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City Attorney Memoranda of Law

What is a Memorandum of Law?

A City Attorney Memorandum of Law is a response to a request typically posed by the Mayor, City Council (jointly or separately), any full commission, board, committee, or agency (whether or not Charter based), through that entity's executive director or City liaison, or Department Director, which narrowly applies the interpretation of the current law to a particular problem or situation.

These documents do not contain any referenced attachments or enclosures. Printed copies of all City Attorney Memorandum of Law are available for viewing at the City Clerk's Office, 202 "C" Street, Second Floor, San Diego, CA. Questions about particular Legal Opinions should be directed to:

Law Librarian
Office of the City Attorney
1200 Third Avenue, Ste. 1100
San Diego, CA 92101
(619) 533-5800

Memorandums from January 1986 through present are available.

Find a Memorandum of Law:


Memoranda of Law by Year

Official City Documents

Date Doc Num
02/08/2024 MS-2024-1 First Amendment Protection of Expressive Merchandise and Performances in Public Spaces in San Diego
12/21/2023 MS-2023-13 Legal Update: New Teleconference Amendments to the Ralph M. Brown Act
12/15/2023 MS-2023-12 Request to Docket Ethics Reform Proposals
11/22/2023 MS-2023-11 Disposition of Petco Park City Suite Tickets
10/19/2023 MS-2023-10 Budgetary Roles of the Mayor and City Council and Recent Relevant Matters
10/04/2023 MS-2023-9 Rules Committee Meeting on October 4, 2023
09/20/2023 MS-2023-8 Replacing the Elected City Attorney with a City Council-Appointed Attorney
08/01/2023 MS-2023-6 Ballot Measure Proposal to Amend the San Diego Charter to: (1) Replace the Elected City Attorney with Municipal Counsel Appointed by the City Council; and (2) Elect a City Prosecutor to Prosecute Misdemeanors and San Diego Municipal Code Violations
07/26/2023 MS-2023-7 Invited Guest Presentations at San Diego City Council and Council Committee Meetings
07/05/2023 ML-2023-3 Applicability of City’s Solid Waste Franchise Fee to Waste Collected from San Diego Unified Port District and San Diego Metropolitan Transit System
06/01/2023 MS-2023-5 Legal Issues Related to the Proposed Agreement to Allow the Operation of Digital Wayfinding Kiosks with Advertising Signs in the Right-of-Way
05/30/2023 ML-2023-2 Supplemental Memorandum Regarding City-Funded Utility Undergrounding at Alvarado Estates
05/30/2023 MS-2023-4 Legal Analysis of the Proposed Unsafe Camping Ordinance
05/09/2023 MS-2023-3 Potential Cancellation of the Mills Act Agreement for the Andrew Cassidy Home (Historical Site Number 283)
02/10/2023 MS-2023-1 Construction of Affordable Dwelling Units Under the Complete Communities Housing Solutions Regulations
01/12/2023 ML-2023-1 Use of Dedicated Parkland for a Safe Parking Lot
12/20/2022 MS-2022-10 Legal Update: New Meeting Disruption and Teleconference Amendments to the Ralph M. Brown Act
10/26/2022 MS-2022-9 Legal Guidance for the City Council's Upcoming 'Workshop on a Framework for Amending the Tenants' Right to Know Ordinance
09/14/2022 MS-2022-8 Claims Against the City - Council Policy 000-09
06/06/2022 MS-2022-6 Homelessness Lawsuits Summary
04/22/2022 MS-2022-5 Proposed Measure to Amend the City Charter to Establish a Process for Retention and use of Private Legal Counsel by the Auditor and Audit Committee
03/30/2022 MS-2022-4 Committee on Rules and Council-Initiated Matters
03/08/2022 MS-2022-3 Legal Consideration for Council's Legislative Process
02/25/2022 MS-2022-2 City Auditor Participation in City Council Closed Session Meetings
02/07/2022 MS-2022-1 Bankers Hill 150 v. City of San Diego, Case No. D077963
12/30/2021 MS-2021-20 (REV.) Implementation of the Commission on Police Practices
10/18/2021 MS-2021-19 Amended: Role of the Criminal Division of the San Diego City Attorney's Office
09/28/2021 ms-2021-18 Legal Update: Assembly Bill 361 amending the Ralph M. Brown Act
08/24/2021 MS-2021-17 Legislative History of San Diego Municipal Code Section 22.3105
08/02/2021 MS-2021-16 Census Delay Impact on Redistricting
07/16/2021 MS-2021-15 Race or Gender-Conscious Contracting Program
07/16/2021 MS-2021-14 Housing Authority Oversight of the San Diego Housing Commission and its Board
07/09/2021 MS-2021-13 Potential Conflict of Interest Related to the Unwinding of Proposition B
05/17/2021 MS-2021-12 Certification of Funds Under Charter sections 39 and 80
04/22/2021 MS-2021-10 Legal Update to 2012 Memorandum of Law titled “Proposition 218 Impacts to
Storm Drain Fees”
04/09/2021 MS-2021-8 Case Law Update on Elected Officials' Use of Social Media: Garnier v. O'Connor-Ratcliff
04/09/2021 MS-2021-9 Legality of Extension of Credit by Development Services Department (DSD) for Deposit Accounts
03/11/2021 MS-2021-6 Applicability of City's Cannabis Business Tax to Cannabis Production Facilities and Nonprofit Cannabis Businesses
02/03/2021 MS-2021-5 Impact of Redistricting on the Cannabis Outlet Council District Cap
01/29/2021 MS-2021-4 Gas and Electric Franchise Fees
01/27/2021 MS-2021-3 Use of Disturbing Imagery During Public Comment at Council and Committee Meetings
01/22/2021 MS-2021-2 Non-Agenda Public Comment at City Council Meetings
01/08/2021 MS-2021-1 Appointments to the San Diego Unified Port District Board of Commissioners
12/14/2020 MS-2020-30 Legal Update: Assembly Bill 992 - the Brown Act and Social Media
11/30/2020 ML-2020-3 Publication Requirements for Ordinances and Resolutions under San Diego Charter Section 18
11/04/2020 ML-2020-2 Gas and Electric Service Issues in Light of Expiring Franchises
11/03/2020 MS-2020-28 Proposed Cannabis Equity Program
10/09/2020 ML-2020-1 Debt Limitation Issues Associated with the United States Department of Interior National Park Service Grant Obtained by the Balboa Park Conservancy
09/29/2020 MS-2020-27 Closed Session Meeting related to City Auditor Appointment
09/08/2020 MS-2020-26 Response to Statements Alleged by the Office of the City Auditor in its Request to Obtain Independent Legal Counsel for the Office of the City Auditor