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Residents urge Belmont to simplify one‑day street‑closure support for neighborhood Halloween events
Summary
Pebble Creek residents told council that long‑running, informal Halloween celebrations draw hundreds and asked the city to provide a simple once‑a‑year street‑closure process and deliver barricades without event fees; council agreed to debrief and asked staff to explore options.
During the public‑comment portion of the Nov. 4 Belmont City Council meeting, Pebble Creek residents asked the council to ease administrative barriers that now make informal, high‑turnout Halloween trick‑or‑treating difficult to support.
Dennis Boyce, a long‑time Pebble Creek resident, said the neighborhood routinely draws large family crowds (he cited as many as 600 visitors to a single house in recent years) and that the city had historically provided barricades and kept streets safer for the event. He said the current procurement and fee requirements — including needing an event sponsor, an application, an officer assignment and insurance — effectively prevent neighborhoods that have unsponsored spontaneous gatherings from getting barricade support. "We should not have to pay a fee to alert the city to a public safety need," he told council, and asked staff to develop an annual, limited‑duration ordinance and a system to drop off and pick up roughly eight barricades for the neighborhood.
Councilmembers said staff will debrief this year’s Halloween operations with departments (including Police and Public Works) and bring options forward; staff noted some event statistics are available to guide a future policy discussion.
