HomeMy WebLinkAboutNB 6 PUBLIC CONCERNS 11-20-89AGE'NDA ,
DATE:
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NEW BUSINESS NO. 6
11-20-89
November 15, 198
Inter- Com
HONORABLE MAYOR AND MF. MBERS OF THW. CITY COUNCIL
CITY ATTORNEY
PUBLIC CONCERNS
A proposal was raised at the last meeting of the City Council
to place the Public Concerns portions of the agenda in two places:
(1) at the place following public hearings which would be limited
to Tustin residents (and owners of property and/or businesses in
the City of Tustin?) and (2) one toward the end of the agenda for
other members of the public. A question was raised as to whether
this would be a legally available procedure.
Although this issue concerns public input on general matters
(as opposed to public input on specifically agendized items) we
would remind the Council that any member of the public, resident
or not, has the right to speak'on any agendized item and the
appropriate time to take such testimony would be at the time the
agendized item is being heard and considered. We would also note
that there are limitations the Council may impose on the right of
the public to be heard, even on agendized items: -
1. The Council may limit the total amount of testimony to
be heard on a matter;
2. It may limit the time any individual may speak;
3. It may exclude from tl%e council chamber any disruptive
persons who are creating a disturbance; and
4. It may exclude all of the public from the Council Chamber
if exclusion of disruptive persons is not sufficient to allow the
meeting to continue unimpeded, however, newspaper personnel not
involved in a disturbance must be permitted to remain.
We see nothing in the Brown Act which would prohibit the
Council from giving priority to speakers who are residents of the
City (although possibly it would be desirable to also give priority
to Tustin property owners and business owners) by allowing such
persons to speak before non-residents/non-Tustin property
owners/non-Tusttn business owners on agendized
matters and/or by allowing them to speak at the first Public
Concerns 9ortion of the agenda and oth_~r~eople at the second
Public Concerns portion o~ the agen~m'J~~ ~
Ci y Attorney
JGR: cas: R: 11/15/89 (A6/$-4)