Yakima council to let council set cruise‑night schedule by resolution; officials flag parade costs and insurance hurdles

Council instructed staff to draft an ordinance change to allow council to establish Yakima Avenue cruise‑night dates and times each year by resolution, a change organizers requested so the city can flex dates to accommodate other downtown events.

Connor, associate planner, described the city’s special‑event permit process and requirements. He said the city processed 46 special‑event permits in 2024 and that the current application charge is $50 (nonprofits are often exempt). Connor described the intake and interdepartmental review: “It'll get, keyed into our system, assigned to a planner. That's me. So then once it hits my desk, it might be, you know, a few days after it actually gets submitted, but it'll hit my desk eventually. And then that's kinda when the whole review process starts.”

Scott Grant, traffic sergeant with Yakima Police Department, summarized staffing and overtime for events. He said the department sets a minimum for cruise nights of seven officers and one sergeant and explained the overtime implications: across 21 traffic‑handled events last year the estimated officer overtime cost was $106,897; the eight Yakima Avenue cruise nights accounted for roughly $52,000 of that total.

Councilmembers and staff also discussed parades and the city code. Several parades — including longstanding community events such as the Sun Fair parade and annual toy runs — are listed in the municipal code and historically have not been charged for city staffing; councilmembers and staff said those events nonetheless require significant city resources. Staff reported organizers increasingly have trouble meeting insurance requirements (staff cited difficulties obtaining assault‑and‑battery coverage for some parades).

The council approved, by voice vote, a motion directing staff to prepare legislation to amend YMC 9.25 so cruise‑night dates can be set annually by council resolution. Councilmembers also asked staff to return with options for recovering some of the personnel and public‑works costs tied to parades and other large events; staff flagged that changes should be timed to give organizers notice before the next season.

Why it matters: street closures and major downtown events have direct operating costs for public safety, traffic control and public works. Councilmembers said they want to preserve events while finding ways to reduce the city's uncompensated costs.

Next steps: staff will draft the ordinance language for council consideration, study options to recoup event costs (for example partial cost recovery for overtime), and report back on potential changes to fee, insurance guidance and permitting procedures.