UPDATE: In just 100 hours we reached our goal of 1000 signatures! Please continue to share and spread this petition around. Let's see if we can reach our new goal of 2000 signatures in the next 100 hours! Thank you Boulder! Thank you visitors to Boulder! Thank you people everywhere who enjoy freedom!
A new rule proposed in Boulder, CO would make it illegal to sit or stand in all public parks and any public space after 11pm. According to City Manager Jane Brautigam, who drafted the rule, it will only be used against people who are not engaged in an activity such as biking or walking. In other words it is o.k. to be in a publicly owned park as long as you are moving. If you stand still, sit down, or are for any reason considered by a police officer to not be engaged in an “approved activity” you can be ticketed or jailed. Any personal property can be removed and disposed of by the city. Jane Brautigam claims the rule would provide a safer environment for the Boulder public, however the truth is it would restrict public access to over 45,000 acres of public space in Boulder CO, a city that prides itself on the stunning beauty of its natural landscape and its progressive policies. This is a draconian rule that would greatly limit personal freedoms for the sake of little to no increased security for the public.
This rule is being considered during a time when many residents are away on holiday vacations and will not be present to dispute the rule. The rule was proposed on December 19, 2011 and will become rule on January 3, 2012, just 16 days after it was proposed. The city manager and the city council have not provided for any open forum to discuss this rule, but rather have provided just a single email, parksclosurerule@bouldercolorado.gov, to which “public comment” can be sent. This rule is not available for a city council vote and will be instituted by a single non-elected official of the city of Boulder, City Manager Jane S. Brautigam.
This rule attempts to address very specific concerns with broad-based implications. If the city manager is concerned about public safety, she should create rules that address public safety and do not limit use of public land. Everything about the process of creating this rule has been done in a way that excludes true public comment, denies any accountability by elected officials, avoids open communication with the public and reduces the public trust in our local government.
Please sign this petition to show your support for open and accessible public lands as well as open and accessible governmental process. Our lands and our laws should stay in our hands, not the hands of a single non-elected individual.
We the undersigned show our support for open and accessible public lands to all members of the public in Boulder CO. The rule proposed by Boulder City Manager Jane S. Brautigam to close public lands at night attempts to restrict access to publicly owned lands. It further attempts to address a few very specific issues, primarily the use of public space by homeless individuals, that the city has failed to deal with in creative ways, with a broad-based, unfair, discriminatory and over-reaching policy. We the undersigned respectfully request that the city of Boulder does not barter the rights of the people for the purpose of further degrading an already fragile minority population, and that this rule specifically and any law which restricts access to public lands be firmly rejected. Thank you for your consideration in this urgent matter.
