The Downtown Commission, an advisory body appointed by the Santa Cruz City Council, vets laws before they go to the City Council for final consideration, in so far as those laws deal with downtown issues.

On the table is an expansion of the Parking Lots and Garages Trespass Law (which I term the "Parking Lot Panic Law") which currently makes it illegal to enter a public parking garage or parking lot #9 (on Elm St. between Pacific and Cedar) unless you are parking or picking up a car or bicycle (and then only for 15 minutes maximum).

HUFF is seeking a repeal of the current year-old law, which has not had its legally-required 6-month review and was prompted in the main by anti-homeless attitudes and a chilling willingness to close off public spaces to the general public.

The SCPD is seeking an expansion of the lot to include 19 more parking lots in Downtown Santa Cruz, eliminating another 4 square blocks of public assembly space and expanding police power to selectively enforce and (yes, indeed!) profile!

See "Zooming At You: Public Assembly Ban in City Parking Lots: 8:30 AM City Hall 9-27" at http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2007/09/21/18448912.php for more details.

HUFF and Joe Schultz will provide early morning munchables for those who show up.

We may also try to find the elusive Mayor Reilly and Vice-Mayor Coonerty, still avoiding public meetings with Sleeping Ban protesters.

FRSC will probably cover some of this event later 6-8 PM Thursday evening on 101.1 FM.

Julie Shattuck is the chair of the Downtown Commission, not the organizer of the protest. HUFF is organizing the protest: for more info contact Robert Norse at rnorse3 [at] hotmail.com or 423-4833.