distractions during the meeting. Individual and organizations planning for groups to attend Board meetings, or having special needs such as utilizing an interpreter to translate the proceedings, are requested to call the Clerk of the Board office at (619) 531-5434 in advance of the meeting to arrange for balcony seating or additional rooms.

COURTESY/SAFETY ITEMS:
Out of respect for the proceedings and in consideration of others, all cell phones, tablets, or other noise-emitting devices should be turned off or silenced prior to entering the Chamber. Aisles and doorways must remain clear and room capacity limits will be enforced to ensure compliance with fire code and safety regulations. Placards, banners, signs, flags, or other large objects are not permitted in the Chamber.

CABLE TV/LIVE STREAMING:
The meetings of the Board of Supervisors are televised live, starting at 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday and 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday. They are also replayed on cable television at 9:00 p.m. the evening of the meeting and on Saturday (Tuesday meetings replay 1:00 p.m. and Wednesday meetings replay at 9:00 p.m.). Please tune into the following channels: Cox Ch. 24 (South) or Ch. 19 (North); Spectrum Ch. 24 or Ch. 85. Currently, the County News Center is not available on AT&T U-Verse Ch. 99. Live streaming of the proceedings is available online.

ACCESS TO COUNTY RECORDS:
Many County records can be accessed online. The Clerk of the Board provides legislative documents online, including Board Agendas, Minutes, County Charter, Code of Regulatory Ordinances, Administrative Code, and Board Policies. Also available online is information on Boards/Commissions/Committees, Board meeting videos and audio recordings, a history of the County Administration Center, and information on volunteer opportunities. Please visit the Clerk of the Board's Record Information page for more information.

ADDRESSING THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS

Please refer to Rule 4 of the Board of Supervisors Rules of Procedure regarding rules for public participation at Board of Supervisors meetings. Below is a summary of the rules:

REQUEST TO SPEAK, ITEMS ON THE AGENDA:
Any person wishing to speak to the Board on a specific agenda item must file with the Clerk a written Request to Speak form prior to the scheduled opening time of the session or prior to the time that public comment begins on the item if the item has not been adopted without discussion. No person may yield speaking time to another person. Any person who does not wish to speak to the Board but wishes to have the record reflect a position in favor or in opposition to an agenda item may do so by indicating the same on the Request to Speak form. If an agenda item is set for a specific time, a written Request to Speak form must be filed prior to the time that public comment begins on the item.

Due to the need to facilitate public comment at the meeting, submission of unintelligible, profane, deceptive, confusing or other information on Request to Speak forms that may interfere with the orderly processing of speakers may preclude a member of the public from speaking during that particular public comment period. Speakers may not yield their time to another person. Time allotted to each speaker is determined by the Chair, and in general is limited to two (2) minutes.

NON-AGENDA PUBLIC COMMENT:

• Public Comment Time: Up to 20 minutes at the start of General Legislative and Land Use Legislative sessions is allocated for public comments on topics within the Board's jurisdiction that are not on the agenda.
• Speaker Time Limit: Each speaker is allowed up to 2 minutes, subject to reduction by the Chairperson if necessary to maintain the meeting's schedule.
• Request to Speak: Speakers must submit a written "Non-Agenda Public Communication Request to Speak" form to the Clerk before the public comment session begins. Speakers can only participate in one non-agenda public comment session per meeting.
• Speaking Order: If more than 10 individuals request to speak (5 in person, 5 by phone), the first 10 are heard at the session's start, with the rest heard at the session's end.
  • The Chairperson may allow additional speakers at the start.
  • Late submissions are not accepted.
• Referral of Issues: Issues raised during public comments are referred to the Chief Administrative Officer; the Board takes no immediate action.

GROUP PRESENTATION GUIDELINES:

1. Non-Land Use or Non-Adjudicatory Matters:

   • Group presentations are not allowed unless the Chairperson makes an exception for a specific meeting or item.
      

2. Land Use or Adjudicatory Matters:

   • Applicants or appellants may give a group presentation if it includes three or more people.
   • The group gets up to 10 minutes total, with each person speaking for no more than 4 minutes.
      

3. Who Are Applicants and Appellants?:

   • Applicants: Individuals or entities submitting formal requests for development projects, permits, or construction.
   • Appellants: Individuals appealing a County decision, bringing the appeal to the Board for review.

For more details, refer to Rule 4(a)(3) of the Board of Supervisors Rules of Procedure.

POWERPOINT PRESENTATIONS, VIDEOS, DOCUMENTS/EXHIBITS GUIDELINES:

1. Using Your Own Device:

   • Bring your own computer or tablet and any necessary equipment to connect to the podium's HDMI input.
      

2. Submitting a Presentation in Advance:

   • If you cannot bring a device, submit your presentation to the Clerk of the Board by 2 p.m. on the Friday before the meeting to avoid technical issues.
   • Email your presentation file to PublicComment@sdcounty.ca.gov and include the presenter’s name and the agenda item number.
   • Same-day submissions are not accepted.
      

3. Printed Copies:

   • Bring 10 printed copies of your presentation on the meeting day.
   • Clearly label all copies with the presenter’s name and agenda number.
      

4. Official Record:

   • Materials submitted during the meeting will become part of the official record.

MEETING TERMS

SPECIAL ORDER OF BUSINESS: Non-debatable items such as proclamations or adjournments in memory.

CONSENT AGENDA: All agenda items listed under this section are considered to be routine and will be acted upon with one motion. There will be no separate discussion of these items unless a member of the Board of Supervisors or the Chief Administrative Officer so requests, in which event, the item will be considered separately in its normal sequence. Approval for such items shall be the recommendation of the Chief Administrative Officer, or, in the event the item has been filed by a Member of the Board, the recommendation of the Member of the Board.

DISCUSSION ITEMS: These are matters which are designated as Policy/Discussion items, or have been pulled (requested to be discussed) by the Board members.

ORDINANCE: Ordinances are laws adopted by the Board, and usually amend, repeal, or supplement the County Code, Administrative Code, Compensation Ordinance, or Zoning Ordinance; provide zoning specifications; or appropriate money for specific purposes. Most ordinances require two hearings: an introduction, followed at the next regular meeting by the adoption. Ordinances generally become effective 30 days after adoption, unless they are of an urgency nature.

RESOLUTION: Formal expressions of opinion or intention of the Board of Supervisors.

OFF-DOCKET ITEM: An item of emergency or time-sensitive nature that arose after posting of the agenda. The Board may take actions only after a majority vote confirming that an emergency exists, or in the case of a non-emergency matter, a two-thirds vote that the need to act arose after posting of the agenda.