SR-012208-7C~_
~;,Yo, City Council Report
Santa Monica°
City Council Meeting: January 8, 2008
Agenda Item: ~" ""'~
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Tim Jackman, Police Chief
Subject: Proposed Ordinance Restricting the Location of Targeted Residential
Protests and Demonstrators' Use Of Potentially Dangerous Sign Poles
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council approve on first reading the proposed ordinance
which would:
1. require persons participating in a targeted residential protest maintain a
distance of 50 feet from the targeted dwelling; and
2. limit the thickness of sign poles used by participants in all demonstrations
to ensure that the poles are not used to cause serious injury in the event
of physical conflict.
Executive Summary
In recent years, an increasing number of protests targeted at particular homes have
occurred in residential neighborhoods in the region and in the City. These protests
have had very adverse impacts on the targeted residents. Many jurisdictions have
adopted local laws which establish buffer zones to protect the well-being of residents in
their homes and also respect the First Amendment rights of demonstrators. The
proposed ordinance would require that persons participating in a targeted residential
protest maintain a distance of 50 feet from the targeted dwelling. Additionally, the
proposed ordinance would address the risk that, in the event of violent confrontation,
sign poles carried by protestors may be used as weapons. This risk applies in all types
of demonstrations and has been clearly-demonstrated in Los Angeles and other cities
where sign poles have been used to strike others. To address this risk and preserve
the First Amendment rights of demonstrators, the proposed ordinance would prohibit
sign poles larger than a specified width.
Background
Targeted residential protests have occurred in several of the City's residential
neighborhoods. Demonstrators usually stand in groups outside the targeted home,
yelling and chanting at the target and often making threats. The impact upon the
targeted residents has been extremely adverse and particularly devastating in the case
of residents who were elderly and infirm. In response to this form of demonstration,
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many jurisdictions, including Los Angeles, have adopted laws requiring that protestors
maintain a specified distance from the targeted residence. Such requirements reduce
the risk that targeted residents will become captives in their own homes, forced to
endure the threats of a hostile group in a space where they should be able to enjoy
tranquility. A number of such local laws have been challenged in court, and those
decisions provide the guidance necessary to formulate a local policy which protects
both residents' and protestors' rights.
At the same time, concerns have arisen about the use, by demonstrators, of sign poles
which can readily be used as weapons in the event of physical conflict. Los Angeles
adopted an ordinance regulating the width of demonstrators' sign poles after such poles
were used to strike police officers. The courts have upheld such restrictions so long as
they preserved the ability of demonstrators to use signs.
Discussion
The proposed ordinance would address these two concerns, without limiting the content
of speech or unreasonably restricting expressive activity. The proposed buffer zone. of
50 feet for targeted protests would ensure a reasonable distance between protesters
and the targeted dwelling. And, it would. also ensure that protestors would be close
enough to communicate their views to their intended audience. .Thus, their First
Amendment rights would not be unreasonably limited. In most cases, this distance
requirement would mean that the protest would occur on the sidewalk across the street
from the residence.
The limitation. on the width of sign poles would not affect demonstrators' First
Amendment rights. They would still be able to carry signs and hold them high enough
to reach their intended audience. However, the limitation on width would ensure that
the sign pole could not be used to seriously injure a police officer or other person.
Financial Impacts & Budget Actions
Approval and adoption of this ordinance would have no budgetary or financial impact.
