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Special‑events permits spike; Parks staff outline plans for returning‑event streamlining and event highlights
Summary
The commission heard that special‑event permit applications rose sharply in 2025 (about 94 applications, 82 permits issued) and staff described 2026 plans including a returning‑event application process, continued outreach, and constraints that preclude broadcasting copyrighted World Cup games or planning a drone show this year.
Carmen Viegas, Recreation Services Manager for Special Events, presented a year‑in‑review and preview of 2026 special events and permitting.
Carmen said 2025 was a busy year: roughly 94 permit applications were submitted and 82 permits were issued (64 external organizations, 17 internal events, and about a dozen cancellations). "From 24 to 25, we had about a 40% increase in applications," she said, and staff are tracking roughly 28 applications already for 2026.
Highlights Carmen cited included a Corn Palace grand opening (~100 attendees), a Fourth of July celebration that drew about 5,000 people, and Hands on the Arts (nearly 2,000 visitors). Carmen also highlighted the March 3 job fair metrics: 61 people signed in, 42 were interviewed, 34 were offered positions and 25 were fingerprinted on site.
To manage growth, staff said they are piloting an annual review of the permit application and a returning‑event application process to simplify re‑submissions for recurring festivals (Diwali, downtown music festivals). Carmen described a new "free speech notification" option (not a permit) that will allow organizers to notify the city about planned free‑speech events as an informational resource.
Commissioners asked about geographic distribution of events; Carmen noted downtown (the plaza) and large open parks (Balance/Baylands, Ortega) are frequent locations and said a few pending Ponderosa Park applications were in the queue. On one recurring item — an earlier ice‑skating feasibility study — staff said a proposal had stalled due to scheduling and structural load concerns for the preferred downtown sites but that the city remains open to proposals that provide sufficient lead time and engineering data.
Staff also cautioned about broadcasting restrictions for major sports events: licensing prevents local groups from publicly broadcasting FIFA World Cup matches without rights from national broadcasters, though staff said the city can run soccer‑themed programming when not using licensed broadcasts. "Getting those broadcasting rights is really only these large NBC, Paramount [rights holders]," Carmen said.
Finally, Carmen confirmed there will be no drone show this July; instead the city will stage a downtown family festival because past launch‑zone and capacity constraints required moving away from a drone display.
No formal action was taken; commissioners thanked staff and encouraged continued outreach and refinement of permit processes.
