Gay rally gets OK on route

Lolita Harper

Organizers of a lesbian pride march, scheduled to take place in

two weeks, withdrew a request for a waiver of permit fees Monday

night as part of a deal they struck with the city that will allow

them to walk their desired route.

Visibility is the most important factor, and the idea of marching

only on sidewalks or in a residential area, as city officials

suggested to the group in previous meetings, was not feasible,

organizers said.

Lori Hutson, one of the Orange County Dyke March organizers,

praised the city for working toward a compromise.

“I’m really pleased with the way the city worked with us,” she

said.

Hutson and Catie Profeta, another march coordinator, met with city

officials Friday to discuss the rally. City officials approved a

route of about a mile that starts at Harbor Boulevard, near Lions

Park, and travels south to 18th Street. During the march, the streets

will be temporarily closed at 1:30 p.m. Aug. 17 but reopened when the

crowd passes.

“They got the parade route that works for them, and they

understand that they need to pay the fees like everyone else, and

they are satisfied with that,” Mayor Linda Dixon said of the

compromise.

Although the request was formally withdrawn, the issue was far

from dead.

Councilman Gary Monahan said he was concerned that street closures

did not have to be approved by the City Council. Businesses along the

route will be affected -- if only for a short time -- and should have

the opportunity to have their input heard, he said.

“As a business owner, if the streets were closed down in front of

my place even for half an hour, I would be furious,” the councilman

said.

While Monahan’s concerns were focused on specific aspects of the

march, many residents came to the meeting prepared to address the

council about the event in general.

Resident Robin Leffler was concerned the group was receiving

special treatment and wanted clarification about the concessions the

city made.

Dixon said she wanted to make it clear that the city did not waive

any fees. There was a slight reduction to the charges only because

the route was shortened and, as a result, the calculated fee was

smaller.

City Manager Allan Roeder said he would place the entire permit,

with all the relevant details, on the city’s Web site by the end of

the week.

Other residents were less concerned with paperwork and more with

the nature of the event.

Resident Kim White said parades such as this one should be

distinguished from events put on by service groups, such as the Lions

Club or Kiwanis.

White said the march’s aim was to promote a lifestyle that some

find “deviant, immoral and offensive.”

Sue Smith, the chairwoman of the city’s Human Relations Committee,

which voted last week to recommend that the council waive fees for

the march, said it reflected well on the city.

“Out of 34 cities in Orange County, they chose Costa Mesa for the

first-ever Orange County march,” she said. “This event is joining

Costa Mesa with 15 other major cities in the United States.”

The Dyke March was started in 1993 in Washington, D.C., and has

grown in popularity, reaching 15 cities across the country, such as

Los Angeles, Chicago and New York.

The group thinks it is important to bring the event to

traditionally conservative Orange County to counteract some of the

violence and discrimination lesbians have faced, Profeta has said.

Organizers said they chose Costa Mesa as the host city because of

its reputation for diversity and its ongoing efforts to eradicate

discrimination.

The Dyke March and Rally will take place Aug. 17 in Lions Park.

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

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