Calabasas City Council Mulls In-Person Return, Looks To August

CALABASAS, CA — Calabasas City Council discussed an eventual return to in-person meetings at Tuesday's meeting and decided to aim for August.

The decision comes as neighboring cities postpone their anticipated return to in-person meetings; Malibu on Monday reversed their earlier decision to return in-person on May 9 and Hidden Hills decided to wait until June, pending pandemic conditions.

The council discussed multiple hybrid options and their implications on staff and residents. The council will most likely move to a hybrid meeting with city council, staff and presenters participating in the council chambers and the public participating remotely. The meetings will be taped by CTV and broadcast through Zoom and CTV, with the public providing public comment via Zoom.

Councilmember Alicia Weintraub and others noted an increase in civic engagement with remote options given the ease of jumping in and out of long meetings. Joanne Suwara, who was named Citizen of the Year in 2021, also emphasized the importance of remote options for public engagement.

"So many more people have been able to participate. Our meetings go long, it's nice ... that people can have the meeting on in the background and then jump in to participate," Weintraub said at Tuesday's meeting.

The city had two hybrid meetings in 2021 which proved difficult for city staff, according to Michael Russo, communications director. The city discussed a potential return to in-person meetings around a month ago when cases were lower.