The city has an interest in the protection of residential privacy, safety, well-being and tranquility of a person's private residence, and in protecting citizens from unwanted speech when they are a captive audience within their private residence. The City Council finds that without resorting to targeted residential picketing, ample opportunities exist for those otherwise engaged in targeted residential picketing to exercise constitutionally protected freedoms of speech and expression.
(A) Definitions. For the purpose of this section, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
OCCUPANT. Any person who has some legal right to possess or control the residential building.
PICKETING. The act of exercising constitutionally protected freedom of speech and expression by 1 or more persons on a public street, pathway or on other public property.
TARGETED RESIDENTIAL PICKETING.
(a) Marching, standing, patrolling, or picketing by one or more persons in front of or adjacent to particular residential building that is directed solely at a particular residential building in a manner that adversely affects the safety, security, privacy, or tranquility of an occupant of the building without the consent of the occupants; or
(b) Marching, standing, patrolling, or picketing by one or more persons in front of or adjacent to particular residential building which prevents an occupant of a residential building from gaining access to or exiting from the property on which the residential building is located without the consent of the occupants.
(B) Targeted residential picketing unlawful. It is unlawful for any person to conduct targeted residential picketing within the city. It is not unlawful for otherwise permissible picketing to occur on public streets and sidewalks that run through a residential area.
(C) Penalty. Every person convicted of a violation of any provision of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
(Prior Code, § 7.18) (Am. 2021-05, passed 3-15-2021) Penalty, see § 70.99