A bill for an ordinance amending Chapter 2 of the Revised Municipal Code of the City and County of Denver by enacting Article XX to establish the Office of Special Events. Amends Chapter 2 of the Denver Revised Municipal Code by enacting Article XX to establish the Office of Special Events. The Committee approved filing this item at its meeting on 8-4-21.
Council member Torres has called out Council Bill 20 1-843 for comments under pending. No items have been called out. Madam Secretary, please put the first item on our screen. Councilmember Cashman, would you please put council bill 863 on the floor for publication. I move the council bill 20 10863 be ordered published. Thank you. It has been moved and seconded comments by members of council. Council members say the Barca. Thank you. I just wanted to make sure that we get to vote on this separately, that one of the pieces of this ordinance proposal is allowing for issuance and enforcement of a special event permit. And given that our. District. Is the host of many of the special events that we have in our city, we deal often with a lot of the people who are applying for those special event permits. And what we have found is that the process needs to be streamlined more effectively. And that's not part of this proposal. This proposal adds a layer that I think complicates. What we're trying to do. And I would. Have liked to have seen this proposal come to us when we were at a place where we were ready to streamline our processes to make it easier on the constituents and the people hosting special. Events to get. Their event permitted. Currently it doesn't do that, and so I wanted to go on record as a no. I don't think that this portion is ready yet. Thank you. All right. Thank you. Council member Sayed Abarca. Next up, we had Council Pro Tem Torres. Thank you, Madam President. I don't believe enough work's been done to think through some of the blindspots in codifying this office and implementing a new fee, timelines and likely barriers for our nonprofits and community based organizations. A B.A. tonight and next week. All right. Thank you, counsel pro Tem Torres. Next up, we have Councilmember Sandoval. Thank you, Madam President. I have similar concerns to Councilman CdeBaca and Councilman Torres, so I will be a note tonight as well. Thank you. All right. Thank you, Councilmember Sandoval. Seeing no other hands raised, Madam Secretary. Oh, I was going to give it a second there, Councilmember Kimmich. Thank you, Madam President. Thank you, Madam President. I do think it would be helpful if someone from the agency is here. I mean, if we're going to have some some no votes, it might be helpful for the public to understand what the concerns response is. So I appreciate my colleagues raising their concerns with someone from the department like to comment on the nonprofit impact. I believe we do have a representative here from the proposed office. So if you want to go ahead and come up and introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about what the bill accomplishes, and then we'll go ahead and have the roll call vote. Thank you, Kate. Easter, senior director for the Office of Special Events. Thank you for having me tonight. So if you could reiterate how I can address the question and specifically, that would be great. I think if you can just explain for the public, since we're going to have council members voting no on this tonight, exactly what Bill 21, Dash 863 is hoping to accomplish. So folks understand what council members are perhaps voting no on. Okay. So what we are trying to do right now is we are trying to create some accountability in the Office of Special Events. Currently, we have no enforcement capabilities for the requirements that exist in the city of Denver. Our office is a coordinating and communicating entity. And what we want to be able to do is to be able to ensure compliance of all city requirements. And right now, we have a hard time in our agency enforcing that compliance. The agencies we help support, the agencies that have special event requirements. But there are some agencies that do not have enforcement power. And so what we are trying to do is fill in a number of gaps to make sure that all events that are happening on public property have all of their compliance needs with the city met and by the city by our agency issuing a special event permit, then we have that ability to ensure that all the city requirements have been met and we can bring together all the parties to ensure that the communication is there, that the event knows what the requirements are, that the agencies are in communication, and that an event doesn't happen on public property without its proper requirements. Permits met. I don't know if that addresses it right. Questions, I think that's fine. There's a couple more members that have gotten into the queue. I fully accept my earlier colleague's comments on why they're going to vote no. I think they described that very well, but we'll go ahead and move on. Councilmember, did you have anything additional that you had questions about or wanted to chime in to. Ask you to address the particular concern about unintended consequences on nonprofits in particular, and how you are trying to mitigate those in the permit that you described? Absolutely. Thank you. So there is a communication channel that we are going to need to clarify when it comes to nonprofits. A lot of nonprofits that are happening, I don't know, a ratio per se, but they aren't necessarily categorized as special events where our office is concerned. Our office addresses events that are happening on public property that use more than that, utilize one more than one city agency. There are definitely a