Got banned from a city council Facebook group for asking about a tree ordinance

Back in February, I commented on a post about new parking lot construction in our downtown area. I asked why the city wasn't enforcing their own 15-year-old tree protection ordinance that requires a 10-foot buffer of green space. The admin deleted my comment and then banned me within 5 minutes. Another guy messaged me saying he got banned a month earlier for pointing out the same thing. So here's the debate: should local government pages allow critical questions about their own rules, or is that just seen as stirring up trouble? Has anyone else been booted from a community group for asking honest questions about local regulations?

2 comments

2 Comments

umabailey12d ago

Had a friend this happened to in a neighboring town. She asked in the local government page why the zoning board approved a new gas station right next to an elementary school when the town's own rules say no commercial within 500 feet. They deleted her post and banned her within an hour. Turns out the board member who voted yes owned the land being sold to the gas company. She had to go to a town hall meeting in person to get answers, and even then the board gave her the runaround for months. It's like some of these groups just want to post pretty park photos and pretend everything is fine.

phoenix_campbell8812d agoMost Upvoted

Friend of mine ran into something similar in our town. She noticed the town Facebook page was deleting any comments about a new development going up on wetland that was supposed to be protected. When she asked in the comments why the planning board let it slide, they just said "we don't allow soliciting posts about permits" and muted her for 30 days. The land got sold to a developer who was the town treasurer's cousin. She ended up having to file a FOIA request six months later to get the paperwork showing they fast tracked the permit without an environmental review.