Parks advisory board sends event-fees and cap questions back to staff after rejecting ticket surcharge

The Parks & Recreation Advisory Board debated a proposed overhaul of the citys outdoor events ordinance, including a matrix that would raise per-day event fees, a potential surcharge on ticketed events and limits on the number of large events in the Barrier Island and downtown areas.

Staff presented a fee matrix that ties per-day charges to an events impact score (for example, a major-impact event would pay a higher per-day fee than a low-impact event). Staff also described a Central Beach Alliance proposal to add an assessment on ticketed events so revenue could support island businesses, and a possible surcharge of $1.50 to $2 per ticket was discussed as an example.

Board members raised concerns about enforcement, how legacy or long-running events would be treated, how to handle applications submitted far in advance or only months ahead, and whether a cap on event counts should be implemented by month or district. Several board members said they needed a month-by-month listing of existing events and a clear process for prioritizing "legacy" events versus new applicants before recommending a hard cap.

On the ticket surcharge, the board voted to reject adding a per-ticket surcharge. The motion to reject the surcharge was approved in a roll-call vote (majority yes; one board member voted no). In discussion staff said auditing ticket sales and administering a per-ticket surcharge would create additional administrative and enforcement workload for the department.

The board also voted to forward the proposed ordinance changes that include the impact-based fee matrix and asked staff to return with additional information about how applications would be managed if a cap were imposed. Specifically, the board requested a detailed list of events by month, the type and typical duration of events, and a recommended process for handling competing applications so the board can advise the commission on whether to set a numerical cap for Barrier Island and non-Barrier Island areas.

Board members emphasized they were not rejecting the idea of better cost recovery for city services; rather, they sought more detail about calendar conflicts, how legacy events would be prioritized, and the departments capacity to audit ticket sales or administer a ticket surcharge. Staff said it would produce monthly event lists, year-to-date application counts and a proposed application-management process for the boards next review.