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CC Resolution 2009-050RESOLUTION NO. 2009 - 050 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF LA QUINTA, CALIFORNIA, ESTABLISHING AN INTERNET TOURISM WEBSITE POLICY FOR OPERATION OF THE CITY TOURISM WEBSITE WHEREAS, this Resolution is intended (a) to establish~.an Internet tourism website policy; (b) to provide guidance to City staff in addressing tourism website issues; and (c) to serve as an important component of the City's marketing program. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of La Quinta, California, as follows: 1. The City Council wishes to establish an Internet Tourism Website Policy (Attachment 1) for operation of the City tourism website; 2. This Resolution shall take effect immediately; and 3. The provisions of the attached policy are severable and if any provision, clause, sentence, word or part thereof is held illegal, invalid, unconstitutional, or inapplicable to any person or circumstances, such illegality, invalidity, unconstitutionality, or inapplicability shall not affect or impair any of the remaining provisions, clauses, sentences, sections, words or parts thereof of the policy or their applicability to other persons or circumstances. PASSED, APPROVED, and ADOPTED at a regular meeting of the La Quinta City Council held on this 2nd day of June 2009, by the following vote: AYES: Council Members Franklin, Henderson, Sniff, Mayor Adolph NOES: None ABSENT: None (one Council seat vacant) ABSTAIN: None City of La Quinta;'California Resolution No. 2009-050 Tourism Website Policy Adopted: June 2,2009 Page 2 ATTEST: ~~i' V -_. ////~ ifs/~~ /~7K .._ VERONICA J~ONTECINO, CMC, City Clerk City of La Q Inta, California . . (SEAL) APPROVED AS TO FORM: . KAT ERINE JENS ,City Attorney City of La Quinta, California Resolution 2009-050 Tourism Website Policy Adopted: June 2, 2009 Page 1 CITY OF LA QUINTA INTERNET TOURISM WEBSITE POLICY Exhibit A 1. Purpose. The purpose of this Policy is to establish regulations for the development, operation, and administration of theetourPsm website of the City of La Quinta (the "City") and to ensure that the website remains a non public forum subject to the City's exclusive use and control. The purpose of the City tourism website is to promote the City as a tourism desitination and foster local economic development by providing the public with convenient and efficient access to information about shopping, dining, playing, and staying opportunities within the City. 2. Policy. The City shall oversee operation and maintenance of the City tourism website as provided in this Policy. 3. Definitions. The following definitions shall apply to this Policy: a. "City tourism website" means the official City tourism website available at www.PlayinLaQuinta.com, and any additional domain name(s) that the City acquires for purposes consistent with the purpose of the City tourism website, as set forth in Section 1 . b. "Cookies" means files on the user's computer that enables a website to recognize the user on subsequent visits and possibly track the user's Internet use between visits. c. "External Website" means a website maintained by a third party, and not by the City. d. "External Link" is a hyperlink from the City tourism website to a website maintained by a third party. e. "Security Measures" means practices for protection of physical configuration and environment, software, information-handling processes, and user practices. f. "User" or "Users" means an individual or individuals who access the City tourism webpage through the Internet. 4. Non-Public Forum Status. The City tourism website is anon-public forum. While the City encourages the public to use the City tourism website to access information and resources, the City expressly reserves the right to impose certain restrictions on the use of its website. The City tourism website is reserved for the exclusive control of the City for the purposes of one-way communication to Resolution 2009-050 Tourism Website Policy Adopted: June 2, 2009 Page 2 Exhibit A users of the City tourism website. The City tourism website shall not be used to facilitate a general debate, public discourse or the free exchange of ideas. 5. Authority of City Manager. The City Manager or his designee shall have the authority and responsibility for the implementation of this Policy. The City Manager or his designee may also make interpretations on issues that are not clearly articulated or not included in this Policy, so long as the City Manager's discretion or that of his designee is exercised in a manner consistent with the stated purposes of the City tourism website. This Policy will be posted on the City tourism website for review by the public at any time. Questions or comments regarding any subjects or issues addressed in this Policy may be directed to: City of La Quinta Attn: City Manager P.O. Box 1504 La Quinta, CA 92247 e-mail:. tourism@la-quinta.org 6. Privacy. The City is sensitive to the privacy interests of the users of the City tourism website and believes that the protection of those interests is an important responsibility. The City's goal in collecting personal information online is to provide the user with the most personalized and effective service possible. By understanding the user's needs and preferences, the City may provide users with improved service. The City strives to protect online personal information in the same manner that the City protects citizen and business information obtained through other means. The following information explains the