Santa Ana Revives Plan to Close Parks to Admission Events

Reacting to violence at the Gay Pride Festival earlier this month in Centennial Regional Park, the Santa Ana City Council revived a measure Monday to bar such large-scale events, a move that nonprofit groups said might restrict their moneymaking power.

Going into Monday night’s meeting, it appeared that the council would vote on the issue, but the debate and vote were postponed for two weeks at the request of Councilman John Acosta, who wanted to study the measure further.

The ordinance would prohibit events that charge admission in city parks. Popular events such as the Cinco de Mayo and Mother’s Day festivals, now held at Centennial Regional Park, would be affected by the ban, as well as future gay festivals. The Gay Pride Festival held Sept. 9 and 10 charged $10 admission.

First Considered in August

The council first considered the ordinance a month ago at the request of Mayor Daniel H. Young, who asked for a revision of the city’s park ordinance in the midst of the controversy over the gay festival. He said he is questioning whether parks are an “appropriate setting” for such events.

But the council decided Monday to table debate on the ordinance after members were divided on whether the revision would unfairly restrict the money-raising ability of nonprofit organizations, which frequently hold such fund-raising events in the parks.

John Palacios, a member of the Santiago Club, which sponsors a Cinco de Mayo festival, said the ordinance would reduce tremendously the ability of nonprofit groups to raise funds. The Santiago Club raised $50,000 for various activities this year, he said.

Council support for the proposal has been divided in the past, and it was unclear how the Sept. 10 melee will affect any vote. Most council members, polled informally before Monday’s meeting, were tight-lipped about their position, but Acosta said he would probably vote against such an ordinance.

“I think that all organizations that hold their festivals in city parks will be hurt financially by such an ordinance,” he said. “It’s unfair.”

The new measure would also bar the sale of alcoholic beverages in city parks. Santa Ana and Tustin are the only county cities that allow alcohol to be sold at city parks, City Atty. Edward J. Cooper said.

Cooper said the city can set such limits in parks as long as the ordinance does not discriminate against a particular group.

In a letter written to the City Council, Rudy Montejano, chairman of the Santiago Club, blamed the council’s inability to deal with the Gay Pride Festival for the proposed park moves.

“The proposed ban unfortunately is perceived by the community as a politically motivated, punitive measure which resolves nothing, but creates many problems,” Montejano wrote to the council.