Get Involved

ACT has an annual meeting in January with a guest speaker regarding a locally oriented topic. Notice of the meeting is sent to a large anonymous email list primarily of regular and active members of ACT.  Non member guests can also attend this meeting.

ACT watches the city government meetings closely and members frequently attend the City Council Meetings, and Planning Board meetings.

The city website is a very good source for information and has relatively good recent document archival capabilities which are accessible via the city website at http://www.alamedaca.gov/. If additional information is required, requests can be made to the city clerk’s office at City Hall.

To access information regarding meetings of City Council and all other City bodies, including videos of meetings go to. https://www.alamedaca.gov/GOVERNMENT/Agendas-Minutes-Announcements.

The City Council Chambers are located on the third floor of the Alameda City Hall, at the Corner of Santa Clara and Oak Streets.  The primary Alameda governmental meetings are scheduled as follows:

City Council – 1st  and 3rd Tuesdays, usually beginning at 7:00 p.m. These meetings usually follow closed council meetings regarding litigation or personnel matters. The closed meetings often cause the Regular City Council Meetings to begin after 7:00.

Planning Board – 2nd and 4th Mondays, usually starting at 7:00 p.m.

How Government Meetings Work

Most City of Alameda government meetings can be attended in person at City Hall or on an Internet device via the Zoom application.  An Internet device can be a computer, a tablet, or a cell phone.

Attending city meetings in person at City Hall:

City Hall is located at the corner of Santa Clara and Oak Street.  The City Council chamber is located on the 3rd floor.  There is easy access to the building on the Oak Street side with an elevator located down the hall on the left.

Upon arrival on the third floor of City Hall, there is a desk in the hallway that has agendas and speaker slips.

There are usually two opportunities to address the council or a board in person.

1. 1. Oral Communications, Non-Agenda (Public Comment) – Speakers may
      address the Council in regard to any matter not on the agenda over which
      the Council has jurisdiction; limited to 15 minutes at the start of the meeting with additional time after regular agenda business is concluded.  Each person may speak up to 3 minutes but this is subject to changed by the council or board.
   2. Agenda items for City Council meetings are either on the Consent Calendar
      that contains items that are considered routine and usually adopted with one
      vote covering all items or Regular Agenda items that will be discussed
      individually. The time to speak on an agenda item at a city meeting
      varies depending on how many people want to speak. For Consent Calendar
      items a speaker may comment only once on the entire Consent Calendar.

      Public Speaking Times:
      Up to 4 speakers: 3 minutes
      5 or more speakers: 2 minutes
      Speakers cannot cede time to another speaker

      Plan your comments with these times in consideration.  Fill out a speaker slip and give it to the clerk in charge of the meeting.  Be sure to read each agenda to see how a meeting will be conducted.

Attending city meetings online via Zoom

To attend a city meeting without going to city hall, look at the instructions on the agenda from the city website at:  https://alameda.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx. You must be registered to speak at a meeting.

Zoom attendees will not be allowed to comment during Oral Communications.

Follow the instructions which will look like this:

For information to assist with remote participation, please click:
https://www.alamedaca.gov/zoom

For Zoom registration, please click:
https://alamedaca-gov.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_wflFOVPBSyek6RWMha0vyQ

For Telephone Participants:
Zoom Phone Number: 669-900-9128
Zoom Meeting ID: 838 3361 3540

Watch city meetings without going to City Hall

1. Most meetings are broadcast on Comcast Channel 15.
2. Watch on a computer, tablet, or cell phone.  Go to the city calendar at https://alameda.legistar.com/calendar.aspx  Locate the meeting on the list by date.  To the right of Agenda, click on “In Progress” to launch the meeting on your device.