number of nonprofit events that just happen in a park or that just that aren't even on public property. So I think there is a communication channel that we're going to need to address to ensure that some of the nonprofits that you may be speaking of or that that may be stuck in in a communication gap, is is clarifying when our office is actually being utilized. And just to clarify, it's events on public property that are temporary in nature and that utilize more than one city agency as we are a coordinating agency. It is more than one city agency. There's a number of events that just happen in a park. When that happens, we're not involved at all in those events. So we certainly have had conversations. And Councilwoman Torres brought to light some some questions that we are now ready to to look into and try and identify where those gaps are. If there are nonprofits that are challenged with either knowing that we even exist, that we can help them, or if there is a gap where they may not be able to afford it, we have we've made the the application fee extremely low comparatively from a from a nationwide standpoint of $25 for the smallest events. And we did an analysis of the different permits that an event, a small event would pull, and it's 0.6% .0. 6% of what their total budget would be. And that's on average. So we it was very important to the mayor that this application fee would in no way be a detriment to an event from happening. And if that ever were to become a case, this the executive director certainly has the right to waive those fees. We have been working with the Office of Social Equity and Inclusion. They have given us guidelines. We have gone back and forth over the last four months with the office and propose a number of ideas and they've come back. So we'd love to create a criteria. We are not, actually. Charging the application fee until the year 2023. So we have given we wanted to give the events this two year time period so that they a year of education in 21, another year of education in 22 before they would actually be paying for their event in 23. So because we had not finalized what that criteria would be for nonprofits or for any entity that may be struggling with the cost of an application fee, that we know that we still have time and every intention to continue working with the Office of Inclusion and Equity and Inclusion. So it's it's by no means a complete process. And it is something that is important to us as it is to the mayor. And we are currently working on it, but we believe we do have some time to get that figured out before they would be charged. All right. Great. Thank you. All right. Next up, we have Councilmember Black. Hi, Katie. Hi. I have experience before being on council. Of hosting a. Special event, and I earlier mentioned an event. I'm having a Bible Park this coming week and I know how challenging it is from the coordination standpoint, having to get a permit from parks and something from public work or from daddy and dealing with the waste and excise and licenses and all those different agencies. And I know it's really hard for people. And so when when you all came to committee and I think I had a briefing with you, we. Kind of talked how you all will help the coordinators navigate all those different city agencies. So can you tell us a little bit more about how you're going to help. The people who are hosting the events? Absolutely. So our the goal of our office and the product of our office is service. We have been doing that for six years. Where it is, we are a relatively decentralized city in that there is different permits and different agencies and it is hard and it is challenging. And our agency was set up as a coordinating agencies so that that maze of agencies and requirements that an event organizer would be faced with, that we could help them through that it can be a puzzle. There's every agency has different timelines, different deadlines, different permit fees, different inspections. It is very confusing. Our office was set up after all of these other agencies were. So we have had to kind of cobble together and create a workflow where our agencies, our agency are our liaisons are event specialists, know a tremendous about 21 different agencies. And it's their job to help these event organizers, whether they're brand new organizers, whether they've been doing it for 30 years, which we've had too many of those also, is that it's we are helping them to navigate the city process so that they can be on time, so that they can get all their requirements met. We often are able to answer many of the questions. We take the burden off the response. We take the burden from the agencies themselves so that they can focus on their main objectives of their agencies. And we're able to take a lot of those questions. So it really is. Customer service at its best. And I think she wants to say something. Hi Julius. I'm the Communications and community engagement officer with the Office of Special Events, and I just wanted to add something to Katie's points that one of the very special things that we do is we work really closely with the communities and the local businesses that are impacted by events. And one thing that our office oversees is the community notification effort. So when we before our office was instituted, we had lots of community complaints about different things trash, noise, traffic, parking. We still have those complaints, but there is much, much fewer of those. And we try to mitigate those issues before they become a serious issues and work very closely with the event organizers to make sure that your officers are aware of the events that are coming up and the impacts they will have, as well as all the different