Occupy Iowa City Park Permit Renewal Request Denied by city

Occupy Iowa City has had its request for a permit renewal at denied by the city of Iowa City.

In a letter released today written by City Manager Tom Markus, the city "respectfully" requests that the occupiers leave the park by 12:00 a.m. on March 1. The original permit is set to expire on Feb. 29.

Markus wrote in the letter that all personal property left after this date will be removed so scheduled repairs to the park can commence.

Markus wrote that the city is willing to help the group find a new place to go.

"The City stands willing to assist your group in finding a more suitable location for your meetings," Markus wrote.

In a list of reasons enclosed in the correspondence, the city manager wrote that the Occupy presence had led to the park becoming less usable for the public at large. It also said presence of the occupiers had damaged the park turf, led to decreasing sanitary conditions in the park, and required an unusual degree of police resources to keep the peace.

After the decision, the occupiers have five days to register an appeal, in which case it will be reviewed at the next city council meeting, according to the letter.

In a comment on the Occupy Iowa City Facebook page, Occupy member Stephany Hoffelt said the group will be deciding how to respond to this at its Thursday general assembly:

Reporters are calling, so we need to discuss this.

I have sent out a general e-mail basically saying there will be no comment until this can be discussed at Thursday's GA. End of story. So there is no rush, just know we will have to issue some sort of press release.

The PDF of the statement, plus the list of attached reasons for the decision, is attached to this story.