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I thought that I had posted this. I was assured that I had not. I was incredulous. And … I was incorrect. My sincere apologies to everyone who’s been wondering about what Occupy OC (Irvine Synod) and the City of Irvine agreed to two weeks ago but hasn’t been able to find out; here it is, below.
Occupy OC (Santa Ana Synod) activists, with your City Council considering following Irvine’s lead tomorrow, you might want to pay special attention. After all, this has worked for those of us in Irvine so far!
Letter of Understanding
This Letter of Understanding is made and entered into by and between the City of Irvine (“City”) and the Occupy OC Demonstrators, effective as of Tuesday, October 25, 2011.
The parties agree as follows:
1. For the period beginning on Tuesday, October 25, 2011 and extending through and including 12:00 noon on Wednesday, November 9, 2011, the portion of the Civic Center situated at the northwest corner of Alton Parkway and Harvard Avenue, between the wall and the sidewalk, is approved for use by the Occupy OC demonstrators for overnight camping purposes, subject to the provisions of this Letter of Understanding.
2. The duration of this Letter of Understanding may be extended in writing for such further period of time and subject to such provisions as are mutually satisfactory to the parties.
3. To enable maintenance by the City of the front lawn (the area between the wall and City Hall), to eliminate the need for late night irrigation, and to avoid any unintentional damage to the personal property of the Occupy OC demonstrators, the area approved for overnight camping and the front lawn shall be vacated by the Occupy OC demonstrators and cleared of all personal property on Tuesdays and Fridays, commencing on Tuesday, November 1, 2011, for a 5-hour period from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
4. The sidewalk shall continue to remain available for the exercise of freedom of speech rights throughout the day and night, subject to compliance with Irvine Municipal Code Section 4-14-105, which prohibits hindering or obstructing free passage. Nevertheless, equipment or other apparatus of Occupy OC demonstrators may be temporarily placed on the sidewalk during the period of lawn maintenance described above, provided that such items do not interfere with the performance of maintenance and do not hinder or obstruct free passage of the sidewalk, and provided further that the Occupy OC demonstrators acknowledge that such items placed on the sidewalk may be subject to irrigation overspray and debris from lawn mowing.
5. Equipment and apparatus that will be allowed for camping include sleeping bags and tents, but excludes structures or improvements that would require a building permit.
6. No cooking, cooking equipment, fires, open flames or smoking are allowed.
7. The Occupy OC demonstrators, at their own expense, shall provide port-a-potties, the number and location of which shall be designated by the City of Irvine, and arrange for normal maintenance of such facilities. The port-a-potties shall be situated within a reasonable distance from the overnight camping area.
8. The Occupy OC demonstrators, at their own expense, shall provide trash collection services and maintain the area utilized in a clean and sanitary condition. On weekend days (Saturday and Sunday), when trash pick-up is not available from Waste Management, trash may be disposed of in the City of Irvine’s trash bins to the extent space is available.
9. Except as otherwise expressly provided in this Letter of Understanding, the Occupy OC demonstrators shall comply with all applicable provisions of the Irvine Municipal Code relating to park use.
10. The Occupy OC demonstrators shall comply with all applicable fire safety requirements, including those set forth in Attachment A.
11. The City of Irvine may designate specific parking areas for Occupy OC demonstrators should the number of vehicles associated with their activities reach a point that inhibits the ability for City staff and community members having business at the Irvine Civic Center to find parking within the Civic Center facility.
12. The Irvine Civic Center is open for business and public access Monday – Friday with every other Friday closed, from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and from 8 a.m. to 5 pm. on open Fridays. Public access to restrooms is available during these times for regular restroom type use, but not for the purposes of personal bathing. The City of Irvine asks for the assistance of the Occupy OC demonstrators with conveying the message and suggesting alternatives for personal hygiene and care. Additional restrooms are available at Bill Barber Park, which Occupy OC demonstrators are currently using.
13. The City of Irvine designates Commander Barry Aninag to be the City’s primary contact with the Occupy OC demonstrators. Commander Aninag can be reached Tuesday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. through his office phone at 949-724-7025. During all other times, the Sergeant on Duty/Manager can be reached by calling 949-724-7200. In the event of an emergency, call 911. The Occupy OC demonstrators designate Linda Swartz as their authorized representative and primary contact with the City for the purpose of this Letter of Understanding. Ms. Swartz can be reached by calling _______________.
