CED Committee
May 27, 2025
AGENDA REPORT
TO: Jestin D. Johnson FROM: Ashleigh Kanat
City Administrator Director,
Economic & Workforce
Development Department
SUBJECT: Ordinance Amending Oakland
Municipal Code Chapter 9.52 Special
Event Permits To Add A Late Fee For
Tiers Two, Three, and Four Special
Event Applications
DATE: May 7, 2025
City Administrator Approval Date:
RECOMMENDATION
Staff Recommends That The City Council Adopt An Ordinance Amending Oakland Municipal Code Chapter 9.52 Special Event Permits To Add A Late Fee For Tiers Two, Three, and Four Special Event Applications
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The proposed ordinance would authorize the City Administrator to add a Special Event Late Application Fee of Three Hundred Seventy-Seven Dollars ($377), which is proposed to be established and updated annually by the Master Fee Schedule beginning Fiscal Year 2025- 2026, for Tiers Two, Three and Four special event permit applications that are submitted past the recommended deadlines.
Such a late fee is needed to incentivize applicants to adhere to established deadlines set forth in Section 9.52.050 of the City of Oakland (City) Oakland Municipal Code (OMC), thereby promoting efficient planning, coordination, and resource allocation for special events and minimizing the last-minute need for senior management involvement to secure approvals caused by late submissions. The late application fee safeguards the City’s ability to effectively manage special events, while promoting responsible and timely coordination between the applicant, the City, and other agencies if needed. The fee would not apply to complete applications received within the suggested deadlines or those applications that qualify as Tier One, as Tier One applications do not require the same level of coordination.
Jestin Johnson (May 16, 2025 08:27 PDT)
May 16, 2025
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: Ordinance Amending Oakland Municipal Code Chapter 9.52 Date: May 15, 2025 Page 2
CED Committee
May 27, 2025
BACKGROUND / LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
The Oakland Municipal Code (OMC) Chapter 9.52 requires anyone conducting a Special Event to obtain a permit pursuant to the requirements of OMC 9.52.040. As defined, Special Events encompass a wide range of activities, including block parties, parades, festivals, marches, park gatherings, shows on private property, marathons, and sporting events at the Oakland Coliseum. As a result, special events involve coordinating with a multitude of City departments as well as external agencies, including AC Transit, BART, the Port of Oakland, Alcohol Beverage Control (ABC), the Department of Cannabis Control, and Alameda County Public Health Department.
In the summer of 2022, the City Council adopted Ordinance No.13704 C.M.S. and Ordinance No.13700 C.M.S., which removed ambiguity from special event policies and processes to facilitate a fairer permitting process. More specifically, the ordinances transfer the permitting of special event and short-term encroachments to civilian staff, offer a more transparent process, streamline the processing of special events, and also allow for reduced fees for community and repeat events.
Given the wide range of events, Ordinance No.13704 C.M.S. introduced different special event tiers with different application timelines based on the complexity of the event. This allows staff and applicants more time to prepare for the most involved events and expedite the processing of less complex events, as described in in OMC Section 9.52.040 and outlined below in Figure
1. Figure 1: Special Event Permitting Requirements and Costs
Special
Event
Tier
Definition
Number of Days
in Advance of
Event
Application
Due
Current Permit Cost
(Not Including Late
Fee)
Two
A special event that includes any of the
following: three hundred
(300) or more people, the closure of a non-
local street, four- hundred (400) or more
square feet of tents, open flames, or
pyrotechnics, or includes sales of goods,
beverages, cannabis
or alcohol.
45 $427
Three
A special event with two-thousand five
hundred (2,500) or more people or a
parade.
90 $1,752
Four
A special event consisting of a marathon,
half-marathon, triathlon or similar events
with active attendee participation and
with multiple closures of non-local streets.
120
$4,935
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: Ordinance Amending Oakland Municipal Code Chapter 9.52 Date: May 15, 2025 Page 3
CED Committee
May 27, 2025
ANALYSIS AND POLICY ALTERNATIVES
The Economic Workforce Development Division (EWDD) receives special event applications and coordinates interdepartmental review of the application on behalf of applicants. This reduces the amount of work for applicants but requires enhanced interdepartmental coordination. Late applications impede the process as the time allotted for a thorough review by all City departments involved in the permitting process, such as Oakland Police Department, Oakland Fire Department and Oakland Department of Transportation is greatly shortened. The involvement of department heads and additional staff to expedite approvals becomes necessary to ensure public health and safety.
The current language of the ordinance offers suggested deadlines and requires EWDD to accept all applications with caveat language that there may be insufficient time to process applications accepted after the deadline. This creates complications as complex events should submit complete applications well in advance of an event so various stakeholders can plan and prepare for a safe event. Many complex events are high-profile, annual events that the community relies upon. EWDD is, in turn, subject to political and public pressure to approve permits for these activations within an insufficient time frame.
The proposed ordinance would authorize the City Administrator to add a Special Event Late Application Fee of Three Hundred Seventy-Seven Dollars ($377), as proposed to be established and updated by the Master Fee Schedule, for Tiers Two, Three and Four to complete applications submitted after the established deadlines set forth in Section 9.52.050 .
The proposed late fee meets the Citywide priority of Responsive, Trustworthy Government because it will serve as an incentive for applicants to complete the permitting process in a timely manner and help defray the additional costs incurred by the City through involvement of additional staff to expedite reviews in a short time frame when applications are submitted late.
