An ordinance making its way through the Denver City Council would allow remote options for participating in council meetings after the meetings revert back to in-person when the COVID-19 pandemic ends.

The ordinance, sponsored by Councilwoman Amanda Sawyer, was approved by the City Council governance committee Tuesday and will now go to the full council for a vote.

If approved, the council will be required to provide the public with the ability to watch and participate in in-person City Council meetings via methods like Zoom.

“The world has changed,” Sawyer said. “COVID has created a very different way of doing business that was adopted much more quickly than it probably ever would have been … and there’s a real understanding that that’s okay.”

City workers, including the City Council, began working remotely during summer 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, moving City Council meetings to Zoom for the first time.

An online survey of 329 Denver residents found that 51.67% of respondents want City Council meetings to return to in-person after the pandemic ends; however, 90.27% want the meetings to continue to provide remote options.

Sawyer said the closed captioning and translation services provided by the council’s current Zoom meetings allow more residents to participate, in addition to providing access for residents who live far from the City Council building, don’t have transportation and/or have to care for their children.

And, by restarting in-person meetings as well, the City Council is also opening participation up to people without access to technology, including homeless residents.

“We really found that this remote option has increased accessibility to our citizens,” Sawyer said. “On the other hand, people feel really removed without the personal interaction. So, the best option would be to find something in the middle.”

Under the ordinance, City Council members will also be able to participate in meetings virtually in the case of general or personal emergencies.

During general emergencies – defined as disaster or emergency declarations like severe weather or public health orders – all City Council member will operate remotely, like they are doing now. In this case, notice would be provided on the city website within 48 hours of the meeting.

During personal emergencies – including work travel and personal or medical emergencies – only the member experiencing the emergency will attend the meeting remotely.

When operating virtually, council members must appear live on camera when establishing quorum, speaking and voting. Council members are not allowed to use their phones for meetings and their votes will not be counted if they are not appearing on video when casting the vote.

The ordinance does not apply to executive sessions, which will only be held in person with no electronic participation of any kind after the pandemic due to confidentiality concerns, Sawyer said.

During Tuesday’s meeting, Councilwoman Candi CdeBaca discussed amending the ordinance to include collective bargaining as an open meeting.

Sawyer declined to support the change, saying it should’ve been brought up before the outreach process so they could’ve included those stakeholders. CdeBaca did not officially propose the amendment.

In addition to the survey, outreach included seven working group meetings, four technology service meetings, two rounds of one-on-one meetings with each council member and six group feedback sessions with developers, business owners, city staff and board and commissions members.