In order to provide for the recording of City meetings by members of the public, the City of Monterey has developed the following guidelines.

1. A "persistent disruption" can include but is not limited to the following:

1. Obstructing the view of audience/staff members
2. Creating noise that keeps audience/staff members from hearing the proceedings
3. Treating potential interviewees and/or conducting interviews in a belligerent manner

2. Video recording equipment/crew location:

1. Video cameras/tripods/crew should be in the seating pews, but they should remain at the end of the pews to minimize view obstructions. All public seating in the City Council Chamber is first come, first served. Staff will not reserve seating areas for public access producers.
2. No tripods are permitted in any exit pathways (aisles), including entrances/exits.
3. Videographers can gather footage using hand-held equipment from the main meeting room floor (front of the room among staff tables or by dais) for a limited period – generally 5 minutes each – and, in general, cannot disrupt the presentation or the proceedings while doing so.
4. Videographers may operate tripods in the area directly to the left (when facing the dais) of staff tables between doorways, but must not run cords across exit pathways.
5. No video recording is permitted behind the dais without the expressed consent of the meeting chair. A standing condition of said consent is
   that the taping of notes or materials on the desk is prohibited.
6. If deemed necessary, City staff can limit the number of cameras in the meeting room and/or require a camera pool.
7. Upon advance request, an audio feed of the proceeding can generally
   be made available (24-hour notice may be required).
8. All audio/electrical cords must be securely taped or covered with a mat, subject to the approval of City staff. Cords must run perpendicular to the aisle and not cross a doorway.

3. Interviews or background footage taken as an adjunct to the public meeting:

1. Potential interviewees, be they Councilmembers, Commissioners,
   staff or public, are not obligated to participate in an interview. Common courtesies should be extended, and interviews should not be conducted
   in a belligerent manner.

4. City staff at the meeting site will be in charge of enforcing the above guidelines.
5. This policy will be reviewed periodically for appropriateness and applicability, and may be modified within the sole discretion of the City.

54953.5. (a) Any person attending an open and public meeting of a legislative body of a local agency shall have the right to record the proceedings with an audio or video tape recorder or a still or motion picture camera in the absence of a reasonable finding by the legislative body of the local agency that the recording cannot continue without noise, illumination, or obstruction of view that constitutes, or would constitute, a persistent disruption of the proceedings.

54953.6. No legislative body of a local agency shall prohibit or otherwise restrict the broadcast of its open and public meetings in the absence of a reasonable finding that the broadcast cannot be accomplished without noise, illumination, or obstruction of view that would constitute a persistent disruption of the proceedings.