City to begin taking DNC rally requests

Hick announces permit process for August event

By Tillie Fong, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Saturday, March 1, 2008

The city of Denver has set up a process for groups to apply for permits and licenses for the use of parks and city streets before and during the Democratic National Convention.

Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper on Friday declared the convention an "extraordinary event," which requires special procedures to handle permits and licenses for use of city property and facilities.

The city on Monday will start accepting requests from groups that want to hold rallies, marches and other events before and during the convention.

"We're working as hard as we can to make it a fair and transparent process," said Kevin Scott, the permitting liaison for the convention.

From March 3 to March 14, the city will be accepting requests for use of parks and suggested parade or march routes. The requests will be for events to be held from 12:01 a.m. Aug. 15 to 11:59 p.m. Aug. 31. The convention runs from Aug. 25-28.

If there are competing requests received by March 14, then a blind lottery will be held to determine who will get the permit for a particular park.

The permits for the use of the parks are only good for one day and are not transferable, so if groups want to use the same area for more than one day, they will have to participate in the lottery for each successive day.

Once the lottery is held and the groups know whether they will get to use the park when they want to, then they can apply for the permit or license and pay the appropriate fees.

"What's nice about this process is that we're letting them know up front if they can get the venue they want," said Katherine Archuleta, senior advisor to Hickenlooper on policy and initiatives.

She also said that groups have five days after the selection is made to appeal the decision.

The city will continue to take requests for permits and licenses through Aug. 11, but anything submitted after March 14 will be granted on a first-come, first-served basis.

Two things have yet to be determined - the security perimeter or First Amendment Zone around the Pepsi Center, where protesters can gather.

"That comes from the Secret Service," said Archuleta. "When we know it, we would release it."

Another is the parade route. The city is committed to having at least one route open to groups that want to hold a parade or march that will end within view and earshot of the Pepsi Center.

"We share the protesters' concerns about that and they will be taken into consideration," said Archuleta.

In the meantime, groups are encouraged, as part of the request process, to suggest possible parade routes and days on when they want to hold them. If there is a conflict between groups, then that will be decided by lottery as well.

The announcement of the permit process was greeted with mixed feelings from two protest groups that have been pushing for the city to move on the permit process since last year.

"The city has made some very positive changes as far as removing insurance requirements," said Glenn Spagnuolo, one of the organizers for Recreate' 68 Alliance. "But we are upset with the fact that the city has made one specific change to stop Recreate 68 what it is intending to do."

Under the old park ordinance, Spagnuolo said the city allowed overnight camping at the Civic Center park. However, that provision was not included under the new permitting process.

Spagnuolo said he expects thousands of people to come from across the country for the Recreate '68 events, but most will not be able to get hotel rooms, because they would have long been booked up, and have no place to go.

"That's a major problem," said Spagnuolo. "The city knows that they are creating a confrontational event that we're trying to avoid."

But Archuleta said that the city's park ordinance has long prohibited overnight camping except in Denver's mountain parks.

"They understand the laws," she said. "What we want them to do is honor the ordinance."

Rev. Patrick Mahoney, director of the Christian Defense Coalition, said the city was overdue in setting up the permitting process. "It took four months and the threat of federal litigation for them to start to pit it in place," said Mahoney.

One of his group's concerns is that the First Amendment zone around the Pepsi Center has not been established yet. "The Secret Service have a tendency to wait until the last minute, so we're asking the city of Denver to work with the Secret Service to carve out a clear, well-defined area where First Amendment activity will be allowed."

On Monday, the city will post the boundary map, permitting process and request form on its Web site: www.denvergov.org/dnc2008

* If there are questions, contact Kevin Scott at 303-865-4300 or DNC2008permits@denvergov.org

• March 1, 2008

  8:12 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  Gene writes:

  I can hardly wait to see if the local Democrats can control the anarchists, not to mention the Clintonistas and whatever else evolves by that time. Note to City Council - anarchists don't play by rules!

• March 1, 2008

  9:36 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  Froward69 writes:

  Gene, "anarchists don't play by rules!" Nor Do Republicans.

• March 1, 2008

  10:43 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  SASQUATCH writes:

  CHICAGO, 1968

  Ritter better get the National Guard ready and have a warehouse full of tear-gas and Hick needs to make sure he has a big supply of fire hoses in good condition. Get ready for the Civic Center to look like Omaha Beach when the lib school teachers try taking it by storm. The 1960s socialists and radicals are going to make Fallujah look like a high school prom.

  And you moms and dads need to stay off the streets and keep your daughters under lock and key when Teddy and Bill arrive.

• March 1, 2008

  6:07 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  GregoryB writes:

  Hide your Children and Farm Animals !!!

• March 1, 2008

  10:33 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  unfug writes:

  the information number is: 720-865-4330

• March 2, 2008

  1:14 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  freethinker07 writes:

  It will be interesting to see, in a Democratic city, in a Democratic state, at the Democratic Convention how people will find a way to blame Bush or Karl Rove for whatever goes wrong.