Barre City Council on July 1 approved a public conduct ordinance and a companion city policy establishing a process for issuing notices of trespass on city property, after heated public comment and debate among councilors.

Supporters said the measures give the city a tool to address disruptive behavior in public spaces while opponents warned the language is vague and could disproportionately affect people experiencing homelessness or other marginalized groups.

The ordinance passed on a voice vote with a single recorded nay; the council later approved the trespass policy by a similar margin. The city manager and police chief described operational safeguards and said staff will generally call the police to implement no-trespass notices.

Councilor Spalding voiced constitutional concerns on the floor, citing “the vagueness of someone being, giving a notice of trespass for being unreasonably disruptive, without defining that term,” and argued the ordinance risks arbitrary enforcement.

Several speakers from the public and council raised related due-process and equity questions. Councilor Guston asked for a three-month review with data collection and an in‑depth analysis of all actions taken under the policy, and the manager agreed to return with follow-up reporting.

City staff said the ordinance contains no fines, and that the policy creates an administrative appeal process and hearing procedure that will be recorded and may be closed to the public at the appellant’s request. The effective date would be approximately July 19 if published as planned.

In response to requests at the meeting, the council directed staff to add explicit language tying the trespass policy to the city’s existing First Amendment policy and to add conflict-of-interest safeguards to ensure that a person who issues a notice will not be the decisionmaker on that person’s appeal.

The council and manager said implementation guidance will emphasize that city staff should contact the police department to issue trespass notices rather than confront individuals directly, and the manager committed to return with clarifying amendments at the council’s next meeting.