Does a developer meeting with a town councilman and his planning commissioner violate the Brown Act?

“Serial meetings with developers – I think they’re dangerous, but apparently legal,” said Loomis Mayor Walt Scherer.

He added that those types of meetings don’t “endear public confidence in local government.”

Scherer made the comments after three attorneys representing the League of Cities and the California Newspaper Association informed attendees at a recent Brown Act workshop that those types of meetings are legal.

They said the Brown Act guarantees the public’s right to attend and participate in meetings of local legislative bodies, but the First Amendment guarantees an individual’s right to petition his elected officials.

“Generally, individuals have the right to meet with anybody, anytime, anywhere. It is not a Brown Act violation,” said Tom Newton, attorney for the newspaper association.

Scherer said the Brown Act is “about doing the public’s business in public, in a forum where everyone can participate.”

Scherer requested the workshop be held in Loomis and said it was “the best educational forum I’ve ever been to on the Brown Act.”

“We’re bringing a lot of people into government. It’s important that everyone gets this basic information,” he said.

A Brown Act violation occurs when a quorum of a voting body meets without proper noticing of a meeting.

Newton, along with fellow association attorney Jim Ewert and League of Cities attorney Kourtney Burdick, addressed town council, planning commission, members of the parks and open space committee and members of the general public at the July meeting.

Scherer requested the workshop to address possible violations after a developer asked individual council members and their appointed planning commissioners to meet to discuss a project.

Scherer said he felt the meetings were inappropriate, but the attorneys said that as long as a majority of the council members and commissioners did not discuss it among themselves that no violation occurred.

The legal team also warned the public officials and staff members to be wary when sending e-mails. Ewert said that if town staff sends an e-mail to all councilmembers and a councilmember sends a response using “reply all,” then it becomes a meeting.

The attorneys also cautioned the group about using Facebook, Twitter or even being part of an online community bulletin board because there is the potential for a Brown Act violation.