REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Action on the Proposed Mission College Location for the City's 4th of July Special Event Activities
Report
COUNCIL PILLARS
Promote Community Engagement and Transparency
Enhance Community Sports, Recreational and Arts Assets
BACKGROUND
Historically, the City of Santa Clara has sponsored an All-City Picnic and Fireworks Show at Central Park on the 4th of July. Due to budget constraints, funding for special events in the amount of $358,116 was cut from the Department of Parks and Recreation's (Department) operating budget in fiscal year (FY) 2021/2022. This resulted in the elimination of the fireworks portion of the 4th of July activities. In 2022 and 2023 the City offered a 4th of July All-City Picnic in Central Park that included activities, food trucks, and entertainment. The Department was asked to explore the feasibility of restoring the fireworks component of the All-City Picnic for 2024.
The City's last fireworks show held in Central Park was in 2019. The City's public safety departments have expressed concerns about the use of Central Park for a night-time firework show. The landscape of events has changed from a public safety perspective since the City's last 4th of July fireworks show at Central Park. The historic Central Park location is not a feasible event location without significant enhancement of resources that are not budgeted and that would be cost prohibitive for the City. Additionally, while events have been very well attended in prior years, those crowds resulted in congestion in surrounding neighborhoods impacting public safety's ability to respond to incidents. This event impacted the entire neighborhood as traffic was stopped from Kiely Boulevard to San Tomas Expressway and Homestead Road to Benton Street. Emergency services were blocked from accessing the interior of the event due to the size of the crowd. The area has further changed as the Magical Bridge Playground takes up the large meadow on the Kiely...
Click here for full text