Petitioning the Court

After several months of spinning my wheels in a unsuccessful search, I have petitioned the court to open and release my adoption file and original birth certificate to me. I found out yesterday that a judge did in fact review my petition and now I need to file with the "county council". Then, I can resubmit my petition to the court along with proof that I filed with the county council. Has anyone heard of such a thing before? I am completely baffled. I don't know if this is standard procedure in California or what? I thought that it was completely at the judge's discretion whether or not to open adoption files. When I enquired about petitioning the court they didn't say a thing about a county council. Isn't the county council the board that decides how to spend county money (which roads to fix, etc.)? If you can offer insight, I would be extremely grateful.