HomeMy WebLinkAboutORD 1453Ordinance No. 1453
An Ordinance of the City Council of the City of Palm Desert, California,
Amending Sections 11.01.010, 11.01.080, and 11.01.100 of the Palm Desert
Municipal Code to Update Regulations Governing the Distribution and
Posting of Handbills in City Parks, and Making a Finding of Exemption
Under CEQA
City Attorney’s Summary
This ordinance updates Sections 11.01.080(N) and (O) to modernize the
City’s regulations governing the distribution and posting of handbills in City
parks. The updated provisions replace the existing permit requirements with
content-neutral conduct standards that serve the City’s interests in
maintaining clean, safe, and orderly parks while ensuring consistency with
current First Amendment law. For in-hand distribution, the ordinance
establishes clear rules of conduct that apply equally to all speakers and all
messages, without requiring advance permission. For posting on park
structures, the ordinance establishes a designated bulletin board system
with objective, content-neutral standards. Definitions of “handbill” and
“posting” are added to Section 11.01.0 10 for clarity, and Section 11.01.100
is updated to confirm that its obstruction prohibition applies to distribution
activity.
Whereas, public parks are traditional public forums in which the City welcomes free
expression and the exercise of rights protected by the First Amendment and Article I,
Section 2(a) of the California Constitution; and
Whereas, the City has a legitimate and substantial interest in maintaining its parks
as clean, safe, and accessible spaces for all users, including an interest in preventing
litter, maintaining unobstructed pathways, and preserving the aesthetics of park
structures; and
Whereas, the City Council finds that those interests are best served by clear,
content-neutral conduct standards that apply equally to all park users and all forms of
expression, consistent with current First Amendment law governing traditional public
forums; and
Whereas, with respect to in-hand distribution of literature, current First Amendment
law provides that litter prevention and park maintenance are properly addressed through
rules prohibiting and penalizing the act of littering and obstruction, rather than through
advance permit requirements; and
Whereas, with respect to the posting of materials on park structures, a designated
bulletin board system with objective, content-neutral criteria is a well-established and
effective means of accommodating public expression while protecting the City’s aesthetic
and maintenance interests; and
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Whereas, the City Council finds that these updates will provide parks staff and
code enforcement personnel with clearer, more practical, and more effective guidance;
and
Whereas, all other legal prerequisites to the adoption of this ordinance have been
satisfied.
Now, Therefore, The City Council Of The City Of Palm Desert Does Hereby Ordain As
Follows:
Section 1. Incorporation of Recitals.
The recitals set forth above are hereby incorporated by reference and adopted as
findings of the City Council.
Section 2. Amendment of Section 11.01.010 — Definitions.
Section 11.01.010 of the Palm Desert Municipal Code is hereby amended to add the
following definitions in alphabetical order:
“Handbill” means any printed or written matter, including any leaflet, flyer, circular,
pamphlet, newsletter, or similar document, intended for distribution to members of the
public.
“Posting” means affixing, attaching, taping, stapling, nailing, or otherwise securing
any handbill, sign, notice, or other material to any building, structure, pole, wire, tree,
fence, bench, or other architectural or natural feature within a City park, wh ether
temporarily or permanently.
Section 3. Amendment of Section 11.01.080(N) and (O).
Subsections (N) and (O) of Section 11.01.080 of the Palm Desert Municipal Code are
hereby amended in their entirety to read as follows:
N. Distribution of Handbills.
1. Protected Activity. The hand-to-hand distribution of handbills to willing
recipients in City parks is a constitutionally protected activity. Nothing in this subsection
shall be construed to prohibit or require a permit for such distribution, except as prov ided
in subsection (N)(4) for organized distribution events.
2. Prohibited Conduct. No person distributing handbills in a City park
shall:
a. Place, throw, scatter, or deposit any handbill on the ground, on
any park surface, on any unattended vehicle, or in any location other than directly into the
hands of a willing recipient;
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b. Approach or follow any person who has clearly declined to
receive a handbill, or who has verbally or by gesture indicated that they do not wish to be
approached;
c. Block, obstruct, or impede the free passage of any person
along any walkway, pathway, or park entrance, as further provided in Section 11.01.100;
d. Engage in any conduct that violates any other provision of this
chapter, including without limitation the prohibitions on littering (subsection J), obstructing
pathways (Section 11.01.100), and disturbing park activities (subsection M).
3. Litter Responsibility. Any person who distributes handbills in a City
park shall make reasonable efforts to retrieve discarded handbills in the immediate vicinity
of their distribution activity before departing the park. This provision shall not be constru ed
to hold a distributor responsible for handbills discarded by recipients at locations remote
from the distribution activity.
4. Organized Distribution Events. Distribution activity that is part of a
group gathering of twenty-five or more persons, or that is conducted in conjunction with a
special event as defined in Section 11.01.010, shall be subject to the park use permit
requirements of Section 11.01.060 and Chapter 11.04. Nothing in this subsection
authorizes the denial of a permit based on the content or viewpoint of any handbill or
message to be distributed.
