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Committee approves repeal of Office of Special Events ordinance and transfer of permitting to Denver Arts and Venues
Summary
The Parks, Arts and Culture Committee voted by voice/thumbs‑up to advance a measure to repeal Chapter 2, Article 21 of the Denver Revised Municipal Code and transfer Office of Special Events permitting authorities to Denver Arts and Venues, a move the agency says will save about $1.1 million to the general fund and reduce permitting burden for small park events.
The Parks, Arts and Culture Committee voted by voice/thumbs‑up to advance an ordinance that would dissolve the Office of Special Events and transfer its permitting authorities to Denver Arts and Venues.
Rose Watts, director of administration for Denver Arts and Venues, told the committee the change would be largely administrative and would ‘‘save costs to the general fund of approximately $1,100,000 annually’’ while creating efficiencies and improving service delivery. Watts asked the committee to repeal Chapter 2, Article 21 of the Denver Revised Municipal Code and authorize transferring the prior Office of Special Events authorities into the Arts and Venues ordinance and existing rules and regulations.
Watts said permitting volume for public events currently includes about 700 permitted event days on public property, roughly 350 event permits and 250 film permits annually. She described a planned terminology change that replaces the term "special event" with "public permitted event" so the agency can apply discretion according to risk and impact.
As part of that discretion, Arts and Venues proposed carving out an exemption for small, low‑impact events: gatherings fully contained within a park with no street closures, fewer than 350 participants, no alcohol, and no drones or fireworks. Watts said that change would remove the requirement for the overall event permit for an estimated 30–45 events annually, though park permits and some park‑level conditions (for example insurance tied to park permits) would still apply.
Gretchen (executive director, Denver Arts and Venues) explained that the estimated $1.1 million general‑fund saving comes from shifting costs into a special revenue fund, absorbing staff departures and backfilling with Arts and Venues resources so the general fund is no longer carrying those expenses.
Councilmembers praised the plan as reducing burdens on small nonprofits and neighborhood events but asked several clarification questions. Amanda Sandoval raised concerns about the AED (automatic external defibrillator) checkout process used for council and community events; Watts and the agency said the AED requirement was created by Denver Department of Public Health & Environment in 2019 and that any change requires Board of Health action, while the current checkout process was designed to close a pandemic-era compliance gap. Councilmembers also asked for links to the updated rules and regulations and for an assurance that required insurance and park permit conditions would remain in place for events that need them.
The chair called for a motion; John Lewis moved and Daryl Watson seconded. The committee approved the measure by thumbs‑up/voice (the transcript records approval by voice/thumbs‑up; no roll‑call tally appears in the record). Watts said Arts and Venues plans to implement policy and communications changes beginning in 2026 and will circulate briefing materials and links to rules and regulations to committee members.
The committee asked staff to provide follow‑up documents referenced in the briefing, including the rules and regs cited in the packet and any supporting budget or implementation materials.
