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San Diego Not Quite Off The Hook On Brown Act Case

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A citizen group may yet be able to file a Brown Act lawsuit against the City of San Diego, challenging its past practice of permitting public comment on only day day of its weekly two-day city council meeting, according to a new ruling by the Second District Court of Appeal.

For many years San Diego permitted non-agenda public comment only on Tuesday mornings even though the City Council also meets on Mondays. The city’s argument was that the two convenings represent one continuous public meeting. The Center for Local Government Accountability sued, claiming a violation of the Brown Act. The city adopted a new ordinance permitting non-agenda public comment on Mondays also and argued that the lawsuit was moot. San Diego Superior Court Judge Gregory Pollack agreed, but the Fourth District Court of Appeal overturned on appeal.

Writing for a unanimous three-judge panel, Presiding Justice Judith McConnell noted that the city had not conceded that it had violated the Brown Act in the past and could change its ordinance again in the future. For this reason, she said, the Center may have a “viable claim” for declaratory relief – a judge’s ruling ordering the city to permanently abandon the no-comment-on-Monday practice. The appellate court remanded the case to Pollack.

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