Updated with PDF of legal memo
The Burlington city council voted 11-3 on Monday night to release a formerly secret memo from the city attorney's office defending the constitutionality of the Church Street Marketplace no-trespass ordinance.
Councilor Norm Blais (D-Ward 6), who joined fellow Democrats Dave Hartnett (Ward 4) and Chip Mason (Ward 5) in the minority, said proponents of keeping the document confidential were not trying to hide something. "There's never been anything to hide but always something to protect," Blais declared, referring to the claim of attorney-client privilege.
He said that assertion of privileged communication, which had been used to justify the secrecy of the memo, was based on the council's "duty to protect our ability to converse in a confidential manner with our attorneys."
Blais' claim of "nothing to hide" appears to be largely substantiated by the contents of the 14-page memo written by Assistant City Attorney Gregg Meyer and dated June 12, 2012. Download No Trespass Memo and Proposed Ordinance
One point that could be seen as potentially problematic from the city's perspective is contained in a footnote on page 10, in which Meyer writes that proposed changes he suggests for a draft version of the Marketplace ordinance "could be applied to the city hall park and library ordinances to minimize risk of constitutional challenges as well."
The city council has not amended those earlier no-trespass ordinances to reflect the suggestions Meyer makes. City Councilor Karen Paul (I-Ward 6) says Meyer's footnote was probably the substantive reason why many councilors did not want the memo released.