Derry

Parties can’t be held on county property
James Rufus Koren, Staff Writer
Posted: 07/20/2010 08:32:03 PM PDT

Rave organizers can scratch Calico Ghost Town and Glen Helen Regional Park off their lists of potential venues as San Bernardino County leaders on Tuesday said county-owned facilities cannot be used for rave parties.

In a memo sent Tuesday, county Chief Administrative Officer Greg Devereaux said existing county policies barring events that create “unreasonable security, utility, custodial or other operational problems” mean raves cannot be held at county owned facilities.

County Supervisor Neil Derry asked for the clarification, saying raves are dangerous and that the county should not be involved with them, though he said he knows of no raves that have been held at county facilities.

“Parents have a reasonable expectation to believe that their children will be safe while attending events held at county-owned venues,” Derry said. “And it has become crystal clear that there is a reasonable expectation that our youth are at significant risk for exposure to drugs and sexual assault at these events.”

The memo comes days before a rave-style festival scheduled at the National Orange Show Event Center – not a county-owned facility – and weeks after a 15-year-old girl died after attending a rave at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The memo does not offer a definition of the type of events that would be considered raves.

Insomniac Events, the company behind the Coliseum rave and this weekend’s scheduled Audiotistic Festival at the Orange Show, said it has never tried to have an event at Glen Helen, the county facility Derry said would be the most likely target for a rave.

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