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Kissimmee workshop weighs tighter rules, fees for private street-closure events downtown
Summary
City staff described safety, insurance and enforcement problems with private street-closure events in downtown Kissimmee and offered options including a city-managed permitting process, higher applicant cost recovery and continuing a temporary moratorium. Commissioners asked staff to draft ordinance language and return for public hearings.
City commissioners at a Kissimmee workshop discussed tightening rules and fees for private special events that close public streets in the downtown district, citing life-safety, insurance and traffic-control problems.
Development Services Director Craig Holland told the commission that private individuals, groups and businesses seeking street closures have ‘‘created a less-than-optimal situation with compromised safety for event attendees, pedestrians and vehicle operation,’’ and described recurring problems including improper barricades and signage, lack of insurance, trash, and blocked parking and emergency access.
Holland said the city’s existing permit process requires a detailed site plan, written consent from affected property owners, a 30-day lead time and a one-million-dollar insurance policy that covers the city right-of-way. He also said the city does not provide barricades or traffic-control equipment for private events and that applicants frequently need extensive staff help to finish applications.
Why this matters: staff told commissioners that if applicants do not pay for city services used during street closures, the cost falls to taxpayers. Holland showed examples from other Central Florida cities: Sanford and St. Cloud use a central special-event manager and higher application windows; typical small-to-medium events in Sanford can cost organizers about $10,000 once police, barricades and other city resources are added. A local estimate from Parks and Recreation staff put the cost of each Dakin-street closure at roughly $5,000–$6,000 in city resources.
Options presented by staff included keeping the ordinance as written, requiring private events that close streets to use the city’s special-event committee and be managed by a city special-event manager (with 100% cost recovery), lengthening the application period, or limiting street closures to the downtown core. Holland also noted that the city has revoked at least one recurring permit in recent years and that staff continue to field last-minute requests from applicants.
City Manager Mike Steigerwald summarized the next steps: commissioners must give direction on whether staff should draft ordinance amendments. If the commission asks for changes, staff would prepare proposed language and present it in two public hearings before any modification could be adopted. The temporary moratorium that prompted the workshop remains in effect while staff drafts language, Holland said.
Commissioners asked for time to review the existing ordinance and suggested one-on-one discussions with staff to avoid Sunshine Law issues while they develop changes. Several commissioners emphasized public-safety priorities and clearer fee structures so applicants understand cost responsibilities upfront.
Ending: Commissioners directed staff to return with draft ordinance language and cost estimates for possible changes to the special-event/street-closure permitting process; no ordinance changes were adopted at the workshop and the moratorium remains in place pending further action.
