City staff warns planning commissioner against commenting on commission matters under Brown Act

Jim Cruchet, a member of the city's Planning Commission, began public comment at a Twentynine Palms City Council meeting to discuss commercial campgrounds and RV parks in rural areas.

Staff member Patrick King interrupted and told Cruchet that recent legal developments under the Brown Act bar a planning commissioner from addressing the council on matters that are within the planning commission's jurisdiction unless the topic has been placed on the council's agenda. King said the restriction exists because a public comment made in that context could be transmitted to the rest of the planning commission, creating a Brown Act exposure.

The exchange began after Cruchet introduced himself and said he wanted to offer the planning commission's perspective on commercial campgrounds. King said, in part, "there's been some recent developments in the law that under the Brown Act, it's not appropriate for him to address the council on this ... unless it's an agendized issue." Cruchet responded that he would have handled things differently had he known, and the brief back-and-forth ended without a council action on the item.

The discussion occurred during the meeting's public comment period; the council did not agendize the campground regulations during the session and took no formal action on the topic. The council reiterates established public-comment rules at the start of the meeting, including the three-minute time limit per speaker.

No formal direction to staff or referral to the planning commission was recorded on the transcript for this exchange.