The organizer of Occupy Park City late last week obtained a permit from City Hall allowing the encampment at City Park to remain in place for the time being, an important step as the movement tries to solidify its presence in Park City.
The permit, issued by special-events staffers at City Hall, allows the encampment at its current site through Dec. 2. Up to five people are allowed to be within the encampment, the permit outlines. The Occupy Park City organizer, Tyler Galovich, may request renewals to remain at the site after Dec. 2. He has said he plans to keep the encampment intact for an indefinite period of time.
The Police Department, City Hall attorneys, the Building Department and the Sustainability Department crafted the wording of the permit. City Hall by Tuesday morning had not released a copy of the document.
City Hall staffers involved in issuing the permit on Monday described a series conditions that were attached to the Occupy Park City approval. They said the organizer is required to move a portable toilet into place since the nearby City Park bathrooms are closed for the winter.
Occupy Park City must respect quiet hours between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m., something that is required across Park City. The staffers said Occupy Park City has not requested it be allowed to use a public-address system at the site.
People involved with Occupy Park City are prohibited from parking at City Park overnight. That practice is barred anyhow.
Kurt Simister, a Building Department official who helped craft the permit, said heat sources, including open flames and butane heaters, are barred from inside the tents. The tents are highly combustible, Simister said.
Max Paap, who manages special events for City Hall, said Galovich adhered to the municipal process in obtaining the permit. Camping ordinarily is not allowed within the city limits, but the Occupy Park City setup was granted a permit on constitutional grounds as a form of free speech.
In his application for the permit, Galovich described Occupy Park City as a “social ’cause’ gathering” and a “public demonstration.” He said the target market for Occupy Park City is both local and regional.
Galovich indicated in the application Occupy Park City does not require police services above the regular patrols conducted by officers. The Police Department last week checked on the Occupy Park City site at least four times, police logs show. Officers went by as late as 1:45 a.m., according to the logs. The police logs did not indicate there were problems when the officers checked on the encampment. The 1:45 a.m. entry, logged on Sunday, described the site as quiet with no lights or flames.
Simister, meanwhile, said he stops by each morning to make sure there are not problems.
Galovich on Oct. 31 launched Occupy Park City when he pitched a tent at City Park. The encampment also includes another, larger tent for organizing purposes. Galovich has said he anticipates others will join him in the encampment. There have been reports that at least one other person has spent time at the site.
Galovich aligns himself with the wider Occupy Wall Street movement. He lists a series of grievances against corporate America, including the income gap between CEOs and the average American as well as the influence of Wall Street lobbyists in Washington, D.C.
He was among those who marched in Park City on Saturday as part of the first major Occupy Park City demonstration, staged at the Olympic Welcome Plaza and along a stretch of Park Avenue. He has said he was involved with the Occupy Salt Lake movement in Pioneer Park before he set up in Park City.