On the long list are backpacks, hammers, coolers, chains, glass bottles and Super Soaker water guns. Face-concealing scarves could also be tagged.

Since the law was put into place in January, the city has used it a few times, including the annual shareholders’ meetings for Duke Energy and Bank of America and for Speed Street, a May street party featuring Nascar drivers and food booths that in 2011 resulted in more than 100 arrests. The police said arrests were down by half this year.

On Wednesday, the city and the Secret Service announced the perimeters of the security zone, which covers about 60 percent of the city’s Uptown commercial district and dips south to include the special areas known as free speech zones that the city has set aside for protesters.

The “extraordinary events” measure rankled enough people that the city offered reassurances in a news release. “For example,” it said, “residents will be able to walk their dog within the extraordinary event boundaries without fear of arrest.” People were not appeased.

“We’ve never had anything of this caliber, and they didn’t know how to handle it so they over-handled it,” said Timeka Moore, 24, a waitress who has to travel through Uptown to get to her job.

Tampa has its own version of an event zone, and both cities have grappled with trying to prevent concealed weapons inside the zones despite state laws that allow people with permits to carry weapons. They have also set up protest and parade areas, with a stage and microphones for demonstrators.