EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF PARKS AND RECREATION

CITY AND COUNTY OF DENVER

Case No. DPR 2017- 101

PRE-HEARING STATEMENT

IN THE MATTER: THE DENVER 420 RALLY

Comes now, Appellant Miguel Lopez, through undersigned counsel, and

pursuant to the Order of Hearing Officer Honorable David Ramirez, and the

DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION (DPR), Rules and Regulations,

Section V. Notices and Hearing for an Appeal, B. Pre-Hearing Statement,

respectfully submits this Pre-Hearing Statement as follows:

1. Issues raised by the Appellant and responses of the DPR.

Permittee Miguel Lopez reiterates and incorporates his original appeal dated

June 2, 2017 and his supplement dated July 7, 2017.

Respondent City and County of Denver reiterates its original Notice of

Violation issued May 19, 2017, with the exception of withdrawing any alleged

violation related to Noise.

Four alleged violations are identified for purposes of adjudication at the

September 19, 2017 Hearing.

 Originally, there were five alleged violations, but the City and County has

withdrawn the alleged violation for Noise and agrees the appeal shall proceed on

four remaining alleged violations as follows:

1. Trash

2. Safety and Security

3. Health Violations

4. Other City Agency Violations

Consequently, even if the City prevails on the remaining four violations,

which Appellant strongly disputes any of which constitute a substantial violation,

the Permittee cannot be penalized with a three-year prohibition from holding a

permit for the event since this penalty only applies to a fifth violation by the

Permittee.

2. Concise statement of relevant facts, both agreed upon and

disputed.

Appellant Statement of Relevant Facts

1. Since the founding of the City and County of Denver in 1858, the

three-year ban and loss of Priority Status assessed against Permittee in this matter

constitutes the most severe penalties ever assessed against an event permittee.

2. The Run of Show (Attachment 5 to the Notice of Violation of May

19, 2017) was submitted to the City and County of Denver by Permittee in advance

of the event, approved by the City and County without alteration, and reflects the

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end of the live event, speeches, and entertainment to be 10:00pm on April 20,

2017. This document further establishes a Breakdown//Clean Up from 10:00pm

12:00 am on Thursday, April 20, 2017, and Extensive Park Clean Up power

washing, etc. from Friday, April 21, 2017 8:00am 5:00pm. The Permit itself

gives the Rally possession of the park until 11:59pm on April 21, 2017.

3. Civic Center Park was in fact completely cleaned up by event

organizers and staff in advance of 11:59pm on April 21, 2017, and returned in the

same or better condition that received. None of the cleanup required City resources

or expense.

4. The Permit and Event Log (Attachment 8 to the Notice of Violation of

May 19, 2017) reflects that the Permit ends, all streets and sidewalks must be

reopened at 4.21.17, 11:59 pm.

5. Denver Parks and Recreation, Public Event Policy, section 6.1.3.5

establishes a park curfew from 11:00pm through 5:00am. That Policy expressly

applies said curfew to permitted events unless the conduct of the Event during

curfew hours is expressly authorized in the Event Permit. The Event Permit in this

case specifies that the Event itself is to occur 4/20 from 9am to 9:00pm.

6. Parties agree that the alleged issues with noise should not be

considered a violation, and thus should not be considered the first of five alleged

violations. Four alleged violations remain, as detailed above and in each partys

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respective submissions. Parties disagree whether the remaining four alleged

violations should be considered violations, and disagree whether these alleged

violations should be considered substantial.

7. All individuals and entities associated with the Denver 420 Rally and

Event, with the exception of Miguel Lopez individually, are classified as

Permittee Workers as defined under Denver Parks and Recreation, Public Event

Policy, adopted October 25, 2016 2.37, page 10 of 57, and consequently any

violation by a Permittee Worker are enumerated at 8.4.5 and involve only fines

and not loss of Priority Status nor denial of permits for any time period.

3. Copies of Exhibits not previously included in the record (whether

presented by the Appellant or DPR).

