Council approves interim agreement with Food Not Bombs after public comment; order in lieu of temporary restraining order adopted

The Los Angeles City Council approved an interim agreement and proposed order in lieu of a temporary restraining order reached between Food Not Bombs, the Department of Recreation and Parks and the City Attorney's Office, the chair announced after a special closed-session meeting.

Two Food Not Bombs representatives addressed the council before the closed session. Dan DePasquale, who identified himself as a Food Not Bombs member and a Pershing Square volunteer, said the group had negotiated concessions and asked the council to include express language protecting the group from arrest for constitutionally protected activities. "We strongly encourage you to vote yay on the language guaranteeing us not to be arrested for these specific activities," DePasquale said, listing serving food, leafletting and holding signs.

David Bush, another person arrested in the Pershing Square enforcement actions, told the council he supported the mediated agreement and urged the council to recommend the agreement to the federal judge overseeing the matter.

The chair announced the result of the special meeting item: the council approved the interim agreement and the proposed order in lieu of a temporary restraining order. The transcript does not record a roll-call vote count in open session for this special-item approval; the result was announced as approved following the closed-session action.

Council direction and the court filing are intended to address enforcement practices at Pershing Square and to avoid further litigation; public speakers emphasized they wanted explicit assurances that lawful expressive activities and food distribution would not be criminalized.

The council handled the matter in special session to allow public comment prior to a closed-session negotiation and the chair reported the agreement back to the full body after the closed session.