Event Planning

Sunday Parkways in Chicago:

The Sunday Parkways project in Chicago was used as an example to gain an idea of the costs involved in these types of projects. The five-month pilot for a seven-mile stretch of road was projected to cost $320,000. Because the Charlottesville project will not cover such a large area, nor will it attract the same numbers of people, the cost should be substantially less.

Adolfo Hernandez, one of the organizers behind the Sunday Parkways project described some of the costs to consider.

• Traffic Management (police and Traffic Management Areas)
• Barricades and Barriers (to close off certain streets)
• Programming (activities such as aerobics class to draw people to the event)

Adolfo also advises that existing infrastructure in the form of streets, parks and other public spaces be utilized to minimize costs and reclaim the public realm for the public.

Funding for Charlottesville:

Getting the local community and business on board is also crucial to the success of the project. From a financial perspective, sponsorship from local businesses and institutions such as the University of Virginia can be crucial in helping to raise the necessary funds.

Obtaining grants is also an important way of raising funds. There are a number of organizations that are either based, or have an office in Charlottesville, who offer charitable grants. Some of the larger examples of these include;

• The Better Living Foundation
• The Charlottesville Area Foundation
• The Galbraith Foundation
• Oak Hill Fund

Application process and regulations:

Application Process

1. All regulations concerning a Special Event are in the Special Event Package along with the application form.
2. Park and Recreation Department is responsible for the Special Event Application.
3. The City Manager, through an Event Coordinator shall manage the scheduling of events on City Property.
4. After submission, the application would then be forwarded to the Special Event Committee Board departments for review, which are The Police, Fire, Transit, Inspections, Community Development and Park and Recreation.
5. All demonstrations and Special Events require a permit issued by the Event Coordinator.

Application Timeline

1. The event application shall be submitted 60 calendar days prior to any proposed event.
2. Applicant shall be notified of the City’s approval or denial of a permit for a special event, within 30 business days after the date on which the application was received.

Major Regulations Concerned

1. Street closure: need approval by the City’s Traffic Engineer (Jeanie Alexander alexanderj@charlottesville.org). The initial response from the Traffic Engineer was denial of closing West Main Street on Sunday afternoons for safety hazard reasons.
2. Insurance: the applicant also needs to provide evidence of indemnification of holding no harm to the City and of liability insurance not less than $ 1,000,000.
3. Public Safety Personnel: requirements are different depending on the number of event participants, the area covered, whether an admission fee will be charged, whether alcohol is served or offered for sale. The police officer/ participant ratio can range from 1:250 to 1:2000 people. Additionally one traffic/parking control officer must be present for every 1000 people attending the event.
4. Other regulations concerning food and beverage sales, sound amplification, merchandise sales, signs and banners, sanitation and garbage, etc.
5. Refer to Appendix for public safety personnel fees and equipment rental fees.
6. “The Main Event” is at its initial stage where many of the event details are still uncertain. Further event details are needed for the Event Coordinator to evaluate the feasibility of the event.

For application or further information contact Gwen Jackson (jacksong@charlottesville.org) at the Park and Recreation Department.pecial Event Regulations
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Open Space per capita in Charlottesville:

• The National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) sets a “target of Excellence” of 6.25 to10.5 acres of park land per 1000 persons in urban areas.
• Charlottesville provides the community with 714 acres of recreational space, which exceeds the target with 17.5 acres per 1000 persons (Using the 2004 census data of Charlottesville population: 40745).
• Include unconventional open spaces like school open space (143 acres) and the Ivy Creek Natural Area (215 acres natural area jointly owned by the County of Albemarle and the City), the open space per capita ratio then reaches to 25.4 acres per 1000 persons.
• Proposed street closure for “The Main Event” will add another 5.4 acres of open space for the residents which will merely increase the open space ratio to 25.5acres per 1000 persons.
• Yet the centralized location of West Main Street sets off the relatively small open space provided compare to conventional parks. “The Main Event” should attract higher usage from surrounding neighborhoods due to close proximity to West Main Street.

Gaining Approval:

            To be a success, the Main Event must first be approved by Charlottesville’s City Council.  How does this process work?  For our proposal to appear on the city’s docket, we must first secure the approval of both the city’s traffic engineer and emergency services (fire and police).  If neither party objects, we then forward a proposal to Jeanne Cox, the Clerk of Court for City Council.  Hers is the final approval before the city can officially endorse an initiative by placing it on the city’s calendar.

Jeanne Cox
coxj@charlottesville.org

Kevin Lynch
lynchk@charlottesvilleorg

Dave Norris
norrisd@charlottesville.org