Iowa City denies permit renewal for Occupy group

UPDATE: Occupy Iowa City members must move out of College Green Park by the end of the month, the city manager's office said Monday.

The city has denied the group's application to renew the four-month permit that had allowed members to stay overnight in the park since last fall.

City Manager Tom Markus laid out a series of reasons for the decision. Among them are “significant damage” to the park's turf; health and safety concerns; and a disproportionate use of police resources to respond to drunk individuals, fights, thefts and other problems at the park.

He said the main reason to deny the permit was that the group's presence diminishes the public's ability to use the 2.4-acre park a few blocks east of downtown.

“At some point, we need to return our park to the public,” he said.

Protestors began occupying the park in October as part of the Occupy Wall Street movement that started over concerns of economic inequality.

Once winter set in, few protestors stayed in the park, and the handful who did were mostly homeless people.

With snow falling early Monday afternoon, only one person was found among the two dozen tents set up in the park. The middle-aged woman declined to give her name but said she was one of just a couple true Occupy Iowa City members to still be spending nights in the park. She also said a few people have given the group a bad reputation by causing problems with drinking and fighting.

Beer cases, cans and bottles were strewn about the park last week.

A member of Occupy Iowa City said on Facebook the group would have no comment until its meets Thursday to discuss the matter.

Markus said the parts of the park that have been camped on will be closed for up to 60 days to be sodded and reseeded at an estimated cost of $2,281.

The existing permit expires Feb. 29. The city wants occupy members to be gone by March 1, when repairs to the park will start. Markus said the city would help the group find a more suitable location for its meetings.

The decision can be appealed to the City Council. Its next scheduled meeting is Feb. 21.

Mayor Matt Hayek said he didn't want to comment on the matter Monday because of the possibility of an appeal.

Evictions of Occupy Wall Street-affiliated groups from public spaces have occured throughout the nation.

In Iowa, about a dozen “occupy” protestors were arrested in Des Moines last month for breaking the 11 p.m. curfew on the Capitol grounds. They had moved there after the city of Des Moines stopped allowing them to stay in a city park.