Title
Recommendation to Receive an Update on City of Alameda’s Approach to Preventing and Enforcing Unpermitted Sideshow and Car Show Events at Alameda Point and to Provide Direction to Return to City Council with a Public Hearing to Consider Authorizing Future Purchase and Use of Uncrewed Aerial Systems (Drones) for Sideshow and Other Critical Incident Response and Enforcement.
In accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), this action is categorically exempt from further environmental review pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Sections 15301 and 15321.
Body
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: Jennifer Ott, City Manager
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Alameda Point attracts unsanctioned car shows events that often include hundreds of vehicles and large crowds of spectators, including several events over the last six months that drew hundreds of people. These large-scale activities present public safety challenges that impact the quality of life of the community, including reckless driving, excessive noise and trash, property damage, adverse impacts to adjacent businesses, traffic congestion, air quality and biological concerns, and adverse service and fiscal impacts associated with redirecting City of Alameda (City) resources to intervene and enforce these issues.
As a result of these unpermitted sideshow events, an inter-departmental team of City staff from the Public Works Department, Base Reuse and Economic Development, and Alameda Police Departments (APD), along with the City Manager’s Office developed an approach to preventing and enforcing sideshow events. These efforts include: (1) installing fencing and gates in the south of Alameda Point along West Hornet Avenue, West Ticonderoga Avenue, and Ferry Point, and temporary asphalt curb in the western areas of Alameda Point along portions of West Tower Avenue, Monarch Street and West Midway Avenue (Exhibits 1 and 2); (2) APD conducting pre-intelligence and prevention efforts; and (3) APD performing strategic and targeted intervention and enforcement to mitigate and minimize existing events and deter future sideshow activities.
As part of the City’s enforcement approach, APD explored the use of technology, and believes that the use of drones for monitoring sideshows will allow APD to collect information about the event for strategic enforcement responses without jeopardizing the safety of officers. As a result, City staff are recommending that City Council provide direction to return to City Council with a public hearing, including a First Reading of an ordinance consistent with AB481 (approval of a Military Equipment Use Policy and report), to authorize the purchase and use of two drones (possibly from Axon Air) for sideshow and other critical incidents in the City (as described in Exhibit 3), along with adopting a use policy that addresses privacy concerns consistent with American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) best practices (Exhibit 4).
BACKGROUND
Due primarily to its large open areas, Alameda Point attracts unpermitted sideshow and car show events that often include hundreds of vehicles and large crowds of spectators, including several unpermitted events over the last six months that drew hundreds of people. When these events occurred several years ago along the western edge of the Seaplane Lagoon, City staff made a number of physical design changes to that wide open space that eliminated sideshows in that area.
In the last six months, sideshow events started occurring again in the open parking lots and street areas near the USS Hornet Museum along West Hornet Avenue and Ferry Point in the southern area of Alameda Point and at the intersection of Monarch Street and West Tower Avenue in the western part of the former base. City staff also have concerns about the potential for sideshow events along West Midway Avenue between Monarch Street and Lexington Street given the broad width of the street right-of-way and reckless driving complaints that occurred many years ago at this location. Physical design changes to address these areas are further described below.
These large-scale events present numerous public safety challenges that impact the quality of life of the community and generate a significant number of public complaints, such as reckless and unsafe driving on public streets, excessive noise and trash, property damage, negative impacts to adjacent businesses, traffic congestion, air quality and biological concerns, and adverse service and fiscal impacts associated with redirecting City resources to intervene and enforce these issues. Vehicles participating in reckless driving behavior at these events are particularly concerning as these dangerous behaviors can cause harm to the driver, present significant risk to pedestrian spectators, and cause damage to surrounding structures. Controlling and intervening with large crowds also has an inherent risk to first responders.
As a result of these unpermitted events, an inter-departmental team of City staff from Public Works, Base Reuse and Economic Development, APD and the City Manager’s Office developed an approach to preventing and enforcing sideshow events outlined in greater detail in the following section. Additionally, given the substantial risk for police officers to enforce these types of unpermitted events by entering and engaging large crowds to cite drivers, impound vehicles and/or collect evidence, City staff recommend the future purchase and use of Drones to help safely enforce and deter these dangerous sideshow occurrences, as well as respond to and enforce other critical incidents occurring throughout the City.
DISCUSSION
The following section provides: (1) an update on the City’s current approach to preventing and enforcing unauthorized sideshow events at Alameda, and (2) a discussion on staff’s recommendation for the future purchase and use drones to respond to and enforce sideshows, as well as other critical incidents in the City.
I. Update on City Approach to Sideshow Events at Alameda Point
An inter-departmental City staff team is currently implementing a multi-faceted approach to preventing and enforcing unpermitted sideshow events, including modifying the physical environment to reduce large open areas at Alameda Point to make it a less attractive location for these events, and strategically deploying APD resources to prevent and enforce these occurrences.
Prevention
The City has implemented or is in the process of implementing the following actions to prevent sideshows at Alameda Point:
• Fencing and Gates in Southern Part of Alameda Point (Portions of West Hornet Avenue and Ferry Point). To deter sideshows and other unsafe driving activity in the off-street lot and on the streets near Ferry Point and West Hornet Avenue, the City has installed lockable gates and bollards with chains which can be closed to restrict vehicular traffic. Additionally, the City will be installing new fencing to restrict access to the parking lot from Ferry Point and West Ticonderoga Avenue. This work will be completed by the end of April. See Exhibit 1.
• Temporary Asphalt Curbs in Western Part of Alameda Point (Portions of West Tower Avenue, Monarch Street, and West Midway Avenue). In advance of the ultimate roadway construction proposed for the Adaptive Reuse Area consistent with the Master Infrastructure Plan for Alameda Point, Public Works staff is planning to install a temporary asphalt curb at certain key locations that will narrow and better define travel lanes and reduce the size of street intersections, particularly at West Tower Avenue at Monarch Street where a couple of recent unsanctioned automobile events recently occurred (Exhibit 2). The narrower roadway will also calm traffic, reduce pedestrian crossing distances and better delineate public roadway from private property. The temporary asphalt curb will remain in place until the final backbone improvements are installed. See Figure 1 for an example of a temporary asphalt curb.