Ann Arbor: “No Newspaper” Law Delayed

At its Nov. 21, 2011 meeting, the Ann Arbor city council postponed consideration of a revision to its ordinance on the distribution of handbills and newspapers that, among other things, would give residents the ability to prevent delivery of any undesired newspaper onto their porches by posting a notice expressly forbidding the delivery of a specific paper.

The ordinance revision reads in part: “No corporation, limited liability company, or partnership and no corporate officer or director, managing member, partner, or other person shall cause to be placed any newspaper upon private property where there is a notice posted on the front door of the structure on the property that the occupant forbids the delivery of that specific newspaper. ” [.pdf of marked up version of ordinance]

The council postponed the ordinance revision to its next meeting, on Dec. 5, because the content of the proposed revision had not been disseminated to the public in a timely way before the meeting.

This brief was filed from the city council’s chambers on the second floor of city hall, located at 301 E. Huron. A more detailed report will follow: [link]