Honorable Mayor and Members of the Hermosa Beach City Council Regular Meeting of October 27, 2020
Title
APPROVAL OF THE COMMENCEMENT OF SPECIAL EVENT
LONG-TERM AGREEMENT NEGOTIATIONS WITH BEST DAY
FOUNDATION FOR “BEACH DAY” SOUTH OF THE PIER; THE
ARTS GROUP OF HERMOSA BEACH’S “FINE ARTS FESTIVAL”
ON THE COMMUNITY CENTER LAWN; AND SHAKESPEARE BY
THE SEA’S LIVE PERFORMANCES AT VALLEY PARK; AND
APPROVAL TO EXTEND THE SPECIAL EVENT LONG-TERM
AGREEMENT POLICY PILOT PROGRAM BY ONE YEAR DUE TO
EVENT CANCELATIONS IN 2020 AS A RESULT OF COVID-19
(Community Resources Manager Kelly Orta)
Body
Recommended Action:
Recommendation
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Approve the commencement of special event long-term agreement negotiations with the following organizations:
• Best Day Foundation for its “Beach Day” event held south of the Pier;
• The Arts Group of Hermosa Beach for its “Fine Arts Festival” on the Community Center lawn; and
• Shakespeare by the Sea’s live performances held at Valley Park;
2. Approve the extension of the special event long-term agreement policy pilot program by one year due to event cancelations in 2020 as a result of COVID-19 precautionary measures.
Body
Executive Summary:
At its January 14, 2020 meeting, the City Council approved the implementation of the special event long-term agreement (LTA) policy pilot program for three-years’ time commencing with the 2020 event calendar. This pilot policy also requires the Parks, Recreation and Community Resources Advisory Commission to review and provide a recommendation on the effectiveness of the program following two years of implementation, which would take place towards the latter part of 2021. As part of the approval process for this program, staff received LTA requests from the Best Day Foundation for its “Beach Day” event held on the beach south of the Pier; the Arts Group of Hermosa Beach for its “Fine Arts Festival” on the Community Center lawn; and Shakespeare by the Sea’s live performances held at Valley Park. The Commission reviewed these applications at it’s October 6 meeting and recommends to the Council the commencement of LTA agreement negotiations with all three organizations.
Following the implementation of the LTA policy pilot program in January, several events have already entered into an LTA but have since had to cancel its event due to COVID-19 precautionary measures. As a result, the first year of these event agreements did not take place and, subsequently, the Commission’s review of the pilot program would take place after only one year of events instead of the intended two years. At the Commission’s August 4 meeting, it recommended to the Council to extend the pilot program by one year, ending in 2023, and the Commission’s review of it to take place in 2022.
Background:
At the Parks, Recreation and Community Resources Advisory Commission’s (Commission) regular meeting on December 3, 2019, it recommended to the City Council the approval of the proposed special event LTA Policy to be implemented as a three-year pilot program, scheduled to begin with the 2020 event calendar. Additionally, it was recommended that the City Council affirm and request that the Commission review and provide an update to Council on the policy in two years’ time, in advance of entering into the pilot program’s third and final year. The City Council formally approved the Commission’s recommended policy (Attachment 1) and subsequent review at its regular meeting on January 14, 2020. The following additional actions were included in the Council’s motion:
• Include “Pets in the Park” and “Pumpkins in the Park” as part of the agreement process; and
• Allow LTA’s for the following events to be handled administratively by staff:
o “Spyder Surf Fest”
o “Hearts of Hermosa”
o “AVP”
An agreement for the Hermosa Beach Education Foundation’s “Hearts of Hermosa” was approved by the Council on March 10, 2020 for its event scheduled for Saturday, March 21. Additionally, the “Spyder Surf Fest” agreement was approved by the Council on March 24, 2020 for its event scheduled for Saturday, April 25. Unfortunately, both events were cancelled due to COVID-19 precautionary measures and consistent with the Los Angeles County Public Health Department’s health orders. An agreement for the “AVP” event is currently being developed. It should be noted that the Friends of the Parks organization was unable to meet the deadline for submittal of the required documents for “Pets in the Park” and “Pumpkins in the Park” to be considered during the Commission’s October 6 review of long-term agreement applications. The Commission’s consideration of LTA’s for those event’s produced by Friends of the Parks will take place at a subsequent meeting of the Commission.
Considering the cancellation of large gatherings and events in 2020, the Commission made a recommendation at its August 4 meeting to extend the special event LTA policy pilot program by one year, thus having the Commission review the policy in 2022 instead of in 2021. The three-year policy pilot program would be completed in 2023, at which time the Commission would recommend its permanent implementation or modifications.
At the Commission’s meeting on October 6, it reviewed LTA requests from the Best Day Foundation for its “Beach Day” event held on the beach south of the Pier; the Arts Group of Hermosa Beach for its “Fine Arts Festival” on the Community Center lawn; and Shakespeare by the Sea’s live performances held at Valley Park. Following its deliberations and review of each event’s application, the Commission recommends the commencement of negotiations for these events consistent with the special event LTA policy.
Discussion:
Staff began accepting LTA applications for special events that meet the eligibility requirements on September 17, 2020 under the assumption that events would be permissible in 2021. In addition to completing the application, each event producer was required to submit a corresponding letter that addresses how the organization or event qualifies for each of the eligibility requirements, which include the following:
“To be eligible for consideration of a long-term agreement, an organization must satisfactorily meet at least three of the following qualifiers:
• Its event must qualify as an Impact Level II or III (per the Impact Worksheet), and at least one of the following:
o Have a combined total of 5,000 people in attendance; or
o Must be at least two (2) consecutive days (including setup and teardown).