O. Posting of Materials on Park Structures - Designated Bulletin Boards.
1. Posting Prohibited Except as Provided. No person shall engage in
posting, as defined in Section 11.01.010, on any building, structure, pole, wire, tree,
fence, bench, or other architectural or natural feature within a City park, except upon a
bulletin board or other location expressly designated by the City for that purp ose pursuant
to subsection (O)(2).
2. Designated Bulletin Boards. The Director may designate one or more
bulletin boards at each City park facility for the posting of handbills and notices by
members of the public. The Director shall post signage at each bulletin board identifying it
as a designated public posting location.
3. Bulletin Board Use Standards. The following standards shall govern
the use of designated bulletin boards:
a. Any person may submit materials for posting to the Director
without advance approval of content, subject to the standards in this subsection. City staff
or the designated park facility manager shall post submitted materials promptly upon
receipt, subject only to the content-neutral standards of this subsection;
b. No single posting may exceed 8.5 inches by 11 inches in size;
c. No person may post materials in a manner that covers,
overlaps, or removes materials previously posted by another person;
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d. Materials that have been posted for more than thirty (30) days
may be removed by the Director.
e. Materials that are tattered, illegible, or pose a safety hazard
may be removed by City staff at any time .
4. Prohibited Posting Content. The City may remove materials that:
a. Are obscene as defined by applicable law;
b. Constitute a true threat of harm to an identifiable person or
group; or
c. Are commercial advertisements for for-profit goods or
services, which the City does not permit on designated bulletin boards in order to
preserve space for noncommercial expression.
5. No Permit Required for Bulletin Board Use. Use of a designated
bulletin board pursuant to this subsection does not require a permit or prior approval.
6. Maintenance. The City shall maintain designated bulletin boards in a
usable condition and shall ensure that they remain accessible during regular park hours.”
Section 4. Amendment of Section 11.01.100 — Obstructing Pathways.
Section 11.01.100 of the Palm Desert Municipal Code is hereby amended to add the
following sentence at the end of the existing provision:
“No persons shall assemble, collect or gather together in any walk, driveway,
passageway or pathway in any park or in other places set apart for the travel of persons
or vehicles in or through any park or recreation area, or occupy the same so that the free
passage or use thereof by persons or vehicles passing along the same shall be
obstructed in any unreasonable manner. This section applies to any person, including any
person distributing handbills or engaging in other expressive activity, whose conduct
blocks, obstructs, or unreasonably impedes the free passage of persons or vehicles along
any walkway, driveway, passageway, or pathway in a City park, regardless of the purpose
of such conduct.”
Section 5. CEQA Exemption.
The City Council finds that the adoption of this Ordinance is exempt from review under
the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) (Pub. Resources Code § 21000 et seq.)
and the CEQA Guidelines (14 Cal. Code Regs. § 15000 et seq.). This Ordinance is not a
“project” within the meaning of CEQA Guidelines Section 15378(b)(5) because it
constitutes an organizational or administrative activity of government that will not result in
direct or indirect physical changes in the environment. Even if considered a pr oject, the
Ordinance is exempt pursuant to the common sense exemption of CEQA Guidelines
Section 15061(b)(3) because it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that
the activity may have a significant effect on the environment.
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Section 6. Severability.
If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or word of this Ordinance is for any
reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a decision of any court of competent
jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining port ions of this
Ordinance. The City Council hereby declares that it would have adopted this Ordinance,
and each section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, and word thereof, irrespective of
the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, sentences, cl auses, phrases, or
words be declared invalid or unconstitutional.
Section 7. Effective Date and Publication.
This Ordinance shall take effect and be in full force thirty (30) days after its adoption. The
City Clerk is hereby directed to publish a summary of this Ordinance in the Desert Sun, a
newspaper of general circulation published and circulated in the City of Palm Desert,
California, in accordance with Government Code Section 36933.
Section 8. Custodian of Records.
The custodian of records for this Ordinance is the City Clerk and the records comprising
the administrative record are located at 73-510 Fred Waring Drive, Palm Desert, CA.
Adopted on July 9, 2026.
Evan Trubee
Mayor
Attest:
Anthony J. Mejia
City Clerk
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I, Anthony J. Mejia, City Clerk of the City of Palm Desert, California, do hereby
certify that Ordinance No. 1453 is a full, true, and correct copy, and was introduced at a
regular meeting of the Palm Desert City Council on June 25, 2026, and adopted at a regular
meeting of the City Council held on July 9, 2026, by the following vote:
Ayes: Harnik, Moreno, Nestande, Pradetto, and Trubee
Noes: None
Absent: None
Abstain: None
Recused: None
In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the official seal of the City of
Palm Desert, California, on ____________________.
Anthony J. Mejia
City Clerk
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7/13/2026