RESPONSIBLE CITY AGENCY: Attorney’s Office
KEYWORDS: First Amendment, freedom of speech, parks, Gallivan Center, public forum.
1. General
1.1 The city makes a reasonable attempt to balance the right of the public to use city parks and the John W. Gallivan Utah Center Plaza (“Gallivan Center”) for constitutionally protected purposes with the need for the lawful management and safe, functional, and predictable operation of city facilities.
1.2 Definitions:
A. General policies: adopted rules governing the general use of city parks and the Gallivan Center, including reservation rules, hours of operation, rental charges, permitted activities, and other similar items.
B. Occasional performer: an individual or small group of individuals, not exceeding four persons, who wish to perform on city parks or the Gallivan Center on an unscheduled and infrequent basis who may or may not accept contributions from passers-by.
C. Reservable areas: areas of city parks and the Gallivan Center which may be reserved for use pursuant to their general policies.
D. Reserved area: a part of a reservable area which has been reserved for a specific time pursuant to the general policies.
E. Speaker’s Corner: the portion of the Gallivan Center designated on Exhibit A which is subject to the special rules set out in Section 5 below.
F. First Amendment activities: activities constitutionally protected under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and/or Article I, Section 15, of the Constitution of the State of Utah including, without limitation, such activities as leafleting, picketing, making speeches, circulating petitions, and other similar activities, consistent with the time, place, and manner regulations outlined below and other applicable state, federal, county, or city laws or regulations.
G. Winter holiday season: the days between the Wednesday immediately before Thanksgiving and January 2 of the following year, unless January 2 falls on a Sunday, in which case the end date shall be January 3.
H. Winter holiday structure area: the portion of the Gallivan Center designated on Exhibit A which may be reserved for erecting winter holiday season message structures as specified in 6.
2. Declaration of Public Forum Status
2.1 City parks, with the exception of any reserved area during the time of such reservation, are traditional public forums open to First Amendment activities subject to the restrictions specified in Sections 5 and 7 below and other applicable laws or regulations.
2.2 The Speaker’s Corner, except when included in a reserved area, is also a traditional public forum open to First Amendment activities subject to the restrictions specified in Section 5 below. If the Speaker’s Corner is included within a reserved area and the Plaza Manager or his/her designee has designated a temporary alternate location during that period, that location is temporarily also declared to be a traditional open public forum.
2.3 Except for the Speaker’s Corner and any temporary alternative, the remainder of the Gallivan Center has not become, and is not intended to be, a traditional public forum. The remainder of the Gallivan Center is a limited public forum usable for First Amendment activities only as part of a reserved area pursuant to Section 6 below.
3. No Content-Based Discrimination
3.1 The city does not discriminate against or among First Amendment activities based upon the content or message of those activities except as such activities or messages may otherwise violate applicable laws or regulations such as those regarding obscenity, liquor or cigarette advertising, or similar proscriptions.
4. No Endorsement of Message
4.1 By allowing First Amendment activities within city parks or the Gallivan Center pursuant to this rule, the city does not adopt or endorse any of the messages conveyed.
5. First Amendment Activity in City Parks and the Speaker’s Corner
5.1 The general policies shall apply to city parks and Speaker’s Corner, except for these rules specially regulating First Amendment activities.
5.2 The city shall not charge any fees for the First Amendment activities allowed by this section.
5.3 Each face of a sign for picketing within city parks and the Speaker’s Corner shall, for reasons of safety, be no larger than nine square feet in size. Both sides, or two attached faces, may be used for content. The total height of such signs, including any supporting poles, shall not exceed six feet. Sign poles shall not exceed two inches in diameter. Picketing signs or other materials shall be properly removed or disposed of and shall not be littered.
5.4 Persons distributing leaflets shall not litter.
5.5 The following regulations apply to tables and small structures:
A. Any person desiring to set up a table or other small structure within city parks or the Gallivan Center shall first notify the Parks Director or the Plaza Manager or their respective designees during normal working hours.
B. Structures shall be positioned in a way that minimizes their interference with pedestrian flow, as determined by the Parks Director, Plaza Manager, or their respective designees.
