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HomeMy WebLinkAbout12-10-18 Public Works and Property Vacation 4SOU1"4', ,,, PEACE 1,, x _ .. X 1865 OFFICE OF THE CITY CLERK KAREEMAH FOWLER, CITY CLERK PUBLIC WORKS & PROPERTY VACATION DECEMBER 10, 2018 3:50 P.M. Committee Members Present: John Voorde, Jo M. Broden, Gavin Ferlic, Sharon L. McBride Committee Members Absent: None Other Council Present: Tim Scott, Oliver Davis, Jake Teshka, Regina Williams- Preston(late) Other Council Absent: Karen White Others Present: Kareemah Fowler, Bianca Tirado, Graham Sparks, Bob Palmer Presenters: Jitin Kain, Aladean DeRose Agenda: Substitute Bill No. 55-18-Adding a New Article 14 to Chapter 14 Addressing Special Events in the Public Right of Way Committee Chair John Voorde called to order the Public Works and Property Vacation Committee meeting at 3:50 p.m. He introduced members of the Committee and proceeded to give the floor to the presenters. Substitute Bill No. 55-18-Adding a New Article 14 to Chapter 14 Addressing Special Events in the Public Right of Way Jitin Kain,Deputy Director of Public Works for the City of South Bend with offices located on the 13th floor of the County-City Building, stated, I will take us through a brief presentation(which is available in the City Clerk's Office)on the proposed changes to our special event ordinance. Any event planned to be in the public right-of-way is considered a special event. That includes things like parades and marches, races, block parties, festivals, walks, street fairs and etcetera. The City approves about eighty-five(85) special events each year. These include a number of block parties, races, parades and other things. Currently, the process requires an applicant to choose from one (1) of the three (3) applications we have on the City's website. There is a residential block party application, a non-residential block party application and then there is a special application for races. The way the process works is the applicant submits the application to the Board of Public Works. They then review it and forward the application to various City departments. Everyone submits their comments. The Clerk of the Board will compile all that information and then based on the recommendation, we will forward something to the Board of Public Works and the board then acts on it. INTEGRITY' SERVICE'ACCESSIBILITY JENNIFER M.COFFMAN BIANCA L.TIRADO JOSEPH R MOLNAR CHIEF DEPurY/DIREOTOR OF OPERATIONS DEPUTY/DIRECTOR OF POLICY ORDINANCE VIOLATION CLERK EXCELLENCE I ACCOUNTABILITY I INNOVATION I INCLUSION I EMPOWERMENT 455 County-City Building 1227 W.Jefferson Blvd.I South Bend,Indiana 46601 I p 574.235.9221 I f 574.235.9173 I www.southbendin.gov CITY OF SOUTH BEND I OFFICE OF THE CLERK He continued, We're here today to share some reasons for why this process needs to be amended. We are wanting to simplify the process. As you saw on the previous slide, we have multiple applications. We would like to create one (1) application for all public events in the City. We would like to simplify how we categorize events so we are suggesting three (3) tiers: a neighborhood scale, a City scale and a regional scale. Events that attract people from within the neighborhood, roughly less than five hundred (500) people would fall into the first (1st) tier. The City tier would be events that attract people from throughout the City. Then larger events, such as Art Beat, that attract a regional audience would fall under the Regional tier. The applicant groups are typically your profit organizations, non-profit organizations and then neighborhood groups. We will talk about filing fees in a minute but the other reason is to really improve the efficiency of the process. We would like this to be one (1) application that is online. We would also like for the review to be done at one(1) time along with the applicant. We lose the issues or concerns the applicant may have in the process and there is a lot of back and forth and it never gets resolved in a timely manner. If we set up a committee the way we are proposing, we can meet with the applicant at the time they submit the application. He went on, We also want there to be a more equitable way to share the cost for the event. The smaller scale events such as the block parties don't have a tremendous burden on the City, but some of the larger ones do. Parades and other City-wide events can cost an average of$2,000 to the City for Police, Fire and Traffic and Lighting expenses. For each event, that adds up quite a bit. What we are proposing is that profit organizations would cover the entirety of the cost of the event. For non-profit organizations, they would do a cost share. The cost share would only apply to the larger events. South Bend Police are willing to allocate thirty-two (32) hours of staff time and Public Works would allocate about eighty(8) hours of staff time for an event. If you look at the total number of hours,that forty(40)hours for each event pretty much covers over eighty-five percent (85%) of all events in the City. This would really apply to the handful of events that are the large parades where every intersection along the route needs to be closed. Those are the events that really cost the City a good amount and we