Opinion ID: 199869
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Status of the Fish Pier.

Text: We consider the Fish Pier to be a property separate and apart from the abutting section of Northern Avenue. See ISKCON, 505 U.S. at 676-79 (proceeding similarly in the case of an airport terminal), Hawkins v. City of Denver, 170 F.3d 1281, 1287 (10th Cir. 1999) (doing the same in the context of a government-owned performing arts center); see also Chicago Acorn v. Metro. Pier & Expo. Auth., 150 F.3d 695, 698 (7th Cir. 1998) (treating separately each distinct area of Chicago's Navy Pier). Since the Fish Pier is autonomous for First Amendment purposes, we treat Massport's policy as a total ban, rather than as a time, place, and manner regulation that restricts leafletting to the Northern Avenue sidewalk (which lies outside the gates). NERCC contends that the Fish Pier is a traditional public forum, or, alternatively, a designated public forum. In determining whether either of those labels applies, we must consider both the nature of the property and its past uses. See ISKCON, 505 U.S. at 680-82. Historically, the Fish Pier was used only for purposes related to the commercial fishing industry. -20- While the permitted uses have changed over time, the pier remains quite different from the types of property that are most often deemed to be public fora. It is not a public thoroughfare like a street or sidewalk, e.g., Frisby, 487 U.S. at 481, or a gathering place like a park or town green, e.g., Knights of Columbus v. Town of Lexington, 272 F.3d 25, 31 (1st Cir. 2001). Although space on the pier is no longer limited to activities directly related to receiving, storing, and shipping fish — the Fish Pier is now home to a conference center, two eateries, and several offices — the dominant character of the property is still that of a commercial fishery. Space on the seaward side is used for unloading fish; the two long buildings are used to store the catch; and the central area is used for loading fish onto trucks, which circle around the ECC (formerly known as the Fish Exchange) and exit through the gate onto Northern Avenue. The site is notable for the absence of either sidewalks or other design characteristics that might be viewed as welcoming the general public. NERCC points out, correctly, that there is an interior roadway on the Fish Pier, and that members of the public enter the premises for a variety of purposes. Furthermore, NERCC has sought to cast doubt upon Massport's contention that the Fish Pier is a closed facility limited to authorized persons by proffering affidavits of NERCC members who assert that they entered the Fish -21- Pier without being stopped or questioned. But Massport has taken appropriate steps to restrict access to the site; and even if Massport's policy of restricted access is erratically enforced, the fence, gate, security booth, and signage hardly add up to an open invitation for the public to enter. We do not believe that these attributes are enough to convert the Fish Pier into a traditional public forum. See ISKCON, 505 U.S. at 680 (expressly stating that comparable evidence, without more, is insufficient to justify a finding that a location is a public forum); Greer v. Spock, 424 U.S. 828, 836 (1976) (similar). While the level of public access is a salient consideration, it cannot be accorded decretory significance — especially since the Fish Pier's primary use does not depend at all on public access. Nor is the Fish Pier a designated public forum. At most, the circumstances suggest that Massport tolerates the presence of some members of the public on the Fish Pier, including persons attending ECC events, restaurant patrons, and an occasional passerby bent on contemplating the harbor's scenic beauty. Such tolerance is not tantamount to an affirmative act — and an affirmative act of a governmental body is required to support a finding that the authorities have designated a forum as a place for public expression. ISKCON, 505 U.S. at 680 (plurality op.). -22- The proof of the pudding is in the case law. On balance, the Fish Pier is far less of a public space than, say, the airport terminal at issue in ISKCON or the post office sidewalk at issue in Kokinda, neither of which was found to be a public forum. See id. at 683; Kokinda, 497 U.S. at 730. This conclusion flows principally from the fact that the Fish Pier's primary uses are not dependent upon public access. We hold, therefore, that the Fish Pier is a non-public forum.