Village of Grafton Residents Speak Out on Proposed Special Event Ordinance

Village of Grafton, WI – 100+ residents of Grafton and surrounding communities poured into the usually quiet public safety committee board room on Tuesday night to express concern and frustration over a “special events” ordinance proposed by Chief Jeff Caponera. This ordinance, which is extraordinarily vague in nature, has had residents scrambling to understand how it might impact future public and private gatherings and how much oversight the local government and police have to approve or deny what could be people’s right to assembly.

This previously undiscussed ordinance was quietly put on the public safety agenda and with the help of a keen-eyed source was brought to the attention of Ozaukee Indivisible. With the assistance of local advocacy groups, attorneys experienced with issues arising under the First Amendment and the ACLU of Wisconsin, red flags were immediately thrown up on the potential impact on residents’ civil liberties. There were immediate concerns specifically over the broadness of event types in Section 2.1. Many residents also expressed concern over section 9.2, which discusses potential required reimbursement to the Village by event organizers. Unspecified costs that are determined by the village could greatly impact the ability of many smaller religious institutions, businesses, nonprofits, public demonstrations and private gatherings from holding events in Grafton. Not only would this be a poor reflection on Grafton’s commitment to inclusivity but would also prove to directly conflict with the public’s right to utilize public property.

Denise Loveridge, the program director of a local nonprofit and village of Grafton resident, was the first to take the mic and spoke on how this ordinance would negatively impact her nonprofit’s ability to host events in Grafton due to the costs associated with the insurance requirements. She also spoke of the impractical timeframe needed for submission to approval of a permit and how it would likely also drive organizations away from Grafton. In her own words, “That’s 4-5 weeks of lost time for nonprofits that are already likely struggling with limited resources. With this timeline, this leaves only a week to make alternative plans if they were denied. This being the case, many organizations would simply stop using Grafton parks for their events and would look to other municipalities with less burdensome processes.”

Pastor Chris Thomas of Grace Lutheran Church highlighted the importance of communities coming together in spontaneous public gatherings. Pastor Chris emphasized, “I believe that as a faith leader there are times that a community must be able to gather to question, to mourn, and to support one another in response to local, national, or even global events. Such moments, like the local vigil held in response to the murder of Charlie Kirk are important ways that a community finds opportunity to seek peace and hope in response to the woes of this world.” This sentiment was echoed by several other public commenters.

After more than a dozen public comments by Grafton residents and in a fantastic demonstration of democratic process, the Public Safety Committee decided to postpone the vote in order to address the numerous concerns brought by the community. We applaud their willingness to listen to the public and ensure that all measures are taken to guarantee the civil liberties of the residents of Grafton and transparency of our local government’s actions.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.