Minutes - 2009/05/26 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Mounds View City Council May 26, 2009 Regular Meeting Page 3 Council Member Stigney stated his preference to be proactive, not reactive, and asked what other cities do with outdoor street dances on private property or outdoor events at businesses. He noted that other cities require a permit and a fee to cover the City's costs. He suggested the existing ordinance language be held in abeyance until new language is crafted. Mayor Flaherty stated he was surprised the chapter was deleted and agreed with Council Member Stigney that it is reactionary. Clerk-Administrator Ericson explained the ordinance dealt with outdoor special events by requiring a permit and permit fee and alerted the City that the event would occur. But, any response would be reactionary if a problem occurred (noise, debris). He suggested that issuing a permit does not mean there would be no violations. Chapter 611 only let the City know what was going on and provided guidelines, which they needed to do anyway. Mayor Flaherty stated the benefit is that the City will know ahead of time that an event is being planned. He agreed the current Code was restrictive and cumbersome but he wanted something in place to assure protection for the City's residents. Council Member Gunn asked if a permit is needed should a band practice in someone's garage and people come to listen. She felt Chapter 611 was too restrictive so she supports the motion to delete that Chapter and allow the Code to address problems that may arise. Council Member Hull asked if the City will oversee the event scheduled at Moe's. Clerk- Administrator Ericson stated Chapter 611 will not change the City's response to addressing outdoor events. He noted the Council already controls events held on public property. Council Member Mueller stated she had originally felt the ordinance was the right thing to do since it spelled out the rules to assure compliance and not have an event that created a nuisance for residents. However, implementing that ordinance caused problems at the staff level because of the time it took to issue event permits. She stated staff time is immensely valuable but an additional staff person would be needed to issue event permits, ensure compliance, and address violations. Council Member Mueller stated she does not support Chapter 611. Council Member Stigney stated the intent was to regulate outdoor events, noting some serve beer and/or liquor. He suggested other cities have crafted such an ordinance because there were problems with those events. Council Member Stigney stated he does not support deleting Chapter 611 and thinks the permitting process, if crafted properly, will establish guidelines, a permit fee, and protect the City. Attorney Riggs stated the Council has the authority to advise staff to not enforce the ordinance pending changes. He noted the proposed ordinance requires two readings. Council Member Gunn felt it was not worth the effort to reword Chapter 611 and that a new Chapter can be drafted to better suit the City's needs.