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City attorney recommends ordinance to limit commercial public-records requests to curb data-scraping burdens
Summary
City attorney recommended drafting an ordinance to prohibit or limit commercial-use public-records requests that act as broad 'fishing expeditions,' citing repeated, resource-intensive requests from out-of-state companies; council members signaled support while emphasizing protections for legitimate resident requests.
City attorney told the council that many public-records requests received by the clerk’s office appear to be commercial in nature and aimed at broad data collection for redistribution. He said the statute allows cities to draft ordinances limiting commercial-use public-records requests and that many municipalities have enacted such provisions to reduce burdens on staff. "We can deny those already if they lack reasonable particularity," the city attorney said, and recommended the council consider a targeted ordinance to avoid wasting staff time on fishing expeditions.
Council members asked for safeguards so the ordinance would not prevent legitimate resident requests. Staff said they have a draft ready and offered to file it for future council discussion. The council expressed preliminary support and requested the draft be distributed for review.
