Item 2.1 - Visual slideshow presented by Staff at MeetingRutan & Tucker, LLP | 611 Anton Blvd., Suite 1400, Costa Mesa, CA 92626 | 714-641-5100 | www.rutan.com
Agenda Item 2.1
Poway Municipal Code Update
Chapter 2.18 (City Council Meetings)
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•Proposed amendments are the result of collaboration between the
City Clerk and City Attorney, as part of the ongoing PMC update
•Goals:
–Conform text of PMC to current practices
–Comply with Brown Act
–“Clean up” changes to remove unnecessary procedures
–Enact enforceable decorum rules –as currently written, the PMC
may violate the First Amendment
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Amendments Consistent with Current City
Practices
•Amend title of Chapter from “City Council Meetings” to
“Meetings”
•Amend notice requirements and delete section concerning
special meetings, consistent with Brown Act
•Amend agenda order
•Abstentions no longer counted as affirmative votes
•Recordings are saved, and considered public records
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Additional Amendments Aimed at
Efficiency
•Council vote no longer required to close public hearings
•Speaker slips required
•Time limit may be reduced due to a large number of speakers on
an item
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Decorum –Current Rules (PMC §2.18.180)
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A. While the Council is in session, all persons shall preserve the
order and decorum of the session. The standards of order and
decorum shall be governed by common sense.
B. All persons must conduct themselves in a manner consistent
with good taste and generally accepted standards of
appropriate behavior.
C. Any person who does not comply with the above rules and who
disrupts the orderly course of the meeting is guilty of an infraction
and may be called out of order by the Mayor, removed from the
podium, or, if necessary to maintain order, barred from further
audience before that session of the Council.
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Decorum –Problems with Existing Rules
•Overly broad and impermissibly vague
–“common sense” could be used to prohibit virtually any
speech
–Existing section likely violates First Amendment on its face
•Enforcement procedures do not require a warning
•Enforcement solely in the hands of the Mayor
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Decorum –Proposed Amendments
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Decorum –Proposed Amendments
Regarding Enforcement
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•Adds provision requiring a warning
•Allows removal, just as the PMC currently allows
•Allows adjournment of the meeting
•Allows enforcement of the rules by the majority of the
Council, instead of only the Mayor
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Proposed Amendments Comply with the
First Amendment
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•The wording of the proposed amendments comes directly from a
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals case, where the Court found that
these precise regulations comply with the First Amendment
–White v. City of Norwalk (9th Cir. 1990) 900 F. 2d 1421
•Intended for use in extreme circumstances
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QUESTIONS?