If three neighboring Delaware villages hold a joint meeting to vote on a transportation plan at one village's town hall, is that a FOIA violation if the host hall is not in two of the villages?

Official title

23-IB20 07/12/2023 FOIA Opinion Letter to Warren Rosenkranz re: FOIA Complaint Concerning the Villages of Arden, Ardentown, and Ardencroft

Plain-English summary

The three Delaware "Single Tax" Villages (Arden, Ardentown, and Ardencroft) sit adjacent to each other in northern New Castle County. They share a planning history that goes back to Henry George disciples in the early 20th century. They were considering a proposed transportation plan to enhance safety and mobility between the Villages.

Per the monthly newsletter that serves all three Villages, Ardentown and Ardencroft scheduled "special meetings" at Gild Hall in Arden on June 26, 2023 to vote on the plan. Arden scheduled a meeting at the same hall on the same date, not designated as either special or regular.

Warren Rosenkranz filed a FOIA petition. He argued (1) Ardentown and Ardencroft did not post notices on their websites, (2) the Ardentown charter required mailing notices to residents, which might not arrive in time, and (3) the meeting location (Gild Hall in Arden) was outside the geographic jurisdictions of Ardentown and Ardencroft.

The AG ruled for the Villages on all FOIA counts.

On website posting: the opinion states that FOIA does not require the Villages to post their meeting notices and agendas on their websites. The notices here ran in the Villages' monthly newsletter.

On charter-required mailings: the opinion holds the Office's authority is limited to FOIA allegations, so it lacked statutory authority to address whether the mailed notices required by the Village charters would arrive in time. That question falls outside FOIA.

On meeting location: FOIA requires every regularly scheduled meeting (defined as one held on a periodic basis) to be held within the public body's geographic jurisdiction, while a special meeting may be held within the body's jurisdiction or the county in which its principal office is located. The Ardentown and Ardencroft meetings were noticed as special meetings, and Gild Hall is in New Castle County, where all three Villages are located, so the location was lawful. Arden's meeting was scheduled within its own jurisdiction, so it was compliant under either designation.

What this means for you

Delaware municipalities considering joint or regional meetings

The opinion holds that a special meeting may be held within the public body's jurisdiction or within the county where its principal office is located, while a regularly scheduled meeting must be held within the body's own jurisdiction. Three adjacent municipalities in the same county could therefore hold their special meetings at one shared hall without violating FOIA, because the host hall sat in the same county as each body's principal office.

Delaware residents who track meeting notices

The opinion holds that FOIA does not require a public body to post meeting notices and agendas on its website. In this case the notices ran in the Villages' monthly newsletter. The opinion also holds that whether a Village charter requires mailed notices, and whether those notices arrive in time, is outside the AG's FOIA authority.

Common questions

Does a Delaware public body have to post meeting notices on its website?

No. The opinion states that FOIA does not require the Villages to post their meeting notices and agendas on their websites. Here the notices appeared in the Villages' monthly newsletter.

Can a Delaware special meeting be held outside the public body's own town?

Yes, within limits. A special meeting may be held within the public body's jurisdiction or the county in which its principal office is located. Because Gild Hall sits in New Castle County, where all three Villages are located, the special meetings there were compliant. A regularly scheduled meeting, by contrast, must be held within the body's own jurisdiction.

Does the Ardentown Charter notice requirement matter for the FOIA petition?

Not for this petition. The opinion holds the Office's authority is limited to FOIA allegations, so it could not address whether charter-required mailed notices would arrive in time. A charter-only question has to be raised somewhere other than a FOIA petition.

Background and statutory framework

Delaware's FOIA, 29 Del. C. §§ 10001-10007, lets any citizen petition the Attorney General under 29 Del. C. § 10005 to determine whether a violation has occurred or is about to occur.

On notices, the opinion states FOIA does not require a public body to post meeting notices and agendas on its website. On location, the opinion states every regularly scheduled meeting (defined as a meeting held on a periodic basis) must be held within the public body's geographic jurisdiction, while a special meeting may be held within the body's jurisdiction or the county in which its principal office is located. The opinion also notes the Office's authority is limited to FOIA allegations, so charter-based notice questions fall outside it.