would like for there to be equitable cost sharing. He continued, This slide just says we are trying to consolidate some of the activities within the ordinance. Demonstrations are also covered within the ordinance. I will invite Aladean to speak to that in a few minutes. There will be a separate filing fee for each category. The filing fee right now is fifty dollars ($50) for every event you file for. We would like to incentivize early applications by asking individuals to file early. It allows us to better plan for events.Tier One(1)will be twenty- five dollars ($25) if you file early, Tier Two (2) and Three (3) will be fifty dollars ($50). We will allow recurring events,within a six(6)month timeframe,to be filed all together. That would make it more efficient for the applicant as well as minimize the work of our staff to review all the work. Like I mentioned, the early filing fees will be twenty-five dollars($25) and fifty dollars ($50),but the expedited filing fees would be double that amount. Right now everyone is paying fifty dollars ($50) so it is cheaper for them to file early. Committee Chair Voorde asked, What is an example of a recurring event? Mr. Kain replied, First (1st) Fridays. It occurs once a month and it is the exact same event. I think Eddy Street Commons does some block parties, too. EXCELLENCE ACCOUNTABILITY INNOVATION INCLUSION EMPOWERMENT 455 County-City Building 227W Jefferson Bvld South Bend,Indiana 46601 p 574.235.9221 f 574.235.9173 TTD574.235.5567 www.southbendin.gov 2 CITY OFSOUTH BEND OFFICE OF THE CLERK He continued, Like I said earlier, the Tier One (1) neighborhood scale events, we will allow more flexibility with how those applications can be filed. They can be filed up to fourteen (14) days before the event. We know that they been approved sometimes and they have needs and we don't have the capacity and need more time to put these things together. They won't always submit things months in advance. If they do,they get to pay a lower filing fee but if they do want to submit up to fourteen(14) days, they pay fifty dollars($50). Less than fourteen(14)days we recommend not approving only because it is a burden on our staff to try and manage these events. So, they must file before fourteen (14) days, two (2) weeks in advance. For Tiers Two (2) and Three (3) which are the City-wide and regional events,the same general idea applies. It is fifty dollars($50) if they file sixty(60) days before the event and then between thirty(30) and fifty-nine (59) days, it will be one hundred dollars($100)to file. For more information on demonstrations, I would like for Aladean to cover this slide(referencing a slide in the presentation). Aladean DeRose, Assistant City Attorney for the City of South Bend with offices located on the 12th floor of the County-City Building, stated, Demonstrations are First (1st) Amendment expressive activities. An expressive activity is one (1) where the idea or the primary purpose of the activity is the dissemination of ideas,points of view and opinions. Because all of that is guided by the First(1St) Amendment, it is required to be treated separately. The Supreme Court has made it clear that one (1) cannot charge for a license or an activity fee for a First (1St) Amendment act. So, for that reason, the demonstration permit which is required for these types of events is free of charge. It is required that, if there is an expected crowd of twenty-five (25) persons or more, that form needs to be sent to the Chief of Police. It is received by the City's Special Event Coordinator who then forwards it to the Chief of Police. The Chief of Police reviews it and it undergoes their determination process. The different part of this ordinance that was added was due to some recent activity nationwide. There is a ban on tools or instruments that could cause bodily injury. That whole list of those are in the ordinance itself. I believe that list was taken from Lexington, Kentucky or it may have been Louisville. There may be one(1) from California. It is a list that has already been used by the City and that has not, at this point, drawn any lawsuits by those affected by it. There is also a restriction on face coverings. Again, that is consistent with a law in another state and city. The question was raised about whether there should be an exception for a hajib. The hajib is a scarf that is worn by women, but it does not cover the face, it covers the hair. The only thing that would cover the face is the burka and I believe that in light of safety concerns,the burka would not be protected but the hajib would. Committeemember Jo M. Broden asked, What about masks? Like Halloween or Marti Gras? Ms. DeRose replied, Children's masks would not be covered. It probably depends on the type of mask. If it impacts the identity, then there is a safety reason for disallowing that. Councilmember Oliver Davis interjected, Even if they're Santa Claus? Committee Chair Voorde asked,Are you finished with your presentation? Mr. Kain replied, We have a couple more slides that we will go through quick. We have a section in the ordinance that is titled Civic Sponsored Special Events. The City also organizes events. Our Parks Department organizes special events. Event such as those will be