City Council targets disruptive meetings with comment rule overhaul
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Protesters hold up signs outside the Penfield Tate II Municipal Building during a Boulder City Council meeting on May 1. Photo: Cliff Grassmick/MediaNews Group/Boulder Daily Camera via Getty Images
Boulder City Council is moving to rein in unruly public meetings by fast-tracking changes to its public comment rules.
Why it matters: The proposed rule shifts aim to prevent future outbursts while preserving residents' right to speak — a balance many local governments are struggling to strike.
Driving the news: City Council will vote on an emergency ordinance Thursday to introduce a slate of rule changes to public comment, according to the agenda packet.
- Changes include limiting public comment to 45 minutes and starting meetings a half-hour earlier, at 5:30pm, with regular agenda items to begin at 6:30pm so attendees can skip public comment.
- Council members will also be able to address statements made immediately after public comment rather than at the end of meetings.
- The public broadcast of the comment portion will be audio-only, to limit residents relying on props, flags, signs and graphic images
Context: The disruptions in Boulder largely stem from Hamas' escalation of the Israel-Gaza conflict on Oct. 7, 2023.
- Speakers asking for Boulder to call for a Gaza ceasefire often dominated meetings, even after City Council voted not to weigh in on the matter.
- Demands for change became even more urgent after the fiery Pearl Street Mall attack on June 1, which targeted a gathering for Israeli hostages.
- Council held exclusively virtual meetings immediately following the Boulder attack and temporarily suspended public comment.
What they're saying: "You can't have this kind of constant yelling and screaming and cursing and vitriol and hatred and then not have it turn to violence," Councilmember Tara Winer told Boulder Reporting Lab.
- In an opinion piece, former Boulder City Councilmember Bob Yates even called for public comment to be suspended indefinitely.
The big picture: "Boulder certainly isn't the only city struggling these days with how to handle public comment," said Jeff Roberts, executive director of the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition.
- He cited Aurora, which banned public comment after a dispute between lawmakers and activists and later reversed course, and Weld County, which canceled the public comment portion of meetings to focus on "county business."
- School boards in Denver and Englewood also changed their public comment policies.
Friction point: Roberts noted Colorado Open Meetings Law "is silent on the matter," and there is no Colorado case law on the matter.
- "Boards, commissions and councils typically set their own ground rules for letting the public speak during designated portions of meetings," Roberts said.
- He added the rules "cannot be operated in a discriminatory or viewpoint-restricted way," but aside from that, "governments can enforce reasonable restrictions."