City attorney warns against St. Armands event ban

St. Armands Key residents asked the Sarasota City Commission to consider extending a ban on special events on St. Armands Circle at a meeting Monday, but the city attorney cautioned commissioners about the legality of — and the motive behind — lengthening that moratorium.

Mayor Shannon Snyder, who said he wanted to consider extending the moratorium on events at St. Armands Circle Park through the end of the month after speaking with people on the Circle, requested the item be placed on the agenda.

Snyder said the extra traffic created by special events was a public safety concern. He questioned whether the benefits of an event in a busy area — specifically, the St. Armands Fine Art Festival, scheduled for April 26 and April 27 — outweighed the negatives.

“If there’s a fire out there, an ambulance needs to get out to Longboat Key, there could be a problem,” Snyder said.

The commission originally approved a moratorium for Feb. 1 through April 20 of this year. Circle stakeholders feared that the events cause added traffic congestion and compete with local businesses during the busiest part of the year.

A group of St. Armands residents attended Monday’s commission meeting, with St. Armands Residents Association Vice President Ed Rosenblum speaking in favor of the moratorium on their behalf.

Rosenblum said the city, in approving the original events ban, incorrectly defined the peak tourist season: The Florida Department of Transportation lists April 28 as the end of the peak traffic season.

Rosenblum agreed with Snyder about the potential safety issues created by the high-traffic event.

“Your primary duty as a governing body is the public health, safety, welfare and morals, not commercial interests,” Rosenblum said.

City Attorney Robert Fournier strongly opposed the idea of extending the moratorium this year. He said he believed people on the Circle are specifically targeting next month’s art festival because they asked the city to deny the permit for the event last summer.

“I just think it’s a very bad idea, from a legal standpoint, for you to entertain extending this moratorium period where this one event is the specific target,” Fournier said.

Although multiple commissioners expressed interest in extending the moratorium, the commission took no action at Monday’s meeting. Fournier said that for next year, the city could revise its special events ordinance to incorporate similar restrictions on St. Armands Circle Park events.

Rosenblum said he was disappointed by the city attorney’s comments, and said the residents were not specifically targeting any event.

“The issue tonight is not about our special events privileges,” Rosenblum said. “The issue tonight has to do with public health, safety and welfare.”

Contact David Conwat at [email protected]