The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink AboutCC 12-07-2010l Special Event Permit COMMO MAYOR & COUNCIL COMMUNICATION -- page 1 -- DATE: 12/07/2010 REGULAR ITEM #: 14 MOTION Resolution No. 2010-073 Ordinance No. 08-034 AGENDA ITEM: Consider Adoption of Special Event Permit Ordinance SUBMITTED BY: Kyle Klatt, Planning Director THROUGH: Bruce Messelt, City Administrator REVIEWED BY: David Synder, City Attorney Kelli Matzek, City Planner SUMMARY AND ACTION REQUESTED: The City Council is respectfully requested to review and, if appropriate, affirmatively consider a new ordinance to regulate special events within the City of Lake Elmo. A Special Event Permit is intended to provide some regulation of temporary events on a case-by-case basis, is intended to promote the orderly, compatible, and safe use of property for temporary special events, and is designed to assure adequate provision of parking, traffic, sanitary facilities, utilities, public safety services, and peace and tranquility of residential neighborhoods. Should the City Council wish to go further than a review at tonight’s meeting, the recommended motions to act approve the proposed Ordinance are as follows: SUGGESTED “Move to adopt Ordinance No. 08-034 adding provisions to the Lake MOTIONS: Elmo City Code to regulate special events within the City of Lake Elmo” “Move to adopt Resolution No. 2010-073 authorizing summary publication of Ordinance 08-034” BACKGROUND INFORMATION: This ordinance was first brought forward as a follow-up to several requests for events within the City of Lake Elmo that would normally not be allowed under the City’s zoning regulations. The most significant of these events was a Rowing Regatta on Lake Elmo that was ultimately permitted in the absence of any formal regulations concerning such events (and also due to the fact that the event took place on a public water body and within the regional park preserve). City Council Meeting Consider Adoption of Special Event Permit Ordinance December 7th, 2010 Regular Agenda Item # 14 -- page 2 -- Staff has over the past several years also received requests for a “pet carnival” and other such events, as well as promotions by local businesses. This ordinance is very similar to a document that was reviewed by the Planning Commission more than a year ago, but never further refined or adopted by the City. One of the more significant changes to the proposed ordinance since the version previously reviewed by Planning Commission has been the addition of a new category of special events for Agricultural Sales Businesses. Specifically, the Ordinance now includes a provision that would allow an Agricultural Sales Business that is conducted for a period of three months or less to be permitted by a Special Event Permit. The ordinance would allow such a permit to be issued for two consecutive years; otherwise, any agricultural sales businesses operating for a longer term would need to obtain an Interim Use Permit in accordance with recent amendments to the City Code. The Agricultural Sales provision is a direct result of recent discussions and action by the Planning Commission and City Council regarding agricultural businesses. The proposed ordinance would provide an alternate to a full interim use permit in cases where a grower or importer would like to sell agricultural products for a limited time. As an example of how this permit would be applied is a situation in which a grower needs to supplement the sales of their produce grown on-site, due to the loss of a crop due to bad weather or other unforeseen circumstances. The proposed ordinance does include several exemptions for events sponsored by a public entity, events that take place in an athletic field, family gatherings, and other such activities. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: The model used for the draft ordinance was taken from the City of North St. Paul. This ordinance was chosen as it was fairly broad in terms of its coverage, while some other examples staff researched were very specific to certain types of events. This broad and simple ordinance will be easier to administer, as Lake Elmo currently has just a few events to which the permit may pertain. City History - In 2006 the Council approved an ordinance allowing Commercial Social Outdoor Events as a conditional use in the agricultural zoning district, which it then repealed in April of 2007. A Special Event Permit is different than the Commercial Social Outdoor Events in the following ways: 1) A Special Event Permit would be required and reviewed for each event and would not guarantee a future permit would be received by the applicant or property owner. A Commercial Social Outdoor event was established as a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) and would have run with the property in perpetuity. 2) The City Council would have the discretion to deny a Special Event Permit. If a CUP was received and the conditions of a Commercial Social Outdoor Event were being met, the City would have a difficult time revoking the permit. City Council Meeting Consider Adoption of Special Event Permit Ordinance December 7th, 2010 Regular Agenda Item # 14 -- page 3 -- 3) A Special Event Permit would not necessarily be based on a zoning district. A CUP for a Commercial Social Outdoor Event was allowed only in the Agricultural zoning district. 4) Special Event Permit could be intended to regulate temporary, outdoor privately- sponsored events open to the general public, held on public or privately-owned property, and impacting city facilities or services. The draft ordinance provided identifies specific gathering types that would not require a permit, such as a wedding. The only application received by the City to implement the Commercial Social Outdoor Event ordinance was to hold weddings on a property in the city. Should the City Council adopt the propose ordinance as prepared by the Planning Commission, the Council will need to determine the fees for this type of permit. Because the 2011 Fee Schedule will be considered by the Council at its next meeting, Staff is recommending that the fees for Special Events be addressed with other fees at the Council’s subsequent meeting. Part of the justification for requiring a Special Event Permit for certain events is to help ensure that any potential public costs associated with the event are properly addressed. As noted in the