City's policy regarding any personal information supplied when using the City tourism website. a. Website Privacy Policy: When you visit the City tourism website, we use automated tools to log information about each visit. We process this information in the aggregate to determine site performance issues, such as popular pages, most frequently downloaded forms, and other site performance characteristics. This information does not identify you personally. b. Disclaimer: While every effort is made to keep information provided over the Internet accurate and up-to-date, the City does not certify the authenticity or accuracy of such information. No warranties express or implied, are provided for the content, records and/or mapping data herein, or for their use or interpretation by the User. The City, its elected officials, officers, employees, and agents assume no legal responsibilities for the information or accuracy contained in Resolution 2009-050 Tourism Website Policy Adopted: June 2, 2009 Page 3 Exhibit A this data, including any action taken from reliance on any information contained herein and shall have no liability for any damages, losses, costs, or expenses, including, but not limited to attorney's fees, arising from the use or misuse of the information provided herein. The User's use thereof shall constitute an agreement by the User to release the City, its elected officials, officers, employees and agents from such liability. By using this information, the User is stating that the above Disclaimer has been read and that he/she has full understanding and is in agreement with the contents. 7. Security. The City tourism Website applies Security Measures to protect the loss, misuse and alteration of the information under the City's control. From time to time, Security Measures may be upgraded or otherwise modified to meet changing needs. While the City endeavors to keep secure all information it receives via the City tourism Website, the City cannot guarantee the security of the information. 8. External Links. The City has a legitimate interest in limiting persons or organizations that might be linked to the City tourism Website. The City may exercise discretion to ensure that the links to the City tourism Website are consistent with the purpose of the City tourism Website, as set forth in Section 1. Neither the City tourism Website nor the External Links listed on the City tourism Website constitute a forum for expressive activity by members of the public. a. Each proposed External Link on the City tourism Website shall be reviewed to determine its relevance and appropriateness to the purpose of the City tourism Website. The City Manager or his designee shall review the merits of the proposed External Link based upon the stated purposes of the City tourism Website, as set forth in Section 1 . A proposal for an External Link will not be denied based on the viewpoint espoused by the individual or entity. b. The City tourism Website will not provide External Links to websites that: i. Promote or exhibit hate, bias, discrimination, pornography, libelous or otherwise defamatory content ii. Have a primary purpose of furthering the agenda of a political organization or a candidate running for office (regardless of the political viewpoint), or defeating any candidate for elective office. iii. Violate any of the City's equal opportunity policies. iv. Consist of personal home pages operated by individuals. Resolution 2009-050 Tourism Website Policy Adopted: June 2, 2009 Page 4 Exhibit A v. Do not fulfill the purposes outlined in Section 1 related to the promotion of shop, dine, play, and stay in the City. d. The City reserves the right to determine how and where External Links will appear on the City tourism website. Information or External Links may be excluded from the City tourism website where such additional information or External Links would create visual clutter and disorganization. e. The City reserves the right to remove an External Link from the City toursim website if it determines that the External Link violates this Policy or if the External Link directs viewers by hyperlink to inappropriate material or to shop, dine, play, and stay outside the City, as set forth in Sections 1 and 8b. 9. Application for External Link. To request the addition of an External Link to the City tourism website, the applicant shall send the relevant URL, address, website description and purpose, brief statement as to how the proposed website fulfills the purpose of the City tourism website as set forth in Section 1, contact name, phone number and email address by email to tourism@la-quinta.org, or by mail to: City of La Quinta Attn: City Manager P.O. Box 1504 La Quinta, CA 92247 10. Disclaimer of External Links and External Websites. The information posted on the City tourism website includes hypertext External Links to information created and maintained by other private and/or public organizations. The City provides these links solely for the user's information and convenience. a. When the user selects an External Link to an External Website, the user leaves the City tourism website and is subject to the privacy and security policies of the owners/sponsors of the External Website. b. The City does not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness or completeness of information contained on an External Website accessed through the City tourism website by External Link. c. The City does not endorse or recommend any third party website, product, service, view, or opinion, unless otherwise noted. d. The