Brentwood Looks to Crack Down on Events in the Downtown Area

The Brentwood City Council directed staff to look at event permitting, cost recovery and blackout dates at city park in downtown Brentwood.

The discussion occurred after the city may be getting too much of a good thing where an increase of both permitted and unpermitted events are now occurring not just at city park, but in the downtown area which is now having an impact on the park and downtown businesses.

This prompted the council to toy with ideas such as updating and making policies, blackout dates in the future, reducing the number of farmers markets, competitive food trucks with brick and mortar, and cost recovery for the city. In total, 21 actions were given to staff.

The direction came during the 7-hour 29-minute meeting (watch here) where the council was asked to review and discuss report about Special Events at City Park and in Downtown Brentwood with estimated City costs and provide direction about possible policy and procedural improvements to be considered related to Special Events at City Park and in the Downtown.

Here is the direction provided to staff:

• Strict compliance to anyone without a permit
• Improving definition of revocation of a permit
• Strict compliance with anyone who doesn’t have a permit
• Improving language related to revocation of a permit
• Deny a past permittee if they have had a permit revoked
• Application timelines as relates to number of attendees
• Waste management plan to meet state requirements
• Ensuring a command post is designated
• Crowd control plan
• Cleanup plan
• Security plan
• Offering incentives for use of other locations outside city park
• Existing code to allow director to work with parks and recreation commission
• Consider blackout dates for any new event
• Consider working with existing permittees related to businesses who might be located on the streets so they are not located adjacent to an existing business
• Properly notify business when events are approved
• Consider reduction on number of farmers market
• Work with school district to ensure no event conflicts (homecoming/dances)
• Notification of street closures
• Grounds recovery plan
• Anything staff may see as opportunities

Thien Nguyen, Recreation Manager, highlighted that according to data, which is still not complete for 2022/23, that they are seeing increased usage in city park as well as the downtown area which have exceeded pre-covid levels– Over the past two years, the park usage has increased from 989 hours to 1,128 hours.

“Not only are we heavily utilizing these facilities, but we are exceeding pre-covid levels of the facilities,” said Nguyen who noted he favored special events but no two events are the same.

With application fees, it does take more time to review events requesting alcohol be served while calling out they currently do not have fees associated with street closures which staff time is not being passed onto the applicants.

Nguyen also pointed out while usage is increasing for permitted events in Brentwood, they have seen an increase in non-permitted events that are popping up.

“We have run into issues with users of the park that try to imply exclusive use and they hold events downtown that aren’t permitted by the city,” explained Nguyen. “That creates a number of issues that we have to deal with in real time such as knowing what it looks like, what the traffic looks like, creates frustration or resentment from our applicants who are trying to follow through with city processes and pay their fees just to see unpermitted events in these locations.”

Gaps & Issues

• Balancing Use – not trying to eliminate events, but find a better balance
• Commercial vs. Non-Profit vs. General Use of City Park – trying to balance exclusive uses
• Increasing Use Trends – increases parking concerns, traffic, noise concerns. Sometimes it may drive traffic downtown but decreases business sales. Impacts residents downtown.
• Maintenance – increases cost to maintain park by cleaning up, landscaping, amenities, repairs.
• Cost and Fees – eating some costs as they don’t have a full fee schedule
• Limitations – finding a way to slow down or redistribute volume of special events. Highlighted very supportive of special events, but asked to spread it out to other parks or other areas of the city.

Considerations

• Updating the Municipal Code
• Staffing review and updating procedures
• Weighing the impact in City park and downtown
• Consequences/enforcement for non-compliance
• Prioritizing of this work

Mayor Joel Bryant asked about a recent non-permitted cruise through downtown Brentwood and if they had a cost estimate on cleanup calling it an “absolute mess”. He said it’s a cost Brentwood had to address and absorb.

Staff said they are working to break down that type of costs in terms of staff time on cleanup, proactive, police overtime or response to get quantitative costs.

Vice Mayor Susannah Meyer added that trash was everywhere while downtown Businesses complained people brought their own food and drinks while not patronizing local businesses. She wanted to put something in place to address this and better understand the cost.

“I don’t know if anything was done that night, it took everyone by surprise but if we can have a standard process for addressing that kind of thing in the moment, that would be helpful,” said Meyer.

Meyer also asked about fencing or roping off areas and if that was allowed at city park.

Staff responded they could with a permit and that is up to the permit holder. If someone doesn’t have a permit, parks are designed for public use—such as someone going to a park claiming a spot and using it all day which is a first come first serve, but they can’t just shut down a park. Unpermitted events don’t have that permission.

Meyer asked when was the last time cost recovery numbers were updated.

Nguyen said they were slowly adjusting them over the next couple of years to get them to cost recovery goals but pointed out with special event process they don’t have a standard street closure fee or what they would charge for a parade to target cost recovery.  He called it a “robust discussion” and be cautious because a lot of those holding special events are non-profits.

“That $10k number trying to pass it off to a non-profit is going to be a challenge,” stated Nguyen who says he hopes to find a better balance to all while hosting beneficial events in the city.

Meyer then asked about parameters of denial of special event permits.

Nguyen said they do have some within the municipal code such as another event occurring, traffic concerns. If there is no safety concerns or scheduling conflicts, they don’t have a mechanism to deny a permit—which is why they were making recommendations to close gaps within current policy.

Council Discussion

Councilwoman Jovita Mendoza said this item was brought up because of the feedback she has received about how “bad” the park was looking.

