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About City Council Meetings
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Council meeting access during construction
The parking lot and entrance to City Hall at 8101 Ralston Road are closed during construction through mid-September. Park in the parking lot down the hill on Ammons Street and enter through the Main City Hall entrance. Follow signage. Council meeting access during constructionRead On...
Types of Council Meetings
- Council makes official decisions in the form of ordinances, resolutions, or motions
- Meetings are open to the public with public comment at designated times
- Council makes no official decisions, but rather examines particular topics in depth
- Meetings are open to the public with no opportunity for public comment
- Often, but not always, the topics covered in a workshop will be decided on at future business meetings.
- Council makes no official decisions, and is focused on learning about topics in a more informal meeting
- Meetings can be watched by the public via zoom with no opportunity for public comment
How to Participate in Meetings
The City Council encourages citizens to participate in meetings and uses a hybrid meeting format, allowing for both in person and remote participation.
Speaking directly to the City Council during a public meeting is only available at Business Meetings. During a Business Meeting there are three opportunities to speak.
- The first chance to provide Public Comment occurs near the beginning of the meeting. Individuals may speak for 3 minutes. They may speak on any topic except the topics of that meeting’s Public Hearings.
- People may also provide testimony during Public Hearings. The time limit on testimony will be announced prior to the meeting. Testimony is limited to the topic of the Public Hearing.
- Another opportunity to provide Public Comment comes near the end of the meeting. Individuals may speak for 5 minutes on any topic.
You must sign up to provide comment or testimony.
- Sign-up to speak in person when you arrive at the meeting
- Sign-up to speak remotely (Zoom or phone) before 5 pm on the day of the meeting
Members of the public may attend meetings in person. City Council Meetings are typically held at:
City Hall, Council Chambers
8101 Ralston Road
Anyone requiring special services, assistance or accommodations when attending a Council meeting in person should contact the City of Arvada ADA Coordinator Ann Foster at 720-898-7611.
- Stream live online
- Comcast or TDS, Channel 8 (standard definition)
- Comcast or TDS, Channel 880 (high definition)
All comments related to Public Hearing topics submitted before 5 pm the day of a Council meeting will be shared with all members of City Council and the Mayor. These comments will become part of the permanent record.
How Public Hearings Work
Public Hearings are formal proceedings that give citizens an opportunity to express their views on a specific topic. Some items that require Public Hearings are annual budgets, public improvement /planning projects, and levying of special assessments. Citizens wishing to speak are asked to complete a form and indicate if they are for or against the topic. Proponents and Opponents will be given approximately the same amount of time to address the topic with a limit of one hour for each side. Therefore, it's important to organize a presentation prior to the hearing. For those who do not wish to speak but wish to declare their position, a form is available which then becomes part of the permanent record.
A typical hearing format consists of:
- The Mayor opens the hearing.
- City staff describes the proposal.
- Public comments are heard.
- The Mayor closes the hearing.
- Councilmembers have an opportunity to comment and ask questions of City staff.
- Council takes action, votes on, or defers their decision
What is Public Comment?
Rules for City Council Meetings
All the information on this page is derived from rules created and voted on by the City Council. The following documents detail all the rules that govern City Council meetings.