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Committee narrows and advances fee‑waiver program for neighborhood outdoor events
Summary
The committee adopted a limit of 12 fee‑waived qualifying events per sponsor per year, approved a substantive Sunset night‑market carve‑out, duplicated the file and forwarded the amended ordinance to the full Board for final action; BLA estimated the fiscal cost at roughly $1.8 million annually.
The Budget & Finance Committee considered mayoral legislation that would authorize the Municipal Transportation Agency and other departments to waive certain city fees for qualifying neighborhood outdoor events to make small community gatherings more affordable.
Alessandra Lozano of the Office of Economic and Workforce Development summarized eligibility criteria: events must be outdoors between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m., free and open to the public, primarily serve local residents/workers, occupy up to three continuous blocks (or a hub‑and‑spoke pattern), be sponsored by a qualifying local nonprofit or small business, and limit amplified sound. Eligible fees include permits, inspection and staffing fees from various departments; the MTA board would need to adopt fee waivers consistent with the ordinance.
The Budget & Legislative Analyst updated the fiscal estimate to about $1.8 million annually in waived fees (about $700,000 general fund impact and $1.1 million to MTA). Committee members discussed limits to prevent overuse and Metro operations constraints for closures that force transit reroutes.
Vice Chair Rafael Mandelmann successfully moved a non‑substantive amendment reinstating a cap that limits organizations to 12 eligible fee‑waived events per calendar year. Supervisor Joel Engardio proposed, and the committee accepted, a substantive amendment that explicitly carves out a Sunset night market definition allowing up to six continuous blocks along specified streets for that market; the committee duplicated the ordinance with that substantive amendment and forwarded the amended duplicate to the Board. Both the 12‑event cap and the Sunset carve‑out amendments passed on committee votes recorded on the transcript.
Public comment included local organizers and merchants who supported the waivers as a way to sustain neighborhood markets and support small vendors. The committee continued the duplicated file to the call of the chair for final consideration by the full Board.
Sources: OEWD presentation, BLA fiscal estimate and supervisor amendments recorded in the hearing transcript.
