December 9, 2008
City Council Meeting: November 25, 2008
Agenda Item: 8-F
8-A
To: Mayor and City Council
From:
Subject: Proposed modification to policies and
guidelines for licensing of extended commercial events in the 1550 beach
parking lot
Recommended
Action
Staff recommends that the
City Council approve revisions to the policy regarding extended commercial use
of the beach parking lot at
Executive
Summary
There continues to be heavy demand for use
of the beach parking lot at 1550 PCH for extended commercial events during
non-peak use periods. These events have
the potential to generate significant revenue for the Beach Fund as well as
address community demand for local cultural events as prioritized in the City’s
long-range cultural plan, Creative Capital. To facilitate issuance of licenses for these
events, staff recommends an on-going process be established to allow continuous
application from event producers. Staff
recommends that applications be reviewed by an inter-departmental staff
committee that also includes representatives of other key groups, such as the
Pier Restoration Corporation and the Santa Monica Convention and Visitors
Bureau. It is proposed that licensing
awards be made based on a flexible set of guidelines. These guidelines are based on a review of
previous extended events and input from the Pier Restoration Corporation and
Pier lessees.
Background
In 2004, Council approved a policy to allow
extended commercial events in the 1550 beach parking lot during the winter
season. The intent of this policy was to
generate substantial net revenue to the Beach Fund by licensing part of the
parking lot for entertainment and cultural shows when parking demand is
seasonally low. The policy was also designed so as not to adversely impact
those wishing to utilize this lof for permitted community events. The
guidelines specified among other things the maximum amount of space available
for use, the maximum duration of events, and the fees required for such
use. In 2005, Council approved revisions
to the policy modifying the permissible time frame of events and the amount of
space available for use. At that time, staff
committed to returning to Council with an evaluation of the success of the
revised policy. This report provides
that analysis and makes recommendations for further policy revisions.
Discussion
The purpose of allowing extended commercial
events in the 1550 lot is three-fold.
Extended events:
1.
Provide
much needed revenue to the Beach Fund to support ongoing operations as well as
capital improvements.
2.
Meet
the community’s demand for increased cultural offerings, an articulated goal of
the City’s Creative Capital plan.
3.
Provide
economic benefits to the cultural tourism sectors of the community including
hotels, restaurants, and retail, particularly those located on or adjacent to
the Pier.
Ashes
and Snow
Following the 2005 revision to the policy,
the Ashes and Snow photographic
exhibition was held from January 14 – May 14, 2006 with a total attendance of
409,000 people. A survey, funded by the
Santa Monica Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, was conducted during May to
estimate the economic impact of attendees on Pier businesses. Key findings of this survey were (1) sales on
the Pier were up over the same period the previous year, and (2) the event
attracted a new demographic segment that spent an estimated $1.2 million at the
Pier over the four month period, resulting in an estimated $7,200 in revenue to
the City from related food, beverage, and retail sales taxes.
In addition, the survey found
that specific aspects of the Ashes and
Snow exhibit made it more beneficial to Pier businesses than other types of
extended commercial events previously held in the lot. In particular, the survey concluded the
following:
·
Because
Ashes and Snow was an “exhibit” style
event with no specific start and end time, it attracted visitors throughout the
day; resulting in more manageable parking and traffic impacts than
“performance” style events and ample time for visitors to visit the Pier before
or after viewing the exhibit.
·
Ashes and Snow was limited to only two
·
Ashes and Snow sold no food or beverages, encouraging
attendees to visit Pier and other City businesses for these goods and services.
·
Ashes and Snow utilized marketing efforts that promoted
the City in general.
·
Ashes and Snow was relatively affordable, attracting a
different audience to
Increasing
Demand
In addition to the demand of Santa Monica
residents for increased cultural offerings, the City continues to receive
requests for extended commercial use of the lot from a wide variety of cultural
and entertainment producers. In many
cases, these proposals include tremendous public benefit in terms of their
cultural value to the community, promotional value to the City’s tourism
industry, and economic value to the City’s Beach Fund, as well as benefits to
the hotel, food and retail businesses throughout the City. However, in some cases, these events fail to
meet one or more of the criteria outlined in the current policy.
Limitations of the Current Policy
The current policy was designed to allow for
extended commercial use of the lot while maximizing public coastal access,
minimizing residential impacts, and both preserving parking for Pier customers
and limited use of the lot for expressive activities. However, due to the stringency of the current
policy, the City has been unable to accommodate a number of potential events
even if the event provides the benefits identified through the Ashes and Snow survey and/or provides
extensive plans and funding to address community impacts or other
concerns. For example, currently the
event period is from November 1 to Memorial Day providing inadequate time for
load in for events scheduled for the winter holiday period. In addition, current policy restricts the
event footprint to ¼ of the lot which inhibits most cultural events of interest
to the community.
In addition to limitations of the current criteria,
the current process employed for issuing a license (a Request for Proposals or
similar bid process for each license) provides for fair and equitable use of
the lot, but is labor and time intensive, thereby greatly reducing the
financial benefit to the City and at times results in the inability to respond
to inquiries by potential event producers in a timely manner. If the City intends to continue to allow
extended events in this location, a fair, equitable, and on-going process for
application, review, and award that is more efficient and timely should be
established.
