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• <br />JAN-06-2~3 1532 <br />Mr, Neal Beets <br />January 6, 2003 <br />Page 2 of 6 <br />CITY-~F-ROSEVILLE-ADMIN <br />R-11 W 1 ti RVg4-'4ti ~•IF4.~.n`1~,1 <br />~SSXJES <br />6514902276 P.09i12 <br />Ol<~7YJrJ.~U t--, ~JD <br />I. What legal principles apply to the use of public facilities, and what regulations <br />may a city adopt governing use? <br />~. iTndez the City's current facility use policy, if a community group rents aCity- <br />ownedmeetingroom, may the group exclude members of the public tom (l) <br />attending the meeting, andlo~r (a) joining tie prgaaization? <br />ANALYSYS <br />X. What I.+egat Prigctples Apply To The Uat Of petblie p'aciiittes, And What <br />~tegnl$tions May A City Adopt Gaverni~ng Use? <br />• <br />The First Amendment applies to governrttentally-owned property when the gov~tlment <br />regulates access to governmental property sought for purposes of expression. The <br />constitutaonelity of $ovemm~antai action is determined by the public forum doctrine and the <br />doctrine of reaso~aab)e time, place $nd manner restriCtign. Under tl-is framesrock,, a city c$nnat <br />restrict the use of city meeting facilities so as to deny eecess to any particular group. Rather, <br />access must be allowed without regard to the viewpoints of the organization. The analysis <br />supporting this conclusion is presentied below. <br />A. The Public Foraan Doctri®e <br />The restrictions that care be placed~on speech depends on the rtatliXe of the relevant <br />forum.. Government owned property has been divided into three categories for purposes of <br />forum analysis: (X) traditional public fora, (2) designated public fora, and {3) nonpublic fora. <br />Perr~- Educ Assn v Percy Local Educators' Assn, 460 U.S. 37, 44.46 (1983); Paulsen v <br />Coup of Nassau, 925 F.2d 63, 6$-69 (tad Cir.1991). A traditions] public forum is one which <br />by "long tradition or by government fiat has been devoted to assembly end debate." PeI , 46p <br />U.S. at 45, Examples oftradidorlat pubKo fora utalude streets, park4, and public sidewalks. l;~ <br />The second category of government property is the designated public foorum (sometunes called <br />a "Iimuitcd" public forum). This is public property that the state has opened to the public fox <br />expressive activity_ eat _, 460 U.S. at 45. It may be opened for all expressive activity, or <br />designated for more limited purposes such as use by cetcaitt groups, ceztain subjects, 4r for 8 <br />limited period of time. Examples of designated public fora are meeting facilities, t~nunicipal <br />theatees, and boazd meetings_ Widnzar y. Vincent, 454 U.S. 263 (198X); South tern <br />Promotions. Ltd, y. Conrad, 420 U.S. S46 (19?~. The third category is the nonpublic forum, <br />which is public property that is not by tradition or desfg~nation a. fog for public <br />communication. Fan 925 F.2d at 6$-69. It consists of property usually incompatible with <br />