Q: I recently submitted comments for discussion at a City Planning Commission meeting. In accordance with the established procedure, I submitted 3 pages of comments before the onset of the meeting. During the meeting my comments were overlooked – the Planning Director claimed they lacked relevance to the agenda item, even though they were directly pertinent to the discussion. Does this incident qualify as a violation of the Brown Act?
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A: The Brown Act serves to facilitate public participation in all phases of local government decision-making, and to curb misuse of the democratic process by secret legislation of public bodies. Bell v. Vista Unified School Dist., 82 Cal. App. 4th 672 (2000). The Act provides the opportunity at each meeting for the public to “directly address the legislative body on any item of interest to the public, before or during the legislative body’s consideration of the item, that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the legislative body.” Gov’t Code § 54954.3(a). The Act does not address written comments, although it does contain several provisions governing materials that legislative body members receive in connection with a meeting. This is probably why the city has strict guidelines with respect to the submission of such materials, as there are certain obligations the city must fulfill in this regard – i.e., making sure those same materials are available to other members of the public.
While you have the right to public comment pursuant to the Brown Act, you cannot compel anyone to speak to your questions. My suggestion would be that you ensure the letter gets into the hands of all of the decision-makers – all of the planning commission members, as well as city staff. Simply getting the comments on the record is important, even if they are not addressed. You would not want any future challenge you make to be thwarted because you didn’t make your views known early in the process.
You can find more information about the Brown Act here: Brown Act Facts & Information
Bryan Cave LLP is general counsel for the First Amendment Coalition and responds to FAC hotline inquiries. In responding to these inquiries, we can give general information regarding open government and speech issues but cannot provide specific legal advice or representation.