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HomeMy WebLinkAbout15 Weekend Farmers Market on San PabloSTAFF REPORT CITY OF PALM DESERT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT . MEETING DATE: January 14, 2021 PREPARED BY: Vanessa Mager, Management Analyst REQUEST: Provide Guidance Regarding a Weekend Farmers Pablo Avenue. Recommendation By Minute Motion: • E O U E rlet V : n 0 � b 1 irt O••• -id ;To wW�a�. 2azaa�oW�aaU 1. Authorize the road closure on San Pablo Avenue between Alessandro Drive and San Gorgonio Way for each Weekend Farmers' Market. 2. Approve a three-month sponsorship agreement between the City and CV Harvest in the amount of $5,000. Funds to be appropriated from City Sponsored Events Account No. 1104416-4306201. 3. Authorize waiving of all City -assessed permit and inspection fees pertaining to the event. Strategic Plan Approval of the additional weekend Farmers' Market on San Pablo helps address the following priorities as specified in the 2013-2033 Strategic Plan, Envision Palm Desert — Forward Together: • Economic Development Priority 3: Create and attract entertainment and events to enhance and expand the Palm Desert economy and lifestyle. • Land Use, Housing & Open Space 4: Create a mixed -use city core integrating shopping, dining, lodging and housing. • Transportation 1: Create walkable neighborhoods and areas within Palm Desert that would include residential; retail; services and employment centers; and parks, recreation and open space to reduce the use of low occupancy vehicles. Background Analysis At the October 29, 2020 regular Council meeting, staff was asked by the City Council to research the possibility of adding a weekend Farmers' Market to the City's calendar, in January 14, 2021 - Staff Report Consideration of a Weekend Farmers Market on San Pablo Page 2 of 3 addition to the Palm Desert Certified Farmers' Market, which operates every Wednesday (8 a.m. — 12:30 p.m.) from October to April. Discussion The Palm Springs Cultural Center, which operates the existing Palm Desert Certified Farmers' Market, has indicated they are unable to organize a weekend market in Palm Desert. With two established weekend markets in the Coachella Valley, Saturday in Palm Springs and Sunday in La Quinta, their vendors are already stretched thin and would not be able to participate. Staff has had multiple exploratory conversations with the current operator regarding the possibility of adding a weekend market, to no avail. With this avenue closed, staff reached out to CV Harvest Box, a new organization that delivers fresh, local, and sustainable produce and food directly to consumers in the Coachella Valley. Restaurateur Tony Marchese (AC3, Trio) and date farm owner Mark Tadros created CV Harvest Box in the summer of 2020 as a way to directly address the food -delivery challenges created by COVID-19. Their mission is to empower the community through advocacy, education and accessibility to local farms. They do this at fair prices, creating an equitable and direct relationship between local food consumers and the valley's agricultural producers. Given its founders' connections within the agricultural community and their experience in organizing events (including Palm Desert Food & Wine), staff views CV Harvest as an ideal operator for a new Farmers' Market. Mr. Marchese and Mr. Tadros are excited and prepared to move forward with a monthly Sunday Farmers' Market starting as early as February, 2021, with a plan to expand the schedule to a weekly format as soon as circumstances allow. They have numerous ideas for post-COVID growth of the market as well, including entertainment and other concepts that would increase the "street fair" quality of the event. CV Harvest proposed Sunday as an ideal day for a new market because it would be easier for more vendors to participate. Given the delivery schedule for local producers who work with restaurants, Saturday is logistically a much more difficult day to coordinate, and would reduce the number of vendors who would consider participating in the new market. In the past, when the City had a Sunday summer Farmers' Market at Westfield Palm Desert, attendance was high and the market was considered a success by both organizers and vendors. Given the newness of working with San Pablo as an event space and the weekly street closure on Wednesday mornings, staff sees a monthly start for a new market as optimal. Businesses on San Pablo have been severely affected by street closures during construction and are newly adjusting to the finished project. In addition, starting a new January 14, 2021 - Staff Report Consideration of a Weekend Farmers Market on San Pablo Page 3 of 3 market during COVID conditions brings extra logistical considerations for health and safety. If the City Council would like to move forward with adding a new Farmers' Market to the City calendar to complement the existing Palm Desert Certified Farmers' Market, staff recommends this measured approach. Conditions in the fall are likely to be much less restrictive, which would be an optimal time to look at expanding to a weekly format. Currently, a road closure on San Pablo Avenue between Alessandro Drive and San Gorgonio Way is in effect every Wednesday from 6 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., October through April. Through traffic is detoured to San Carlos Avenue and Las Flores Lane to travel between Highway 111 and Fred Waring Drive. The addition of a new Farmers' Market would add a similar closure on the Sundays the market would be operational. Fiscal Analysis In the near term, sponsorship for the 2020/2021 monthly Palm Desert CV Harvest Weekend Market in the amount of $5,000 would come from the approved FY 2020/2021 City -Sponsorship budget. Funds are available in Account No. 1104416-4306201. This amount covers the cost of the road closures for the proposed new market. If and when the market moves to a weekly schedule, the cost to the City for the road closures would be an additional $40,000 for 30 weekend events from October 2021 through May 2022, excluding any additional funds to help promote the markets. If the City Council so directs, this amount will be included in the proposed budget request for FY 21- 22, bringing the total overall budget request for Farmers' Markets to $80,000 for the coming fiscal year, encompassing both the existing Palm Desert Certified Farmers' Market and the proposed Palm Desert CV Harvest Weekend Market. LEGAL DEPT. DEPT. REVIEW FINANCIAL ASSISTANT REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW CITY MANAGER N/A 7-4ormas Soak Robert W. Thomas Soule Hargreaves Marketing City Attorney Manager Ma p ti,U' AL.va-reez Yam.& 11i. 14iw & Andy Firestine Martin Alvarez Janet M. Moore Director of Economic Director of Andy Firestine Development Finance Assistant City Manager Interim City Manager Randy Bynder: Rcu'zdy Synder