St. Armands stakeholders react to new events rules

As the city of Sarasota finalizes a proposed special events ordinance for public hearing, the first draft has inspired an array of responses from St. Armands stakeholders.

Part of the proposed ordinance focuses specifically on managing events at St. Armands Circle Park. People around the Circle have pushed for a blackout period in the park during the height of tourist season. Under the ordinance, no special events would be held in the park from February through April.

Landowners, merchants and residents on St. Armands pushed for the restriction, arguing the in-season events distracted from local businesses and added to traffic and parking congestion issues.

City staff presented an initial draft of the ordinance for the City Commission’s consideration at a June 2 meeting. In addition to the blackout period, the ordinance places a limit of two events per month in the park and doesn’t allow for any events that would close lanes of traffic around the Circle.

The reaction from the St. Armands Residents Association was positive. Residents association member Kevin Bales said special events and street closures often reroute overflow traffic and parking into the neighborhoods, and it was important to attempt to mitigate that.

Diana Corrigan, executive director of the St. Armands Circle Association, was less pleased with the proposed ordinance.

The St. Armands Circle Association, which represents area merchants, yearned for an earlier system in which Circle stakeholders had considerable sway over exceptions to the park’s special events regulations.
City Attorney Robert Fournier has said that a private organization cannot have autonomy over the management of a public park. Still, Corrigan said she hoped the history of the Circle would be taken into consideration when the ordinance goes before the City Commission again.

Corrigan said the limit of two events per month would interfere with the Circle association, which holds three events per month in October and January. She said she wanted the commission to acknowledge that, despite the proposed monthly limit, certain events were particularly important to people in the community.

“Those should be given some special consideration as compared to the new ones that are coming into the area from out of town,” Corrigan said.

Fournier said the length of the blackout period and the number of events allowed per month were questions of policy for the City Commission. The public hearing regarding the ordinance is slated to occur during the July 21 commission meeting.

Despite her initial issues with the proposed regulations, Corrigan said she was hopeful an acceptable ordinance would be in place by next season.

“I really think (the city) wants to work with us,” Corrigan said. “I think they want to make it a win-win for everybody.”

Contact David Conway at [email protected].