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Arcadia plans closer scrutiny before issuing event permits

Arcadian - 3/29/2018

A pair of unrelated public events will change how Arcadia issues city permits for such activities.

One event causing city officials concern was a March 17 vehicle and music festival, the other a private club gathering, both allegedly involving illicit drugs and underage drinking. The city had pre-screened both applications, ultimately issued permits. Festival promoters, Pressure Gang Entertainment, were to cover the costs of two city police officers for added security. There were no arrests at either event.

City Administrator Terry Stewart said future permits for such events will receive much closer examination. The city will demand exact event participant numbers, for example, will require onsite management for building rentals, other stricter rules to ensure the safety of event guests, and for those living or traveling near them, he said.

Future permit applications will undergo “greater scrutiny,” Stewart said.

The aggressive stand follows the March 17 Spring Fest vehicle show and, indirectly, an afterparty away from the event at Louis C. Anderson Park. A evening crowd estimated at 1,000 moved from Anderson Park to a club on Alabama Avenue, clogging traffic and creating a health threat, City Marshal Matt Anderson told council members. Arcadia police worked to clear street congestion, but didn’t get much cooperation, Anderson said.

Another event that weekend at a private club allegedly involved guests smoking marijuana. The club had been rented and a permit issued, but no club member supervision was observed, police on the scene reported. That will change, Stewart said.

Spring Fest’s June Walls understood the city’s concerns, but said his permitted event at Anderson Park went well. What guests do afterward is outside his control, he said. He will hire private security for next year’s Spring Fest. “We had no calls or complaints, at all,” he said.