Sacramento City Code § 12.74.010 Legislative findings.
12.74.010 Legislative findings.
A. The primary use and purpose of the City Hall facility is to conduct city business. The mayor and city council have their offices there, as do the charter officers and their staffs and several city departments that provide services citywide. In addition, the mayor and city council, the planning and design commission, and other city commissions, boards, and committees hold public meetings there. And occasionally the city uses the Plaza for its own programs and activities.
B. Because the City Hall facility serves as the seat of city government, the Plaza is often the site of public protests and demonstrations, not just on city issues but also on regional, state, and national affairs.
C. This chapter is enacted to reconcile these potentially competing uses. It is intended to allow members of the public to use the exterior of the City Hall facility for exercising their constitutional rights of free speech and assembly subject to reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions. At the same time, it is also intended to ensure a working environment for city employees that is free from unreasonable distraction and disruption; to ensure access to, and unobstructed use of, the City Hall facility; to preserve and protect the City Hall facility; to prevent dangerous, unlawful, or incompatible uses of the City Hall facility; to ensure financial accountability for damage to the City Hall facility; and to coordinate multiple uses of the Plaza so as to minimize the impact on city business and city employees. (Ord. 2012-040 § 1)