Council weighs revamp of street‑corner permits and fee setting to address event safety

The Chair said the council is considering changes to how the city regulates street‑corner permits and associated fees, with an eye toward clarifying public‑safety requirements for vendors and temporary structures. "Do we revamp the actual street corner permit itself?" the Chair asked, raising whether fee setting should be removed from the ordinance and managed instead by the board of works so small fee changes would not require ordinance amendments.

The Chair said the discussion grew out of conversations with council members and staff about costs tied to events — "from barricades to bathrooms" — and about what level of police protection should be required. The Chair described the proposed change as "codifying the fact that there is a fee structure of some sort that the board works within, creating the fee structure," and said several council members would meet before the next council meeting to work through details and bring recommendations to the board of works.

Council members did not take a formal vote during the meeting. The Chair framed the change as an administrative fix aimed at avoiding repeated ordinance updates for small fee adjustments and at setting clearer thresholds for when safety requirements apply. No specific fee amounts, draft ordinance language or timetable for a formal proposal were provided during the discussion; the Chair said further conversations with stakeholders are needed before the board of works considers a recommendation.