Received from Yolanda Quesada, Fred Weiss Parks and Rec Oct 20, INC PARC Meeting

Background
In 2014 and 2015 a cap was in place that did not allow new races and walks in Denver. In 2015 the cap was extended to include special events. With the cap expiring for the 2016 season, there was insufficient time to analyze the data and to promulgate new rules, including stakeholder involvement prior to the opening of permits for the 2016 season on November 2nd. We determined that something needed to be put in place to manage the anticipated influx of requests to hold events until new rules are adopted at the end of the 2016 season. The impetus for this decision is the Ordinance that provides priority status for events that occur in the same park on the same date(s) for two consecutive years. These events have the right to continue into the future as long as the location and date(s) remain the same and would pre-empt any new rules that might result from a more thorough review process.
To address these issues the City will be implementing rest periods in seven of our busiest parks for the
2016 season. The purpose of these rest periods is to provide a balance between passive park use and
programmed activity in and around these parks. In addition, they will allow time for the turf to recover
from the concentrated use that results from events. We will be gathering input from stakeholder
throughout the season on the effects of the rest periods and engaging the community in a discussion about new rules following the end of the season. The details of the rest periods are as follows:

Parks where rest periods will be implemented
Downtown Parks
Civic – 2 weekend days per month
Confluence – 2 weekend days per month
Large Regional Parks
City – 3 weekend days per month
Stapleton Central – 3 weekend days per month
Sloans – 3 weekend days per month
Washington – 3 weekend days per month
Medium Regional Parks
Cheesman – 4 weekend days per month

Policy

• The Rest Period policy is being instituted on a 1 year pilot basis and only applies to the parks
  listed above.
• Priority events (events that have occurred in the same park on the same date(s) for 2 consecutive
  years as defined in Ordinance) are not impacted except as noted below.
• Rest periods in effect from April 1st through October 31st.
• “Weekend days” are Saturday and Sunday.
• DPR Permit office will determine exact rest period dates after priority events are booked and
  prior to permit opening date.
  •  DPR will work with the Office of Special Events and other City agencies in establishing
    specific rest period dates and publish them internally & externally
  • Guidelines for determining specific rest period dates will be:
    • Whole weekends versus individual weekend days
    • Weekend before or after a large event
    • Weekend when other City resources (DPD, PW) are limited
    • Turf condition
    • Maintenance requirements
•  The 5th weekend in a month will not be booked for an event except for: priority events or when
  two priority events conflict and the weekend is needed to accommodate moving one of them.
  These days do not count towards rest period requirements.
• No new events, races or walks will be allowed within one block of these parks during rest
  periods. This includes races and walks that are exclusively on the streets. (Public Works &
  Denver Police Department).
• No new events on Memorial Day, July 4th, Labor Day. These days do not count towards rest
  period requirements.
• No races/walks will be permitted on trails except for Priority events, races/walks that remain
  exclusively within a park boundary, and races/walks that are associated with a convention booked
  by Visit Denver prior to October 1, 2015. Pre-defined routes will be established for races/walks
  associated with a convention.
• Events will be limited to a maximum number of consecutive days at all parks for the entire year.
  The maximum will be 3 event days, plus one setup day and one tear-down day. Priority events
  that currently exceed this maximum will be allowed to continue but would not be allowed to add
  additional days.
• A mechanism will be put in place to obtain feedback from the various stakeholders at the end of
  the 2016 event season.

PARK EVENTS REST SCHEDULE