Citations

• 29 Del. C. §§ 10001-10007 (Delaware FOIA)
• 29 Del. C. § 10005 (petition to the Attorney General)

Source

• Landing page: https://attorneygeneral.delaware.gov/2023/07/12/23-ib20-07-12-2023-foia-opinion-letter-to-warren-rosenkranz-re-foia-complaint-concerning-the-villages-of-arden-ardentown-and-ardencroft/
• Original PDF: https://attorneygeneral.delaware.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2023/07/Attorney-General-Opinion-No.-23-IB20.pdf

Original opinion text

KATHLEEN JENNINGS
ATTORNEY GENERAL

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
820 NORTH FRENCH STREET
WILMINGTON, DELAWARE 19801

CIVIL DIVISION (302) 577-8400
CRIMINAL DIVISION (302) 577-8500
DIVISION CIVIL RIGHTS & PUBLIC TRUST (302) 577-5400
FAMILY DIVISION (302) 577-8400
FRAUD DIVISION (302) 577-8600
FAX (302) 577-2610

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE
Attorney General Opinion No. 23-IB20
July 12, 2023

VIA EMAIL
Warren Rosenkranz
[email protected]

RE: FOIA Petition Regarding the Villages of Arden, Ardentown, and Ardencroft

Dear Mr. Rosenkranz:
We write in response to your correspondence alleging that the Villages of Arden, Ardentown, and Ardencroft violated Delaware's Freedom of Information Act, 29 Del. C. §§ 10001-10007 ("FOIA"). We treat this correspondence as a Petition for a determination pursuant to 29 Del. C. § 10005 regarding whether a violation of FOIA has occurred or is about to occur. As discussed more fully herein, we determine that the Villages did not violate FOIA by failing to post the June 26, 2023 meeting notices on their websites or by scheduling these meetings to be held in Arden.

BACKGROUND
The Villages of Arden, Ardentown, and Ardencroft are considering a proposed transportation plan to enhance safety and mobility between the Villages. According to the notices in the Villages' monthly newsletter, the Villages of Ardentown and Ardencroft scheduled special meetings at Gild Hall in Arden on June 26, 2023 to vote on this transportation plan, and the Village of Arden scheduled a meeting on this same date and location that was not designated as a special meeting. You allege that after reviewing these meeting notices in the newsletter, you found that no notices about these upcoming meetings were posted to Ardentown's or Ardencroft's websites. You point to the Ardentown charter's notice provisions for special meetings, which include a requirement that the notices be mailed to residents. You state that according to the Chair of Ardencroft Town Assembly, the three Villages would meet to approve the plan on June 26, 2023. Further, you assert that the transportation plan comment period closes and a steering committee will consider comments on the plan before these scheduled meetings, and "[i]t is at this time unknown whether the formal meeting notices will arrive in time." You ask our Office to determine whether these circumstances are compliant with FOIA. In addition, you allege that the three Villages' notices planning the meeting location outside their respective geographic jurisdictions violates FOIA.

DISCUSSION
FOIA provides that "[a]ny citizen may petition the Attorney General to determine whether a violation of this chapter has occurred or is about to occur." The Petition first claims that Ardentown and Ardencroft failed to post meeting notices on their websites and the formal meeting notices required by the Village charters to be mailed may not timely arrive. FOIA does not require the Villages to post their meeting notices and agendas on their websites. Further, as the Code limits this Office's authority to considering allegations regarding the FOIA statute, we find that this Office lacks the statutory authority to address the claim about the timeliness of any meeting notices required by the Village charters.

Additionally, the Petition claims that the Villages violated FOIA by scheduling meetings outside the respective geographic jurisdictions of the Villages. FOIA requires that "every regularly scheduled meeting of a public body . . . be held within the geographic jurisdiction of that public body." A regularly scheduled meeting is defined specifically as any meeting "held on a periodic basis." The Villages' special meetings may be held "within [their] jurisdiction or the county in which its principal office is located." In this case, the notice provided with this Petition indicated that Ardencroft's and Ardentown's special meetings were scheduled for Gild Hall in Arden, which is located in New Castle County where all of the Villages are located. Arden's meeting is not designated as a special or regularly scheduled meeting in the meeting notice supplied, but Arden's meeting was scheduled to be held within its geographic jurisdiction, so under either designation, the meeting's location would be compliant with FOIA. Accordingly, we find that the three Villages did not violate FOIA by noticing these meetings to be held in Gild Hall in Arden.

CONCLUSION
For the reasons set forth above, we conclude that the Villages have not violated FOIA by failing to post the June 26, 2023 meeting notices on their websites or by scheduling these meetings to take place in Arden.

Very truly yours,
/s/ Dorey L. Cole
Dorey L. Cole
Deputy Attorney General

Approved:
/s/ Patricia A. Davis
Patricia A. Davis
State Solicitor

cc: Edward B. Rosenthal, Counsel to the Villages of Arden, Ardentown, and Ardencroft