City does not authorize the use of copyrighted materials contained on External Websites. e. The City is not responsible for transactions or transmissions from External Websites. Resolution 2009-050 Tourism Website Policy Adopted: June 2, 2009 Page 5 Exhibit A 11. Final Decision. The decision to post or not post content and/or links on the City tourism website resides solely with the City Manager or his designee. The decision of the City Manager or his designee is final and binding. Under no circumstances will individuals or entities be entitled to compensation or damages in the event that the City Manager or his designee directs the City to include or exclude the content or link. 12. Links to the City's Tourism Website. Advance permission to link to the City tourism website is not necessary. However, the party linking to the City tourism website should be aware that its subpages may change at any time without notice. Individuals and entities linking to the City tourism website shall not capture pages within frames, present the City tourism website content as its own, or otherwise misrepresent the City tourism website's content or misinform users about the origin or ownership of its content. Any link to the City tourism website should be a full forward link that passes the user's browser to the City tourism website unencumbered. The web browser's "back" button should return the user to the originating site if the user wishes to back out. 13. Accessibility. The City tourism website is intended to be accessible to people with disabilities. Requests for reasonable accommodations relating to equal access to communication, or other issues relating to City tourism website accessibility, should be directed to: tourism@la-quinta.org or by mail to: City of La Quinta Attn: City Manager P.O. Box 1504 La Quinta, CA 92247 14. No Warranty or Representation. The City's web server(s) are maintained to provide public access to City tourism information via the Internet. The City's web services and the content of its web servers and databases are updated on a continual basis. While the City attempts to maintain the City tourism website's information as accurate and timely, the City does not warrant or make representations or endorsements as to the quality, content, accuracy, or completeness of the information, text, graphics, hyperlinks, and other items contained on its server or any other server. Materials on the City tourism website have been compiled from a variety of sources, and are subject to change without notice from the City as a result of updates and corrections. 15. Service Marks, Trademarks and Copyright. To the extent allowed by the Public Records Act and otherwise legally permissible, commercial use of web materials is prohibited without the written permission of the City. All service marks and trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners. The City retains copyright on the City Seal, promotional City logo, all text, photography, graphic images, and other content, unless otherwise noted. No person or entity Resolution 2009-050 Tourism Website Policy Adopted: June 2, 2009 Page 6 Exhibit A may use the City Seal, promotional City logo, or City photography without approval of the City. No person or entity shall engage in any of the following conduct without written permission from the City Manager or his designee: a) modify and or use the text, images or other City tourism website content from a web server, b) distribute the City's web content, and c) "mirror" the City's information on a non- City server. 16. Notice to the City. Communications through the City tourism website, by a-mail or otherwise, shall in no way be deemed to constitute legal notice to the City or any of its agencies, officers, employees, agents, or representatives, with respect to any existing or potential claim or cause of action against the City or any of its agencies, officers, employees, agents, or representatives. No communication through the City tourism website shall be deemed to constitute legal or official notice for any purpose. 17. Errors, Omissions, Warranty, Damages. The City is neither responsible nor liable for any viruses or other contamination of a user's system due to access of the City tourism website, nor for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions arising out of the user's access of the City tourism website or with respect to the material contained on the City tourism website, including without limitation, any material posted on the City tourism website. The City tourism website and all materials contained on it are distributed and transmitted "as is" without warranties of any kind, either express or implied, including without limitation, warranties of title or implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. The City is not responsible for any special, indirect, incidental or consequential damages that may arise from the use of, or the inability to use, the City tourism website and/or the materials contained on the City tourism website, whether the materials contained on the City tourism website are provided by the City or a third party. 18. Indemnification. To the extent permitted by applicable law, by using the City tourism website, the user agrees to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless the City, its agencies, officers, employees, representatives, and agents from and against all claims and expenses, including attorney's fees, arising out of the user's use of the City tourism website or materials and information contained on the City tourism website.