Honorable Mayor and Members of the Hermosa Beach City Council
Regular Meeting of October 12, 2021
Title
PUBLIC HEARING TO CONSIDER INCLUSION OF HERMOSA HOLIDAYS FROM NOVEMBER 19 TO NOVEMBER 21 AT VARIOUS LOCATIONS IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA AND SURROUNDING COMMUNITY TO THE 2021 SPECIAL EVENTS CALENDAR
(Interim Community Resources Manager Lisa Nichols)
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Recommended Action:
Recommendation
Staff recommends City Council hold a Public Hearing to consider inclusion of Hermosa Holidays from November 19 to November 21, 2021 at various locations downtown and the surrounding community to the 2021 Special Events Calendar.
Body
Executive Summary:
The Community Resources Department is tasked with overseeing special event requests and permits on public property following an extensive review and approval process that includes both the Parks, Recreation and Community Resources Advisory Commission (Commission) and City Council, depending on the impact level of each event. Impact level III events, which are the largest in overall impact or a new event to the City, require a public hearing by the Commission and City Council for formal approval.
The Commission held a Public Hearing, at its September 20, 2021 meeting, to review a new event request for Hermosa Holidays proposed to take place November 19 to November 27 at various locations in the downtown area and surrounding community. After concluding its deliberations, the Commission recommended to City Council the event’s inclusion to the 2021 Special Events Calendar. Following the Public Hearing, the event dates changed to November 19 to November 21.
Background:
The Community Resources Department is tasked with overseeing special event requests and permits on public property following an extensive review and approval process that includes both the Commission and City Council, depending on the impact level of each event. Impact level III events, which are the largest in overall impact or a new event to the City, require a public hearing by the Commission and City Council for formal approval.
At the September 20, 2021 meeting, the Commission held a Public Hearing to review a new event request for Hermosa Holidays from November 19 to November 27 at various locations in the downtown area and surrounding community. After concluding its deliberations, the Commission recommended to City Council the event’s inclusion to the 2021 Special Events Calendar. Following the Public Hearing, the event dates changed to November 19 to November 21.
Staff issues special event permits for all approved events consistent with the most current Department of Public Health’s Health Officer Order (HOO), relevant to the time the event is scheduled to take place. All event producers are made aware of the uncertainty of event provisions allowed at the time of their event. The events that are approved are noted on the 2021 Special Event Calendar (Attachment 1).
Discussion:
The Hermosa Beach Chamber of Commerce requests approval to expand the annual holiday celebration and tree lighting event to hold a holiday-themed event with various activities in the downtown area and the surrounding community from Friday, November 19 to Sunday, November 21. A timeline of currently proposed activities is included in Table 1.
Table 1. Hermosa Holidays Event Timeline
Additional details for those elements include:
• Ice Rink-a synthetic-flooring ice rink approximately 30 feet by 50 feet located on the northwest corner of Pier Plaza with dedicated staff to manage guests and participants;
• Winter Lodge-ticketed area in the Crafty Minds private parking lot with food, beverages, and acoustic or amplified sound for guests to enjoy. Alcohol may be served to those 21 years of age and over;
• Selfie Stations-located throughout the downtown areas including Pier Avenue and Pier Plaza;
• Open house for retailers-businesses along Pier Avenue and Hermosa Avenue offering specials and promotions with merchandise racks, tables, and canopies on the sidewalk immediately in front of stores;
• Local Artisan Pop-up-located on Manhattan Avenue between Pier Avenue and 14th Street and/or in the private lot just west of Star’s Antiques. One or both locations would provide a space for local artisans to sell their giftable items. The location on Manhattan Avenue would require a road closure;
• Letters to Santa-an opportunity for children to write letters to Santa;
• Santa’s Workshop-gift making and crafts;
• Pictures with Santa-photo opportunities with Santa Claus; and
• Charity “Village”-a toy drive with local charities setup along Pier Plaza.
The City’s Special Events Team has preliminarily reviewed the application and does not
have any major concerns, although there are many logistical plans and security elements
that will need to be further discussed and finalized if the event is approved by City Council.
Approval of this event does not conflict with other events already approved on the Special Event Calendar. Although there is another event scheduled on November 20, staff has no concerns with these concurrent events as the events are planned for different locations. Additional event details for Hermosa Holidays are included in its Special Event Application Overview Form (Attachment 2) and site plans (Attachment 3).
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 5. Small beach town character is reflected throughout Hermosa Beach.
Policies:
• 5.7 Visitor and resident balance. Recognizing the desire and need to balance visitor-serving and local-serving uses as a key to preserving character and the economic vitality of the community.
Parks & 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.
• 3.4 Balance space needs. Balance the space needs and demand on public resources of formal and informal events.
Fiscal Impact:
Through the agreement between the City of Hermosa Beach and the Chamber of Commerce to provide Fiesta Hermosa, the Chamber has a duty to fund and produce an annual holiday celebration and tree lighting event. This year, the Chamber requests approval to hold an expanded event over three days. As a contractual event with the primary purpose of public involvement and benefit, staff recommends the application of a one-time fee of $11,771 for the use of Pier Plaza versus the standard per day fee for a commercial rental totaling $35,313.
Table 2 includes all applicable special event fees associated with Hermosa Holidays as proposed. If approved, estimated event revenue would be approximately $12,533. City staff and parking use fees would be determined based on final event details and actual costs.
Table 2. Hermosa Holidays Estimated Event Fees
Attachments:
1. 2021 Tentative Special Event Calendar
2. Hermosa Holidays Special Event Application Overview
3. Hermosa Holidays Site Plans
Respectfully Submitted by: Lisa Nichols, Interim Community Resources Manager
Noted for Fiscal Impact: Viki Copeland, Finance Director
Legal Review: Mike Jenkins, City Attorney
Approved: Suja Lowenthal, City Manager