Minutes 02-01-2022 Virtual Business Meeting

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23 protected, so they would welcome having a clear process so that they would understand from a permit process. She said that police protection could be built in and protect those people. She said that she has spoken with people at the Sheriff's office, and they have expressed favor in having a regulatory manner for protests so that they could know what was coming and they would know how to handle behavior because it will be regulated. She said that she thinks the ordinance can protect children and also protect adults' rights to protest. Commissioner Greene said she is in alignment with what Commissioner Hamilton has said. She said that when it comes to controlling an event, the Sheriff has at their capacity tools to deal with destructive behavior, and she would not want to oppose on free speech any more than the Supreme Court says they can. She said that she is not prepared to make a decision on this tonight, and she would like to know which county properties would be appropriate to regulate. John Roberts said there are few county properties where demonstrations would be allowed. He said the courthouse steps, the open area around the courthouse, maybe one of the county parks. He said that certainly not in or adjacent to office buildings. He said not many properties at all. Chair Price said that jurisdiction is confusing to people. She said that when there was a protest at school inside of the Town of Hillsborough, calls were made to various offices, but there were no responses because of the confusion around jurisdiction. She said that she is not in favor of limiting anyone's freedom of speech, but some speech can be very hateful. She said that hate speech can be inciteful. Commissioner Richards said there was an incident where people were alleged to be on a county road in front of a school. She said when they start thinking about properties and jurisdictional issues, it gets complicated. She asked if there a way to normalize the ordinances between the county and the towns, so that they are the same. She said that Chapel Hill requires a permit. John Roberts said if the Board wanted to adopt a county ordinance that looked like a town's they could do that, or the towns could adopt a county ordinance for enforcement within the towns'jurisdictions. Commissioner Hamilton said Commissioner Richards's point is important and it would be good to have consistency. She suggested that the BOCC take leadership on this and take the steps necessary to protect school children. She asked John Roberts if they can regulate where demonstrations can take place by being specific or can they regulate by saying you can demonstrate anywhere "except" certain places. John Roberts said he would recommend the second option because the vast majority of land in the county is privately owned. He said the second option would be easier to do because you can say where protests can occur and where it cannot occur. He said he also thinks you can say you may not picket or demonstrate on public school properties. Commissioner McKee said this is good conversation and he wants to bring Sheriff's office into the conversation. He commended the Sheriff's department for their involvement in calm demonstrations in the past. Commissioner Bedford said sometimes students want to have demonstrations on campus so should look at what school districts policies are about those, so they do not eliminate student demonstrations. John Roberts said an exception could be made for student protests on school property. Commissioner Fowler said she likes the idea of it being a certain distance from a property or something similar. She said that she participated in a parent demonstration in support of schools. She said making it a certain distance would protect free speech and entry ways to the buildings.