The Mobile City Council put off a vote this week on the latest draft of a proposed ordinance regulating the distribution of unsolicited printed handbills across the city, opting instead to give council members more time to review last-minute legal objections from a company affected by the rule.
District 5 Councilman Joel Daves, who sits on the public services committee that voted in late March to recommend the ordinance for full council approval, requested the two-week delay. Daves cited both lingering questions from fellow council members and city administration officials, as well as ongoing back-and-forth with attorneys representing a company that distributes weekly, non-subscription advertising circulars throughout Mobile.
Daves said the most recent correspondence, a letter from a Mobile-based attorney representing the circular publisher, did not arrive until earlier in the week, leaving little time to fully review it before Tuesday’s scheduled vote. “Mr. Daves is being reasonable to keep the lines of communication open,” said the council’s attorney, Jim Rossler, following the work session where the postponement was discussed.
The proposed ordinance, more than six months in the drafting, would set new rules for how unsolicited printed materials, commonly referred to as handbills, can be delivered to homes and businesses across the city. City officials have framed the measure as a response to ongoing citywide litter complaints tied to circulars piling up in yards and driveways, particularly at vacant or unoccupied properties.
In his letter, the publisher’s attorney said his client would continue improving a “Do Not Deliver” opt-out system already in place, regardless of how the council ultimately votes, and would keep working with the city to identify vacant properties that should be excluded from delivery routes. But he argued the ordinance as currently written was unconstitutionally vague, and said specific proposed changes, such as requiring carriers to place publications directly on a resident’s porch or door, were not economically feasible and raised serious questions about the limits of the city’s regulatory authority.
The attorney contended that leaving publications in driveways or yards is actually less intrusive for residents than requiring delivery workers to step onto porches or handle doors, and that residents who don’t want the circulars delivered already have a straightforward opt-out option through the Do Not Deliver phone line. Absent that kind of request, he argued, the city has no legal basis to interfere with delivery onto private property under the current method.
As a possible compromise, the attorney indicated his client would be willing to coordinate with independent delivery workers to place publications in specific spots on a property more likely to keep them from blowing away or becoming litter, addressing the city’s underlying concern without adopting the more restrictive porch-delivery requirement.
The two-week holdover gives council members additional time to weigh the competing legal and practical arguments before the ordinance returns for a final vote, with city officials still weighing how aggressively to regulate a form of advertising delivery that has become a recurring source of litter complaints in neighborhoods across Mobile.