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Council to send Historic Plaza event permit changes to planning commission after business and nonprofit support
Summary
Council members agreed to send proposals to ease event limits at the Historic Plaza to the planning commission for formal review. Supporters, including the nonprofit Friends of the Historic Plaza, asked the city to waive conditional use permit fees and allow more events than the current four-per-year limit.
The Twentynine Palms City Council agreed to send a proposal to the planning commission that would explore easing restrictions on events at the Historic Plaza, a downtown city-owned asset where drive aisles are owned by the city. Council direction was to return with a conditional use permit (CUP) framework, including frequency, hours and any necessary agreement with the Friends of the Historic Plaza; council members expressed support for treating the plaza similarly to the Freedom Plaza farmers market approach.
City staff described the current development code condition that limits special events at the Historic Plaza to four per year unless a conditional use permit is obtained. Keith Gardner (planning staff) and the city manager outlined that any permanent change would require a CUP and a maintenance/management agreement with the plaza's organizers.
Speakers from the public urged the city to allow more events. Jimmy Brower, a director of the Friends of the Historic Plaza, said the nonprofit was formed in August 2024 to advocate for the plaza's preservation and to support recurring community events: "The restrictions of the current temporary use permit limiting a max of total of 4 events at the Historic Plaza annually... does not allow this venue to breathe and grow as it has in the past and must for the future." Carlos Landon, speaking as a resident, urged that any fee waivers be limited to nonprofit organizations and that city staff retain authority to review applications.
Council members generally expressed support for exploring the change and asked staff to return with ordinance-level details after review by the planning commission. The council voiced a consensus (no formal ordinance adoption at this meeting) to pursue a CUP pathway and to consider fee waivers similar to Freedom Plaza.
