This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Pickets in Sandy no longer have to hang back during a demonstration.
The Sandy City Council voted 5-2 on Tuesday to drop a ban on protesters assembling within 100 feet of the property line of their target's home. The decision reversed a Sept. 24 council vote that approved an ordinance requiring a buffer zone. Councilmen Chris McCandless and Dennis Tenney cast the dissenting votes.
The earlier council discussion noted that Sandy residents had experienced targeted picketing. One incident occurred in June outside the residence of PacifiCorp President and CEO Micheal Dunn and his wife, Krista, by union coal miners protesting proposed changes in safety provisions at Deer Creek mine in Emery County.
At the September meeting, Krista Dunn said the couple's home was the site of at least a dozen protests and that demonstrators had tried to block her car on two occasions.
Some council members were concerned the law merely would move picketers in front of someone else's home and might impact demonstrators' freedom of speech. They also suggested laws against trespassing and harassment could be enforced more vigorously against picketers if they go onto private property.
Twitter: @PamelaMansonSLC