attached ordinance, the City may charge for any required clean-up from the event, and provisions are included that require the applicant to provide adequate police, fire, and sanitary services during the duration of the event. PLANNING COMMISSION REPORT: The Planning Commission conducted a public hearing regarding the proposed Special Event Permit Ordinance at its November 8, 2010 meeting. No public comments were received at the meeting; however, the Commission tabled taking action on the Ordinance and requested that Staff review the Ordinance with the City Attorney before making its recommendation to the City Council. Staff reviewed the proposed ordinance with the City Attorney and City Administrator in order to provide some clarity concerning the intent of the ordinance, and based on these discussions, suggested that the following modifications be made to the ordinance: • That special events that last less than three consecutive days be permitted through an administrative review process rather than requiring action by the City Council. • That a special event permit be required for non-profit organizations in addition to other property owners. The intent of the proposed ordinance is to ensure that larger events do not create any problems that may negatively impact the public or result in costs that must be born by the City. Whether an event is sponsored by a private business or non-profit entity, requiring a special event permit can help the City reduce the potential for any unforeseen costs or impacts. The Attorney has offered an opinion that private clubs should not be regulated differently than a for-profit business. City Council Meeting Consider Adoption of Special Event Permit Ordinance December 7th, 2010 Regular Agenda Item # 14 -- page 4 -- • That the provisions related to exceptions specifically state that only activities that have been previously authorized by the City are exempt from the ordinance, and that if expanded or enlarged, these events would need to secure a permit. The Commission considered these changes, and ultimately recommended further modifications to allow the City Administer to approve all Special Event Permits, with a provision that allows the Administrator to refer permits to the Council as necessary. Staff has further clarified the review requirements in the draft ordinance so that all denials must be made by the City Council. The City Attorney has noted that the City could try to define a threshold for small events based on experience, such as by reference to an event that is known to bring in less than 30 people but does not implicate public infrastructure, traffic, etc. In looking back at previous events that were conducted in the City that would be considered a special event under the proposed ordinance, Staff has been unable to identify any specific type of activity that would seem to have met this threshold. The Attorney has also suggested that the Planning Commission and City Council may want to consider special events that have occurred in the past to determine if they can be used as a guide concerning any problems that arose and how these issues may have been addressed. Some typical problems include traffic back-ups, informal road closures, late night noise, minor trespassing, insufficient restrooms, and other similar occurrences. Staff has made other minor revisions to the ordinance based on comments from the Planning Commissions, and all changes and revisions recommended by the Planning Commission are included in the attached ordinance. The Planning Commission unanimously recommended approval of the Special Event Ordinance at its November 22, 2010 meeting. RECOMMENDATION: Based upon the above background information and Staff report, the Planning Commission and Staff recommend that the City Council review the proposed Ordinance at tonight’s meeting. If appropriate, the Council may also consider adoption of the proposed Special Event Permit Ordinance, which has been drafted to promote the orderly, compatible, and safe use of property for temporary special events and to assure adequate provision of parking, traffic, sanitary facilities, utilities, public safety services, and peace and tranquility of residential neighborhoods. Should the City Council wish to go further than a review at tonight’s meeting, the recommended motions to act approve the proposed Ordinance are as follows: SUGGESTED “Move to adopt Ordinance No. 08-034 adding provisions to the Lake MOTIONS: Elmo City Code to regulate special events within the City of Lake Elmo” City Council Meeting Consider Adoption of Special Event Permit Ordinance December 7th, 2010 Regular Agenda Item # 14 -- page 5 -- “Move to adopt Resolution No. 2010-073 authorizing summary publication of Ordinance 08-034” Alternatively, as this is a City-initiated action, the City Council may make changes to the document as drafted by the Planning Commission or may table taking action of the request to solicit additional feedback from the community and staff. The Council may also choose to not adopt the proposed ordinance, if it finds that Special Events should not be regulated within the City of Lake Elmo. Should any changes be made during tonight’s review, the recommended revised motions for consideration would be: “Move to adopt Ordinance No. 08-034 adding provisions to the Lake Elmo City Code to regulate special events within the City of Lake Elmo [as amended at tonight’s meeting].” “Move to adopt Resolution No. 2010-073 authorizing summary publication of Ordinance 08-034 [as amended at tonight’s meeting].” ATTACHMENTS 1. Ordinance 2008-034 – Special Event Permits 2. Resolution 2010-073 (Authorizing summary publication) SUGGESTED ORDER OF BUSINESS: - Introduction of Item .............................................................. City Administrator - Report/Presentation ................................................................. Planning Director - Questions from Council to Staff ............................................. Mayor Facilitates - Public Input, if Appropriate .................................................... Mayor Facilitates - Call for Motion ............................................................... Mayor & City Council - Discussion ............................................................................... Mayor Facilitates - Action on Motion ............................................................ Mayor & City Council