Citizens dislike proposed rave ordinance
October 15, 2009
Citizens and commissioners almost unanimously commented unfavorably last night about a proposed anti-rave ordinance seeking to thwart the sometimes dangerous dance parties from happening in Valencia County.
Calling the ordinance too expansive and unnecessary, citizens said the proposed ordinance was a good start but needed a lot more work before it was approved by the commission.
“I think the commissioners should take this back and review it,” said Frank Barr, a citizen from Las Maravillas.
He said the law had loopholes and mostly duplicated existing laws. For example, the definition of “rave parties” is too broad, he said.
“A ‘rave party’ is ‘one or more persons?’” Barr asked. “What kind of rave can you have with one person?”
Commissioners Ron Gentry and Georgia Otero-Kirkham have spearheaded the commission’s effort to protect citizens from being harmed by rave attendees, some of whom are drinking, taking drugs and doing other potentially illegal things. The proposed ordinance was introduced by Gentry.
Over the past several months, citizens have asked commissioners to get a handle on raves held on vacant desert land because of the loud music, bright lights and unsafe situations for youth and county residents.
Sue Moran of Tierra Grande, who lives close to where raves have been held, said she wants any ordinance passed to give the Valencia County Sheriff’s Department the teeth to clamp down. She asked the commission to involve the sheriff before passing an ordinance to be sure he gets the support he needs out of any new law.
Every citizen pointed out, as did commissioners Don Holliday and Pedro Rael, that the state and county already have laws in place giving the sheriff’s department the authority to issue citations and make arrests under noise, nuisance, disorderly conduct and other laws.
“I believe we have enough laws on the books to take care of those things, what’s happening out there,” Holliday said.
Citizens weren’t necessarily opposed to raves, but would like to see them held legally and safely.
“Tents must be fireproofed. They should have permits to gather. There should be gross receipts tax collected. There should be rescue squads available,” Moran said.
Rave organizers often charge for admission, making between $10,000 and $40,000 depending on attendance, according to Sheriff Rene Rivera. Some of that money could be used to fund safety measures.
Bob Gosticha from Meadow Lake asked for the commission to shift away from creating an “anti-rave” ordinance, instead finding a way to regulate raves so that they’re safe.
“We have enough laws on the books to already prohibit almost anything that’s already carried out at a rave party,” he said. “I would rather see an ordinance that outlines under what circumstances it can be legal to have a rave party.”
He wants a rave ordinance to include regulations of noise, the number of people who can attend, where it can be held, and what fee the county would collect for permitting it.
Gosticha criticized the vague language of the proposed law. For instance, he said, one section of the proposed law says it’s unlawful to maintain property “which is detrimental to the life, health, safety, and welfare of the residents, neighbors or the public.”
“My neighbor has dogs which are not license, don’t get shots,” he said. “Do I now turn him in for violating such a law? It doesn’t have anything to do with it. There’s also something in here which prohibits the gathering of three or more people for something that’s illegal. Why do you need three people to gather for something illegal? If one person behaves in an illegal matter, it’s already a breach of the laws.”
He said the proposed ordinance isn’t ready for approval.
George Moscona of Rio Communities agreed the proposed ordinance has vague language that doesn’t only outlaw raves but also outlaws any party that’s “violent, abusive, indecent, profane, boisterous, unreasonably loud or otherwise disorderly,” which could include graduation parties, matanzas or any other type of gathering that gets a little loud or disorderly.
“Drunken parties happen all over the county and maybe now they’ll have to be called raves. I think it’s kind of crazy to go about it this way,” he said, pointing out that he’s been to raves organized by churches that were “celebrations of life” and locals should have the opportunity to hold safe raves.
Gentry countered the criticism saying the focus should be on the debauchery occurring at raves in the county.
“We need to in general say in this county that’s not acceptable. We are ‘anti-’ that kind of behavior,” he said.
Gentry wants to avoid permitting or regulating every party held in Valencia County, which he suggested citizens speaking at the meeting are asking the county to do.
“We’re going to start regulating the citizens lives and I don’t think they’re going to be too happy,” he said.
Holliday said he was open to taking a different approach that regulates raves before and as they’re happening as a way of making them safer, instead of waiting for them to happen and then calling in the sheriff’s department.
“I would hate to see a line of law enforcement officers headed out there with their lights on and have a bunch of kids jump in vehicles and just take off like a bunch of scared little rats — and have an accident that way,” he said.
Commission Chairman Pedro Rael said the issue is complicated, not only because there are already laws on the books to handle most of what’s been happening at these raves but also because the raves have been a nuisance for nearby residents.
“It bears study. It’s complicated. It’s an issue we need to address,” he said.
He cautioned that the county must be careful to avoid violating people’s constitutional rights, including the right to assemble.
Last night’s discussion of the ordinance was a public hearing. Commissioners will be able to vote for or against it at next week’s commission meeting should it appear on the agenda.
Related documents:
Posted in: Archive