After four months of detailed discussion and debate, the Pacific Beach Special Events Committee finalized its policy and moved on to discuss the organization’s procedures on Tuesday, April 10, at the Discover Pacific Beach offices.
Committee chair Todd Brown from Discover Pacific Beach also created guidelines for how each meeting would be run and organized, five months after District 2 City Councilman Kevin Faulconer created the group.
At the beginning of the meeting, Brown established the group’s meeting procedure, which was based on Robert’s Rules of Order. In past meetings the group was unsure whether it would vote yes or no in regards to community support for each event the committee reviewed or if it would only give suggestions on how the even organizer could improve the event.
Brown established that the group would make motions, which would then be seconded before the group voted. A majority vote of the total board positions would be required for any decision or action.
The group also established a regularly scheduled meeting time and place. The committee will meet the third Tuesday of every month at 6 p.m. at the Discover Pacific Beach offices but will meet the second Tuesday in May due to scheduling conflicts.
The group reviewed the policy, once again revised from the March meeting, and voted to approve the document.
The policy states, “Every event that takes place in the community of Pacific Beach should strive to serve the entire business and residential community through event promoters’ promotional and marketing efforts.”
The event should also “serve to enhance the community’s image and reputation,” the policy said.
In the policy, the group also requests a copy of the completed City of San Diego Special Events Policy Application, any additional information, as well as the organizer’s presence at a PBSEC monthly meeting following the event for an evaluation and review of the event performance.
After some debate during the March meeting, Brown also wanted to establish the purpose of the committee as the city explained it to him.
During last month’s meeting when reviewing Pacific Beach Bar & Grill’s participation in the Stay Classy Charity Crawl, which included the expansion of the venue into the establishment’s parking lot, some members wanted to comment on the Charity Crawl event ” specifically the name of the event, including the word ‘crawl’ ” and not on the establishment’s specific involvement.
“When we’re reviewing events, what we are doing is speaking to specific event applications,” Brown said. “The key thing to understand when we’re speaking specifically to the event applications and these permits that we’re looking at is that we’re not here, and the city’s not looking for us to expound upon our philosophies of community and how we feel certain things should go.”
For example, Brown said, the city would not deny an event on the basis of the name alone. They also asked for specific suggestions to make the event more appropriate, such as additional security or different hours of operation.
Brown pointed out that there are already regulations set by the police and fire departments and other agencies, such as capacity and security requirements, which the committee should work within when making recommendations.
“The city is looking for realistic suggestions. We have to build credibility for this committee,” Brown said after the suggestion from a community member that the board give outlandish suggestions to drive an event away.
The group then heard from Jennifer Perkins with Gringo’s Cocina y Cantina about their charity fund-raiser planned for Cinco de Mayo, which includes plans for expanding their venue into their parking lot, as allowed by their Type 77 license issued by the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.
Despite Brown’s attempt to encourage the group to work within the parameters set by agencies such as ABC, several committee members insisted that they would not approve the event if it included alcohol and music outside.
The group did not vote in regard to support of the Gringo’s event due to concerns that they were vulnerable to litigious action if an organizer felt they were unjustly denied.
Thyme Curtis, a representative from Faulconer’s office, said she would find out if the group was legally covered by the city, since ultimately it is the city’s decision to approve or deny a special event.
The next meeting of the PBSEC is scheduled for Tuesday, May 8, at 6 p.m. at the Discover Pacific Beach offices, 1503 Garnet Ave. All meetings are open to the public.