“I think we do need to talk about cutting back how many events we are having at the actual park in the grass,” said Mendoza. “We have other parks available.”

She added that she worked the farmers market in downtown Brentwood several weeks ago selling blueberries and said many businesses came up to her upset.

“They say we are having way to many events and they have to pay rent, electricity, insurance, paying employees and they are losing money because we are having so many events. Once in a while, but this is getting too much,” stated Mendoza. “I’ve gotten feedback on which street. Is it supposed to be this street because I see people going down this street and turn corners. I think we need to figure out how often. We do need to cut back.”

Mendoza shared that on the night of the unpermitted car show, she received multiple calls from businesses saying they were going to have to close because people were rowdy, people were drinking, brought a cooler and chair, getting intoxicated in the street.

“How many hours can we cut, and the grass still look good?” asked Mendoza while urging preference to their grant funded events get first priority while urging people to use other parks. “These events are supposed to be helping, but now we have gotten to a point where they are not… our businesses are mad.”

Councilmember PA’Tanisha Pierson got straight to the point offering several recommendations such as strict compliance within the city of Brentwood.

“To me, I don’t see how a cruise is different than a sideshow,” stated Pierson. “We had a whole talk in here about a side show was coming up and all the enforcement. I don’t care if they are cruising, if they don’t have a permit, shut it down. Period!”

She wanted strict enforcement noting that if they don’t shut down cruises, but then enforce a sideshow, it looked discriminatory—such as people showing up from a certain ethnicity or age group—she wanted everyone who holds an event without a permit to be shut down within Brentwood city limits.

She was not in favor of changing the definition of special events, but rather increase the penalty on revocation and suspensions. She urged the city to “beef up” its denials and work on language.

“We have a process for appeal, but we don’t have a strong here is where we deny,” said Pierson. “If an applicant was previously revoked of a special permit, we can consider that as a basis of denial for future permits.”

Another one she proposed was adding in language on timelines for bringing in applications—which would give the city more time to review events. She noted the City of Pleasant Hill and City of San Ramon had certain application dates based on event size or it was denied automatically.

She also called for a “waste management plan” and urged the city to create one.

She wanted a defined plan that included a “command post” so city can always check in during an event, as well as policy on crowd control and a cleanup plan. She also called for “explicit security standards”. She also called for discounted rates on other facilities within the city to encourage use of other locations.

Mendoza then brought up coffee shops without naming them (Sip & Scoop and Chrome Coffee) and how one is brick and mortar and one a coffee truck right outside her door during the farms market.

“When a business owner is mad at me, they walk out there door and competing with someone right out there door. How do we deal with the farmers market because back in the day we had lemonade and popcorn, now you have dumplings, pupusas which I love. But you have all these competing businesses within the farmers market with our own brick and mortar. Again, they are telling me their struggling pain,” stated Mendoza.

Mendoza then stated she agreed with blackout dates to help keep the park looking nice.

Pierson suggested that Brentwood look at removing some farmers market weekends noting other cities do not have farmers markets every weekend.

“We used to not have it every weekend, but it was the public who wanted it,” stated Mendoza. “We have to talk about it.”

Damien Brower, City Attorney, interjected noting this was becoming a farmers market specific decision versus special events.

Mendoza then suggested that with farmers markets on Saturday, why burden the downtown with back to back events and instead move some of them to Sundays.

“I don’t know what the answer is, but I feel like it’s the wild wild west,” said Mendoza.

Bruce Mulder highlighted they will be working with the Downtown Business Coalition and the businesses when they update the guidelines and ensure they are involved in the process to get feedback before bringing it back to the council—which he hoped would create balance between types of events, the times and amount of times.

Meyer asked they be clear by sharing the increased security cost as the event holders are showing concern about not being able to hold events due to security cost with the Brentwood Police Department.

Mendoza also requested staff to enforce the no dogs in the park noting this past weekend there was a pig in the park eating all the grass.

“I was so mad I saw this pig eating the freaking grass when I know its dying. We should not be allowing that,” said Mendoza.

Mulder replied they do allow dogs in the park as long as they are on leashes.

Mayor Joel Bryant shared he would like a process put in place that if there was going to be a street closure in front of businesses, that in advance, any business is able to receive a notice so they can staff, close or order product accordingly.

Bryant said it was a balance of recouping costs while also ensuring events for families do not go away due to costs

City Manager Tim Ogden explained that if they are going to bring back policy changes, it might take some time. However, if the council wanted it to occur sooner, they could have authority within the municipal code as implied, they would like to determine blackout dates. Also, with new protocols and policies, the council consider a quarterly application process.

Pierson rejected the idea of an application process because she called it “cherry picking” and they do that through the grant process. She said it could become a discriminatory practice. She wanted to discuss blackout dates at another meeting.

Mendoza suggested if there are not applications right now, just blackout the dates.

“Can we work with the school district to ensure we don’t have any events with homecoming and prom days. The kids only use it a couple days a year, lets make that a priority,” said Mendoza. “We can eat, drink and party any day we want, they don’t do that very often.”

Nguyen replied that staff has already work with the school district to blackout those dates.

“I’d love to take credit, but its already something staff has implemented,” said Nguyen.

Pierson said if they were going to implement blackout dates in Brentwood, they should limit it to the third and fourth quarter so it didn’t impact next year. She also suggested they leave it up to parks and recreation to determine blackout dates.

Meyer asked if any of these events already permitted could be moved to other areas.

Mulder replied “possibly” but said many already have the vision of city park.

The council then voted on a motion to provide direction to staff.

For the full staff report — click here