Laguna Beach : Ordinance Bans Tents at Main Beach Park

A new law on the use of city parks will prevent members of the Hare Krishna religious sect from setting up photo exhibits and tents at their annual festival in Main beach Park this summer.

The ordinance, adopted by the City Council last week, forbids the use of tables, booths or any other structures in the city’s parks. “The park can be used by anybody for any legal purpose. They just can’t set up any structures,” City Manager Ken Frank said. “Everyone still has the opportunity for free expression.”

Frank said the council members, who adopted the ordinance on a split vote, thought that Main Beach was already crowded enough in the summer without tables and canopies taking up precious space.

But an attorney for the Hare Krishnas said the group will sue the city on grounds that the law is unconstitutional. “There will be a lawsuit, and this time there will be no settlement out of court,” said David Liberman, attorney for the Krishnas. “They have banned a specific and protected form of expression. It’s like they banned speech in the park.”

Last summer, the Krishnas sued Laguna Beach when they were denied permission to hold their Festival of India in the park. but then dropped the suit when the city backed down and allowed them to erect their displays. The city had already granted permission to the Laguna Beach Arts Commission to hold a dance exhibition in the park, Frank said, and did not want to have to cancel that event or force it to move.