If new rules for the use of Fountain Square are aimed at keeping the Ku Klux Klan out of Cincinnati, no one at City Hall will admit it.

        But an ordinance passed by Cincinnati City Council Wednesday will have precisely that effect.

        By a 9-0 vote, City Council created a new category of use for Fountain Square. From mid-November until early January, the city will have “exclusive government use” — meaning no one except the city can hold events or erect a display on the square.

        In most years since 1992, Klan groups have tried to erect a cross on Fountain Square during the holidays, drawing bitter protests. In 1993, a federal judge granted an injunction against the city's attempts to ban the hate group under the “fighting words” doctrine of First Amendment law.

        This time, the city has another rationale: business.

        The ordinance will encourage economic development by keeping the square uncluttered during the busiest retail season of the year, city lawyers said.

        The Klan has nothing to do with the ordinance, they said.

        “One of the things we're trying to do is portray this as a management tool rather than something that's aimed at any particular group,” Mayor Charlie Luken said. “We're really trying to get control of the square. That's our objective. Others will portray it differently in court, I'm sure. I wouldn't be surprised if we get sued, because we seem to get sued for everything.”

        Scott Greenwood, a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union who has filed lawsuits against the city, said the mayor is correct on his last point.

        “The shame of this — and I have to use the word "shame' — is that by legislating in this area, all City Council is doing is inviting another constitutional challenge,” he said.

        Because Fountain Square has traditionally served as a public forum, the city isn't starting with a clean slate, he said. By limiting use of the square only during the holiday season, he said, the new ordinance is a “totally transparent” attempt to ban the Klan.

        Mr. Greenwood said the city's previous tactic — limiting the number of permits available for the square — worked just fine.

        “Other people have gotten savvy in that when there's a limited number of permits, you go and you grab up all the permits early,” he said. “The Klan people are apparently too stupid to realize that.”

        Fifteen people had already applied for permits for Fountain Square events this coming season. Many were attempts to block the Klan.

        Those permits will be denied, city officials said.

        Ken Anderson, an anti-Klan activist and former candidate for City Council, said that's fine by him.

        “It's going to take everything off the square at Christmastime, and that's OK with me. The square is open 10 months out of the year to do whatever people want to do,” he said. “It's a good step in the right direction to move the city together.”

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