Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/112475
Sarasota News Leader March 1, 2013 Page 51 only if the ordinance is ���content-neutral��� and The new language, he added, ���doesn���t address provides ���the least amount of regulation nec- the purpose for the exchange��� between the person on the road and a person in a vehicle. essary to achieve the objective.��� The emergency ordinance includes the language, ���This section is intended to be narrowly-tailored to serve the significant government interest of public safety, and to leave open ample alternative channels for distribution, receipt, and exchange upon the public sidewalks or other areas of the Public Right-ofWay not outlined [in the ordinance].��� DeMarsh pointed out that since the existing ordinance was limited to prohibiting the solicitation of donations in the public rights of way, ���We believe the legal argument we would face in defending it is it chooses between types of speech.��� Furthermore, DeMarsh told the commissioners, the new ordinance defines ���road��� as ���roadbed, islands, medians, travel lanes, turn lanes and all ways open to travel by operators of motorized vehicles within unincorporated Sarasota County.��� PROBLEMATIC ENFORCEMENT? When Barbetta asked whether the County Attorney���s Office had consulted with the Sarasota County Sheriff���s Office on the changes, DeMarsh said a copy of the proposed ordinance had been provided to Sheriff Tom Knight���s legal counsel, who had talked with Deputy County Attorney Rick J. Elbrecht about it. The Sarasota County Commission sits in session. Photo by Norman Schimmel