Mill Valley commission aims to expand plaza events

Mill Valley’s downtown plaza might become easier for residents to use.

The Parks and Recreations Commission has voted unanimously to recommend changes the City Council should make to the 2015 municipal code related to using the plaza for events.

The proposed modifications, which include who can approve event requests and the number of events allowed, are meant to expedite the event approval process and make it easier for the community.

“Basically what I see this as, instead of us really having a lot of control directly as a commission over, we’re really saying, ‘OK, staff we actually trust you to curate this,’ and if you have any concerns, then they will do the things that need to happen,” Vanessa Justice, chair of the commission, said at its meeting on Aug. 7.

Ashley Howe, the city’s director of arts and recreation, said the time and resources needed to earn approval for events at the plaza are a barrier. She said many people who have submitted requests to use the plaza have not been able to attend in-person meetings — a requirement for approval — in the past two years.

“We want to make it more accessible for people to use,” Howe said. “We also want to increase the diversity of events that we can approve to have down there so that it appeals to a larger demographic, both age and diversity.”

Howe said the department has seen an increase in requests to use the plaza, and the city would like to accommodate as many as possible. She said there were six events last year and nine this year. One of the proposed changes to the municipal code includes removing the maximum of 12 amplified events per year.

Another possible change includes authorizing the arts and recreation director, instead of the Parks and Recreation Commission, to approve events. Appeals of the director’s decision would still go to the commission. Howe said the commission is often “burdened to some degree” by approving plaza events.

“Basically, it’s lowering the threshold of approval to authorize the arts and recreation director to approve smaller events and if there’s, within reasonable thinking, something that could have some controversy or a large impact to public use of the space, that would be directed to the commission for consideration in a public setting as we’ve been doing currently,” Howe said.

Additionally, events with amplified sound would need a permit and no group or person could request more than four a year — except for city-sponsored events. City staff also recommended that events should be limited to four hours between 11 a.m. and 8 p.m., or until 8:30 p.m. between June and August.

Commissioner Katherine Jones asked why only 30 extra minutes would be allowed in the summer for amplified events. She suggested a cutoff of 9 to 10 p.m.

Howe said she did not want to concern residents with loud events into the night.

“But it’s not even dark in July at night,” Jones said. “Or don’t add half an hour. That’s just more paperwork.”

The commission agreed to make a recommendation of no later than 9 p.m. in the summer months.

The proposed changes will go to the City Council for approval.