Monday, June 22, 2009

Outdated dance permits

The Des Moines parks board wants to throw out an ordinance that requires permits for organized dances and mandates that they end by 2 a.m. The Des Moines Social Club complained about the 67-year-old ordinance. The parks board "can find no public purpose for singling out dancing from other types of gatherings for regulation," a proposed resolution reads. "This ordinance reflects poorly on the city and harms our efforts to project the city as forward-thinking, tolerant and supportive of an attractive cultural environment," it adds.

Parks board member Loyd Ogle, who is also president of the Des Moines Music Coalition, said the ordinance "has a dampening effect ... because people are hesitant." An online petition has gathered 529 signatures from people who organizers say "feel that they have the right to dance all night long if they decide to do so. Dancing is not illegal and, in Des Moines, it is treated as so."

Doubtless the permit billing software has other permit uses.

No comments:

Post a Comment