At its Oct. 19 meeting, the Riverside County Board of Supervisors held a public hearing on the proposed revised ordinance regulating temporary events in the unincorporated areas of the county and approved them in a 5-0 vote.

For nearly two years, staff from the Planning Department and County Counsel’s office have been working on changes to the permitting process for temporary events. At its Sept. 24, 2019, meeting, the board unanimously directed the Transportation and Land Management Agency to move forward with a revised application process, more efficient enforcement and other steps.

This would be the first modifications to the temporary events permitting process since 2001. During that time, temporary events have grown in number, in size and in types, the planning staff said in support of initiating a revision at the 2019 meeting.

None of the supervisors opposed the effort and several endorsed the effort to improve enforcement and fines for violations.

“It’s high time, as the permitting jurisdiction, that we are more responsive to constituents,” 3rd District Supervisor Chuck Washington said, supporting the directive.

County Planning Director John Hildebrand recommended that the board approve the changes and wrote, “[The] proposed ordinance amendment updates the permitting requirements, establishes a tiering system to more clearly define when a permit is required based upon number of attendees and property size, and provides for better enforcement.”

Before landing last week on the board’s agenda for approval, the Planning Commission reviewed in it June and supported it unanimously. Both before and after that meeting, county staff held many public meetings on the various subjects and various approaches to it.

Among the issues the Planning Commission addressed was to recommend lengthening the potential duration for seasonal temporary events. The number of days that a seasonal event could be open was increased from 45 to 60. This was to allow more time for set-up and tear down before and after the actual event was open to the public.

While the Planning Commission discussed the number of events at a property and minimum attendees for requiring a permit, no changes were made to these sections.

Most of the public comments submitted prior to the board meeting opposed the draft revisions. A few were from businesses who thought it would limit opportunities.

However, many came from residents in Cahuilla Hills and the Santa Rosa plateau. They raised two issues related to the size of events and the associated effect on the neighborhoods.

The first was to ensure that the number of attendees did not impend emergency responses, such as fire protection. The second related to water and waste concerns since these areas rely on septic tanks rather than sewer treatment.

Approval of the new permitting process does not exempt properties or events that do not require a permit from complying with applicable county ordinance.