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Page 1 of 3 Item #1 CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT March 4, 2025 City Attorney TITLE: INTRODUCE AN ORDINANCE ADDING SECTION 1.04.020 TO CHAPTER 1.04 OF THE PLEASANTON MUNICIPAL CODE ESTABLISHING AN ADMINISTRATIVE REMEDIES PROCEDURE FOR CHALLENGES TO FEES, CHARGES, AND ASSESSMENTS SUMMARY Assembly Bill 2257 (AB 2257), which became effective on January 1, 2025, provides a process that requires ratepayers to submit a timely written objection before they bring a challenge to a fee, charge, or assessment. Staff recommends the City Council adopt the procedural requirements of AB 2257. RECOMMENDATION Introduce an ordinance adding Section 1.04.020 to Chapter 1.04 of the Pleasanton Municipal Code establishing an administrative remedies procedure for challenges to fees, charges, and assessments. BACKGROUND Proposition 218, enacted in 1996, amended the California Constitution to establish stricter requirements for local governments regarding property-related fees, charges, and assessments. Under Proposition 218, local governments must conduct a public hearing and allow property owners to file written protests against proposed fees, charges, and assessments. If a majority of property owners submit protests, the proposal is not adopted. However, Proposition 218 does not provide a clear mechanism for addressing situations where ratepayers fail to raise timely objections during the protest process but later attempt to challenge the fees, charges, or assessments in court. AB 2257 seeks to address this issue by providing a procedural safeguard that will limit the ability of ratepayers to challenge a fee, charge, or assessment after the close of the protest hearing if they failed to submit a timely written objection. Adopting AB 2257 is consistent with Proposition 218 and provides an additional tool for local governments to ensure the integrity of the protest process. The bill strengthens the City's ability to defend against court challenges by clarifying that ratepayers must raise objections during the official protest period. This ordinance will help reduce frivolous or late legal challenges, which could undermine the City's fiscal stability. DISCUSSION This ordinance would prohibit a person or entity from bringing a judicial action or proceeding alleging noncompliance with the constitutional provisions for any new, increased, or extended fee or assessment, unless that person or entity has timely submitted to the City a written objection to that fee or assessment that specifies the grounds for alleging noncompliance. If the City complies with the public process described by AB 2257, litigants would be required to Page 4 of 56