BURBANK PASSES MEETING-DECORUM RULES.

Byline: Naush Boghossian Staff Writer

BURBANK- Acting up at Burbank City Council meetings won't just get you kicked out of a meeting - you'll have to leave the premises.

The Burbank City Council unanimously approved a new rule Tuesday: In the event an angry person is thrown out of a meeting, he or she must leave not only the building but the public property on which the meeting is held - including adjacent parking lots.

Also, to ensure that ousted speakers do not confront council members in the parking lot after the meeting, they may not return to the site until three hours after the meeting is adjourned.

``It's really so they don't hang around the parking lot and accost people they were angry at, after the meeting,'' said Councilman Dave Golonski, who said he has seen only a handful of people evicted from meetings during his 11 years on the council.

He recalled when people who were asked to leave city meetings waited in the parking lot and screamed at council members - a potential for very threatening confrontations.

``I think it's just prudent,'' Golonski said. ``If they chose to disrupt the meeting, they don't really have any business being there.''

Residents who attend the council meetings regularly said they thought the decision was uncalled for.

``I think it's a bit radical because I have never seen - even among the chief offenders - anyone who got physical as a result of their anger,'' said 40-year Burbank resident and longtime council meeting attender Don Elsmore. ``The message is that the city is just not interested in hearing from the public no matter what their temperament.''

Golonski offered some advice for people who attend council sessions.

``Don't disrupt the meeting and you don't get thrown out,'' he said. ``It's not that hard.''

Naush Boghossian, [phone]

naush.boghossian(at)dailynews.com