Oakland City Council may reduce seats to cut meeting access
Oakland City Administrator Deanna Santana is proposing to sharply reduce public access to City Council meetings in an effort to avoid disruptions such as one last week, when demonstrations over a fatal police shooting prompted the council to shut its meeting down.
The most dramatic change would eliminate nearly half the 214 seats in the council's City Hall chambers by prohibiting people from sitting in the upstairs galleries.
Santana's plan would also bar people from standing in the chambers or congregating in the hallway outside. Both have been common practice for years, allowing scores of additional people to attend the council's meetings.
The proposed rules were the subject of two meetings involving Santana and other high-level city staffers over the past week, several sources said. Karen Boyd, a spokeswoman for the city, said Thursday that the changes are still under consideration but would be finalized in time for the next scheduled council meeting, on Tuesday.
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Oakland-council-may-cut-meeting-access-3901020.php#ixzz27k4z6gdJ