14. The Letter of Understanding represents the full and complete agreement between the parties, supersedes any prior agreements or understandings, and can be amended only by written consent of the parties.
15. The parties acknowledge that the terms of this Letter of Understanding are intended to establish the rights and responsibilities of the parties only for the period during which this Letter of Understanding is in effect.
16. The Mayor of the City of Irvine, who is signing this Letter of Understanding on behalf of the City, represents that the City shall be bound by the above terms, provided that the Occupy OC demonstrators comply with such terms. The person signing this Letter of Understanding on behalf of the Occupy OC demonstrators represents that he/she personally witnessed and now conveys the willingness of the Occupy OC demonstrators, through their General Assembly, to be bound by the above terms, provided that the City of Irvine complies with such terms.
CITY OF IRVINE OCCUPY OC DEMONSTRATORS
Sukhee Kang, Mayor Linda Swartz
ATTEST:
Sharie Apodaca, City Clerk
ATTACHMENT A
Fire Safety Requirements and Recommendations
- No onsite storage of flammable liquids.
- All fire protection equipment shall be maintained in an operative condition. Clearance around fire protection equipment shall be maintained.
- Tents, canopies and temporary membrane structures shall be adequately braced and anchored to withstand the elements of weather and/or collapse.
- The sidewalls, drops, top, floor coverings and decorative materials shall be composed of flame-resistant material or treated with an approved flame retardant. Self-treated materials may subject to a flame test by the Orange County Fire Authority.
- Electrical equipment and installations shall comply with the electrical code. A permit for electrical equipment and/or generators shall be required.
- Generators, if permitted, shall be separated from tents and canopies by a minimum of 20 feet and isolated from the public by fencing or other means.
(It is now safe to open your eyes.)
I know that all of this looks very legalistic — and that’s because it is very legalistic. This setting forth of a clear understanding of the rules is the alternative to trying to win a victory by force. What did you expect it to look like? This is the price a city pays if it doesn’t want protesters to break the laws — as Occupy OC in Irvine hasn’t — and this is the price that protesters pay if they want to be in a position where they can spend their time spreading their message within a city — this weekend, having a rousing rally on the lawn and a march for Bank Transfer day (that would not likely have happened otherwise — rather than spending their time fighting with a city.
Of course, a peaceful occupation has its good side and its bad side. On the bad side, it’s not dramatic and headline-making; no one speaks of Irvine in the same breath as Denver or Nashville. On the good side, though, is that by my estimate Irvine has spent less money in dealing with its overnight Occupation — a 24/7 occupation that, on Wednesday morning, will have reached 25 days (and 600 hours!) on the corner of Harvard and Alton without stopping — than pretty much any city in the country facing a similar situation.
Irvine has also gained in prestige. I happened to run across stories last week about, believe it or not, Occupy Chattanooga — a city where, if I know anybody at all, I don’t know that I know them. They where they were asking their City Council to emulate what was done in Irvine. Not “Los Angeles.” Irvine. I read one commentary noting the old notion of “repressive tolerance”: that by giving a little and keeping tempers from boiling over, the state could prevent a revolution against repression. And then even that author said that, all that notwithstanding, Irvine’s approach to the Occupy movement was an admirable model.
You don’t hear a lot of people hoping that their city will emulate Oakland.
Santa Ana had its first conflict with demonstrators two weeks ago yesterday. It made four arrests and gave out other citations for illegal presence on public land the following morning. Two dozen officers were out there making arrests, two of them on horseback. That’s expensive overtime for a city that cannot afford it.
There’s another way: Irvine’s way. If you want to understand the Irvine way — well, there it is, laid out clearly in legalese, ready for the taking.
I can’t say that Irvine’s Occupation has no problems. They will be, I hope, fixable. We’re trying to get along with our neighbors and will be meeting many of them in Tuesday night’s council meeting, trying to figure out how we can work together. (If you support what we’re doing there, especially if you’re from Irvine, write the City Council and let them know!)
But it’s the night before that interests me now: the night that Santa Ana will decide on its posture. I’ll be there on Monday night, as a fascinated observer. Santa Ana has a home-county model that it can follow. Will it?
Greg,
Where exactly are you camping? I’d come down and say Hi.
