By Erica Williams
Staff Writer

April 22 -- Santa Monicans will no longer need a permit for demonstrations or other “spontaneous” public gatherings on the lawn of City Hall, according to an ordinance adopted by the City Council Tuesday night.

Passed unanimously on second reading, the ordinance defines spontaneous events as those occurring in response to “news or affairs coming into public knowledge less than 48 hours prior to such event.”

The new law asks organizers, where possible, to give the City at least four hours advance notice of an event as well as an estimate of the number of participants expected.

Among other provisions, the ordinance adds a parade route south down Main Street from the Civic Center to the Santa Monica/Los Angeles border. The change was adopted by public request, according to the staff report.

The ordinance, however, leaves untouched the street banner provision that the council also considered modifying at its April 8 council meeting, when it approved the ordinance on first reading.

“Our sole purpose is to address a legal liability,” City Attorney Marsha Moutrie said at that meeting. She recommended that the City eliminate content-based restrictions on banners hung over streets and only allow City-sponsored events on these banners.

“The street banner ordinance is unconstitutional,” Moutrie told the council, adding that it was being legally challenged. Though Moutrie declined to name the litigant at the time, lead attorney Carol Sober confirmed that Food Not Bombs is the official plaintiff in the First Amendment lawsuit.

On April 8, business and community leaders (whittled down to just a few during the council’s three-hour discussion of a prior agenda item) decried the provision to limit banners to City events.

Dr. Michael Gruning, chairman elect of the Chamber of Commerce, called it “preposterous,” while Chris Di Carlo called it a “tragedy.”

“I think it would be a tragedy if we were to withhold access,” said Di Carlo. “Many of these (community) events won’t happen” without exposure provided by street banners.

“Our agency has already made good use of street banners,” said Bruce Rankin of the
Westside Food Bank, whose organization distributed 1.6 million pounds of food last year.

“These banners have incredible effects,” added Gary Gordon, president of the Main Street Merchants Association. “(And) they’re not free.”

Moutrie is expected to return to the council with a report on a seperate ordinance addressing street banners as early as next month.

The City’s options would include prohibiting all street banners; allowing all banners, without restrictions, and implementing a lottery system if the City becomes inundated with requests or limiting banners to City-sponsored events, Moutrie said before the meeting.