Prepared by: Marsha Jones Moutrie, City Attorney
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Forwarded to Council:
~L Fit Ewell
City ~7fanager
Approved:
F: WlunicipalLaw\Shared\Laws\MJM\TargetedResidentialProtests
City Council Meeting 1-8-08
Santa Monica, California
ORDINANCE NUMBER (CCS)
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
SANTA MONICA ESTABLISHING DISTANCE REQUIREMENTS FOR TARGETED
RESIDENTIAL PROTESTS AND PROHIBITING THE USE OF DANGEROUS STICKS
AND POLES IN DEMONSTRATIONS
WHEREAS; in recent years, an increasing number of targeted, residential
demonstrations or protests have occurred within the City; and
WHEREAS, these demonstrations have involved demonstrators congregating on
a residential sidewalk, sometimes immediately adjacent to the targeted residence, and
expressing their views by shouting and chanting at the residence; and
WHEREAS, such demonstrations have occurred in at least three separate
residential neighborhoods of the City; and
WHEREAS, this particular form of expression disturbs the tranquility of the
community members living within the targeted residence, threatens their privacy, and
can cause them to suffer significant emotional and even physical distress in their own
homes; and
WHEREAS, on one occasion, an older resident of a targeted home suffered a
heart attack during or shortly after a targeted demonstration; and
WHEREAS, City residents have a right to tranquility and privacy within their
homes; and
WHEREAS, demonstrators, including those engaging in targeted protests, have
the First Amendment right to express their views and to convey their message to a
particular, targeted audience, including the residents or a particular home; and
WHEREAS, the City Council must balance the rights of residents and
demonstrators to ensure that both groups' rights are respected and fulfilled; and
WHEREAS, in order to safeguard both groups' rights, the Council must ensure
that targeted demonstrations may occur within the community but that such
demonstrations do not force residents to become captive audiences to unwanted
speech within their own homes; and
WHEREAS, establishing a distance which must be maintained between
residential dwellings and demonstrators targeting those dwellings will serve both those
ends; and
WHEREAS, this ordinance is not intended to and does not restrict the expression
of views in residential neighborhoods through picketing or demonstrations which do not
target particular residences or households; and
WHEREAS, in addition to protecting the rights of residents and demonstrators,
the Council also wishes to preserve the safety of all; and
WHEREAS, demonstrators within the City frequently use signs on poles or sticks
to communicate their message to others; and
WHEREAS, these poles and sticks can become dangerous weapons, particularly
in situations involving dispute and conflict; and
WHEREAS, in the neighboring jurisdiction of Los Angeles, demonstrators have
used poles or sticks as weapons and have injured others during demonstrations; and
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WHEREAS, the City must ensure both that demonstrators can reach intended
audiences with their signs and that demonstrations remain safe for all people, including
demonstrators, the police and others; and
WHEREAS, regulating the width of sign poles will ensure that they are not heavy
enough to be used as weapons and that demonstrators will be able to continue
projecting their messages above the heads of crowds to reach spectators, passersby
and cameras; and
WHEREAS, this ordinance is a necessary time, place and manner restriction,
intended to reconcile and protect the needs and rights of protestors to peacefully and
effectively communicate and express their views, of residents to enjoy privacy and
respite in their homes, and of police officers and others to be free of unnecessary risk of
physical harm.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA
DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Santa Monica Municipal Code Chapter 4.08 is hereby amended by
adding Section 4.08.780 as follows: Article: Demonstrations
4.08.780 Prohibition Against Using Dangerous
Sticks and Poles. While participating in any
demonstration, rally, picket line or public assembly, no
person shall carry or possess any length of lumber, wood, or
wood lath unless that object is one-fourth inch or less in
thickness and two inches or less in width or, if not generally
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rectangular in shape, such object shall not exceed three-
quarter inch in its thickest dimension
SECTION 2. Santa Monica Municipal Code Chapter 4.08 is hereby amended by
adding Section 4.08.790 as follows:
4.08.790 Distance Restriction for Targeted
Residential Protests.
(a) For purposes of this Section, the following
definitions shall apply:
(1) "Picketing" means the posting of a person or
group for a demonstration or protest.
(2) "Targeted" activity means activity that is
directed at a particular residential dwelling and proceeds on
a definite course or occurs at a particular location in front of
or around that particular dwelling.
(b) No person shall engage in a demonstration or
picketing activity that is targeted at a residence and which
occurs within 50 feet of the targeted residence. However, if
the targeted residence is within 50 feet of the sidewalk on
the opposite side of the street, the demonstration or
picketing activity may occur on the sidewalk on the opposite
side of the street from the targeted residence.
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SECTION 3. Any provision of the Santa Monica Municipal Code or appendices
thereto inconsistent with the provisions of this Ordinance, to the extent of such
inconsistencies and no further, is hereby repealed or modified to that extent necessary
to effect the provisions of this Ordinance.
SECTION 4. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase of this
Ordinance is for any reason held to be .invalid or unconstitutional by a decision of any
court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the
remaining portions of this Ordinance. The City Council hereby declares that it would
have passed this Ordinance and each and every section, subsection, sentence, clause,
or phrase not declared invalid or unconstitutional without regard to whether any portion
of the ordinance would be subsequently declared invalid or unconstitutional.
SECTION 5. The Mayor shall sign and the City Clerk shall attest to the passage
of this Ordinance. The City Clerk shall cause the same to be published once in the
official newspaper within 15 days after its adoption. This Ordinance shall become
effective 30 days from its adoption.
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
M SHA J IES MOUy IE
City Attorn y (~
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