Reminder About Posted Signs

Garage Sale this Saturday; House for Sale by Owner; Elect Joe Brown for Dogcatcher.
We see these signs everyday posted on telephone poles, erected in front yards and placed in various public places.
But are these signs legal?
Posting any sign to a tree, shrub or utility pole located on public property or placing signs so that they encroach upon a public street or sidewalk is illegal.
Unlike other signs, however, political signs are allowed on most public lands unless they create a dangerous condition or interfere with normal upkeep of the property.
When you have a question about sign location, call our Plans & Public Works Department at 646-3885 or stop by the office at Colton Hall, corner of Pacific and Madison streets.

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Street Sweeper Coming to Every Neighborhood

Please review the new street-sweeping schedule included in this issue of the City Focus.
All City streets will be cleaned on a regular basis under the new schedule. Please take out the insert and keep it for future reference.

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Teens Help Design Skate Park

More than 40 skateboarders from around the area have been working with the City over the past several months to design a local skate park. Funded through the Neighborhood Improvement Program (NIP), the park is being tailor-made for the City’s skateboarders.
Skateboarders such as 15-year-old Dane Carraher said the City listened to the comments he and his friends made. He is looking forward to having a place designed specifically for skateboarding.
“It’s going to be good,” said Dane, who attends Monterey High School.
“The City included our suggestions about obstacles, ledges and concrete.”
Local teens and young people met with the designer at workshops to share their ideas, which have been incorporated into the design. Located behind Frank Sollecito Ballpark next to Dennis the Menace Park, the park will be nearly 8,000 square feet.
Construction is scheduled to begin this spring with completion by summer.
For more information, call our Construction Management Division at 646.3997 or to see the park design stop by the Recreation and Community Services Department at 546 Dutra Street.

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Legal Beagle
Laws Apply to Public Officials, Pending Projects
The Brown Act and ex parte communications
Talking directly with elected and appointed officials about upcoming projects seems natural, but sometimes such discussions can be illegal.
When a project is pending before the City Council, a board or commission, individuals may want to approach members before the official meeting to express support or opposition to a pending issue. However, when dealing with the “public’s business,” this may be illegal and improper.
California’s anti-secret meeting law, the Brown Act, allows contact with public officials; however, it does not permit discussions that allow a majority of a council or commission to arrive at a “collective concurrence.”
That is, if before a meeting enough of the council or board agrees to support or deny a project, the law is broken. This occurs even if the members didn’t know what the others had decided.
The Brown Act mandates that all “public business” must be done in public.
Even if such discussions don’t violate the Brown Act, such “ex parte contacts” may result in an unfair proceeding. In an ex parte contact, the proponent or opponent is allowed to present ideas or opinions to one or several officials that the rest of the public never hears, violating the Constitutional due process rights of the opposing point of view.
The best way to communicate with public officials is to write a letter or send a fax/e-mail expressing a point of view; or attend a meeting about the project and tell public officials about the issues and concerns.
Voicing an opinion in public view ensures that public officials hear the information and are able to legally consider it when making a decision.

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