At the July 16, 2019 City Council Meeting, Councilmember Cousens moved to create an Ad Hoc Committee to evaluate future cruising activities. Councilmembers Cousens and White were selected to serve on the Ad Hoc Committee. City staff scheduled two meetings to review the cruising ordinance; one on July 26, 2019 with the City’s insurance provider and the second on August 28, 2019 with Car Club members.
At the July 26, 2019 meeting, PayneWest Insurance (the City’s insurance provider) recommended to staff and Councilmembers White and Cousens that the City maintain current insurance requirements for cruising to limit City liability during the events.
At the August 28, 2019 meeting, Car Club members in attendance told staff and Councilmember White that they would like to see the City remove all Special Event requirements from cruising events, including insurance and YPD cost recovery fees, and to “legalize” cruising on the following dates every year: second Saturday in June, July, August and September, and the third Saturday in June and September.
This matter was then brought back to the City Council for consideration of the information gained from the Ad Hoc Committee meetings. Following discussion, the Council decided to permit eight unrestricted annual Yakima Avenue cruising events to occur from six to ten p.m. on the second and third Saturday evenings in June, July, August and September. This permission does not prohibit other special events from occurring on Yakima Avenue during these times, unless a Special Event Permit has been obtained specifically for a cruising event, subject to 9.70.050. Any other open cruising events that may be requested for any other dates shall remain subject to 9.70 YMC and City Council approval. |