Social Circle council adopts public-assembly ordinance, limits spontaneous events to Friendship Park

The Social Circle Mayor and Council adopted an ordinance regulating public assembly that, among other changes, says spontaneous events should be held in Friendship Park unless an event is already planned there. A staff presenter told the council the version before them incorporated revisions circulated that morning and restored language reflecting the police chief's concerns.

Why it matters: The ordinance narrows where impromptu gatherings may occur and is intended to balance public-safety concerns raised by the police chief with residents' ability to hold spontaneous events downtown. Council members debated minor wording changes but moved to adopt the updated text.

A staff member who summarized the ordinance said the revisions included a grammatical correction and a provision sending spontaneous events to Friendship Park "unless there's already event planned there or it's Friendship Festival or something like that." Tracea moved to approve the ordinance; Steve seconded the motion. The roll call was not read aloud in the transcript, but the presiding official announced the motion passed.

The ordinance was discussed as unfinished business after the consent agenda. The staff presenter also said earlier concerns from the police chief had been added back into the draft; the transcript does not include the police chief's remarks verbatim. The council did not identify an ordinance number on the record in the transcript and no vote tally by name was recorded.

The council proceeded to the next item after the ordinance passed.