SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - San Diego County leaders are expected to consider waiving permit fees for events when they are allowed to resume.
Supervisor Nathan Fletcher, who chairs the county board, plans to introduce a policy to waive county permit fees for events for the 2021-2022 fiscal year.
“As the restrictions on events are relaxed, the event industry deserves some financial help,” Fletcher said in a statement. “I am introducing a policy to waive County fees as venues, producers and vendors build back their businesses and help put them in a better position to bring back the festivals, live shows and family friendly events so many San Diegans and visitors love.”
The county board is expected to consider the proposal on April 6.
According to Fletcher, waiving the permit fees would cost the county more than 1.6 million in revenue, but plans to use money from the American Rescue Plan Act to make up the losses.
Laurel McFarlane, President of the San Diego Event Coalition, says waiving fees would be a big financial help to event planners.
“That can cause anywhere from 3 thousand to 50 thousand per event so that it can be huge,” she said.
McFarland says the biggest issue is that they still don’t know when they can reopen because the state has not included events in its tiered reopening plan.
“We’re currently not in any of the tier systems, and we can’t plan from the future,” she said.