Mr. Lopez Additional Exhibits:

1. City and County of Denver Invoice, Record Number 2017-PW-

0004859, Public Works Permit, Street Occupancy Permit, 12 pages, page 2 of 12

reflects Sidewalk closure, page 4 of 12 reflects the allowance of elevated noise

levels between 8:00am and 10:00pm, page 6 of 12 reflects sidewalk closures and

trash barricade pickup to occur by 4/21/17 Midnight. (Attached hereto, RSOP

420 Rally.)

2. Denver Parks & Recreation Permit 319583, Approved, 2 pages,

reflects permit duration from 12:00am (midnight April 19, 2017) through 11:59pm

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on April 21, 2017, for Civic Center Park, Entire Park, further reflects a Breakdown

Dates/Times as ending 4/21 11:59 am. (Attached hereto, 420Rally2017_Permit.)

3. Documents received from City responsive to Appellants request

under the Colorado Open Records Act, pages 1-978 (Supplied separately on CD

due to space constraints.)

4. Contract with Uber Technologies, Inc. for provision of discounted

rides to rally participants. (Attached hereto, Uber_420Rally_Signed Agreement.)

4. Names of witnesses with a brief statement summarizing their

testimony.

Any Witness Identified by the City, or who becomes necessary due to subsequent
disclosure or investigation

Miguel Lopez

The Permittee and sole Appellant in this case; will testify to all matters

raised in the appeal, including statements in the original appeal dated June 2, 2017

and his supplement dated July 7, 2017, not repeated herein for the sake of brevity.

Santino Walter

Permittee Worker, as defined by Denver Parks and Recreation, Public Event

Policy 2.37, page 10 of 57; and Permittee Worker violations 8.4.5, page 52 of

57, will testify to all matters raised in the appeal. In particular:

1. The security plan, approved by the City, was fully complied with and

was executed above and beyond all permit requirements. The correct amount of

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staff and security were present, and the contractors executed the security plan in

full. Ben Martch and his staffing company, and Maurice Lucky of JCJ Security

will confirm this.

2. Tom Wright and the Wright Group were paid in full in advance of the

event for fencing, S&B and Commercial Janitorial were also paid in full in

advance of the event for their cleaning activities, and all performed in full. All

contracted workers were paid for cleanup, trash receptacles were paid for in full

before the event, and the plan approved by the City of Denver was substantially

complied with, including the delivery of the proper amount of trash receptacles,

except for a two-hour delay in actual placement of trash receptacles, due to the

contractor, who had delivered on time the receptacles, but had not placed them

immediately.

3. Mr. Walter requested the City multiple times in the previous two

years, and for the 2017 event, that the same street closures that are allowed for

other similar events be granted due to safety concerns and to allow more entrances

to safely and efficiently process people into the Park. The City denied the request

for 2017 and previous years, and the 420 Rally is the only similar event in Civic

Center Park which has limited street closures. If more entrances had been allowed,

the event could have processed more people more quickly, and minimized any

people waiting in proximity to busy streets.

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 4. The event has worked with the City of Denver and its agencies

including the Denver Police Department, and has agreed to unprecedented security

measures that are far in excess of any other similar event at this or similar

locations. By placing ten personnel at each entrance with hand-wand requirements

and individual searches, it is unfair for the City to now complain about long lines

and allegedly obstructed traffic, when it was the Citys own demands that in part

cause these putative issues.

5. The Run of Show was approved by the City in advance and the Rally

complied completely with the schedule therein.

6. After concerns raised on April 21, 2017 the rally separately contracted

with Brooke Kowdry of Common Area Maintenance to perform cleaning services

above and beyond the agreed permit conditions including power washing.

7. Marty Flanigan of Parks and Recreation performed a walk-through on

April 22, 2017 and stated that the Park was left in pristine condition with the

small exception of a broken sprinkler head at a cost of $190.00, which was

promptly paid and settled all issues, as referenced in the Citys Attachment 9 to the

Notice of May 19, 2017.

8. The Rally has spent over $2,000,000 over the past four years to

comply with the Citys demands and requirements, and also to bring nationally-

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recognized talent and stimulate extensive economic growth and create good wage

jobs for Denvers working people and families.

Mark Jordan

Production Manager, MJ Productions, will testify that his company complied

with all aspects of the Permit requirements.

