Iowa City may ban charities from setting up tables on Ped Mall

IOWA CITY – Charities would no longer be allowed to set up tables in Iowa City's Pedestrian Mall under a proposal from city staff.

Currently, permission is needed to put up a table and only people or groups that use them for non-commercial purposes are allowed.

Processing the requests takes an “inordinate amount of time” and it's difficult from a legal perspective to decide who or what organization is allowed, according to a memo from Assistant City Manager Dale Helling and Kathi Johansen, administrative assistant for the City Manager's Office.

The City Council will discuss the recommendation at a work session Monday night.

The proposal also calls for prohibiting tables on the sidewalk outside the Chauncey Swan farmers market and limiting where people like musicians can use amplified sound on the Pedestrian Mall.

Helling and Johansen also suggest limiting which non-commercial entities can sell items in the Pedestrian Mall.

The goal of the proposed changes is to maintain a pedestrian-friendly, relaxed area for people to gather, they wrote.