Theres NO ONE downtown right now? This seems like much about nothing, there is nobody out there.
Why make such a big deal of it.
Maybe the rain put a damper on things. No pun intended.
I’m not in Irvine today. (I will be on Tuesday.) My understanding is that the people who are there are currently in tents, which is why they’re invisible to you. Yeah, the rain does make the general assembly less likely.
Why make a big deal over it? What’s your best guess?
I meant Santa Ana.
Were is Occupy looking to camp? There is virtually no presence downtown.
Is the gang looking to relocate to SA after Irvine? is that the Idea, if so, that’s negociable, I would imagine. a five day temporary permit. There is a huge precedent in Santa Ana, if that’s the case.
I guess, my point is why all the fuss, if only 10-20 people are looking to camp. If it’s a LARGE crowd 100+ then thats worth the council’s time. Otherwise, let’s concentrate on the Lopers and the recent sx assaults in the Logan Barrio.
I visited the Brea Target today, at ten AM. the signature gatherer said he ran out of sheets to repeal the DREAM ACT at 12:30 PM.
Sounds like Brea is well what Brea is……..
The Brea Mall crowd is not primarily from Brea, although we like their money. But yes, that will be on the ballot with Brea or without it. It has motivated people, especially those who don’t care to understand it.
Don’t know whether or when there will be an “after Irvine.”
I think that the small crowds in Santa Ana are largely a function of it being illegal. Let them set up a proper camp like the one in Irvine and then see what happens.
I only see 3 to 5 people at the Civic Center most times, around 5pm or so it does swell to a massive 12 people. Then it drops to 2 or so to keep an eye on their signs over night.
Yeah — it’s hard work to be out there, especially in the cold. It would be easier if there were tents. I wonder if that is possible — don’t you?
Greg,
Any plans on “occupying” Brea any time soon? Or do you just want to inject yourself into Santa Ana politics like your pals Dan and Chris?
From kenlay’s comment regarding the “anti-dream” movement in your neighborhood that Brea could use your great progressive leadership right there. Also, perhaps you could help push for the Brea city council to do more in regards to the county homelessness problem. Maybe you could suggest a homeless tent city in your neighborhood park in Brea.
Give us a break Sean. Santa Ana is the county-freakin’-seat. Maybe you should get off your high horse and stop worrying about a little “messy democracy” in Santa Ana.
I’ll take Greg’s brand of progressive over your reflexive, unobjective defense of the city any day.
Sean, why all the hostility to Greg, and to “Occupy?” Greg didn’t start Occupy Santa Ana, we’ve mostly been busy in Irvine. Occupy Santa Ana was started by, among other people, friends of Arts & yours – artists from the Artists Village, Theo, Matt, Yenni, Alicia, etc. You know, Santa Ana people. And they WANT Greg’s help.
“Your pals Dan and Chris?” I’m pretty sure Greg has never met Dan and barely knows Chris. And those guys (who are still at war with this blog as far as I can tell) seem to have no position on Occupy – Dan says he supports it but the stuff he writes is haughtily critical, and Chris seems neutral. Of course, now that YOU’RE opposing it, they’ll probably become enthusiastic supporters – such is the OC Blogosphere *sigh*
Also, are you speaking for Sal here? I was hoping he’d be more supportive, as Michele, Vince and David seem to be. If you regret your comment, give me a call and I’ll delete it, along with the responses to it.
PS A scene at Occupy SA on Saturday would have amused you – a Register reporter and a Voice of OC reporter joking around about Dan’s obsession with Santa Ana (with no prodding from me.) But that’s all I’ll say about it here.
Vern,
I am not opposing anything. I am just tired of people that don’t live in our city meddling in our affairs. If Santa Ana residents want to demand the city do something I have no problem with it, but for these outsiders to continually stick their noses into our affairs I am getting sick of it.
I speak for myself and Sal speaks for himself. I think you will find that most of the council supports the message of the occupy folks, however that message is beginning to run all over the place. We liberals have a hard time focusing on a message, unlike the right wing.
Undoing the camping ban is another issue. Santa Ana is different than a place such as Irvine and thus we cannot a one-size fits all type ordinance. Perhaps Irvine, your city of HB and Greg’s city of Brea should do more to help with the homeless issue so that Santa Ana does not have to bare the entire burden of the county.
