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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 11a - 2024 Lunar New Year Festival DATE: February 6, 2024 TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council FROM: Dominic Lazzaretto, City Manager By: Justine Bruno, Deputy City Manager SUBJECT: REPORT, DISCUSSION, AND DIRECTION REGARDING CITY FEE WAIVER FOR THE 2024 LUNAR NEW YEAR FESTIVAL CEQA: Not a Project Recommendation: Deny Request SUMMARY The Downtown Arcadia Improvement Association (“DAIA”) is hosting a 2024 Lunar New Year Festival on Sunday, February 25, 2024. The Lunar New Year celebration represents a new event offering for the DAIA and they have requested the City waive $13,893.72 in fees and affiliated costs in support of the event this year. It is recommended that the City Council should deny the fee waiver request at this time. BACKGROUND Lunar New Year is a widely celebrated holiday in Asian culture, recognized by millions of people in China and across the world. The Lunar New Year celebrates the arrival of the first full moon in the lunar calendar and typically occurs between late January and early February each year. Lunar New Year celebrations are often spent with family and include symbolic food dishes, religious ceremonies to honor ancestors, dancing, fireworks, lanterns, and a celebration of a particular Chinese zodiac animal. At the September 5, 2023, Meeting, the City Council was presented information on a variety of existing and potential community events in Arcadia. During that presentation, the topic of the City hosting a Lunar New Year celebration was raised. Currently, the City partners with the Arcadia Chinese Association (“ACA”) to host a well-attended luncheon to celebrate the Lunar New Year at the Community Center; however, since that event is restricted to guests 50 years of age and older, the conversation turned to whether Arcadia should provide a communitywide celebration in addition to the event at the Community Center. Based on the variety of new events the City added and the time and resources needed to host a quality event, the City Council opted to forego a Lunar New Year Celebration in 2024, but to continue the co-sponsored luncheon with the ACA. The City Council concluded the September 5 Meeting by requesting staff draft a policy regarding Report, Discussion, and Direction – Lunar New Year 2024 February 6, 2024 Page 2 of 4 a process to address community requests for sponsorships and donations. A draft policy will be presented to the City Council for further input and direction on February 20, 2024. In October 2023, the DAIA unveiled its plans to host a Lunar New Year celebration and applied for a Temporary Use Permit to host a one-day event on February 25, 2024. At the time of application, the DAIA did not make a request for City assistance. Since then, the DAIA has verbally requested City support for this event, which would include street closure setup and teardown, over-the-street banner installation and removal at three locations, Arcadia Police support for traffic control and safety, and decorative lantern installation and removal. DAIA Executive Director Donna Choi attended the January 16, 2024, Meeting and during Public Comment requested the City Council waive any affiliated City fees and costs for hosting this event in Downtown Arcadia. Following her request, three City Council Members consented to having a discussion on a waiver of City fees and services for the 2024 Lunar New Year Festival. DISCUSSION The Lunar New Year celebration will be held on Sunday, February 25, from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. in Downtown Arcadia, and will offer a dragon and lion themed dance with drummers, food trucks, live cooking demonstrations, Kung Fu demonstrations, local retail vendors, musical performances and DJ entertainment, crafts, giveaways, and raffle prizes. Under the conditions of approval specified in the Temporary Use Permit as well as some additional requests that have been made following application approval, the following is a summary of the costs and fees the DAIA is requesting the City Council waive: Service Department Cost Downtown Property Owners: Mailed Event Notification CMO $319.32 Temporary Use Permit Application CMO $649.00 Hanging Lantern Installation & Removal PWS $1,124.00 Over-the-Street Banner Permit, Installation & Removal DSD/PWS $1,678.80 Event Street Closures & Traffic Barricades PWS $4,671.59 Traffic Control & Event Safety PD $5,451.00 Total $13,893.72 For many years, the City has supported the DAIA’s events through a variety of in-kind services. In 2023, the City Council granted, for the first time, monetary sponsorship of the Patriotic Festival, in addition to waiving public safety costs for the event. In reviewing the events held by the DAIA in 2023 and what is planned for 2024, the following costs are Report, Discussion, and Direction – Lunar New Year 2024 February 6, 2024 Page 3 of 4 associated with each event, including any recovered costs: DAIA Event City Costs & Fees Costs Recovered 2023 Patriotic Festival $36,910 $0 2023 Halloween Haunting $9,150 $0 2023 Holiday Fair $7,320 $2,335 (PD) 2024 Lunar New Year $13,894 To Be Determined 2024 Patriotic Festival $33,500 $0 Total $100,774 In 2023, Arcadia provided $53,380 in sponsorships, fee waivers, and in-kind services to the DAIA. Comparatively, City sponsorships, fee waivers, and in-kind services offered to other outside organizations totaled $28,611 in 2023. The other City sponsorships, fee waivers, and in-kind services in 2023 have been in support of events like the Derby Day 5k, Law Day, the Festival of Bands, the Arcadia Performing Arts Foundation, and the Gelt Drop/Menorah Lighting, as depicted in the table below: Community Event / Organization City Sponsorships, Fee Waivers & In-Kind Services 2023 Law Day $1,165 2024 Gelt Drop / Menorah Lighting $1,620 2023 Arcadia Performing Arts $3,500 2023 Derby Day 5k Race $4,255 2023 Arcadia Festival of Bands $18,071 Total $28,611 Granting the fee waiver request for the Lunar New Year Festival would conflict with the direction the City Council provided at the September 5, 2023, Meeting, which was to forego a Lunar New Year event in 2024. The City Council opted to defer hosting this event due to the associated staffing impacts, budget considerations, and the recent addition of another large-scale event, the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival. While the City is not the lead organizer for the 2024 Lunar New Year Festival, many of the services needed to facilitate the event can only be provided by City staff. The DAIA has specifically requested that the City provide traffic control, street closures, public safety, and banner installation instead of an outside contractor due to our expertise and competitive rates. With City Council direction to hold off on a 2024 Lunar New Year event as well as create a process to address future requests for sponsorships and fee waivers, no planning or budgeting was undertaken in support of this event. For those reasons, it is recommended that the City Council deny the request for City fee waivers in the amount of $13,893.72 for the 2024 Lunar New Year Festival, and recover all applicable costs. Report, Discussion, and Direction – Lunar New Year 2024 February 6, 2024 Page 4 of 4 ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS Consideration of fee waivers is not considered a project under the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) as it can been seen with certainty to have no possible effect on the environment; thus, this matter is exempt from CEQA. FISCAL IMPACT If the requested City waivers are granted, a supplemental budget appropriation will be prepared for City Council approval. In Fiscal Year 2023-24, the City Council has waived fees and offered in-kind services at a cumulative cost that cannot be absorbed through the existing budgets of Police, Fire, and Public Works Services. In future years, should the City Council wish to provide a waiver of costs for City services, those costs will be addressed through the annual budget process. RECOMMENDATION It is recommended that the City Council determine this action does not constitute a project under the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”); and deny the request to waive City fees and costs for the 2024 Lunar New Year Festival in Downtown Arcadia.