SPEAK YOUR PIECE, BUT BE QUICK ABOUT IT

City council meetings not only provide officials with a forum for conducting business, but also provide the average citizen with a place to sound off about issues.

As indicated below, all but four Orange County cities limit the length of audience remarks, although time extentions are sometimes granted by the mayor. The majority of speakers voluntarily give up the podium after the allotted time, but according to officials from a few of the cities, council etiquette is sometimes violated by the loquacious.

Breaches of brevity are handled differently from city to city, but such methods as escorting the orator out of the room or recessing the meeting are not unknown. So folks contemplating a council meeting declamation should remember: the hook awaits the long-winded.

City Time Limit Anaheim 3 minutes Brea 5 minutes Buena Park No limitation Costa Mesa 5 minutes Cypress 2 minutes Dana Point 3 minutes Fountain Valley 5 minutes Fullerton 10 minutes Garden Grove 10 minutes Huntington Beach 3 minutes Irvine 3 minutes Laguna Beach 3 minutes La Habra 15 minutes La Palma 5 minutes Los Alamitos 5 minutes Mission Viejo 5 minutes Newport Beach 3 minutes Orange 3 minutes Placentia 5 minutes San Clemente 3 minutes San Juan Capistrano 5 minutes Santa Ana 5 minutes Seal Beach No limitation Stanton 5 minutes Tustin No limitation Villa Park No limitation Westminster 3 minutes Yorba Linda 5 minutes

Source: Individual city clerk offices