As far as Greg goes, I see him as just another outsider continually taking whacks at my city not unlike Dan and Chris.
Well, I don’t think Greg deserves that. Dan and Chris like to take whacks at your city, probably mainly because they hate you and Art. Greg isn’t taking whacks at anyone’s city. The people in Occupy Santa Ana, most of whom ARE from Santa Ana, are asking for his help. And mine. It’s not really much about city politics at all.
Some of the animus seems to come from my having taken a stand in an Assembly race that is seen as “Santa Ana’s seat” — although it also contains much of Anaheim and parts of Garden Grove and Orange. Of course, the incumbent has endorsed an Anglo from Anaheim for the seat, to Art’s consternation, so I have to admit to being puzzled.
Sean and Art aren’t liberals or progressives or even advocates for Santa Ana, they’re shills for Santa Ana’s power brokers and that is where their “loyalty” lies.
“Meddling” — what is this, Scooby-Doo? “You’d have gotten away with it if it weren’t for those bloggers”? From a public official, “keep your nose out of my affairs” sounds like words from someone with people chained in the basement.
By the way, what “whacks” have I taken at your city? I don’t think that you’re paying attention. I wish Santa Ana the best; it’s my county’s seat. I reserve my right to criticize the politics there for the same reason I do re Costa Mesa (and Fullerton, and Brea): what wrongful harm is done to others is done to me. I understand — from reading OJB over the years — that Santa Ana has had some problems with corruption; I stand against those. Don’t you? And do you really refuse to stand against those problems in Fullerton because it’s not your city?
You’re right that there’s no “one-size-fits-all” solution for all cities — and I did not present this Letter of Understanding as such. It’s a model that Santa Ana can use and adapt. (By the way, what is your understanding of where the homeless do sleep in Santa Ana? Does that strike you as a “solved problem”?) As for the rest of the county being more involved — hell, yes. I’m happy to work for such an outcome. We could use some leadership from Santa Ana officials and from Santa Ana activists in making that need known and offering solutions.
You know what might help make that happen, by the way? A 24/7 Occupation within the City of Santa Ana, to focus the county’s attention on its economically driven problems with homelessness.
“Santa Ana is different than a place such as Irvine.”
Yes, I agree with Sean as a resident of the City of the Beige. We are worlds apart different.
Your city’s parking lots at strip malls are configured properly. Emperor Bren’s parking lot configurations assume that everyone drives a SmartCar and loves palm trees.
Your city’s strip malls have a diversity of good family owned eateries. The City of the Beige is the land of corporate chain restaurants. Although we don’t have a fucking Applebee’s.
You don’t have a big land mass that used to be a Marine Corps base growing weeds and collecting dust at their overflow RV lot with a faded orange balloon ride. We call our waste of open space The Not So Great Park.
You also don’t have the Northwood Night Stalker residing within your city limits. I, on the other hand, live about 1/2 a mile from the city nuisance who I hear is contemplating a run for an open City Council seat as one of Boss Agran’s bootlickers.
Your traffic lights make sense and are synchronized correctly. Ours? That rant is reserved for a future blog post.
The City of the Beige and Santa Ana. Worlds apart.
LOL. You’re so right about The City by the Beige’s traffic lights. Don’t they realize that if you can’t get 2 green lights in a row, it actually tempts people to speed? And that’s exactly what people do along streets like Culver and Jeffrey.
Jeffrey north of the 5 used to be 65 mph. Then the MENSA members on the City Council realized that it is virtually impossible to reach that top speed between Roosevelt and Irvine Blvd. So they reduced it to 55 mph.
anon, I will be floating around the City of the Beige in the evenings soliciting signatures for RMLW 2012.
Hello Sean,
The impetus for occupying Santa Ana — which for a while was a bit of a tiff with Irvine people over which should be “the” OC occupation — did not come from me or from North County at all. It came from Santa Ana residents. That should answer your concerns.
The motion for tonight’s meeting, moreover, came from David Benevides and/or Michelle Martinez (I’ve heard different accounts); if you want to attack them, so be it.
I’ll be there tonight — not to meddle in Santa Ana politics, but to support the national (and international) Occupy movement and the many Santa Ana activists who seem to want to be a part of it.