• Have held its event in Hermosa Beach for at least three consecutive years and can demonstrate a positive impact to the city including substitutive and measurable economic and community benefits;
• The event must be produced by an organization that serves, involves, and/or promotes Hermosa Beach’s coastal lifestyle, its residents, schools, and/or businesses; and
• The organization or event producer must be able to demonstrate how its programs (outside of those provided at the event) provide a positive impact to the City including enhancements to quality of life to the Hermosa Beach community; or the offering of recreational, cultural, social, and/or educational activities of interest to the community.
A total of three LTA applications were received and reviewed by the Commission at its October meeting. As required in the LTA policy, the Commission reviews and provides a recommendation to the City Council on whether it believes the City should enter into an LTA with a specific event producer or organization. If the Council affirms Commission’s recommendation to proceed, staff would begin negotiating with the organization and return to the Council for formal adoption of the final agreement.
Included in Table 1 are those organizations that have submitted an LTA application and associated letter for their annual events including date requests for three-years beginning in 2021.
Table 1: LTA Applicant’s Requested Event Days through 2023
Requested dates are not confirmed at this phase of review but would be part of the negotiation process if approved by the Council to proceed. Dates are being provided for informational purposes only and are consistent with each organization’s event dates held in previous years.
Event Information
Best Day Foundation’s “Beach Day”
The Best Day Foundation would like to enter into an LTA to hold its “Beach Day” event on the beach south of the Pier with activities spanning on the beach and in the water. This event is for special needs youth and includes an obstacle course, tandem surfing, bodyboarding, playing in the sand and face painting. The event anticipates a total of 20 participants and approximately 80 volunteers with a total estimated attendance of 100 each day. Additional event details and the organization’s justification for meeting the eligibility criteria are included in its LTA application and supplemental letter included as Attachment 2.
Arts Group of Hermosa Beach’s “Fine Arts Festival”
The Arts Group of Hermosa Beach would like to enter into an LTA to hold its annual “Fine Arts Festival” on the Community Center lawn. Event set-up would take place on the proposed Friday dates with the event taking place on Saturday and Sunday each year. Cleanup would happen immediately following the event on the proposed Sundays. This event includes art displays by local artists and students with approximately 80 participants and 500 in attendance over the weekend. Additional event details and the organization’s justification for meeting the eligibility criteria are included in its LTA application and supplemental letter included as Attachment 3.
“Shakespeare by the Sea”
“Shakespeare by the Sea” would like to apply for an LTA for its annual two-night performance of live Shakespearean productions in the Valley Park amphitheater. The two-hour live performances are free to the community. This event anticipates 20-25 cast and crew members and 350-400 attendees each night, totaling an estimated 800 attendees over the course of the two performance days held each year. Additional event details and the organization’s justification for meeting the eligibility criteria are included in its LTA application and supplemental letter included as Attachment 4.
Extension of LTA Policy Pilot Program
As a result of the cancelation of special events following the County’s health order that prohibited large group gatherings, events scheduled to take place in 2020 during the first year of each agreement did not occur. As a pilot program, it was requested by the Council to have the Commission review and provide an update on the policy’s effectiveness in the latter part of 2021, which would have been two years into its adoption. If applied, review of the policy would take place following only a single year of events instead of the intended two years. This is made under the assumption that events would be able to return in 2021. Considering the City’s three-year commitment to providing a location for those events that have already entered into an agreement, at the Commission’s regular meeting on August 4, 2020, the Commission recommended to the City Council a one-year extension to the Special Event LTA pilot program, which would be extended to 2023 with the Commission’s review of the pilot program taking place in the latter part of 2022. If approved by the Council, staff would return at a subsequent meeting with amendments to existing LTA agreements. Additionally, negotiations of future agreements would be consistent with this action.
General Plan Consistency:
This report and associated recommendation have been evaluated for their consistency with the City’s General Plan. Relevant Policies are listed below:
Governance Element
Goal 1. A high degree of transparency and integrity in the decision-making process.
Policies:
• 1.6 Long-term considerations. Prioritize decisions that provide long-term community benefit and discourage decisions that provide short-term community benefit but reduce long-term opportunities.
Parks and Open Space Element
Goal 3. Community parks and facilities encourage social activity and interaction.
Policies:
• 3.1 Community-friendly events. Encourage, permit, and support community group, nonprofit, or business organized events on City property that support physical activity, beach culture, and family-friendly social interactions.
• 3.2 Social and cultural events. Design and program parks and open space to accommodate unique social and cultural events to foster connectedness and interaction.
• 3.3 Commercial use of facilities. Regulate and enforce commercial use of City parks and open spaces to ensure activities do not impact general use and enjoyment.
Goal 8. Special events at the beach are balanced to support community recreation and economic development without restricting coastal access or impacting the community.
Policies:
• 8.3 Community-focused events. Prioritize the approval of special events that enhance the sense of community, improve economic vitality, and foster a healthy environment and active lifestyles.
• 8.4 Family-focused events. Prioritize events that appeal to a wide segment of community members.
Fiscal Impact:
At this time, there is no known fiscal impact associated with this action. Special event fees are negotiated as part of each agreement, but those impacts are not known until the commencement of negotiations.
Attachments:
1. Special Event Long-term Agreement Policy
2. “Beach Day” Long-term Agreement Application
3. “Fine Arts Festival” Long-term Agreement Application
4. “Shakespeare by the Sea” Long-term Agreement Application
Respectfully Submitted by: Kelly Orta, Community Resources Manager
Noted for Fiscal Impact: Viki Copeland, Finance Director
Legal Review: Mike Jenkins, City Attorney
Approved: Suja Lowenthal, City Manager