Memorial plan for Pulse site includes new fence, benches
Pulse nightclub could soon get a new fence, bench seating for visitors and improved landscaping, under an interim memorial plan submitted to the city.
The proposal, which the Orlando City Council will consider Monday, would keep the nightclub mostly unchanged for up to two years as the onePULSE Foundation works to design a permanent memorial to the 49 people killed in the mass shooting there last year.
The interim plan calls for a wood fence with murals around the club, which has been surrounded by a chainlink fence since soon after the shooting, as well as lighted benches and a perforated steel wall for visitors to leave mementos.
The designs also show a portion of the shuttered nightclub’s asphalt parking lot being replaced with artificial-turf landscaping, as well as several sycamore trees. The club’s roadside sign would remain, its base encased with frosted polycarbonate panels.
The permit city commissioners will consider Monday would allow this version of the memorial to operate for two years, though the city could later approve up to three one-year extensions if needed.
The onePULSE Foundation also submitted proposed rules of conduct for visitors to the memorial, which prohibit rallies, solicitation, skateboarding, littering and releasing balloons.
“Please be mindful that you are standing on sacred ground and the Pulse Memorial is a place of remembrance and quiet reflection,” the rules of conduct state. “We ask that visitors maintain proper etiquette, personal behavior and at all times.”
A sign would display this vision statement: “To create a sanctuary of hope around this tragic day in American history which honors the 49 lives that were taken, the 68 injured victims, and the first responders and health care professionals who cared for the victims.”
A spokeswoman for the not-for-profit onePULSE Foundation declined to discuss the interim plan Thursday, saying it would be “premature” to talk about it before Monday’s City Council vote.
Visitors are not expected to be allowed inside the club during the interim phase, which has been the case since the shooting.
Hours after that vote, the foundation will hold a townhall meeting 6 p.m. at the Orlando Repertory Theater, seeking ideas for the permanent memorial. Tickets for conduct the event have run out.
In a recent interview, Pulse owner and foundation executive director Barbara Poma said she wants the memorial to serve as a source of “hope and comfort” for all those touched by the tragedy.
Major decisions remain, including whether all or part of the bullet-riddled nightclub will be included in the final memorial design. Poma opened the Orange Avenue club in 2004 in memory of her brother, who died of AIDS-related complications in 1991.
Poma has also said she hopes to open a new Pulse nightclub elsewhere, possibly in the Milk District east of downtown.
Pulse has been closed since June 12, 2016, when a gunman opened fire on patrons at the nightclub.
jeweiner@orlandosentinel .com