residents and businesses as well. So that's a special service that our office provides as well that I think is really important to your offices and your constituents. So I just want to mention that. All right. Thank you, Councilwoman Black. Are you good? All right. Thank you. Up next, we have Councilwoman Ortega. Thank you, Madam President. Katie, I have a couple of questions for you. And I'm sorry, I was I did not have the benefit of hearing the conversation at committee. But let me just start with asking how many staff you have? We have six, including myself. Okay. Will any of this result in an increase in the cost either to the office or to the applicants? Other than the $25 you mentioned, and I'm not clear what constitutes a small versus a large event, so can you. I know that's a lot of questions. I'm thrown at you, but. I think I got it. I think I have it. So we did create a range. So it's $25 for the smallest event, up to $250 to the largest events. And the ratio of that cost is similarly. 0.6% and 0.5% for the largest. So for both the small to the large. Okay. And. Okay. In. You talked about doing this. So that gives your agency the power to deal with enforcement. So can any of that be done without codifying the existence of your agency? So we need to codify the agency in order to give it a permit. We do not. We need to be an ordinance in order to issue a permit. And in doing so, how does that give you power? To oversee issues that are violations with exercising license, with Doddy, with any of the other agencies that may be involved, including Parks and Rec. Now, because it sounds like your expectation is for events that will be in parks, that it falls that all under the same umbrella. So first of all, we will be creating some of our own requirements that right now we don't have the ability to to mandate. One of them, as Jill just spoke about, was the community notification. Right now, all we can do is ask event organizers to please notify their communities. We do not have the ability to say you must provide a notification for all of your events. So by having a permit that allows us to ensure that they have conducted this community notification, another requirement from our agency is the Office of Emergency Management, which is not an enforcement agency, has a has has asked us to help with their requirement, which is essentially an emergency management plan. And so this is a new requirement, which we have not been able to mandate of event organizers that ensures that every single event on public property has an emergency management plan, which is anywhere from, you know, a hailstorm and how people are evacuated to a drive by shooting or any of the above that. Right now, that's not required. We we can ask event organizers to provide an emergency action plan, but right now, we can't require it. So that's those are two really important requirements that we that are certainly a gap in the city that we want to be able to require. In regards to your questions about the other city agencies. We don't have authority over their permits by any stretch of the imagination, and we don't want it and we're not asking for it. It really is coordination between them. If there is an event that excuse me that is falling behind the job of our agency and our special event permitting experts is to stay with that event and to make sure that they're meeting all the deadlines. Parks has thousands and thousands of permits they're issuing, and they don't have time to sit on top of these events to make sure they're meeting all their deadlines. So what our agency does is we send out notifications and reminders and we're working with them. So it's not about overriding the authority of another agency, but it's it's helping that it's helping to ensure that all of the events are meeting the requirements of the other agencies. So if you're going to be doing that, are you expecting to make any budget requests for an increase in staffing. At this point? It may it may come about, but it's not something that we have. It's not something that we have at this point. We our agency definitely is working far more hours than than 40 hours a week as it stands right now, certainly with something like the MLB All-Star Game and the large events that are coming into town put a big demand on us. So it is it is a possibility. And will you just remind us how many events we have a year? Sure. We have over 700, between 700 and 750 event days throughout the year. Okay. That concludes my questions. Thank you, Madam Chair. All right, thank you. Member Ortega. And we've got two more council members up in the queue. And quick reminder, we've got four, three required hearings this evening and one one hour courtesy, public hearing. And so we're going to have a late night. And so I just want to remind folks of that. Councilmember Sawyer. Thanks, Madam President. Just wanted to commend you guys for your amazing work. So Councilman Herndon and I sit on the committee, the Special Events Committee, and we work with you all the time and you are amazing. What you do is incredible. The fact that you were able to pull off the All-Star Game events the way you did it was extraordinary in the timing. It was amazing. So I understand my council, fellow council members concerns over some of the language in the in the bill. But I think if you had the experience of sitting in these meetings like Councilman harder than I do, you would 100% supports creating this this what do we call you guys now office this office into an actual agency because it's something that our city needs. And the work that is done by this team is extraordinary. So I just want to commend you and thank you. And I will be absolutely supporting you tonight and