RivCo votes to extend curfew for large gatherings in unincorporated areas of East Coachella Valley
In a 5-0 vote on Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors voted to extend the curfew for large events to 4 a.m. from 2 a.m. in unincorporated communities in the eastern Coachella Valley.
“Historically, many of the events surrounding the Coachella and other events out there have lasted a little longer as far as the stopping times for cleanup and setup and teardown. We wanted to provide that opportunity as we had in the past for those events to be extended to that period of time,” said Riverside County Planning Director John Hildebrand.
Ordinance No. 348 was put in place to regulate the number of events being held in unincorporated communities of Eastern Coachella Valley after numerous complaints from the surrounding community. These complaints reflected the amount of noise and traffic among other issues.
For two years the county went back and forth with public hearings and meetings to be able to best get the input of residents.
The new regulatory framework will permit tier 4, tier 5 and tier 6 temporary events in some unincorporated communities in the eastern Coachella Valley to continue until 4 a.m., and not resume again until at least 7 a.m.
The tier structure:
* Tier No. 1, 50 attendees or less;
* Tier No. 2, 51 to 100;
* Tier No. 3, 101 to 300;
* Tier No. 4, 301 to 600;
* Tier No. 5, 601 to 1,000; and
* Tier No. 6, more than 1,000.
This means the new change only applies to gatherings of more than 300 people.
A permit must be obtained to do so through the Transportation and Land Management Agency.
“If they're not subject to the temporary events ordinance, then this would not apply, but they're always subject to noise ordinances and parking, lighting, all the other things that they have to comply with county mind,” Hildebrand said.
However this decision may benefit some events, the extended hours could be an added disturbance for nearby neighborhoods.
“That certainly can be an issue. each of the events are permitted through a temporary event permitting process, and we do have enforcement opportunities," Hildebrand added, "So there are provisions built into both code enforcement planning to manage and monitor these events in case they do become problems.”
This revision will still align with state laws, in which alcohol sales are prohibited after 2 a.m. TLMA says it will be part of the permitting process moving forward, so vendors don't forget.
