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sr-110910-8ac)® City of City ~®(.~nClf ~\Gp®„ Santa 6ionica City Council Meeting: November 9, 2010 Agenda Item: ~-~ To: Mayor and City Council From: Marsha Jones Moutrie, City Attorney Subject: Proposed Revision to Council Rules Limiting Use of Well Area to Enhance Security and Prohibiting Conduct That Blocks Audience View and Cameras Recommended Action Staff recommends adoption of the attached resolution clarifying and amending the Council Rules to prohibit conduct that blocks audience members' and television cameras' view of the City Council and to prohibit persons from being present in the well area except temporarily as part of their participation in a particular agenda item. Executive Summary The Council Rules currently require members of the public to sit in the seats provided in the Council Chambers when they are not addressing the Council. In order to protect security, the Chief of Police and City Attorney recommend that this rule be clarified and reinforced by adoption of a prohibition against persons being present in the well area except when they are, as part of an agenda item, addressing Council or participating in a ceremony. Additionally, .staff recommends modifying the rules to prohibit blocking audience and camera views of the City Council in order to ensure that members of the public can fully exercise their right to witness the Council doing its work. Background At recent meetings, a member of the public has stationed himself in the well area of the Council Chambers during Council meetings, rather than sitting in the area designated for the audience. This raises the issue of anyone using the well area for seating. The Police Chief has expressed security concerns about the well area being occupied on an ongoing basis during meetings. The well is immediately adjacent to the dais. And there is no exit from the Chambers readily available to Council members. These factors limit the ability of police personnel to maintain security in the event of a .threat to Council from the well area. Accordingly, the Chief asked legal staff to propose a change in 1 Council Rules to keep members of the public out of the well area except when they are participating in a particular agenda item. Additionally, at recent meetings a large sign has been held up, for long periods of time, blocking the audience and camera view of the Council. Discussion The City is committed to facilitating full public participation in all public. meetings. And, the City respects the First Amendment rights of all persons to express their views, including their criticisms of their government. Thus, consistent with both the First Amendment and the Brown Act, all persons may speak on any item on any Council agenda; and, at regular meetings, any person may speak on any item not on the agenda but within the Council's jurisdiction. And, many, many community members and others exercise these rights. Indeed, the City is well known for its very long and highly participatory Council meetings; and the testimony at every meeting includes a healthy mix of comments, suggestions, requests and criticisms. Along with fostering individual participation and considering diverse comments, the Council must also ensure that security and order are maintained. Agendas tend to be long, and the Council strives to complete them early enough in the evening that members of the public, who need to arise for work or school the next morning, may nonetheless participate. Thus, the Council strives to strike the best possible balance between protecting the rights of individual members of the public and maintaining the order and security necessary to fulfill its obligation to the public as a whole. The law protects a Council's right to strike this balance by adopting and enforcing rules of order. See, e. g., Government Code section 36813 ("The council may establish rules for the conduct of its proceedings. It may punish a member or other person for disorderly behavior at a meeting"; White v City of Norwalk, 900 F.2d 1421 (9th Cir. 1990)[explaining that council meetings area "limited public forum" and that a council may, consistent with First Amendment rights, enforce rules of order and decorum in order to avoid disruptions that interfere with its ability to do the public's work.] 2 The Council Rules currently require members of the public to sit in chairs provided in the audience area when not addressing Council. Presumably this means that persons using wheel chairs should situate their chairs in the audience seating area during meetings, except when addressing Council or participating in a ceremony. However, clarification of the existing rule is advisable so that everyone will understand it. Clarifying the rule by prohibiting persons from being present in the well, except to participate in an agenda item, will also address the Police Chief's security concerns. Staff notes that these concerns do not relate to any particular person,. including the person who has been occupying the well. Rather, his conduct raises. the issue for the first time; and the rules must be formulated to apply to all. Thus, for the same reason that members of the public cannot enter the well in a courtroom except to participate in court proceedings, the Police Chief suggests that persons not participating in Council proceedings should remain in the audience area, as indicated by the current rules. In addition to promoting security, the attached rule changes are recommended in order to protect the public's ability to witness the meeting. CityTV staff and others have notified the Manager's Office that the sign being held up at recent meetings blocked both camera and audience views of the Council. This has the effect of impairing the public's ability to watch the meeting. Thus, staff is proposing a modification that would prohibit all persons from blocking audience and camera views of the meeting. The proposed changes in the rules would not impair the ability of any persons to fully participate in Council meetings, express their views, or observe the Council from within the Chambers. To the contrary, the prohibition against blocking views with signs or otherwise would protect everyone's ability to observe the Council meeting. And, prohibiting members of the public from stationing themselves within the well would not affect their ability to address Council from the well as part of an agehda item or to witness the meeting from the audience area. 3 Alternatives Council could maintain the rules in their current form, which is not recommended, or modify the language that staff is proposing. Financial Impacts & Budget Actions There are no direct financial impacts to adoption of the attached resolution. Insofar as the proposed .changes help maintain order at meetings, they may diminish staff costs associated with enforcement. Prepared by: Marsha Jones Moutrie, City Attorney roved: Forwarded to Council: ~ ~~ ~.~ r M r ha o es Mo tie Rod Gould Ci y Att ey City Manager Attachments: A. Resolution Amending the Council Rules of Order and Procedure for the Conduct of City Council Meetings and Repealing Resolution Number 10525(CCS) 4 Reference Resolution No. 10541 (CCS).