categorized as civic- sponsored special events. They will comply with all the special event regulations but no payment will be required. We did include a clause where third(3rd)-party events could be considered civic- EXCELLENCE ACCOUNTABILITY INNOVATION INCLUSION EMPOWERMENT 455 County-City Building 227W Jefferson Bvld South Bend,Indiana 46601 p 574.235.9221 f 574.235.9173 TTD 574.235.5567 www.southbendin.gov 3 CITY OF SOUTH BEND OFFICE OFTHE CLERK sponsored events. There are certain organizations that would not have the capacity to run these events without the support of the City. We support many events and,right now,we are supporting every event one hundred percent(100%). We would like to maintain the opportunity to help events and parades that do need City assistance. They must follow certain criteria such as no fee or charge applied to the applicant, they must be a non-profit entity and they must have a civic significance. He continued,The ordinance sets up a special review committee. That committee's purpose would be to accept the applications. A Special Events Coordinator will assist in the workings of the committee and there will be five people on the committee representing the different individuals and departments that are involved in the review currently. There is also a chance for the Mayor to appoint someone from, say, the Venues, Parks & Arts Department who may be very involved in current events. The committee will meet as regularly as needed. We anticipate every, roughly, three(3)weeks to give us a chance to accept these applications and issue the permit. We are setting up the online process as we speak. If the committee decides a certain event does not meet the criteria and issues a denial, there will be an appeals process and that will be through the Board of Public Works. Within three (3) days of a decision being made, an applicant may appeal that decision to the Board of Public Works and then the Board can reconsider that decision. He went on, This ordinance, the way we've submitted it to you, would be effective January 1, 2019. We are suggesting a small grace period to implement the ordinance, knowing that the first (1St) few applications that come in might not be ready to follow the new process. Many of the events start in May and March. There are a couple events that occur in January or February. It will also give us time to establish a Special Events Guide that will assist applicants understanding what the process is. We will put information on the City's website and we will also reach out to every applicant who has applied in the past year to let them know there is a new process. Committee Chair Voorde opened the floor questions and comments from Committee Members. Committeemember Sharon L. McBride asked, There is a traditional luminary event that happens at Erskine and I know they were denied and they wanted to follow up. They have been doing that ongoing event so is there a specific reason why it was denied by the Fire Marshall? Every year they have it and utilize candles but is there a certain reason why it was denied? Mr. Kain replied, I'm not aware of the reasons for that denial. I would have to check with the Fire Marshall and get back to you. Committeemember McBride followed up, I know that they do it coming up in short order and I know they were disappointed and wanted to know. Mr. Kain asked, It was denied for 2018? Committeemember McBride replied, Yes. Mr. Kain stated, This ordinance does not take effect until next year and even in next year there will be a grace period. However, I'm not familiar with the reasons of why that event was denied. Committeemember McBride interjected, Yeah, if somebody could find out that would be great because I definitely do not want that historic event to not take place. Thank you. EXCELLENCE ACCOUNTABILITY INNOVATION INCLUSION EMPOWERMENT 455 County-City Building 227W Jefferson Bvld South Bend,Indiana 46601 p 574.235.9221 f 574.235.9173 LTD 574.235.5567 vwvw.southbend in.gov 4 (.I 1'Y OF SOUTH BEND OFFICE OF THE CLERK Committeemember Broden stated, I have a couple. The thirty-two (32) hours for the South Bend Police Department and the eight (8) hours for the Public Works staff, that just reflects salaries, right? The $2,000 is sort of packed into this, correct? That average is packed into this? Mr. Kain replied, Yes. Committeemember Broden followed up, So really, our support exceeds the cost that we are planning in this, right? Because there is more than just salary hours entailed. Mr. Kain replied, Right now,we are just using salary hours as a calculation. So for thirty-two (32) hours, the calculation is eight (8) police officers for four (4) hours and then the Public Works employees accounts for two(2) employees for four(4)hours. The$2,000 number was just a salary number. Committeemember Broden interjected, I think it is a benefit we are providing and think it is important to understand that what we have in this is more than the $2,000. And then your Tier Three (3) and Tier Two (2), you have the same application fees. Was there any consideration to bumping up Tier Three (3) to a higher level? If not, why not? Mr. Kain replied, The thought was that Tier One (1) was certainly separate because there were more neighborhood events. Two (2) and Three(3) can sometimes be tricky to determine if it is an event that is only attracting from within the City or if it is attracting from outside the City. We felt that they were similar enough that we could have the same filing fee. Ultimately, the goal here is to make sure applications come in, in a timely manner, and that Tier One(1) would be a sub-form in this application. For neighborhood events, we might ask certain questions that we wouldn't ask Tier Two (2) or Tier Three (3) applicants. Committeemember Broden stated,And then you had said Parks will have their own process. What type of coordination and overlap is there compared to what we are asking outside groups as opposed to inside groups within the Administration? Mr. Kain replied, Currently, any event in City parks has to go through a park application process. It has to go through the Parks Board. An event that requires the use of a City park as well as a public right-of-way would have to go through both processes. We discussed, at length, the ability to combine all this together but decided on keeping it separate for now with the goal of combining them. Especially with them, process itself has been an ongoing conversation for a few years. I understand where your question is coming from. We are trying to do this in a staged manner so we would like to clearly direct individuals to the correct application. Our dedicated Events Coordinator will be able to direct and advise individuals as they need assistance. Ultimately, yes, we would like to get to a single application. Committeemember Broden followed up, And then I know in our neighborhood and the neighborhood groups within my district, there are several of them that just meet in City parks and they think that is by right, a right, and that it is their local park and communal space. Why not? Especially if it's not triggering any supportive services such as South Bend Police or as you have identified, Public Works. How will those be treated in light of this? EXCELLENCE ACCOUNTABILITY INNOVATION INCLUSION EMPOWERMENT 455 County-City Building 227W.Jefferson Bvld South Bend,Indiana 46601 p 574.235.9221 f 574.235.9173 TTD 574.235.5567 weev.southbendin.gov 5 CITY OFSOUTH BEND OFFICE OF THE CLERK Mr. Kain replied, Those will not be part of this application. This is for public rights-of-way. Parks are City-platted lots that are our property. Right-of-ways are typically from the edge of the side walk to the other edge of the sidewalk. Any event in the street or sidewalk will fall under this. A gathering in a neighborhood park will just be a gathering. If they are doing some additional activities, they will have to go through the Parks application. Committeemember Broden followed up, And then you had mentioned something about social media. You said you would hit past event organizers by mail. Obviously between social media and news releases, there are opportunities to onboard groups doing things but they haven't had a formalized relationship with us in the past. Committeemember Gavin Ferlic made a motion to accept the Substitute version of Bill No. 55-18. Committeemember McBride seconded this motion which carried by a voice vote of four(4) ayes. Councilmember Tim Scott stated, This is long overdue. Mike Schmuhl was whatever he was to the Mayor at the time when we started talking about this. This takes away a lot of ambiguity and it clearly defines it. You guys did a great job and I appreciated meeting with you and Aladean in the past. This has been very vague and ambiguous and sometimes we play favoritism on who got what and when and who paid for what and when. Typically it came down to no one paying for anything. We need to look at making this fair and that these costs are recovered. Councilmember Regina Williams-Preston arrived at the meeting at 4:15 p.m. Ms.DeRose stated, I did want to mention a slight change that may warrant a second(2nd)substitute. We did notice in section 15-175(d),that is when the City adopts an event as its own civic-sponsored event,the intent was to have all or part of the fees absorbed by the City and I think, as it is written, it will absorb all expenses. We would like to amend that again to say all or part. I can provide that additional language this evening but that would be a second substitute. Committee Chair Voorde then opened the floor to members of the public wishing to speak in favor of or in opposition to the legislation. There were none. Committeemember Ferlic made a motion to accept the second (2nd) Substitute version of Bill No. 55-18. Committeemember Broden seconded this motion which carried by a voice vote of four(4) ayes. Committeemember Ferlic then made a motion to send the second (2nd) Substitute version of Bill No. 55-18 to the full Council with a favorable recommendation. Committeemember Broden seconded this motion which carried by a voice vote of four(4) ayes. With no further business, Committee Chair Voorde adjourned the Public Works and Property Vacation Committee meeting at 4:16 p.m. Respectful -Submitted, CC (IL John Voorde, Committee Chair EXCELLENCE ACCOUNTABILITY INNOVATION INCLUSION EMPOWERMENT 455 County-City Building 227W.Jefferson Bvld South Bend,Indiana 46601 p574.235.9221 f574.235.9173 TTD574.235.5567 www.southbendin.gov 6