Red Tape Reduction

city council streamlines event approval process

Tom Giffey, photos by Caitlyn Berlin |

JUST A DASH OF COLOR. A City of Eau Claire ordinance change means it will be easier to get permits for special events on city property, such as the Color Dash in Carson Park last year.
JUST A DASH OF COLOR. A City of Eau Claire ordinance change means it will be easier to get permits for special events on city property, such as the Color Dash in Carson Park last year.

Good news, event organizers: It’s now easier to get the administrative approvals needed to hold your fundraiser, fun run, or other event on public property in the city of Eau Claire.

On Nov. 10, the Eau Claire City Council voted unanimously to amend its special events ordinance. The bureaucratic rules that governed who did – and did not – get permits had been criticized earlier this year by a number of event organizers, including nonprofit groups and businesses, who said the number of meetings and approvals required made staging an event in Eau Claire an onerous task.

Among the groups offering critiques at the time was Visit Eau Claire, the region’s event and tourism promotion agency. Lengthy applications and repetitive approval processes previously seemed like “overkill,” said Linda John, the group’s executive director. “The way it was presented it seemed to be really overwhelming, especially for groups that have already done their first event,” she said.

Now that the process has been streamlined, John said, Eau Claire is competitive as an event host with other similar cities, such as La Crosse or Wausau.

“There was a lot of good work done at the council level and the city staff level to listen to the concerns of the citizens to make some positive changes, and we look forward to continuing those conversations,” – Linda John, Visit Eau Claire, on changes to the special events ordinance

Phil Fieber, director of the city Parks, Recreation, and Forestry Department, said the council made several significant changes in response to input offered at an August listening session. In particular, many smaller events will no longer require City Council approval; instead, organizers will only need to get an administrative OK from the police chief and the parks and recreation director, rather than go before several different committees and the council itself.

“Only the really big (events) will go on to the City Council,” Fieber explained.

Specifically, City Council approval will only be needed for events expecting more than 1,000 people, events at which alcohol will be served at night, events that require streets to be closed, events that will alter park hours, or events at which more than six half-barrels of beer will be served.

Fieber noted that, while the process has been streamlined, the requirements for event organizers remain the same: For example, he said, they’ll still be required to offer emergency response plans and provide insurance for their events.

The ordinance change not only will save event organizers red-tape induced headaches, but also will save time for city administrators. Previously, some events that served alcohol had to go before both a special events committee and an alcohol license review committee, panels that included some of the same members and asked some of the same questions.

In addition, smaller events serving alcohol – specifically, those seeking temporary Class B malt beverage licenses – will be able to get approval from the police chief and parks and recreation director alone. They also won’t be required to set up fences to segregate drinkers or to pay extra for police services; instead, these event organizers can serve alcohol openly as long as patrons aged 21 and older are given wristbands and adult beverages are served in clear cups.

John, of Visit Eau Claire, praised the dropping of the fencing requirement, noting that responsible drinkers don’t need to be cordoned off. Money raised from beer sales often helps make special events possible, she noted.

Now that the ordinance has been updated, John hopes city officials continue to study the special events issue, perhaps examining the fees charged for using public facilities (sometimes organizers have to pay rent for facilities they aren’t directly using) and possibly considering offsetting some fees based upon the room-tax revenue generated by large events. (Room taxes support city programs as well as Visit Eau Claire itself.)

“There was a lot of good work done at the council level and the city staff level to listen to the concerns of the citizens to make some positive changes, and we look forward to continuing those conversations,” John said.

Want to get started scheduling your special event in Eau Claire? Visit www.ci.eau-claire.wi.us/ and enter “Special Events” in the search bar.