C. Locations for tables and other small structures shall be on a daily first-come first-served basis.
D. Tables shall be sturdy and of a total size for any one area of not more than twelve feet by three feet by four feet high. Other small structures shall not exceed eight feet in height, ten feet in width, and four feet in depth. No other structure may be allowed except within a reserved area subject to the general policies.
E. Use of any sound amplification device in city parks shall comply with the General Policies and other applicable limits. No electronic sound amplification device shall be permitted as part of activities allowed within the Speaker’s Corner.
F. Any tables, other small structures, and other permitted materials shall be removed during closed hours.
6. Gallivan Center Regulations
6.1 Except for the Speaker’s Corner and activities within reserved areas, First Amendment activities including leafleting, picketing, making speeches, circulating petitions, and/or erecting tables or small structures in the Gallivan Center is prohibited.
6.2 Space may be reserved in the winter holiday structure area for winter holiday season message structures on a yearly first-come first-served basis, beginning on the first business date of any new year pursuant to the general policies.
A. The city shall not charge for the reservation or use of this space.
B. An individual reserved space shall not exceed 100 square feet with a maximum frontage toward a street of 20 feet. The Plaza may reduce the size of any individual reserved space to that necessary to reasonably accommodate the actual or proposed structure for the site.
C. Structures shall comply with all applicable construction codes.
D. Winter holiday season message structures shall not exceed 20 feet in height, nor, at elevations above the ground, extend over the boundaries of the space reserved.
E. Any winter holiday season message structure drawing electricity shall pay the Gallivan Center a reasonable cost for such electricity.
F. The city shall not be responsible for providing any security for winter holiday season message structures or any damages thereto. Any person erecting or maintaining such a structure shall be liable to the city for any damage caused by the structure to the Gallivan Center of surrounding city infrastructure.
7. First Amendment Activities Within Reserved Areas
7.1 Within a reserved area, the reserving party may conduct any of the First Amendment activities allowed within city parks or the Speaker’s Corner, subject to the restrictions described in Section 5.
7.2 Subject to other applicable laws and regulations and the general policies, the reserving party my create an approved perimeter physically delineating the reserved area.
7.3 The reserving party may, with its own personnel, exclude from within the physically created perimeter the conduct of other First Amendment activities other than those approved by the reserving party.
7.4 The reserving party may erect temporary structures within the reserved areas subject to the general policies and any other applicable state, federal, county, or city law or regulation including any requirement for a building permit or business license.
7.5 The city is not responsible for providing any security for reserved areas or activities therein, and is not responsible for any damage to any temporary structure erected by the reserving party within reserved areas. Reserving parties are liable to the city for any damage caused to city property by participants in an activity within reserved areas.
7.6 Electronic sound amplification devices must comply with the general policies and other applicable limits.
7.7 The Parks Director, in consultation with the reserving party, may limit the size of the reserved area to that reasonably necessary to accommodate the activities to be conducted. The Parks Director or his/her designee may create a reasonable buffer zone surrounding a reserved area which may not be reserved or used by any other person.
8. Occasional Performer Regulations
8.1 Occasional performers who wish to perform within city parks or within the Gallivan Center on areas other than solely on Speaker’s Corner shall first obtain a permit by paying a $10.00 fee and completing the required application.
8.2 Occasional performers may not perform within any reserved area without the express written consent of the reserving party.
8.3 Occasional performers must be located in such a way that minimizes their interference with pedestrian flows and other park or Gallivan Center activity. The Parks Director, Plaza Manager, or their respective designees may move occasional performers for this purpose.
8.4 Occasional performers may not perform on city parks or the Gallivan Center for more than three hours in any one day and no more than three days per week.
8.5 Occasional performers shall not use any electronic sound amplification device.
8.6 Occasional performers shall display the permit required by these rules at all times during a performance within five feet of the performer.
9. Relationship to Special Events Ordinance
9.1 To the extent that the city’s Special Events Ordinance (S.L.C.C. 3.50) overlaps with these rules, these rules shall control unless in direct conflict with the Special Events Ordinance.
CURRENT REFERENCES: S.L.C.C. 3.50
United States Constitution, First Amendment
Utah State Constitution, Article I, Section 15
PRE-1995 REFERENCES:
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 8, 1996
DATE APPROVED BY CABINET: July 3, 1996