HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011-07-26; City Council; 20641; AMENDMENT MUNICIPAL CODE DECORUM ENFORCEMENTCITY OF CARLSBAD - AGENDA BILL 13
AB# 20,641
MTG. 7/26/11
DEPT. CLERK
AMENDMENT TO CARLSBAD MUNICIPAL
CODE TRELATED TO DECORUM AND
ENFORCEMENT AND PENALTIES
DEPT. DIR. 4f<;
CITY ATTY. C>3
CITY MGR.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Adopt Ordinance No. CS-153. amending Title 1, Chapter 1.20, of the Carlsbad Municipal
Code by the amendment of Sections 1.20.130, 1.20.320 and 1.20.330, and the addition of
Section 1.20.315 relating to decorum and enforcement of decorum; and amending Title 1,
Chapter 1.08 by the amendment of Section 1.08.010 related to penalties.
ITEM EXPLANATION:
Ordinance No. CS-153 was introduced and first read at the City Council meeting held on July
12, 2011. The second reading allows the City Council to adopt the ordinance which will
become effective thirty days after adoption. The City Clerk will have the ordinance published
within fifteen days, if adopted.
FISCAL IMPACT:
See AB #20,625 on file in the Office of the City Clerk.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT:
Pursuant to Public Resources Code section 21065 and CEQA Guidelines section 15738, this
action does not constitute a "project" within the meaning of CEQA in that it has no potential
to cause either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable
indirect physical change in the environment, and therefore does not require an
environmental review.
EXHIBITS:
1. Ordinance No. CS-153.
DEPARTMENT CONTACT: Karen Kundtz 760-434-2808 Karen.Kundtz@carlsbadca.gov
FOR CITY CLERKS USE ONLY.
COUNCIL ACTION: APPROVED
DENIED
CONTINUED
WITHDRAWN
AMENDED
'Dn
CONTINUED TO DATE SPECIFIC D
CONTINUED TO DATE UNKNOWN D
RETURNED TO STAFF D
OTHER - SEE MINUTES D
EXHIBIT 1
ORDINANCE NO. __ C=S=---""'"'15"-'3'--
2 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF 3 CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA, AMENDING CHAPTER 1.20 OF THE
CARLSBAD MUNICIPAL CODE, SECTIONS 1.20.310, 1.20.320 4 AND 1.20.330 AND ADDING SECTION 1.20.302 TO THE CARLSBAD MUNICIPAL CODE-ALL RELATING TO DECORUM 5 AND ENFORCEMENT OF DECORUM AND AMENDING SECTION
1.08.010 OF CHAPTER 1.08 OF THE CARLSBAD MUNICIPAL
6 CODE RELATED TO DESIGNATED PENALITIES
7 WHEREAS, On August 24, 2010 Richard Shapiro was arrested pursuant to California
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Penal Code section 403 for disturbing an open and public City Council meeting; and
WHEREAS, the District Attorney initially filed a single count criminal complaint against Mr.
Shapiro for violating Penal Code section 403; and
WHEREAS, the District Attorney, exercised its independent discretion and filed an
amended criminal complaint against Mr. Shapiro that alleged one misdemeanor count of violating Penal Code section 403 and three misdemeanor counts (two to four) of violating Carlsbad
Municipal Code (CMC) section 1.20.330(b); and
WHEREAS, CMC section 1.20.330(b) states that a violation of this section is a
misdemeanor; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Shapiro was arraigned on the amended four count criminal complaint; and
WHEREAS, the District Attorney subsequently exercised its discretion and dismissed the
first count (P.C. § 403) of the amended criminal complaint and reduced the three CMC section 1.20.330(b) misdemeanor counts to infractions; and
WHEREAS, the District Attorney stated that notwithstanding the language of 1.20.330(b)
(a violation of this section is a misdemeanor), CMC section 1.08.010(a) (which was amended in 2007) takes precedence over section 1.20.330(b) thereby making the first three violations of
section 1.20.330, within a 12-month period, infractions and only on the fourth and subsequent
violations, would the violation be charged as a misdemeanor; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Shapiro's criminal case generated interest by the American Civil Liberties
21 Union (ACLU); and
22 WHEREAS, the ACLU sent a letter to the District Attorney alleging that CMC sections
1.20.320 and 1.20.330 (enacted in 1979) are vague and unenforceable; and
23 WHEREAS, the District Attorney stated that it has a policy of not prosecuting infractions
24 due to limited resources and therefore, the District Attorney exercised its discretion and dismissed
the three CMC infractions; and 25
WHEREAS, notwithstanding the arguments of the ACLU or Mr. Shapiro, the City wants to
26 ensure that its decorum sections are constitutional, enforceable, and void of any confusion whether a violation constitutes a misdemeanor or an infraction; and 27
THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of Carlsbad, California, does ordain as follows: 28
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1.20.302 - Addressing the council—Spokesperson for group of persons.4
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EXHIBIT 1
SECTION 1: That Chapter 1.20 of the Carlsbad Municipal Code is amended to read as follows:
1.20.300 - Purpose and Intent - Addressing the council.
