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San Luis Obispo (805) 546-8785 |
Paso Robles (805) 226-4148 |
Under California law, cities may be organized under either the general laws of the State or under a charter adopted by the local voters. The charter is a written document that operates as the city’s “constitution.” Cities that adopt their own charter may adopt their own procedures for matters that are considered “municipal affairs.” Just as the California Constitution controls the actions of the State, a city’s charter operates as the constitution of the city. Continue reading
Shell Beach Elementary held a 5K Fun Run on the beach in Pismo Beach on Saturday, September 8, 2012. This was the first ever Shell Beach Elementary Fun Run organized by the Shell Beach Parent Teacher Organization. The event was such a success it will surely become a tradition for years to come. Continue reading
I love going on vacation but the stress of preparation often leaves me reconsidering whether or not it’s all worth it. In conversations with friends and colleagues I found others who also suffer from “vacation anxiety” so I did a bit of research to explore the phenomenon further. Continue reading
Carmel & Naccasha, LLP is pleased to announce our very own paralegal, Hannah Miller, will be leaving our firm and has accepted a position as 3rd District Supervisor Adam Hill’s legislative assistant. While we will miss Hannah’s energy, camaraderie and strong work ethic, we are thrilled for her about this opportunity. Hannah is uniquely qualified for this position and we are truly excited to see her extraordinary people skills and extensive knowledge of law and of local government put to such a valuable public use.
The following news release was sent out by Supervisor Hill’s office today:
NEWS RELEASE
San Luis Obispo, CA: August 8, 2012
3rd District Supervisor Adam Hill announced today that his legislative assistant, Susan Devine, will retire in September. Ms. Devine had a long career as a paralegal before managing Hill’s successful election campaign in 2008. She served as campaign chair for his re-election effort this year.
“Susan is the kindest and most resourceful person I know. In my time in public life, all of my successes and none of my mistakes can be attributed to her guidance and good advice. She is also a great friend.”
Taking over for Devine will be Hannah Miller, who currently works as a paralegal for Carmel & Naccasha. A native of SLO County, Ms. Miller brings great experience working with local governments.
Hill said, “Replacing Susan is an impossible task, but Hannah has wonderful enthusiasm and intelligence and is thrilled to help our constituents.”
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A Due on Sale-Consent by Lender clause (the “Clause”) is industry standard language found in commercial real estate loan documents. From time to time, the Clause may be an issue for a bank client/borrower when executing a commercial real estate loan transaction. As such, sometimes a bank will consider removal of the Clause from the loan documents. Continue reading
Members of public agencies such as counties, cities and special districts frequently appoint members of their governing bodies to serve as an officer of the body of which he or she is a member, or to a committee, board or commission of a public agency, special district, joint powers agency or authority, or a metropolitan planning organization. Many times the appointment includes a salary or stipend for the appointed public official.
Until just recently, public officials were prohibited by the Political Reform Act from participating in decisions to appoint themselves to positions on boards where they would be compensated by more than $250 in a 12 month period. The rationale behind the prohibition was that a conflict of interest was created as it was reasonably foreseeable that the appointments had a material financial effect on the public official’s personal finances.
In March of this year, the Fair Political Practices Commission (“FPPC”) voted to adopt an amendment to California Code of Regulation, Title 2, Section 18705.5. The new regulation now clearly authorizes public officials to vote on their own appointments to compensated positions on various types of boards as long as certain conditions are met.
Before a public official may participate in a decision to appoint him or herself to a compensated position, Section 18705.5 requires a new Form 806 be adopted by the public agency and posted on its website. Form 806, adopted by the FPPC in May, requires the public agency to list the following: (1) each appointed position for which compensation is paid; (2) the salary or stipend for each appointed position; (3) the name of the public official who has been appointed to the position and the name of the public official, if any, who has been appointed as an alternate; and (4) the term of the position.
The FPPC recommends that each public agency prepare and adopt a Form 806 identifying all of the current paid appointments as soon as possible. Public officials may not be able to participate in a decision to appoint him or herself to a compensated position until the Form 806 is adopted and posted. In addition, the Form 806 will need to be updated from time to time to reflect new appointments.
Form 806 is a public record available for inspection and reproduction by members of the public.
Heather Whitham
hwhitham@carnaclaw.com
Many of us turn to familiar websites in order to perform legal research. It is sometimes worthwhile to return to a site not visited for a while or to explore something new. Some sites are updated more frequently than others and may have a fresher, more dynamic look than when last visited. Continue reading
You are a landlord and you suspect your tenant has moved on but left behind her personal property, including her dog. You’re savvy enough to know that the law views pets as personal property and you’re worried about getting dinged for removing a tenant’s property without a court order or giving written notice as required by statute. Continue reading
California Civil Code section 1940.4 was added this year to prohibit landlords from forbidding a tenant from posting or displaying political signs. Senator Christine Kehoe (D-San Diego) introduced the legislation to enhance the ability of tenants to participate in the political process. In advocating on behalf of the legislation, Senator Kehoe stated, “[r]enters deserve the right to participate in our democracy and express their views just as much as homeowners.” Continue reading
Have you ever parked at a non-functioning parking meter to run to the court and returned to your car to find a traffic citation on your windshield? The laws about broken meters vary from city to city and just like they always say, “Ignorance of the law is no excuse.”
When I checked with the City of San Luis Obispo, I was told the vehicle must be moved to another meter in case the (non-functioning) meter suddenly clears itself. If you choose not to move the vehicle, have someone stay with the car in case the meter begins to work so they can pump in some coins or use a cash key or credit card. It might be difficult for a law office with limited staff having an employee sit in the car and keep an eye on the parking meter. Better to just move the car. Parking is enforced from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The City of SLO has a color-coded map to let you know what kind of parking meters you can expect to find in the downtown area. You can get the parking map from the City of San Luis Obispo website at www.slocity.org/publicworks/parking.asp and click on “Parking Map”. Every office doing business with the court or City offices should have one.
And at the Paso courthouse, there is no problem with parking meters – yet.
In Ventura County, parking is just plain prohibited at a broken meter. In Santa Barbara County, it is allowed, but only for 45 minutes. Some larger cities have begun installing “smart meters” that supposedly self-report maintenance issues. Usually, there is no way for the municipal authority to know that a meter is broken unless someone reports it – that’s most likely to happen after getting a citation for parking next to one.
It’s best to call the municipality to ask what the local policy is before leaving your car at a broken meter location. Parking tickets can be expensive!
Ellen Sheffer
esheffer@carnaclaw.com
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