Sussex County to review Newton Green permitting after civil-rights group raises concerns
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Summary
A civil-rights advocacy group told Sussex County commissioners its Newton Green policy likely violates the First Amendment; county counsel said proposed changes will be reviewed in executive session and a draft ordinance and permit may be brought to a future meeting.
Ken Collins, a resident of Andover Township, told the Sussex County Board of County Commissioners that the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) had notified the county that its Newton Green policy raises constitutional problems and asked for a substantive response (Ken Collins: “They asked for a substantive response within 2 weeks.”).
County counsel responded during public comment that his office has been reviewing the ordinance since its adoption, made an earlier change, and recently provided written materials to FIRE; counsel said he disagrees with many of FIRE’s positions but does not want the county to be forced into unnecessary litigation and expects to review proposed changes in executive session before preparing a draft ordinance and draft permit for a future public meeting (County counsel: “We’re gonna review those tonight, and ... I expect at a future meeting ... to bring them perhaps a draft ordinance, a draft, and a draft permit consistent with, quite frankly, my recommendations.”).
Why it matters: Newton Green is a public forum commonly used for rallies and demonstrations; changes to county permitting or policy would affect how protests and public assemblies are regulated on county-owned property and could alter local enforcement and permit requirements.
What was said and next steps: Collins urged the commissioners to make the changes FIRE recommended and to adopt them promptly after the executive session. County counsel said proposed changes have been drafted by the county’s attorneys, will be discussed in the executive session, and that a formal draft ordinance and permit could come back to the board at a subsequent meeting for public consideration; he emphasized a desire to avoid litigation.
No formal vote on changes occurred at the public meeting. The board adopted a resolution to enter executive session that specifically lists Newton Green policy and related legal matters among the topics to be discussed in closed session. The county’s counsel indicated a future public agenda item will present the draft language for consideration.
Provenance: topicintro SEG 088; topfinish SEG 1611.
Speakers quoted or referenced in this article are drawn from the meeting record and include Ken Collins (public commenter) and the county counsel (responding official).