HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda Statement 1984/06/26 Item 17 COUNCIL AGENDA STATEMENT
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Meeting Date 6/1 3/84
ITEM TITLE: Ordinance c31_07..9 Amending Section 5. 08. 010 (D) of the
Chula Vista Municipal Code relating to the distribution
of handbills on automobiles
SECOND READING AND ADOPTION ,
SUBMITTED BY: City Attorney (4/5ths Vote: Yes No x )
This amendment will exempt handbills protected by the First
Amendment from the restriction on commercial handbills prohibiting
their placement on automobiles.
RECOMMENDATION: Adopt amendment
DISCUSSION:
We have recently received a letter from an attorney representing
The Right to Life Council of San Diego protesting the application
of Chula Vista Municipal Code Section 5.08.010 to their
activities. They distribute handbills in support of their
position in shopping center parking lots by placing them on the
windshields of automobiles.
While restrictions on distribution of commercial handbills have
been upheld, ordinances which purport to prohibit distribution of
handbills containing subject matter which is protected by the
First Amendment have been found to be unconstitutional. The First
Amendment generally protects political and religious speech. The
handbills distributed by The Right to Life Council of San Diego
would fall under this First Amendment protection. Since our
ordinance would prohibit their distribution methods, the
likelihood is that our ordinance would be found to be
unconstitutionally broad.
There is a case, Van Nuys Publishing Company v. City of Thousand
Oaks, 5 C. 3d 817 (1971 ) which has struck down a similar ordinance
which prohibited distribution of handbills to private homes.
Generally, ordinances involving homes may be more restrictive than
those involving automobiles because the home is considered to be a
sanctuary protected by the right to privacy. This being the case,
we would have even less latitude in the distribution of handbills
on automobiles. For this reason, it is my recommendation that we
amend our ordinance to exempt First Amendment speech from the
prohibition on the distribution of handbills on automobiles.
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Form A-113 (Rev. 11/79)