appreciating that, you know, there are some things that maybe need to be worked out and they can be done in now in the policies and procedures rulemaking part. Thank you. Thank you, Councilwoman. Thank you, Councilmember Sawyer. Councilmember Sandoval. Thank you, Madam Chair. I have a couple of questions for you, Katie. So on top of C, we would have a fee, a permit for this special event. Correct. And then they would still have to pay their park permit fee. They would still have to pay their daddy fee. They'd still have to pay their excise and license fee. So on top of the fees that they're already paying there, we're adding an additional fee for your office. Correct. And then in Parks and Rec, you know, there's the ability for city council to be sponsors and then the fees are waived. Are do you have that built into your regs, rules and regulations? That is something that we are still continuing to work on and that would be in the rules and regulations. There's some agencies that have that established already. We don't have the authority to tell Dotty what they would or wouldn't waive. I know Parks has has waivers. So in terms of our costs, I think that's a conversation that we still can have and put in our rules and regs at this point. Yeah. Yeah. It's not written in at this point. Do your rules and regulations come back to city council? Do they come back? No. No. So you have the ability to make your rules and regulations with no input from us once this gets voted on. So. Okay. Good evening. Members of Council Nathan Sarah, Assistant City Attorney. Can you ask the question again, Councilwoman? Yeah. Thank you, Nate. So once the rules. So if this were to pass the rules and regulations that the Office of Special Events creates, they don't have to come back to for city council for any input or we don't vote on them. Is that correct? That's correct. Okay. Thank you. I just want to say, I absolutely support creating this agency. I just don't like adding all of the bureaucracy on top of it. So I have worked with your office numerous times, and I think it's helpful when we do have these events. I just don't like the added fee on top of everything because we already have to have a lot of fees. So even if your fee doesn't match up with the nation's fee, our other fees, such as they just updated their fees to actually match what's happening around the nation and they can be pretty expensive depending on the street classification to close the street. So I support creating this agency to codify it. I think it's smart. I don't support the fees and I don't support the fact that city council can get waivers. I use those waivers only in particular cases where it is a strain on the community to have those events. And I also don't support the fact that these rules and regulations never come back to city council. So we're asking being asked to create the agency. And then from there on it, I think you said the mayor's name like four times. I'm not privy to what the mayor wants. I have to respect what my constituents want. And my constituents don't want added bureaucracy into it already, like a lot of political red tape. So thank you, Madam President. Thank you, Councilmember Sandoval. Councilmember Herndon. Thank you, Madam President. I will I will be brief. I just wanted to to speak to the the rules and procedures. I'm not aware of any. Rules and procedures from. Any agency that comes to council for approval once we. Approve an ordinance. So that is one and two, as my colleague also said. Councilman Sawyer and I sit with on the Office of Special Events Committee. So have colleagues feel they couldn't directly connect with Katie and Katie. I know they could, but you could talk to two. Council members who sit on this committee with you who will be a part of these conversations. So I just don't feel that that's an accurate depiction. That Council will have no input on that, and I am certainly in support of this. And as Councilman Sawyer says, thank you for all that you do with your small but mighty team. Thank you, my. Thank you, Councilman. Thank you, Councilmember Herndon. All right. We might just have everybody chime in now. Councilman Cashman, go ahead. Well, I couldn't miss this opportunity, Madam President. I'm supportive of the creation of this office as a means to not only improve things for the promoters and make their life easier, but in turn make life better for the residents of the city and county of Denver. And I'm just hoping the administration will see the same wisdom in creating an Office of Community Engagement that this council has found as a value and would also lead towards the improvement of life in Denver for all its residents. So thank you so much. All right. Thank you, Councilmember Cashman. All right. I think we're good. We can go ahead and have you take a seat, Katie, and thank you and your team. All right. We are going to go ahead and go forward with the vote. Madam Secretary, roll call Hines I. CdeBaca. No. Clark I. Swim. All right. Herndon, I. Cashman. I can h i Ortega. Sandoval. No. Sawyer. I. Torres. No black eye. Madam President. I. Madam Secretary, closed the voting and announced results. Three Days ten Eyes. Ten Eyes Council Bill 20 1-863 has been ordered published. All right. We're going to go ahead and move on. Madam Secretary, please put the next item on our screen. Councilmember Torres, go ahead with your question or your comments. Excuse me, on Council Bill eight for three, please. Thank you so much, Madam President. I just wanted to thank community advocates, advocacy organizations, council members here on the dais, and those who have left city council who have been working for many years to continue to strengthen the Office of the Independent Monitor.