WALNUT CREEK — Want to protest at Rossmoor? First, apply for a permit and make sure you organize your demonstration during business hours, please.
Those proposed rules and a list of other do’s and don’ts in organizing protests against police brutality and other issues will be reviewed by the board of directors of the Golden Rain Foundation — the nonprofit that essentially manages the East Bay’s largest retirement community. The foundation’s staff brought the long list of proposed rules to the board’s policy committee for an initial look this week.
The rules were prompted by three small demonstrations held in late May and early June in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. A staff memo for the policy committee notes that “the protest organizers did not notify GRF of their plans in advance” and that some demonstrators who were standing in the median in a common area of the community refused to move onto the sidewalk when asked to do so by security staff.
Among other requirements the the foundation staff has proposed, protest organizers would have to:
- Pay a $500 deposit to get the ball rolling;
- Apply for a permit at least three days before a planned protest;
- Pick a maximum one-hour time slot during the day for the demonstration;
- Ensure all participants social distance and stay out of roadways;
- Plan on paying for any damage and cleanup costs;
- Host protests only in an area bounded by three roads.
After receiving dozens of emails and some calls at the beginning of the meeting, the policy committee — comprised of some foundation board directors — rejected many of the proposed rules, including the deposit and time limit.
But it endorsed the requirements that protests only be allowed between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. and recommended that permits be applied for at least one day in advance.
The full board will consider those recommendations before making a final decision, likely in August.
The proposed rules didn’t sit well with some Rossmoor residents, some of whom voiced their concerns directly to the policy committee and others via a Zoom webinar meeting Tuesday afternoon.
They pointed to the Davis Sterling Act, which protects residents’ rights to assemble in common area space for political discussion without having to pay a deposit or fee to use that space. One resident lawyer also urged the policymakers to tread carefully when it comes to free speech issues protected by the First Amendment.
Golden Rain CEO Tim O’Keefe told the committee that the Davis Sterling Act doesn’t apply here because the foundation is a private organization, not a “common interest area” like a homeowner’s association.
The policy committee agreed Tuesday that the rules for protests should only apply to the Golden Rain property — essentially the common area of the community — and not infringe on the individual housing associations (referred to as “mutuals”) that comprise the Rossmoor neighborhoods.
“This proposal has nothing to do with the content of any demonstrations that have taken place,” O’Keefe told the committee Tuesday, noting that Golden Rain cannot prohibit demonstrations, but staff wanted to ensure rules for “how” to demonstrate. “This comes back to safety.”
He also said the proposed rules had been reviewed by the organization’s attorney.
In addition to the requirements about protests during daytime hours and getting a permit in advance, the new guidelines would require organizers to at least communicate rules to attendees about county public health guidance (in light of COVID-19) as well as new rules about sticking to sidewalks and not gathering in the roadway. Organizers could not be expected to ensure that everyone is following rules, the committee agreed.
A new policy will have to go to the Golden Rain board, which will next meet in August.