News of the Arroyo
Title: | Parks usage raises council hackles |
Subtitle: | |
Date: | 2005-03-07 |
Summary: | March 7, 2005 - The use of Pasadena parks and the Arroyo is becoming a major concern in Pasadena. |
Author: | Gary Scott, Staff Writer |
Publication: | Pasadena Star News |
Content: | Limits, increased fees may be placed on commercial ventures By Gary Scott Staff Writer Sunday, March 06, 2005 - PASADENA -- When it was proposed that the Pasadena Jazz Festival be moved from its traditional home at Central Park downtown to Brookside Park in the Arroyo Seco, a game of hot potato broke out between neighborhoods. The residents around Central Park, particularly those living in the historic Castle Green, said they\'d had enough of the crowds and music and were glad to see it go. The residents overlooking Brookside decried having yet another festival move into their backyard and asked it be sent back. The inter-neighborhood bickering induced Mayor Bill Bogaard to make a rare, impromptu outburst at last week\'s council meeting. \"We have to rethink how we use our parks,\' Bogaard said. \"We need to eliminate some of the totally disruptive weekend-long events that take over parks and make them unavailable for public use.\' There is a growing feeling in the city that more and more commercial ventures are using too much time in the limited number of public parks, making them off-limits to what Bogaard referred to as \"spontaneous and unscheduled events\' Bogaardian slang for \'hanging out.\' \"All of a sudden, you had all of these new events show up at the Arroyo,\' said Michael Hurley, president of the Linda Vista Annandale Neighborhood Association, which abuts the Central Arroyo. Hurley ticked off a half-dozen fairs and festivals that he says are inundating the area. The mayor even floated the idea of charging non-residents to use smaller neighborhood parks, as is done at Lacy Park in San Marino. Statistics from the city\'s Recreation Department show the number of large- scale events those that attract 1,500 people or more has been fairly consistent over the last two years. Five parks are designated to handle such events: Central and Memorial parks in the downtown, Victory Park in the northeast, Brookside and Robinson Park in the Northwest. Ariel Penn, special events manager for the city, said there were seven large- scale events in Central Park in 2003 and four in 2004. Five are planned this year. Brookside had one, two and one, respectively, for the same years. But those numbers do not include events sponsored by the Rose Bowl Operating Co., Hurley noted. And the RBOC has a real doozy planned for this summer, according to District 7 Councilman Steve Madison. On Monday, the City Council voted 7-1, Madison dissenting, to approve the Rose Bowl Summer Fair, an 11-day carnival with rides, booths and music that will be held on one of the stadium\'s parking lots. \"We had an opportunity to say the Central Arroyo is not a commercial venue,\' a disappointed Madison said after the vote. \"Seven of us blew that one.\' Such expressions of consternation have inspired the city\'s Recreation and Parks Commission to look at policies that will try to mitigate the effects of larger events. \"Originally, it started out of issues surrounding large-scale events at Central Park,\' said Commission Chairman Frank Osen. \"A certain not-in-my-backyard-park sentiment was expressed.\' Recently, the city implemented a 26- day \"cooling-off period\' between large events, Penn said, to ensure no park was hit on back-to-back weekends. Other changes being considered include increasing fees to make events more profitable for the city and giving greater notice to surrounding neighborhoods of an event being planned. \"For me it is particularly problematic when we rent out the parks to for- profit entities from outside the city that don\'t bring a lot back to the community,\' said Councilman Steve Haderlein. Ultimately, the solution is to build more parks, said Councilman Victor Gordo. \"The way to do it is not to take away exciting events that Pasadenans enjoy, it\'s to create more green space,\' Gordo said. He has proposed changing city law so that large-scale housing developers buy and develop park space rather than paying into a fund. \"The moment a developer turns money over to us the buying power has been cut in half,\' Gordo said. Not everyone on the council agrees the city\'s parks are being over-used. When asked about the mayor\'s comments, Councilman Chris Holden stated the problem \"is not apparent to me.\' \"All that stuff is cool,\' Holden said. \"That is what brings the community together and gives them a chance to fellowship, enjoy themselves and spend a little money.\' Madison said he hopes the issue of park space will finally be resolved when the long-awaited Parks Master Plan comes to the council for a vote either this year or next. Gary Scott can be reached at (626) 578-6300, Ext. 4458, or by e-mail at gary.scott@sgvn.com . |
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