Occupy SLC protesters who had been squatting on a privately owned vacant lot near the Federal Reserve branch building decided Tuesday night move to the Gallivan Center after the city offered it as a new campsite.
The decision ends a standoff between Occupy SLC and the owner of the vacant lot who demanded on Monday that police remove the group, which is protesting corporate greed and the influence of money on politics.
The protesters, who set up the satellite protest site near the federal building as a companion to the larger Occupy SLC camp at Pioneer Park, voted on the move to Gallivan after Salt Lake City Police Chief Chris Burbank offered the site to them in a meeting Tuesday night.
Two protesters will pitch a tent at Gallivan on Tuesday night. Two tents will remain in the vacant lot overnight, and the protesters will move the rest of the campsite gear to Gallivan on Wednesday morning.
The protesters said they planned to be out of the vacant lot by sunrise.
There were about 15-20 protesters at the vacant lot during the discussion of the move.
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Published Feb 22, 2012 01:10:02PM
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The Gallivan Center is "a good centralized location for the movement," said occupier Seth Walker. "We are all generally happy. This is definitely a proof of progress of what can be done."
Walker added that with such an opportunity he didn’t see anyone in the group risking arrest.
The group was instructed to work Wednesday on details such as length of the permit.
Before showing them the new location, Burbank told the occupiers: "The one thing I’m going to hold you to, and you kind of promised me yesterday, that this group is not going to be one that is going to have drugs and alcohol problems going on."
"Absolutely," several in the groups responded.
Burbank continued telling the occupiers he appreciated their cooperation. "It’s a two-way street. It’s not just the city, but it’s all of you," Burbank said. "This is how we set the example for the rest of the nation on how we conduct business in Salt Lake City."
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