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Getting Permission


tquad

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Just what does 'getting permission' entail?

For instance, if one were to plan on placing a cache on a church property; who would be in position and authority to grant such permission. If the minister or priest was asked permission, he or she may say that the decision would have to go through the board of deacons or a certain committee thus opening up a can of worms.

If the proposed cache was planned to be placed near a store, who would have the authority to grant such permission?

Is there a standard form which asks permission and a place for the grantor to sign it, or would it be simply, a word of mouth agreement?

I would imagine that if the cache was planned to be placed on city property, there are permits available.

I know that this sport/hobby is supposed to be stictly fun, but in this day of legalism, we do need to try to have our ts' crossed and is' dotted.

What say ye?

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Some places have their own forms to fill out for recreational activities on that land. For instance I know I've stumbled across forms where I am for either state parks or state forests (can't remember which off the top of my head).

 

I went to various people in the city where I want to place a couple caches to ascertain if there was a form or process to go through to place caches in the public spaces as well. Got the answers and permission I needed. I know some cities are more strict and some cities are less strict about how the property is used.

 

For private property like churches it might have to go through the church councils or maybe they have given permission for the pastor/priest to determine what can occur on the property. But that's reality. You have to be patient and work whatever systems you need to work when placing caches on private property.

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There is no simple answer to this. A lot depends on where you intend to place the cache and local practices also come into play. You did not mention the concept of "adequate permission" in your question so I suspect you haven't recently read Groundspeak's discussion of permission and I would suggest doing so. Your local reviewer (find a recently published cache in your area to see who published it) would probably be happy to provide you with local information about placement rules for your area (who to contact, any forms, general guidelines, etc. for major places to hide caches in your area such as county, state and municipal parks). A state or regional geocaching society may also have relevant info.

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If the proposed cache was planned to be placed near a store, who would have the authority to grant such permission?

If it is a mom and pop store then you might start out by talking to mom or pop.

 

For a shopping center you would need to talk to the management company (the name and phone number would likely be displayed on "for lease" signs on vacant stores). I suspect that getting permission for typical shopping center caches (think LPCs) would be a very tough sell.

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If the proposed cache was planned to be placed near a store, who would have the authority to grant such permission?

If it is a mom and pop store then you might start out by talking to mom or pop.

 

For a shopping center you would need to talk to the management company (the name and phone number would likely be displayed on "for lease" signs on vacant stores). I suspect that getting permission for typical shopping center caches (think LPCs) would be a very tough sell.

 

I agree - if mom and pop dont have the authority to okay the hide, then they will probably tell you so and tell you who to go to. I recently hid a cache in a location that had a governing board. I wrote to the president of the board and he gave me the go ahead - he already had approval from the powers that be and said so in his response to me.

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Where we cache (northern Virginia) most of the local counties have rules regarding cache placement in their parks, and our local reviewer does link to lists of how to get permission; it can take a while so you have to be very patient! It is quicker than it used to be, since there are so many new geocachers joining the hobby now.

 

For placement on private land, I think you'll have more luck if you approach an independently owned business or church, where you can explain geocaching directly to the person who owns the property. There are a few of those type caches around here; one is at a religious center, another at a vet's office. (Expect to be a "ambassador" for geocaching and to spend a lot of time selling the benefits of their very own geocache to the business or church!) We've placed a few caches on public property without getting actual permission; one's at a library, another on town property along a utility easement.

 

I think getting permission from a management company for a big shopping center will be impossible; they will tell you their insurance doesn't allow it, or some such objection! We have a puzzle cache that requires the cacher to get clues from two shopping centers, but the actual cache is on a road easement; something like that might work if you can't get permission to hide the actual cache at a particular location.

Edited by The VanDucks
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Also if you go through all the trouble to get permission for a cache, hoop jumping and so forth. I would hope for a really cool cache to be placed.

 

Use the time while jumping through hoops to scout locations. Build good containers and get the camo going. This way if they come back and ask for more info you can show them a really cool cache instead of a bison tube with a magnet glued to it. Print out pictures from the cool cache thread that you can leaf through with those that decide. Have printouts of the other nearby caches maybe a map so they can see how bare there area is in comparison to other areas. Get them wanting to compete with the Joneses.

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