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Board directs solicitor to draft and advertise permit, special-event ordinance updates
Summary
The board directed the solicitor to draft and advertise an ordinance clarifying permit issuance and to prepare amendments clarifying which properties may obtain temporary special-event permits, with a focus on preventing commercial entities from using special-event rules to bypass zoning.
The board authorized the solicitor to draft and advertise two related ordinance updates: (1) clarifying issuance of permits and requiring applicants be in good standing (for example, no outstanding violations or depleted escrow accounts), and (2) clarifying which events and properties may obtain temporary special-event permits and exemptions, with an emphasis on excluding commercial-for-profit operations from nonprofit special-event exemptions.
The solicitor said staff routinely encounter permit applicants with outstanding violations or escrow shortfalls and recommended language to require applicants to be in good standing before new permit issuance. On special events, the solicitor said the noise-exemption language in the noise ordinance is intended for nonprofit or one-time resident events and should not be used by commercial businesses to bypass zoning. The board asked staff to reconcile cross-references in the use table and to incorporate minor solicitor and code-officer comments before advertising the draft ordinance for public review.
