County rewrites ordinance for festival permits

If Douglas County strictly enforced the festival permit ordinance it has today, an event like Candy Dance would require 7,500 parking spaces and 375 portable toilets to comply.

The chief fundraiser for the historic town attracts 30,000 people during the two-day craft fair.

A rewrite of the permit ordinance is scheduled to be introduced at Douglas County commissioner's meeting on Thursday.

Commissioners meet 1:30 p.m. at the Tahoe Transportation Center, 169 Highway 50, Stateline. The new ordinance language won't take effect until after commissioners discuss it a second time.

Genoans are scheduled to discuss the ordinance 6 p.m. Tuesday at a town board meeting.

While the rewrite was prompted partially by the debate in Genoa over competing festival permits, nothing in the new language prevents the county from granting permits for different events at the same time.

In the past Genoans have sought to have county commissioners deny permits for other festivals in town on Candy Dance weekend in order to protect the historic town's main fundraiser.

Last month, the town successfully negotiated with the last of the independent permit holders, so that the entire event comes under a single permit.

The new language does specify the requirements for a festival permit ranging from food and water to law enforcement and fire protection.

One of the main changes is to the parking requirements. Under the old code, organizer had to provide one parking spot for every two people attending by motor vehicle. That would change to one spot for every 10 people.

The revised ordinance includes a table that specifies the number of rest rooms required instead of the current ratio of one for every 40 people expected to attend. The new language sets a maximum of 188 toilets.

Under the proposed language, applications for festival permits must include the names of performers, whether there's an entrance fee and how much, number of tickets or passes and the type of advertising, specifying the type of media, geographical area covered and other details of what will be communicated to the public by organizers.

Applicants must have an indication from the owner that the festival has permission to be there, include dates and hours of the festival, an estimate of the number of participants, and the names and addresses of anyone contributing more than $500 to the event.

The new language defines a festival as anything that would reasonably attract more than 500 people. Sporting events sponsored by schools or amateur athletic organizations are exempt.