ON THE AGENDA: Twentynine Palms Planning Commission, September 17, 2024
ON THE AGENDA: Twentynine Palms Planning Commission, September 17, 2024
The discussion of entertainment permits moves from the City Council to the Planning Commission
The discussion of defining and permitting entertainment in the City of Twentynine Palms started at the September 10 City Council meeting moves to the Planning Commission for a Tuesday, September 17 study session. The meeting takes place at City Hall, 6136 Adobe Road. at 5 pm. The agenda packet can be found here.
PUBLIC COMMENTS
After Planning Commission announcements, you can comment on items not on the agenda. Public comments on agenda items will be requested when the item is discussed. Fill out a green comment sheet for public or agenda item comments and hand it to the staff, usually sitting at the desk at the front of the room on the right side. You have three minutes to make your comments.
Regarding public comment during the study session, come prepared to only be allowed to speak once for three minutes.
You may also email comments to Planning Commission members and Keith Gardner, the Community Development Director, and request that comments be read at the meeting.
CONSENT CALENDAR
The only item on the Consent Calendar is approval of last meeting’s minutes.
STUDY SESSION: Entertainment Permits Workshop
At the September 10 City Council meeting, after 45 minutes of public comment and Council discussion, it was agreed that the existing regulations and fees were onerous. Staff was directed to define entertainment and clarify whether there would be any fees associated with the recommended one time permit. While most of Council leaned towards no fees, Councilmember Joel Klink recommended a small security fee of $100-$250 in case capacity regulations are violated.
As the staff report points out, “several speakers noted that there is a significant difference between a concert venue with hundreds of attendees and a karaoke machine at a small bar.”
Accordingly the staff report on the topic of Entertainment permits for this meeting has evolved from the staff report submitted for the City Council meeting and recommends discussion broken into four topics:
1. To have a definition of "Live Entertainment" that would be appropriate for Twentynine Palms.
Per the report the staff is striving to find a definition appropriate for Twentynine Palms and cites two examples from other sources:
…a vocal or instrumental performance by a natural person(s) who is physically present in the establishment while delivering the performance. (Legal Insider website)
…a musical act (including karaoke), theatrical act (including standup comedy), play, revue, scene, dance act, or combination, performed by 1 or more persons, whether or not they are compensated for the performance, in a privately owned premises that is open to the public, whether or not admission is charged. (Desert Hot Springs)
2. To introduce and discuss potential policies and procedures for "Live Entertainment"
How is the permitting administered? Is it by the City or by local law enforcement (in this case the San Bernardino Sheriff Department)? Should the permit process for ancillary entertainment, such as karaoke at at a bar, differ from “live entertainment as a primary use.” Is there a time limit for permits? How are permits enforced?
Staff is recommending “some form of administrative review for ancillary entertainment” and more stringent review entertainment venues and for large events.
3. To determine if changes to "Live Entertainment" needs to be a Development Code Amendment.
Currently, the discussion on permitting is planned to circulate through the other City bodies — the Tourism Business Improvement District (TBID) and the Public Arts Advisory Committee (PAAC) as well as the “Business Community.” If the recommended changes justify a Development Code Amendment then public hearings at the Planning Commission and City Council would be added to the process.
4. To determine if there are existing establishments by their nature of their operations, already include "Live Entertainment" and thus would be exempt from further permitting.
When is “live entertainment” intrinsic to an establishment’s function? The staff report mentions “places of faith”, fraternal organizations and indoor conference facilities at hotels as examples.
We should note that since these four items are under one agenda topic, it is likely that public comment will be limited to three minutes for all four items as this has become the convention at Planning Commission meetings. You can advocate to Planning Commission Chair Max Walker and Community Development Director Keith Gardner (kgardner@29palms.org) in advance of the meeting to make an exception (mwalker@29palms.org) if you feel this is insufficient time for public comment on this issue.
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