Grapevine tosses around alternatives to controversial loitering and solicitation law

The Grapevine City Council considered alternatives to outlawing political campaigning at the Community Activities Center this week.

During a Tuesday night workshop, the council discussed the options of having an alternate entry and exit to the building for voters or designating a specific campaigning area outside the center. The council on Dec. 6 tabled a proposed ordinance prohibiting loitering and solicitation at the center year-round, including early voting periods but not election days, after receiving complaints from the public about unwanted campaigning at the center. The council decided that effectively banning campaigning at the center would violate free speech rights.

The center, an early voting site, has a fitness room and offers exercise classes. There has been aggressive campaigning at the center in the past year, Councilwoman Darlene Freed said. She said changing the entrance would be a good idea.

"I trust that staff will figure out how to do it, whether it be the north or south entrance," she said. "I think that we should really give that an opportunity to see how it works. And if we need to do something more later, then we can do something more later."

Other council members agreed, adding that signs would need to be posted to direct voters to the polls.

Councilman Mike Lease said the established 100-foot campaigning buffer needs to be enforced. The real problems is with people campaigning to voters exercising inside the center, even before the day of early voting, he said.

"We need to take some stance and we have to have a police officer there to make sure it is not happening," he said. "It is a law. It is already on the books. We just need to enforce it."

At the earliest, the proposed ordinance may return to the council's meeting on Jan. 17, 2012.