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Berryville Town Council repeals demonstration law
Berryville Town Council voted to repeal their previous law concerning demonstrations and parades at the Tuesday night meeting.
“If it doesn’t have constitutional muster, then we will change it,” said Town Manager Keith Dalton.
Last month, the Virginia Organizing Project, a nonprofit social justice organization, attempted to demonstrate at the Board of Supervisors meeting in Berryville.
They were restricted from doing so due to the town's ordinance requiring a permit for three or more people.
The VOP claimed the ordinance was unconstitutional.
Other restrictions included not allowing a demonstration in the same location twice in one year.
The town was contacted by the American Civil Liberties Union in March.
After consulting with legal council, Berryville Town Council took immediate action to repeal the law.
The existing law was put into effect in 1991 when a branch of the Ku Klux Klan demonstrated in Berryville in an attempt to recruit in the area.
Dalton said the action by the council was making the “permitting and appeal process more streamlined.”
The ordinance now defines a public assembly as a meeting of ten or more people.
Permits can now be submitted up to five days prior to the assembly, and issuances should occur within three days.
Tax rates for 2008
On a separate motion, the Council also passed the 2008 tax rates for all real property including real estate, personal property and machinery and tools.
The rates remain consistent with 2007. Those rates are $0.0989 per $100 for real estate, $1.00 on $100 on personal property and $1.00 per $100 on tangible machinery and tools.
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