Proposed
Process and Policy
Staff recommends that the City continue to
use the 1550 lot for extended commercial events during non-peak use period
(after Labor Day weekend and prior to Memorial Day weekend) as a significant
source of revenue to the Beach Fund and as a vital contributor to the City’s Creative Capital plan. To better facilitate issuance of a license
for these events, staff recommends an on-going process be established to allow
continuous application for event producers.
Staff recommends that applications be reviewed by a committee made up of
City staff and representatives of other key groups such as the Pier Restoration
Corporation and the Santa Monica Convention and Visitors Bureau. Licensing awards would be made based on the review
guidelines outlined below.
Proposals that are received by September 1
for events that would occur in the next year’s extended event season will be
reviewed at one time to foster a competitive bidding environment. For example,
all applications for events proposed during the extended event period beginning
in September 2011 through May 2012 that are received by September 1, 2010 will
be considered together. In the event there is still event capacity after that
deadline, extended event proposals will be accepted, reviewed and awarded on a
first-come, first-served basis. No
extended event proposals will be accepted any later than six months prior to the
proposer’s event start date. All dates
still not booked will be released. Staff
recommends a maximum duration of five months for timed events and a maximum of
seven months for exhibition style events such as Ashes and Snow during any event season.
To be eligible for review, the proposed event
must be entertainment or cultural and offer a unique opportunity to the public. Events that have as a principal component
merchandise sales or exhibits, business promotions, or product or service
launches/sampling will not be considered.
Staff recommends that the current policy be revised to allow the review
committee to consider a flexible set of guidelines when awarding licenses. By providing flexibility in weighing the
merits of the proposal, the committee would be able to make allowances for events
that provide substantial benefits and/or remediation of event impacts. Accordingly, staff recommends that eligible
proposals be evaluated based on the degree to which the event:
·
Demonstrates
clear measurable economic benefit to the City and local businesses.
·
Contains
a rental fee that significantly contributes to the City’s Beach Fund.
·
Addresses
traffic and parking impacts through the provision of parking shuttles, public
transportation or similar mitigations.
·
Addresses
neighborhood impacts such as noise and crowd control.
·
Includes
a neighborhood communications plan that is sensitive to the impacts and
information needs of adjacent neighbors.
·
Promotes
sustainability through the use of low-impact products and practices in the
production and management of the event.
·
Limits
concessions or services that are in direct competition with adjacent Pier
businesses and provides for cross marketing opportunities with local
businesses, including Pier lessees.
·
Provides
educational outreach to regional school children.
·
Provides
activities throughout the day (exhibition style events versus timed
performances).
·
Maintains
as small a physical footprint as possible to preserve onsite parking, maintain
view corridors and sites facilities to minimize neighbor impacts.
·
Allows
for sufficient time to provide for comprehensive plan review and for adequate
coordination with City services and stakeholder groups.
In addition, staff recommends the following
requirements of all licensees:
· No extended event licenses shall be granted between Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends annually.
· The licensee must pay for all City costs and services associated with the event, including but not limited to, police services for crowd/traffic control, fire safety officers, event licensing/liaison and location supervision, parking staff, utility charges, sanitation services, and custodial/maintenance services. The City division responsible for the service shall determine the costs to be borne by the licensee.
· The licensee must meet standard City requirements for insurance, indemnification, security, Police, Building and Safety, Fire Department, recycling, clean-up, waste disposal and accessibility and recive all other necessary governmental approvals.
· The event must have a City-approved traffic and off-site parking plan.
Alternatives
Council may elect to
adhere to the existing criteria, which include limitations on the size and
timing of events and may result in the loss of revenue generating and prestigious
cultural opportunities that are unable to meet these requirements. Alternatively, Council may rescind the policy
and prohibit the use of the 1550 lot for any extended commercial events at all.
Public Outreach
On February 28, 2008, staff held a public
input meeting to solicit input from residents on the potential impact of
proposed policy revisions. A press
release was issued and notices were posted on the City’s website and sent to
over 150 residents in the area. The
majority of attendees represented business interests. Input from meeting participants focused on restricted
coastal access, traffic, and noise control, but showed overall support for
well-managed events, especially exhibition-style events like Ashes and Snow.
In addition, staff presented proposed policy
changes to the Pier Restoration Board at its meeting on April 2nd
and to the Operations Committee on November 20th. Almost all of the
recommendations of the PRC have been incorporated in the above guidelines and
requirements. The PRC requested at least twelve months for planning and
approval. The proposed application process contemplates a twelve month or more
planning time-frame but allows flexibility for a shorter review period provided
that there is sufficient time for planning and coordination. The PRC also
requested that events be discouraged from having on-site food and alcohol; the
above guidelines limit but do not prohibit these services and encourages
cross-marketing with Pier lessees and local businesses.
Prior to establishing license terms for any
specific large extended event, staff will meet with neighbors in order to make
sure the terms address neighbor concerns, to the extent possible. This is in addition to the current neighbor
notification policy, which provides two weeks’ notice to neighbors within 500
feet when the event includes amplified sound and/or significant traffic and
parking impacts.
Financial Impacts &
Budget Actions
Event
producers will be charged for direct staff time and expenses related to their
events. Staff may propose a specific
extended event application fee in the context of the FY 2009-10 City Budget.
Prepared by:
Judith
Meister, Special Events Coordinator
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Approved: |
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Forwarded to Council: |
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Director,
Department |
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P. City Manager |