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Residents urge better access to public hearing materials and question three-minute comment rule
Summary
Residents and a professor told the Morris City Council that agenda materials were hard to find and that the council’s three-minute public-comment rule can disadvantage opponents; council members said materials are available at city hall and in notices but acknowledged communication gaps and discussed options to table decisions.
Residents and academics told the Morris City Council on Aug. 26 that the city’s public-hearing process can leave opponents without adequate time or access to information needed to respond.
Dr. Bzansen, a professor at the University of Minnesota Morris, told the council that at a recent TIFF discussion proponents were allowed extended time while opponents were limited to three minutes, calling that “viewpoint discrimination” and urging the council to review its public-comment policies. “That’s viewpoint discrimination. That’s unconstitutional,” Dr. Bzansen said.
The protest prompted an extended council discussion about how and when project materials are made…
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