As for Brea — I don’t think that we could get a majority of the City Council to support it. More critically, I don’t think that we could get the population to rouse themselves to stand up to the City Council over it. I think that the next city that would be a likely target for a new overnight occupation, based on what I’ve heard, would likely be Fullerton. We probably wouldn’t get their Council’s support either, but more people might be willing to challenge them over it.
You’re welcome to come here and help try to organize it, though (unlike me) you have an active core of Occupy volunteers in your home city to work with.
I presume that you realize that telling me to “just concentrate on building up the activist core in Brea” is telling me to just spin my wheels — not the advice I’d get from someone who actually wants results.
However, your suggestion that I concentrate on pushing all communities in OC to do their share to, one way or another, contribute to addressing the homelessness problem is a good one; as I’ve written in another post here, this should not simply be Santa Ana’s problem. People should cooperate across city lines to make this happen. You’re in a position to provide some leadership there, if you choose.
Ah, I see – I just went to the Liberal OC (which I don’t often do) and they’ve got something about this as well, so I guess Art and Sean are feeling ganged up on.
Actually I read Prevatt’s article and it’s not so bad.
http://www.theliberaloc.com/2011/11/07/occupy-oc-santa-ana-faces-camping-challenge-tonight/
Not their usual predictable council-bashing, faux-outrage, and nuisance document requests at all! He suggests a compromise motion that would also help the homeless out.
Too bad it’s on that blog, hardly anybody will read it.
The real reason that the Northwood Night Stalker won’t comment on the Occupy movement is because it is happening in his backyard. Your movement’s presence ruins his Pollyanna like visions of the lily white purity he yearns for in the City of the Beige. He claims to be “liberal” but is the worst NIMBY you will ever have the experience of enduring. This is why he has Prevatt writing up the post because of his secret resentment towards anything that makes the City of the Beige seem colorful. To give Prevatt some credit, he has some good writing talent. Too bad it is wasted on the page of the Northwood Night Stalker.
In my opinion as a longtime City of the Beige resident (For the record, I’ve lived here longer than the Northwood Night Stalker) , it is probably the most exciting thing to happen to The City of the Beige since the Grateful Dead caravans used to park their vans and RVs at the Northwood Town Center and other local strip malls on the eve of Dead concerts at Irvine Meadows back in the 1980s. If you wanted the hookup on great craft work or some other goods that the Deadheads were peddling, the Northwood Town Center or Heritage Square was the place to be.
Actually the most exciting thing to happen here was seeing and talking to Jerry Garcia inside a Vons in 1987. Nice guy who told me I had to wait one more year to be part of “the circle.”
“Cats and dogs living together!”
I was actually surprised by Art’s position, but I guess there’s a NIMBY aspect that I had underestimated. People keep asking me whether I would be OK with homeless people sleeping overnight in the parks in Brea. My answer is: “as opposed to what?” As opposed to dying? Yes. As opposed to being raped and beaten on the streets? Yes. As opposed to being given adequate shelter, say in some of the huge empty buildings we have around? Then I’d say no.
I do agree with this: it’s a county-wide problem and funding and providing shelter should be done on a county-wide basis — except, perhaps, that the areas that house those shelters should not have to contribute. I mean, I’d be happy to send the homeless to live in Coto de Caza, but they’d probably be unwelcome there, so let them pony up to Anaheim or Santa Ana instead.
Why doesnt Occupy occupy Solyndra? It’s a vacant building now.
They definitely paid for it and voted the main man into office who provided the taxpayer financial backing.
Come the the General Assembly and make a proposal.
What makes you think all Occupiers voted for Obama?
Oh, that reminds me – little fact I haven’t seen mentioned here – Solyndra funding began under Bush.
But yeah, bring your big ideas over to the Village. I have seen anti-Solyndra signs there.
It was not approved under Bush – because they knew it was a bad bet.
Greg & Vern,
Something for your viewing pleasure! This guy is great!
I’ll cross post this on the other blog, that actually lets me post……
Wow. my technical abilities amaze me!
THANKS
Actually you could do that – just right click the video, find & copy the embed code … or get to “embed” thru “share” … and paste that on your comment!
I usually do that for commenters but I oughtta teach you all how…
Thank you for classing up the joint!
All I can do is quote the last bit: “Oh yes! Oh yes! Oh yes!”