The Ralph M. Brown Act acknowledges the right and necessity of occasionally removing persons from Council meetings for disturbing the meeting (�54957.9).  Although rarely used, the Council has adopted such rules to assure the ability to conduct the business of the people of the City.  As currently written Burbank Municipal Code Sec. 2-217(a) provides:

�. . . For the purpose of maintaining order and decorum at any such meeting, the Sergeant-at-Arms shall carry out all orders and instructions given by the Presiding Officer, and shall enforce all laws, statutes and ordinances of any governmental agency applicable to such meeting. Upon instructions of the Presiding Officer, or as deemed necessary by the Sergeant-at-Arms to maintain the order and decorum of the meeting, it shall be the duty of the Sergeant-at-Arms, or any of the members of the Police Department present, to remove any person who violates the order and decorum of any such meeting or who violates any law, from the building, or to place any such person under arrest, issue a citation, and/or refer the matter to the City Prosecutor.�

As we have reviewed these rules from time to time we have noted a gap in the regulations.  If a person is removed from a meeting for causing a disturbance, it is highly likely that this person would be angry at the removal, or whatever prompted the removal, or both.  Although removal from the building would solve the immediate problem of disturbing the meeting, an angry person can certainly be expected to wait until the conclusion of the meeting to confront members of the Council, board or commission to continue to express his or her disagreement.  Since such meetings are generally held at night, it raises serious issues of safety for such members to walk to their cars in the dark with the possibility of a very angry member of the public approaching them.  Violence would not be out of the realm of possibility.

As a result we have prepared an amendment that would provide that when such individuals are removed from the meeting, they must leave not only the building, but the public property on which the meeting is held.  This would include the adjacent parking lots.  In addition, they may not return for three hours after the meeting is adjourned.  This provides the needed protection for the volunteer members of such boards and commissions, and still allows the subject individual to return to conduct business with the City when he or she has had an opportunity to cool down. 

We have also cleaned up, and subdivided, the present language in BMC sec. 2-216 and sec. 2-217 to make it clearer and more readable, but without changing the intent.

It is recommended that the Ordinance be approved and formally introduced.

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