Agenda 03-01-22; 8-a - Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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23 1 would know how to handle behavior because it will be regulated. She said that she thinks the 2 ordinance can protect children and also protect adults' rights to protest. 3 Commissioner Greene said she is in alignment with what Commissioner Hamilton has 4 said. She said that when it comes to controlling an event, the Sheriff has at their capacity tools 5 to deal with destructive behavior, and she would not want to oppose on free speech any more 6 than the Supreme Court says they can. She said that she is not prepared to make a decision on 7 this tonight, and she would like to know which county properties would be appropriate to 8 regulate. 9 John Roberts said there are few county properties where demonstrations would be 10 allowed. He said the courthouse steps, the open area around the courthouse, maybe one of the 11 county parks. He said that certainly not in or adjacent to office buildings. He said not many 12 properties at all. 13 Chair Price said that jurisdiction is confusing to people. She said that when there was a 14 protest at school inside of the Town of Hillsborough, calls were made to various offices, but 15 there were no responses because of the confusion around jurisdiction. She said that she is not 16 in favor of limiting anyone's freedom of speech, but some speech can be very hateful. She said 17 that hate speech can be inciteful. 18 Commissioner Richards said there was an incident where people were alleged to be on 19 a county road in front of a school. She said when they start thinking about properties and 20 jurisdictional issues, it gets complicated. She asked if there a way to normalize the ordinances 21 between the county and the towns, so that they are the same. She said that Chapel Hill requires 22 a permit. 23 John Roberts said if the Board wanted to adopt a county ordinance that looked like a 24 town's they could do that, or the towns could adopt a county ordinance for enforcement within 25 the towns'jurisdictions. 26 Commissioner Hamilton said Commissioner Richards's point is important and it would be 27 good to have consistency. She suggested that the BOCC take leadership on this and take the 28 steps necessary to protect school children. She asked John Roberts if they can regulate where 29 demonstrations can take place by being specific or can they regulate by saying you can 30 demonstrate anywhere "except" certain places. 31 John Roberts said he would recommend the second option because the vast majority of 32 land in the county is privately owned. He said the second option would be easier to do because 33 you can say where protests can occur and where it cannot occur. He said he also thinks you 34 can say you may not picket or demonstrate on public school properties. 35 Commissioner McKee said this is good conversation and he wants to bring Sheriff's 36 office into the conversation. He commended the Sheriff's department for their involvement in 37 calm demonstrations in the past. 38 Commissioner Bedford said sometimes students want to have demonstrations on 39 campus so should look at what school districts policies are about those, so they do not eliminate 40 student demonstrations. 41 John Roberts said an exception could be made for student protests on school property. 42 Commissioner Fowler said she likes the idea of it being a certain distance from a 43 property or something similar. She said that she participated in a parent demonstration in 44 support of schools. She said making it a certain distance would protect free speech and entry 45 ways to the buildings. 46 Chair Price reiterated importance for consistency between towns and county. She 47 suggested that this come back at a work session and a discussion with schools. She said that 48 law enforcement and the schools should be included and suggested that public comment be 49 allowed by waiving the rules about comment during work sessions. 50 Commissioner McKee agreed with running it through as a work session with law 51 enforcement and the schools.