Friederich Koenig v. Town of Yucca Valley

MEMORANDUM

Friederich Koenig (“Koenig”) appeals the district court’s grant of a motion to dismiss his claim that the Town of Yucca Valley (“Town”) violated his First Amendment rights.

1. First, we find that Koenig has not adequately alleged that the Town has, in fact, restricted what he may say. Nothing in the complaint or record suggests that Koenig was prevented from presenting his materials directly to the Planning Commission, and indeed, the complaint and record reflect that Koenig presented his filing in full to the Town Council, the body charged with the final decision on permit applications. Moreover, Koenig not only submitted his documents to the Town Council, but the judicially noticed meeting minutes in the record show that he in fact spoke in person at both the Commission and the Council hearings. Given these facts, we agree with the district court’s conclusion that the Town did not prevent or restrain Koenig’s free speech.

2. We additionally reject Koenig’s contention that by including public comments in the staff report, the Town transformed the document into a limited public forum. Neither our First Amendment precedent nor the text of California’s Brown Act…