The Hermosa Beach Parks and Recreation Community Resources Advisory Commission voted unanimously Dec. 2 to recommend that City Council begin negotiating a long‑term agreement with Hope Chapel to hold an annual community picnic in 2026 through 2028.

The vote followed a post‑event presentation from Joey Izvi of Hope Chapel, who said the October picnic drew about “350 people” during the day and that total event costs ran “about $12,000,” with vendors and jumpers contributing most of the expense. Austin Dewey, the city’s special events and filming coordinator, told commissioners the application requested dates are not yet confirmed and would be set through negotiations and later returned to council for final approval.

Commissioners spent much of their discussion focused on two issues: whether the group met the special‑events policy’s three‑consecutive‑years guideline for long‑term agreements — a rule intended to show an event is established — and whether an LTA was the appropriate mechanism to reduce fees for an organization that said it needed financial support to stage the picnic. Staff and the director said the three‑year requirement is intended to ensure a demonstrated history with the city, and noted COVID interruptions were considered in evaluating past years.

Public comment highlighted neighborhood impacts. Tony Higgins, who joined by Zoom, said past large events created parking shortages in surrounding blocks and urged the commission to weigh mitigation measures so residents can access on‑street parking when events run.

Commissioner Tom moved that the commission recommend commencement of long‑term agreement negotiations for Hope Chapel’s picnic and added a direction that staff ensure negotiated dates “are not to exceed any of our monthly limits.” The motion was seconded and carried 5‑0.

Votes at a glance

- Consent calendar (minutes and October activity report): approved, vote 5‑0.
- Motion to commence long‑term agreement negotiations with Hope Chapel (with instruction not to exceed monthly limits): approved, vote 5‑0.

What’s next

If council instructs staff to proceed, dates and specific fee waivers or concessions would be negotiated and the final agreement would return to council for approval. Staff said any recommended fee waiver in a long‑term agreement would be part of the negotiated package and come back to council for final sign‑off.