Mason County commissioners on Aug. 19 voted to table action on proposed amendments to Mason County Code Title 5, Chapter 5.18 — the county's rules for temporary outdoor public events — and directed staff to hold a community workshop before the board takes the matter up again on Sept. 30. The hearing drew more than a dozen residents, several event hosts and staff presentations that underscored the tension between property owners' rights and neighbors' complaints about noise, traffic and safety.

Ian Tracey, county planning staff, told the commissioners the code currently allows temporary outdoor public events only on rural residential parcels with 3,000 or more attendees and that the draft amendments would create a permitting pathway for smaller commercial public events in rural residential zones while adding health, safety and crowd-control requirements. "Right now, this cannot occur and we have shut down events if we receive complaints," Tracey said. "This regulation would allow those events to happen with standards for water, sewage, fire and traffic, and a 14-day cumulative limit on an individual property in a 12-month period."

The issue prompted prolonged public testimony. Neighbors of a privately hosted event venue on West Windwood Drive described repeated late-night gatherings they said involved hundreds of vehicles, heavy music and unsafe driving on a private gravel road. "They're tearing up the dirt road that we maintain; we pay for it," said Nick Garrison, who lives at 421 West Windwood Drive. "They party until 4 a.m., the music rattles my windows and kids can't sleep." His son, Troy Garrison, described being woken repeatedly and losing work time because of nighttime noise.

Other neighbors described near-miss traffic incidents, discarded bottles and repeated calls to the sheriff's nonemergency line that they said yielded limited response. "Our 16-year-old granddaughter almost got hit," Carol Simpson said. Ken Arnold said the noise "shakes my windows" and that volunteers who maintain the road have to clean up bottles and damage after events.

Some residents and event operators urged the board to protect assembly rights. Chad Schweitzer, who described hosting events at his property, told commissioners: "The First Amendment guarantees us the right to peacefully assemble. The constitution defends the right to use and enjoy our own property." Schweitzer said event hosts typically coordinate with neighbors and take safety precautions.

Commissioners acknowledged the conflict between property rights and neighbors' quality-of-life concerns. "Your rights end at the end of your nose," said Commissioner Randy Netherland during deliberations, emphasizing that commercial uses on residential lots can materially affect neighbors. Commissioners and staff differentiated between two enforcement problems: (1) alleged large-scale, recurring events on a residential parcel that may already violate existing county codes and require enforcement; and (2) the policy question of whether and how to provide a permitting pathway for smaller-scale public events on rural residential lots. Several commissioners said the proposed TOPE amendments address the second issue but may not resolve immediate enforcement problems raised by neighbors.

After discussion the commission voted to table the ordinance and requested a public work session with staff before bringing the item back for a hearing and vote on Sept. 30. The board also directed staff to continue follow-up on reported enforcement complaints tied to the Windwood Drive site.

The draft amendments staff presented define a temporary outdoor public event as an activity lasting more than four contiguous hours that is open to the public and not intended as a permanent land use; they exclude events held by public schools or government entities and gatherings primarily for protected political or religious speech. Staff said the draft includes standards for sanitary facilities, drinking water, food safety, fire and crowd control, traffic and parking, and a 14-day cumulative cap on an individual property in a 12-month period, with an allowance for different land-use designations such as agricultural resource lands.

The commission's direction calls for a workshop before the Sept. 30 hearing to refine the draft language and address enforcement concerns raised by residents and law enforcement. Commissioners said they want the final ordinance to enable lawful, safe events while protecting neighbors' sleep, safety and local roads.

The commissioners did not adopt the ordinance at the Aug. 19 meeting; a further hearing and public comment will occur at the Sept. 30 regular meeting after the workshop.