Alternatively, the City Council could decide not to approve this Ordinance, which would mean no change to the existing process. Applicants would continue to submit late and incomplete applications, and EWDD staff would continue to be subject to political and public pressure to approve permits for these activations within an insufficient time frame.
FISCAL IMPACT
The proposed amendment is not anticipated to have a negative fiscal impact on the City’s General-Purpose Fund, nor is it specifically intended to generate revenue. Rather it is intended to incentivize on-time submittals and, when late submittals occur, the proposed fees are intended to offset the time and resources spent on additional staff required to review and coordinate late applications not captured currently in permit fee levels. The fees will be received and deposited in General Purpose Fund (1010), Special Events Organization (85631), Special Activities Permits (42420), DP850 Administrative Project (1000019), Administration Program (IP03).
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: Ordinance Amending Oakland Municipal Code Chapter 9.52 Date: May 15, 2025 Page 4
CED Committee
May 27, 2025
PUBLIC OUTREACH / INTEREST
EWDD has developed multiple educational assets to assist potential event producers in understanding the requirements for permit approval and the responsibilities involved in event production. The Special Event Application website includes ample information about the permitting process and includes a Special Event Checklist to aid the public in navigating requirements. Topic pages listing applicable fees, tier definitions and deadlines are readily available to the public.
Additionally, EWDD in conjunction with OPW conducted a Resource Training online session for special event producers with 60 participants on April 9, 2025. The training offered education on requirements, resources and a Q&A session with multiple City departments in attendance to answers questions. The Zoom session recording will be posted to the special event website, and EWDD will offer additional trainings annually.
To ensure the public is made aware of the amended ordinance, the changed verbiage detailing the late fee assessment protocol will be added to the special event website. An email including this same information will be sent to all prior special event applicants in the Accela system and EWDD will reach out to stakeholders and organizations with a history of producing special events.
COORDINATION
The Economic & Workforce Development Department has coordinated its efforts regarding this item with the City Administrator’s Office, the City Attorney’s Office, and Budget Bureau.
SUSTAINABLE OPPORTUNITIES
Economic: Special events are important to Oakland’s social and cultural fabric but can be complicated to plan and coordinate. This item is intended to encourage early or on-time applications, which allows adequate time for thoughtful coordination and supports safer events.
Well-organized special events attract visitors, who, in turn, spend money in Oakland’s retail stores and restaurants. In 2024, 3.4 million visitors spent $583 million across Oakland. The visitor spending impact of $583 million generated a total economic impact of $779 million in Oakland in 2024. This total economic impact sustained 5,548 jobs and generated nearly $85 million in state and local tax revenues.
1 Environmental: While this item is not expected to directly create or otherwise impact opportunities related to environmental sustainability, part of the application for a special event permit requires submittal of a recycling plan and a food waste plan. A timely application allows for more time to plan and mitigate environmental impacts. Encouraging local engagement and accessible activations can reduce commutes and related greenhouse gas emissions.
1 2024 Economic Impact of Visitors in Oakland, Tourism Economics.
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: Ordinance Amending Oakland Municipal Code Chapter 9.52 Date: May 15, 2025 Page 5
CED Committee
May 27, 2025
Race & Equity:
Equitable special event policies can decrease disparities in business ownership and employment opportunities in marginalized communities of color as well as create a sense of belonging in Oakland. Adhering to application deadlines allows ample time for neighborhood notification and space for voicing community concerns.
CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT (CEQA)
This action is exempt under California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines section 15063(b)(3) (common sense exemption) since the action under consideration is intended to incentivize on-time applications without changing the established process.
ACTION REQUESTED OF THE CITY COUNCIL
Staff Recommends That The City Council
Adopt an Ordinance Amending Oakland Municipal Code Chapter 9.52 Special Event Permits To Add A Late Fee For Tiers Two, Three, and Four Special Event Applications.
For questions regarding this report, please contact Kat Torio, Interim Deputy Director at 510- 238-4948.
Respectfully submitted,
Ashleigh Kanat (May 14, 2025 17:25 PDT)
ASHLEIGH KANAT
Director, Economic & Workforce Development
Attachments (1):
Prepared by:
Kat Torio, Interim Deputy Director
Special Activity Permits Division
Economic & Workforce Development
Attachment A: Special Event Late Fee Calculation
EWD - Special Activity Permits
FY 2025-26 Proposed Fees & Charges
F
ee Title: Special Event Late Fee (Proposed)
Personnel Costs
Annualized
Fringe/
Retirement Overhead @ (S+F) Total Salary
Class # Position Title Salary Cola 80.63% % FTE 45.10% * FTE + Overhead SS445 Permit Tech 85312.5 1,706.25 70,163.22 5.38% 2,113.22 8,463.64 10,576.86 MA173 Permit Coordinator 10863.5 217.27 8,934.42 3.08% 153.77 615.85 769.62 - -
- -
Other Costs Description
- - -
- - -
- - -
- - -
Amount
1 -
2 -
3 -
4 -
Total Cost 11,346.48
Estimated Annual # Processed 30
Cost Per Permit #DIV/0! $378.22
$0.00 Proposed Fee
Calculation for % FTE: Average #DIV/0!
% Cost
Recovery
Units Minutes Total Equivalent
Class Name Processed Per Unit Minutes Hours % FTE
Permit Tech 30 210 6,300 105.0 5.38%
Permit Coordinator 30 120 3,600 60.0 3.08%
0 0 0.00%
0 0 0.00%
0 0 0.00%
Attachment A