Oakdale council adopts new downtown special-events application, petition and notice requirements

The Oakdale City Council on Feb. 18 adopted a policy setting application and notification requirements for special events that include street or parking-lot closures in the downtown area.

Under the new policy applicants must submit a complete special event application at least 90 days before an event that would close a street or parking lot in the designated downtown closure area (North First, North Second and North Third avenues between F and E streets; E Street from First to Yosemite; and adjacent parking lots). Sixty days before an event, staff will provide the applicant with a street/parking-lot closure petition packet listing addresses where signatures are required; applicants must return a completed petition packet with required signatures at least 45 days before the event. For events involving amplified sound or city co-sponsorship, staff will require distribution of a flyer to all businesses and residents within the closure area at least 14 days before the event.

Staff said the policy is intended to increase transparency for downtown merchants and tenants, who had reported signing petitions without seeing maps or event plans in the past. The council and staff emphasized the policy is not meant to be punitive but to give businesses adequate notice and to provide staff sufficient time to route permits and safety reviews to police and fire. Staff confirmed recurring multi-day events (for example, a weekly morning market) may submit a single application for the recurring series; vendor fees still apply per occurrence.

Council discussion included questions about the petition and notification timing and whether 14 days' flyer notice was sufficient; staff said they consulted downtown merchants and received no objections to the schedule. The resolution passed on a 5-0 roll-call vote.