Terry Schenfeld, S & B Portable Restrooms

Permittee worker, will testify consistent with her signed affidavit, included

herewith.

Ben Martch

Permittee worker, will testify as to compliance with staffing and health and

licensure requirements.

Marty Flanigan, Denver Parks and Recreation

Works for Denver Parks and Recreation, will testify that by the time the

Denver 420 Rallys permit ended at 11:59pm on April 21, 2017, the Denver Civic

Center Park was professionally cleaned to an acceptable level. Mr. Flanigan will

further testify that Denver Parks and Recreations initial only resolution of the

Denver 420 Rally was a bill for $190.00 for a broken sprinkler head caused by a

third party not affiliated with the Rally, which was promptly paid and satisfied by

the Denver 420 Rally organization.

Tom Wright, Wright Group Productions

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 Permittee Worker, responsible for fencing set up and breakdown,

experienced in event management and can offer testimony based upon training and

experience, as well as can testify about factual issues raised in appeal.

Maurice Lucky, JCJ Executive Protection, LLC

Will testify as to being the owner of JCJ Security, LLC, personally attended

and worked on the Denver 420 Rally on April 20, 2017. The Invoice JCJ Security

provided for the permit was accurate, and provided extra for the national talent

stage. The company complied with the invoice and the security plan in full, and

supplied all of the proper security staffing at each entrance as required. We

provided four secure points of the entry for the duration of the event. The two

eastern most entry points were located on the park, to allow lines to build up away

from Colfax and Broadway. Each entry point was staffed with a minimum of two,

maximum of four, security guards who used metal detectors. In addition, each

entry point was staffed with a minimum of four event staff. Hazardous materials

and trash were located by my company workers before the event began during set-

up. On one occasion, a fence was knocked down by unknown individuals, and my

company responded immediately and put the fence back into place.

Brooke Kowdry, Common Area Maintenance

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 Was paid for and performed additional cleaning on April 21, 2017 and was

paid to do so. The park was completely cleaned up in advance of 1159 pm on April

21, 2017.

Eric Keitzer, Denver March for Science

Led and held an event in Civic Center Park on April 22, 2017, First

Amendment Assembly: March for Science, and commented that the Park was in

impeccably clean shape for his event.

Justin B. Fine

Permittee Worker, assisted the event and staff in compliance with all permit

requirements.

Grace Ramirez, City and County of Denver

Works for Office of Special Events in Mayors Office, can testify that this is

noted to be a large impact event and can also confirm historic compliance with all

requirements.

Yadell Mulugeta

Permittee Worker, assisted the event and staff in compliance with all permit

requirements.

5. An estimate of the time necessary to present each partys evidence

and witnesses, and

Appellant estimates his case will consist of approximately two hours of

testimony from Mr. Walter, one hour of testimony from Mr. Lopez, and a half hour

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each from other witnesses, plus cross examination of City witnesses, opening and

closing statement and argument, for a total of approximately one full day with a

break for lunch and other breaks.

6. The legal authority for legal positions taken by each party

whether in the Denver Revised Municipal Code, City Regulations,
or case law.

Appellant claims legal authority in the Constitution and statutes of the

United States and of the State of Colorado, as well as D.R.M.C., and the Denver

Parks and Recreation Policy referenced above.

DATED this 12th day of September, 2017

Respectfully submitted,

LAW OFFICE OF CORRY & ASSOCIATES

/s/ Robert J. Corry, Jr.

_____________________
Robert J. Corry, Jr.

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 CERTIFICATE OF MAILING

I hereby certify that on September 12, 2017, I e-mailed a copy of this Notice of
Hearing to melvin.thompson@denvergov.org for further distribution to all parties:

Rene A. Carmody | Assistant City Attorney

Senior Litigator for the Municipal Operations Section
City Attorneys Office
City and County of Denver
720-913-3256
Renee.carmody@denvergov.org

Jason D. Moore Assistant City Attorney

City Attorneys Office
City and County of Denver
Municipal Operations | Phone: 720-913-3113
Jason.moore2@denvergov.org

David Ramirez
Hearing Officer
P.O. Box 11766
Denver, CO 80211
adear6@gmail.com

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