1.20.305 - Opportunity for public to address the council—Nonagenda items.
1.20.310 - Decorum and order—Council and city staff.
1.20.320 - Public attendance and Audience - Decorum and order.
1.20.330 - Enforcement of decorum.
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8 SECTION 2: That section 1.20.300 of Chapter 1.20 of the Carlsbad Municipal Code is amended
and renumbered to read as follows:9
1.20.302 - Addressing the council - Spokesperson for group of persons.10
(a) In order to expedite matters and to avoid repetitious presentations, whenever any group of
persons wishes to address the council on the same subject matter, it shall be proper for the
presiding officer to require that a spokesperson be chosen from the group to address the council.
12 If additional matters are to be presented by any other members of the group, the presiding officer
may limit the number of such persons and limit the presentation to information not already
presented by the group spokesperson.
14 (b) For items other than those listed on the agenda for public hearing, groups of persons shall
be limited to a total presentation period of ten minutes. The presiding officer shall first call for
representatives of groups in favor of the matter under consideration and then for those persons in
opposition to the matter under consideration, and thereafter shall allow a rebuttal time limited to
five minutes to the proponents who shall confine rebuttal remarks to answering comments made
in opposition and not the introduction of new testimony. Further time may be granted by majority
vote of the council.
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SECTION 3: That Chapter 1.20 of the Carlsbad Municipal Code is amended to add section
20 1.20.300 to read as follows:
1.20.300 - Purpose and Intent - Addressing the council.
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Our society has long recognized that it is important for citizens of any community to have
23 the ability to address their elected officials. To that end, the City of Carlsbad has enacted
decorum ordinances to facilitate such activities at council meetings. These ordinances are
24 designed to allow for public input but retain the recognition that City business and the needs of all
the people necessarily require some limitations. Clearly, the more orderly a meeting, the more
25 time members of the council will have to adequately consider and address any issues raised.
Dissent at public meetings is also a recognized concept in a free society. It is one of the ways in
26 which concerns about pending issues can be expressed, and without which the nature or extent
of those concerns might result in less than informed decisions. But it is equally important to
27 recognize that dissent is not without limitations. If anyone who wished to move a public meeting
toward a particular position could disrupt the proceedings whenever they felt moved to do so, the
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SECTION 4: That section 1.20.310 of Chapter 1.20 of the Carlsbad Municipal Code is amended
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to read as follows:
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1.20.310 - Decorum and order - Council and city staff.
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While the council is in session, the council members and city staff shall observe good
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EXHIBIT 1
rights of all others and the business of a city would soon stagnate and the actions themselves
would tend to imperil the very freedoms we all seek. It is therefore important to remember that no
one has a constitutional right to disrupt a public meeting by attempting to impose their own voice
or actions in a manner that is loud, boisterous, or unruly where such conduct is substantially
disruptive of the meeting itself, not in compliance with the rules of decorum set forth for the
governance of such meetings, and continues after the mayor has requested the person or
persons to stop. The issue in such cases is not about the content of speech, unless the content
itself violates the law, but rather with the extent of disruption caused to the meeting itself by the
manner and conduct of the speaker's actions.
order and decorum and shall not by conversation or otherwise, improperly delay or interrupt the
proceedings nor refuse to obey the directives of the mayor as authorized under this chapter.
SECTION 5: That section 1.20.320 of Chapter 1.20 of the Carlsbad Municipal Code is amended
to read as follows:
1.20.320 - Public attendance and Audience - Decorum and order.
Members of the public attending council meetings shall observe the same rules of order
and decorum applicable to the city council and staff. Any person wishing to address the council is
responsible for familiarizing himself/herself with the rules and ordinances applicable to council
meetings. Copies of those requirements are available on file in the Office of the City Clerk and on
the City's website
SECTION 6: That section 1.20.330 of Chapter 1.20 of the Carlsbad Municipal Code is amended
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1.20.330 - Enforcement of decorum.
