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
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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
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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
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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.