News

Planning Board sends new festival rules to commission

By Bill Moss, Published: March 12, 2016

Festivals and other special events drawing more than 250 people would be subject to new permitting rules under a land-use code amendment the Henderson County Planning Board endorsed and sent to the Board of Commissioners last month.

The proposal comes after two festivals on the same weekend last July taxed the ability of the sheriff’s department to handle traffic and answer complaints. One at the Deerfields retreat in Mills River, a Burning Man-type gathering called Transformus, ended in the death of a festival participant who died when he dived headfirst into a shallow pond.
“Since these events directly impact fire, safety and EMS, particularly if alcohol is served, the sheriff’s office requested that staff considering a specific permitting process that would address those concerns,” planners said in a memo.
For gatherings of 250 to 499 people, organizers would be required to remain at least 50 feet from a house, arrange for garbage disposal and submit a site plan for review by the code enforcement officer. For special events drawing 500 to 5,000 people, organizers must also draft an emergency action plan that addresses security, emergency services, fire and law enforcement. The county’s Technical Review Committee, made up of representatives of public health, the NCDOT, planning department and others, would review the plans and issue the temporary use permit.
“The Technical Review Committee will only be looking at whether they have filled out the paperwork and whether they have complied with the temporary use permit,” John Mitchell, the director of Business and Community Development for the county, told the planners. “They will not be looking at what the purpose of the event is, who will be attending, those kinds of things. It’ll keep them from having to go all over the county. They’ll all be in the same room.”
“The intention of this is not to restrict these events from occurring,” he added. “In fact, a number of these we have are good for local business and are good for the county. The purpose is to give assurance to neighbors and give notification to the sheriff’s office and fire departments.”
Planning Board members objected to wording that allowed “county staff” to visit a festival site.
“If I’m sitting there applying for this, I’ve got hundreds of people that could come out to the property,” board member Jim Miller said. “My concern is county staff’s a broad term” that would allow any county employee who is curious or suspicious to enter the festival.
County Attorney Russ Burrell offered the phrase “county staff in the course of their official duty” as an alternative. That satisfied the board.

John J. Redmond, who owns and operates Deerfields with his brother, Greg, urged the county code enforcement office to inspect the grounds well in advance of an event.
“We need a set time we feel that the inspection would happen before the event starts,” he said. “Because if you get the monkey wrench thrown in the middle while you’re trying to execute the event, you’re going to have a problem.”
Rick Livingston, who is a planning board member and chief of Mills River Fire & Rescue, said advanced coordination is key.
“Most of the problems we have encountered during special events could have been prevented if we just had a sit-down planning meeting with all the agencies,” he said. “Had that occurred there wouldn’t have been any problems.”
That has not always happened.
The intent of the temporary use permit is “to make sure we’re getting all these players together … so we don’t have problems like last year when Oskar Blues called the sheriff’s office on a Friday and said could we have security tomorrow,” said Code Enforcement Director Toby Linville.
Oskar Blues got the memo.
Although the Board of Commissioners won’t take up the festival permit proposal until April 4, the Brevard brewery is already complying. It plans the “Loaded Up and Truckin’ Food Truck and Music Festival” April 16 and 17 at its Reeb Ranch campsite in Crab Creek. The festival features beer sales, music, food tasting and camping and is expected to draw up to 3,000 people. Oskar Blues’ event coordinator Aaron Baker has submitted a 27-page application listing all security, emergency and other preparations.

"I think we definitely went back and forth a couple of times and changed some things and I think we’ve landed in a good spot," Baker said. "We decided to sort of go through the process of doing it to see how it goes. The county asked us if we would test things out and see how it goes and we were happy to do that. It was a good thing to get in place so nobody gets surprised at the last minute and we can have a smooth event and everybody walks away happy."