The Board of Supervisors is slated Tuesday to approve amendments to the “temporary events” ordinance regulating gatherings in unincorporated communities, permitting some functions to continue until 4 in the morning — instead of 2 a.m. — in the eastern Coachella Valley.
In October, the board authorized multiple revisions to Ordinance No. 348 at the request of the Transportation & Land Management Agency following a two-year cycle of public hearings and meetings that attempted to gather a wide cross-section of input from residents countywide.
The process was inspired by noise, traffic and other complaints impacting various communities. The substance of the initial amendments focused on limiting the number of times per year that a private property owner can hold events, and when permits are mandatory.
However, since that time, additional public input prompted TLMA officials to revisit the original “hard-stop” time limit for temporary events, which was set at 2 a.m.
“This stop was an oversight, as it did not take into account some of the county’s annual large-scale temporary events that have historically operated past 2 a.m.,” according to an agency statement posted to the board’s agenda.
The new regulatory framework proposed by TLMA would permit tier 4, tier 5 and tier 6 temporary events in some unincorporated communities in the eastern Coachella Valley to continue until 4 a.m., and not resume again until at least 7 a.m.
The tier structure is as follows:
— Tier No. 1, 50 attendees or less;
— Tier No. 2, 51 to 100;
— Tier No. 3, 101 to 300;
— Tier No. 4, 301 to 600;
— Tier No. 5, 601 to 1,000; and
— Tier No. 6, more than 1,000.
The regulations would otherwise remain unchanged, generally permitting property owners to hold four large-scale events in a 12-month period, and once crowd sizes reach a certain threshold, a permit must be obtained via TLMA.
Under the ordinance’s former provisions, large-scale events were limited to 10 for the entire lifetime of original property ownership.
The regulations specify lot sizes to determine when temporary events permits are required, depending on anticipated crowd sizes.
A property owner with a parcel that’s less than 10,000 square feet, for instance, must receive a permit any time a gathering might exceed 50 people, and no permits are issued if over 100 people are expected.
By contrast, an owner with a parcel that’s one to five acres in size does not have to apply for a permit as long as gatherings are less than 100. But any number above that will require a permit.
For properties over 20 acres, temporary permits aren’t necessary until hitting the 300 level, and there are no specified limits on crowd sizes.
Officials said that temporary events on private parcels must not be commercial in nature. Instead, birthday parties, weddings, quinceanaras and related functions fall within the permissible list of activities.
Commercial activities, including those occurring on short-term rental properties, fall under a different classification and permitting regime.
Officials said each permit is evaluated on a case-by-case basis, and code enforcement officers always have discretion to revoke a permit in the event circumstances warrant.
Penalties may be imposed for violating the conditions of permits.