20 (a) The chief of police or such member of the police department as he, or his authorized agent,
may designate shall be sergeant-at-arms of the city council and said person shall attend meetings
at the request of the mayor, the city manager, or a majority of the city council. He shall be
available to respond to all meetings immediately upon call. He shall carry out all orders
authorized under this chapter that are given by the mayor for the purpose of maintaining order
and decorum at the council meetings. The sergeant-at-arms may, at any time, request assistance
from other members of the police department to accomplish that purpose. Any council member
may move to require the mayor to enforce the rules and the affirmative vote of a majority of the
council members present shall require him to do so.
(b) Any person, including any member of the council or city staff, who by voice or conduct
engages in loud, boisterous, or unruly behavior that substantially disrupts a council meeting, that
does not comply with the rules of decorum set forth in this chapter for governance of such
meetings, and continues after the mayor has requested such person(s) to stop, is engaging in
unlawful conduct and, except as set forth in subsections (c) and (d) of this section, shall constitute
an infraction.
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EXHIBIT 1
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(c) Any person arrested under subsection (b) of this section and who thereafter returns to the same meeting and again violates the provisions of subsection (b) of this section, commits a
misdemeanor. (d) Any person previously convicted under subsection (b) of this section, who again violates the
provisions of subsection (b) of this section, commits a misdemeanor.
SECTION 7: That section 1.08.010 of Chapter 1.08 of the Carlsbad Municipal Code is amended
to read as follows:
1.08.010 - Designated.
(a) Whenever in Chapters 6.03, 8.16, 8.44, 8.50, 11.28 and 15.12, or as specified in Sections
1.13.040, 1.20.330(c), 1.20.330(d), 5.10.130, 6.04.130, 8.17.200(A)(1), 8.17.200(A)(2), 8.17.200(A)(3), 8.17.200(A)(4) and 17.04.070 of this code any act is prohibited or is made or
declared to be unlawful or an offense, or the doing of any act is required or the failure to do any act is declared to be unlawful or a misdemeanor, the violation of any such provision is a
misdemeanor and shall be punished by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars or imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or by both such fine and imprisonment unless
some other fine or penalty is stated in said chapter or section. (b) Except as provided in subsection (a) of this section, whenever in this code or in any other
ordinance of the city any act is prohibited or is made or declared to be unlawful or an offense, or the doing of any act is required or the failure to do any act is declared to be unlawful or a
misdemeanor, the violation of any such provision of the city is, unless otherwise stated in this section, an infraction and shall be punishable by:
(1) A fine not exceeding two hundred dollars for the first violation; (2) A fine not exceeding two hundred and fifty dollars for a second violation of the same ordinance
within one year; (3) The third and each additional violation of the same ordinance within one year is a
misdemeanor and shall be punished by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars or imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or by both such fine and imprisonment;
(4) In addition to the monetary fines set forth above, both conditional sentencing and probation are authorized as a sentencing option in accordance with Penal Code Section 1203(a).
(c) Each and every day during any portion of which any violation of this code or any other ordinance of the city is committed, continued or permitted shall be a separate offense.
(d) Payment of a fine shall not excuse payment of any fee required by this code or any other city ordinance.
(e) Nothing contained in this section shall preclude the city from enforcing the provisions of this code or any other ordinance through any other available methods including but not limited to abatement of public nuisances.
(f) Nothing contained in this code shall abrogate the city attorney’s discretion to reduce to an infraction any act made unlawful pursuant to this Chapter, if the city attorney determines such a
reduction is warranted in the interest of justice.
EFFECTIVE DATE: This ordinance shall be effective thirty days after its adoption and the City
Clerk shall certify the adoption of this ordinance and cause it to be published at least once in a
newspaper of general circulation in the City of Carlsbad within fifteen days after its adoption.
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EXHIBIT 1
INTRODUCED AND FIRST READ at a regular meeting of the Carlsbad City Council on
the 12th day of July, 2011, and thereafter.
PASSED AND ADOPTED at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Carlsbad
on the 26th day of July, 2011, by the following vote, to wit:
AYES: Council Members Hall, Blackburn, Douglas and Packard.
NOES: None.
ABSENT: Council Member Kulchin.
APPROVED AS TO FORM AND LEGALITY
RON R. BALL City Attorney
7/*7/*l
, Mayor
ATTEST:
LORRAINE M. WOOD, City Clerk
(SEAL)