Committee faces two hot topics

Lolita Harper

The city’s Human Relations Committee will hold a special meeting

tonight to address in greater detail two issues raised by a vocal

group of activists that has rocked City Hall in recent weeks with

allegations of intolerance by city leaders.

The Costa Mesa Human Relations Committee will specifically discuss

the allegedly contentious arrest of a city resident during a July 4

protest at Niketown and a request to close streets and waive fees for

the 2002 Orange County Dyke March.

Howard Perkins, a city staffer who serves as the liaison for the

committee, said committee members wanted a chance to review the

details of the Dyke March to make a formal recommendation to the City

Council before council members take action on it next week.

Officials from the Orange County Dyke March, a Garden Grove-based

group, have filed for permits to hold a special event around Lions

Park from noon to 8 p.m. Aug. 17. Organizers are asking for a waiver

of up to $4,669.75 in city fees, a staff report shows. They are also

asking that sections of three streets be closed, including Harbor

Boulevard, Pomona Avenue and 18th Street.

Members of the Orange County Residents’ Council and other

independent residents have voiced support for fee waivers for the

march, saying the event will demonstrate tolerance and work to break

down stereotypes. Since landing on the city’s political radar screen

a few weeks ago, the outspoken activists have taken a hard-line

stance on many of the city’s most controversial issues, including

their involvement in the recent controversy regarding allegedly

racist and homophobic posts on a local Web site from members of the

Human Relations Committee.

Councilman Gary Monahan, who will formally hear the issue at

Monday’s City Council meeting, said the organization “would have to

make a pretty awesome case” for the fee waivers and street closures,

considering the city does not typically extend such generosity.

“If we waive it for them, what kind of door are we opening up for

anyone else?” Monahan asked.

Members of the Orange County Residents’ Council could not be

reached for comment by press time.

Many of the same people have also rallied behind Costa Mesa

resident Naui Huitzilopochtli, whose July 4 arrest at a Niketown

protest will be the second item of discussion for the Human Relations

Committee tonight. Huitzilopochtli was arrested on suspicion of

throwing red paint at a man, a charge he has consistently denied. He

and his supporters say he was the victim of selective law enforcement

and voiced their concerns with Costa Mesa officers at the previous

City Council meeting.

All criminal charges against Huitzilopochtli have been dropped. In

response to a request by the City Council, police have launched an

“extensive” internal investigation regarding police conduct during

the protest, the staff report stated.

* LOLITA HARPER covers Costa Mesa. She may be reached at (949)

574-4275 or by e-mail at lolita.harper@latimes.com.