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City Hall lawn to reopen in 30 days
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The lawn around City Hall, which was shut down after Occupy L.A. protesters were kicked out in November, is expected to reopen in 30 days.
The lawn surrounding City Hall will likely reopen in the next 30 days, and when it does, it will have the same rules regulating camping and the hours of operation as it did last fall when Occupy L.A. took over the park.
The Los Angeles City Council today clarified what constitutes camping, which has always been prohibited under city law. Park patrons will be allowed to use open-sided tents, bed rolls and umbrellas when the park reopens as long as those materials are not used for living accommodations and are removed when the park closes.
For now, the park will remain open from 5 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.
Rules were in place last fall when Occupy L.A. protesters took to the lawn. At the time, Councilman Richard Alarcon authored a resolution in support of the movement.
“It was as a result of that resolution that we, by special permission, essentially allowed people to stay in the park,” Alarcon said.
Occupy LA protests cost taxpayers $4.7 million
Occupy Los Angeles cost city taxpayers $4.7 million, with most of the money spent on policing last year's protests outside City Hall.
The Los Angeles Times says the LA Police Department spent $1.3 million monitoring protesters during the two-month demonstration, and an additional $1.3 million evicting them. Another $500,000 was spent by the Office of Public Safety, whose security officers protect city property.
The newspaper cites a report presented Friday by City Administrative Officer Miguel Santana.
The total is $2 million higher than an estimate made in February.
The Times says the updated figure reflects recently reported police costs and the bill to rehabilitate City Hall Park and several monuments damaged by protesters.
The city has received more than $400,000 in donations and rebates for the restoration project.































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