Sunnyside council adopts targeted change to public-comment rule to resolve pending lawsuit

Sunnyside City Council voted Dec. 1 to adopt a resolution that updates Rule 8.3 of the council’s rules of procedure, removing language that city attorneys described as infringing on free-speech protections.

City attorney Julie Norton told the council the specific change was necessary “in order to enable plaintiff in the Fernandez matter to dismiss the lawsuit against the city and the mayor, we need to change rule 8.3 as soon as possible.” Norton said the resolution adopts the same wording the council reviewed the previous week and that the revisions remove content‑based restrictions while preserving the city’s ability to regulate disruptive behavior.

Councilors moved and seconded the measure and adopted the resolution by voice vote after no debate. Mayor (unnamed) announced the motion passed.

The council’s action was presented as a narrowly tailored step so the city can comply with legal advice and then continue reviewing the remainder of its rules of procedure at a later date. Norton said staff and the city’s outside counsel had recommended approving rule 8.3 immediately to align with the legal settlement; she described the adopted language as the identical wording councilors had already reviewed.

The measure does not change other sections of the rules, which the council said it will continue to revise as part of a larger rewrite. Councilors did not request amendments at the meeting and no further public comment on Rule 8.3 was recorded during the study session. The council indicated it would fold this approved language into the broader rules project going forward.