The Boulder City Council on June 26 directed city staff to draft new rules on open comment. It is the latest attempt to keep meetings running smoothly following more than a year of disruptions, many involving calls for the council to take a stand against the war in Gaza and some including verbal attacks on Jewish councilmembers.
Open comment is the section at the start of council meetings where speakers typically have two minutes to speak directly to councilmembers on any subject. Proposed changes include halting video broadcasts of speakers, starting meetings earlier, limiting open comment to 45 minutes and giving councilmembers more flexibility to respond immediately to hate speech.
Final approval of the new rules is expected later this summer, after councilmembers return from their summer break in late July.
For more than a year, residents have used open comment to condemn Israel’s war in Gaza and call for councilmembers to approve a resolution supporting a ceasefire, at times alleging city councilmembers bear responsibility for the violence. In recent months, remarks have included hate speech, with one commenter calling a Jewish councilmember a Nazi and a “Jewish supremacist.”
In response, councilmembers have already taken several steps while also seeking to balance First Amendment protections. In recent months, they have banned large signs, temporarily moved meetings online and reduced the time allotted for councilmembers to respond to public comments. More recently, the city manager has started suspending people who violate decorum. For one recent meeting, councilmembers voted to cancel open comment altogether.
Council chambers have come under renewed scrutiny following the June 1 firebombing on Pearl Street, in which a man threw Molotov cocktails at participants in the weekly Run for Their Lives walk while shouting “Free Palestine.” Federal prosecutors have said the suspect made anti-Zionist remarks – including that he wanted to kill “all Zionist people” – some of which echoed language heard during recent public comments at council meetings.
The attack has shortened councilmembers’ patience for disruptive rhetoric, prompting Thursday’s discussion. The proposed rule changes had majority support, though some councilmembers opposed certain provisions.
Among the changes sought by councilmembers is broadcasting only audio, not video, of speakers during open comment. Attendees who have drawn attention to Gaza’s humanitarian crisis or shouted at councilmembers have often used the lectern to display posters, flags or graphic images.
Another proposal would start meetings at 5:30 p.m., instead of 6, limit open comment to 45 minutes and begin regular agenda items at 6:30. The goal, councilmembers said, is to make meetings more predictable and allow residents to attend just for the main agenda, without sitting through open comment. Speakers who don’t get a chance to speak would be prioritized at the following meetings.
Earlier this year, council moved its responses to open comment to the end of meetings and limited them to two minutes per councilmember. The change was part of an effort to prioritize other city business. But several councilmembers said they now want the ability to respond in real time to remarks they consider antisemitic or hateful. Councilmembers said they wanted the presiding officer to call out hateful speech during open comment and to give councilmembers 30 seconds each at the end of open comment to respond if desired.
In response to recent incidents, the city manager has suspended four people from attending meetings in person, according to city records. Rule violations included speaking without permission, refusing to lower a sign, holding a flag that blocked others’ views and standing during a city staff presentation. The suspensions ranged from 30 to 60 days. Some councilmembers said people should face longer bans for repeated violations. But the City Attorney Teresa Tate told councilmembers on Thursday that such suspensions are decided by the city manager.
Since January 2024, the city council has spent more than two and a half hours in recess due to disruptions, roughly the length of some council meetings, according to a Boulder Reporting Lab analysis.
John Herrick is a reporter for The Boulder Reporting Lab. His work frequently appears on air at KUNC 91.5 FM and online at KUNC.org. Contact John at John@boulderreportinglab.org.