Lacey City Council’s restrictive public comment policy is about to change
Lacey City Council learned Thursday that Engrossed Substitute House Bill 1329, which was signed into law and takes effect this June, is going to change the way they hear public comments.
One element of the legislation is this: “Requires governing bodies to provide an opportunity for public comment at or before any regular meeting at which final action is taken, except in emergency situations.”
Now, the city’s current public comment policy does not allow comment on meeting agenda items.
The information was provided as part of a large legislative update. When council member Lenny Greenstein and Mayor Andy Ryder saw the bullet point on public comment in the presentation, they asked City Attorney Dave Schneider whether Lacey’s policy will have to change.
“Yes, it did change that,” Schneider said. “We will be presenting council with some recommendations and there’s certainly going to need to be an opportunity for public comment on most agenda items at all council meetings. There are certain exceptions, such as quasi-judicial hearings, but, yes, (the legislation) definitely changed it.”
City Manager Scott Spence said that if the council makes a decision on an agenda item, “we would have to have a component for public comment.”
In 2019, when the city was proposing new initiatives to address homelessness, public comment hit a fever pitch and some residents grew frustrated at the long-standing council policy that does not allow public comment on items on the agenda.
Washington Coalition for Open Government board president Toby Nixon said then that the city’s comment policy might violate the First Amendment right to free speech.
“You can only address time, place and manner (of public comment),” he said. “You can’t restrict speech on the basis of the content.”
Ryder said then and again Thursday that although comment is not allowed on agenda items, there were times when the city made an exception. Council members Carolyn Cox, Michael Steadman and Greenstein all voiced support for changing the comment policy in 2019.
“I don’t love that approach,” said Greenstein about limiting comment to things that aren’t on the agenda. “I want to hear from the people, because for me, that’s a big part of our role. I’m a strong proponent of what people have to say.”
This story was originally published April 15, 2022 at 5:45 AM.
