Pubdate: Fri, 26 Apr 2002 Source: Salt Lake Tribune (UT) Copyright: 2002 The Salt Lake Tribune Contact: http://www.sltrib.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/383 Author: Mark Eddington Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/raves.htm (Raves) RAVES MAKING WAVES South Salt Lake residents are free to assemble at church or school. But if more than 50 gather anywhere else, they might need city permission -- lots of it. That could be the upshot if the City Council approves a "mass gathering" ordinance that aims to crack down on raves and other wild parties that typically last well into the morning. "We've had a lot of negative experiences with rave events," City Attorney David Carlson said Thursday. "There have been six drug overdoses . . . fighting, underage drinking, curfew and traffic problems. Our idea is not to prohibit [raves], but to create regulations requiring people who promote them to do so in a responsible way." But the proposed ordinance is not getting rave reviews from the American Civil Liberties Union, which insists the rules go too far. For instance, innocuous activities such as family reunions, Fourth of July barbecues, even impromptu baseball games -- provided they draw enough people -- might require city sanction. "The ordinance is constitutionally flawed. If they want to target raves, they need to tailor the ordinance so that it doesn't apply to other activities," ACLU attorney Janelle Eurick said. "The ordinance is too broad." While it would not affect licensed businesses, block parties or church or school activities, organizers of other mass gatherings would have to: * Get inspections and approvals from police, fire and business licensing officials. * Draft a comprehensive safety plan. * Hire licensed private security and/or pay South Salt Lake police, fire and emergency medical technicians to staff events. * Pay an as-yet-undetermined fee for a license. * Provide proof of insurance indemnifying organizers of "high-risk" gatherings. If the event is for people ages 18 to 26, the proposed rules are even more formidable. Safety plans must describe how promoters will "prevent, detect and interdict" drugs, alcohol, fighting, sex, lewdness and gang activity. Organizers also must ensure that minors do not violate South Salt Lake's midnight curfew -- except for "approved" New Year's Eve activities. All mass gatherings would be limited to commercial or light industrial zones and could not be within 600 feet of homes or 600 feet of businesses that serve alcohol. Large events would have to wrap up by 2 a.m. and none would be permitted between 2 a.m. Sunday and 7 a.m. Monday. Police and fire officials are given total discretion to deny licenses for events or impose any other requirements and costs they deem necessary. The mayor can overturn denials on appeal. "We don't want to set up a hurdle so high that no one can jump over it," Carlson said. But, in the ACLU's view, if South Salt Lake set the bar any higher, event organizers would need a pole to vault over it. "It makes getting a permit so cost-prohibitive that it constitutes a prior restraint on free speech," Eurick said. And letting city officials apply the rules as they go along allows them to curtail speech and activities they find objectionable, she added. The curfew provision also bothers the ACLU. It would not even allow minors out after curfew with parental permission. City Council Chairman Doug Moffat acknowledges the rave clampdown needs fine-tuning and, possibly, more exemptions. While that is true, Carlson says, the city is rightfully concerned about the number of large parties, rowdy behavior and abuse of designer drugs -- Ecstasy and GHB -- in abandoned warehouses and other locales. South Salt Lake hopes to have an ordinance in place by the end of May. - --- MAP posted-by: Josh