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Municipal Code Amended for Special Events Limitations

Aug 08, 2016 03:39PM ● By Kelly Cannon

Limitations on the number and the size of events were established during the council meeting.--Draper City

Draper, Utah - Growing concerns over the increased number of special events held in the city led the Draper City Council to approve amendments to the municipal code that set limitations on the number of events the city can have. The council approved the decision during its Aug. 2 meeting.
 
Parks and Recreation Director Rhett Ogden explained the city recently had to reopen the special events amendments of the city code after Councilmember Michele Weeks and Councilmember William Rappleye requested to get a definition for filming on city property. This led to further discussion among the parks and recreation staff about special events.
 
“Last year, we permitted 61 events in Draper. It’s really become quite popular. We’re just starting August and we’ve already had 50. It’s not ending,” Ogden said. “The whole purpose behind this was to protect Draper Park from the use that we see there. It’s such a busy park and such a great park and we have tons of events there. When you consider Draper Days and the tree lighting ceremony and the arts and craft festival, it gets used a lot.”
 
Ogden said this year there were several large events at Draper Park. Ogden noticed how the staff coordinated these events.
 
“They take a lot of time. It’s one thing to permit a small 5K fun run. But there are large-scale events that are bringing 2,500 people to the park,” Ogden said. “It takes a toll on the park and it takes a lot longer for our staff to work on.”
 
A few years ago, the city created a few limitations regarding events, such as how many events police are allowed to work and limited the number of bike races in the canyon. The new amendment added further restrictions and definitions to the code.
 
“It would define a large-scale event and how many events we would allow that would be considered large scale allowed in Draper Park,” Ogden said.
 
A large-scale event is now defined as an event not sponsored by the city that would have 500 participants or more, and only three large-scale events are allowed during a calendar year.
 
“We really feel this would help with the park and with the residents,” Ogden said. “The last few events, we’ve had to have traffic barricades and delays getting out of the neighborhood so this is kind of proactive to help with that situation.”
 
Applications for large-scale events must now be submitted 90 days in advance in order to give the special events coordinator time to work with the police, the barricade companies and others.
 
Rappleye complimented Ogden on his report saying it helped him see what the needs were. He also complimented Ogden and the Parks and Recreation Department on how good the grounds of Draper Park look despite the recent heavy use and the hot summer.
 
“I don’t remember when it’s ever looked this good this time of year,” Rappleye said.
 
The decision was reached unanimously with Councilmember Michele Weeks absent.