Agenda - 09-06-2022; 8-a - Minutes

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15 1 John Roberts said there is no way to make a distinction of the content of speech. He 2 said they cannot do that. He said that the only standards of conduct are content-neutral, safety 3 driven restrictions. He said that would be no firearms or weapons, opposing pickets must be 4 separated, and pickets cannot block freedom of movement or access. 5 Commissioner McKee said they have been told stories about what people were saying, 6 and that is content. He said that he agrees with what the ordinance says about weapons, and 7 he feels that the size of the sign support should be smaller than it is currently drafted. He said 8 that a 1" x 2" stake for a sign is a weapon. He said that his problem is who makes the subjective 9 decision as to whether his behavior has crossed the line and there is no way they can write that 10 up. 11 Commissioner Hamilton said she agreed with Commissioner Bedford about the limit 12 being any person and with the 1,000 feet buffer. She said that she wants to remove the age 13 requirement of being eighteen and have it read primary and secondary education. She said the 14 Board is not trying to control behavior but rather create a reasonable limit on where folks can be 15 and to help maintain safe learning environments for students. She said that there are so many 16 ways to protest, and this is not saying they cannot come to school board meetings or to the 17 Whitted Building. She said that parents can also email to complain about the schools. She said 18 that this is reasonable to protect children who at their development level, cannot deal with stress 19 the way an adult can. 20 Chair Price thanked the County Attorney for drafting the ordinance. She said she did not 21 understand why county property needed to be combined with school property. She asked if 22 they could put the 1,000-foot limit around the schools. She said that the safety concerns they 23 are trying to address are around the school children, teachers, and faculty/staff. She said that 24 she would like to address county property limitations later because many civil rights movements 25 were addressed by picketing. She said she would like to focus on schools and limit people 26 being able to come on school property. 27 John Roberts said that references to county owned property can be removed. He said 28 the United States Supreme Court has held that private property owners can have limits placed 29 on their property once they have invited the public onto the property. He said that 1,000 feet can 30 go up and down the sidewalk, all linear distances, or from certain boundaries from the schools. 31 He said this could include private properties across the street. 32 Commissioner Hamilton had a follow-up question on distance and if a property is private 33 or not. She asked if she heard correctly that if the county does 1,000 feet and applies it to 34 private property, that the regulation could be challenged. 35 John Roberts said it could be challenged. He said the United State Supreme Court 36 issued a decision that if a private property owner invites the public on to the private property for 37 the purpose of a public demonstration or public activities, that it can be regulated as if it were 38 public property. 39 Commissioner Fowler asked if there are county properties where it would be unsafe to 40 have picketers. 41 John Roberts said yes, and he gave an example of picketers at a solid waste 42 convenience center, which created a limited public forum for that picket. He said that if 43 someone else wanted to picket at the solid waste convenience center, the county would have to 44 allow it. He said it was an unsafe place to allow demonstrations and picketing, and that there 45 are likely others. 46 Chair Price asked about community centers when there is children's programming is 47 taking place. 48 John Roberts said there are not many demonstrations in the county that occur outside of 49 the courthouse or outside of a building where the Board is meeting.