Springdale Council is considering a new policy that would place parameters on public comment at meetings, as officials review plans for a massive data center in the borough.
The policy would set a three-minute time limit on each speaker during comment periods at the beginning and end of meetings. It would also only allow residents and taxpayers of Springdale to speak.
Councilman Dan Copeland said the policy will likely be voted on at Springdale’s Tuesday night meeting.
The measure, he said, is a reaction to Springdale’s Aug. 6 Planning Commission meeting, where several attendees from outside the borough offered comments.
Copeland said the borough’s previous speaker policy wasn’t clearly defined and the proposed change would set the rules straight.
Borough Manager Terry Carcella said the proposed policy would keep activists and non-residents away from the podium, leaving more time for Springdale taxpayers to comment.
The plot of the proposed data center, though located entirely within Springdale, directly borders a residential area in Cheswick.
Though Cheswick residents might be affected by the large-scale project, Carcella said if the borough made exceptions for Cheswick speakers, it would have to make exceptions for everyone.
Copeland said personally he’d be in favor of allowing Cheswick residents on nearby streets like Duquesne and Shady avenues to speak up about the center.
But he said he’d like to get the new policy on the books, and enforcement procedures could be refined during coming meetings.
Councilman Joe Kern said the proposed policy would place a tighter focus on resident concerns, but he, too, would expect some leniency for speakers from just over the municipal border.
Public comment policies with time limits and restrictions barring non-residents are legal and relatively common features among municipal governments and school boards.
“Agencies are also permitted to limit comment to residents and taxpayers of the area served by the agency,” according to the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records.
But Melissa Melewsky, a lawyer at the Pennsylvania News Media Association, said restrictions on public comment must also align with federal first amendment rights.
Any speaker who could be affected by the proposed data center should be able to say their piece, she said.
Brad Yaksich, president of Cheswick council, said an informational meeting would take place for Cheswick residents with the data center developer at a designated date in the future.
But any concerned Cheswick residents should continue to attend Springdale meetings and bring questions to borough officials, who could relay them to Springdale or the developer, he said.
