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<br />JAN-06-2003 14:23 <br /> <br />RATWIK ROSZAK MALONEY <br /> <br />6123390038 <br /> <br />P.10 <br /> <br />Mr. Neal Beets <br />January 6, 2003 <br />Page 4 of6 <br /> <br />Finally, restrictions on the use of facilities must leave open ample alternative channels <br />of communication. The basic test is whether the speaker is afforded "a forum that is accessible <br />and where the intended audience is expected to pass." Students Against Apartheid Coalition v. <br />O'Neil, 660 F. Supp. 333, 339 (W.D. Va. 1987). <br /> <br />A similar analysis would apply to any ordinance that appears neutral on its face, but <br />operates in such a way as to deny access to City facilities to one particular group. As stated <br />above, any restrictions on the use of City meeting facilities must be content neutral. <br />Analytically, there are two aspects to the principle of content neutrality: viewpoint neutrality <br />and category neutrality. This means that the City cannot regulate meeting room use so as to <br />favor one viewpoint over another, and cannot discriminate between different categories of <br />expression, regardless of whether the restriction on facility use is presented as a facially neutral <br />regulation. <br /> <br />Under the category of viewpoint neutrality, to which the Supreme Court has recognized <br />no exceptions, the government cannot regulate expression in such a way as to favor one <br /> <br />. '. .. r1 If' l.'...:t . 11 v-.. 1 ,. 'I '1 <br />vIewpoint over fu"10tnef. jO~ lor eXal"11ple, a City COUlO not auow access to Kepuoncan.s \Vlll.r.e <br />denying access to Democrats. Knights of the Ku Klux Klan v. Martin Luther King Jr. <br />Worshippers, 735 F.Supp. 745 (M.D. Tenn. 1990). As the Supreme Court has stated, <br />viewpoint discrimination is "an egregious form of content discrimination," Rosenberger v. <br />Rector & Visitors Qfthe. Univ. ofVirgini~ 515 U.S. 819, 829 (1995). The government "must <br />abstain from regulating speech when the specific motivating ideology or the opinion or <br />perspective of the speaker is the rationale for the restriction. H Id. <br /> <br />Under the framework of category neutrality, government cannot generally regulate in <br />such a way as to discriminate against different categories of expression. Erznoznik v. City of <br />Jacksonville, 422 U.S. 205 (1975). For example, a city could not pass an ordinance limiting <br />access to meeting facilities to only non-political groups., even if the ordinance operated to limit <br />the access of groups with a variety of different political viewpoints. Finally, a city cannot <br />regulate an organization's message by charging different fees to different groups for use of city <br />facilities. If a city charges a fee for use of city property to hold a meeting, this fee must be the <br />same for all organizations wishing to use the property. Forsvth County v. Nationalist <br />Movement, 505 U.S. 123 (1992) (rejecting a permit scheme where the fee for police protection <br />could be increased if the speaker was likely to generate controversy.) <br /> <br />II. Under The City's Current Facility Use Policy, If A Community Group Uses <br />A City Meeting Room, Can The Group Exclude Members Of The Public <br />From (1) Attending The Meeting, And/Or (2) Joining The Organization? <br /> <br />Park and Recreation Operating Policy No. lOP governs the use of City facilities. In its <br />purpose statement, the Policy indicates that ~The City of Rose vi lIe maintains facilities for the <br />