last Saturday, and people were pouring into Balboa Park to be part of the Walk for Recovery. Ricky Martin’s “She Bangs†blasted from a set of speakers Landscaping Design. The air smelled of kettle corn and gourmet coffee.
As with dozens of weekends each year, hordes of walkers and runners descended upon the park that day, sneaker-clad and ready to sweat to raise money for a good cause.
But an explosion in the number and size of these charitable events across the country is prompting an unlikely backlash.
Cities, struggling to accommodate demand for their park space, are raising fees to recoup costs associated with the events. Neighbors, meanwhile, are growing increasingly agitated by early-morning noise, traffic headaches, overcrowded parks and trampled grass.
Across the country, the number of nonprofits has ballooned, and many have seized upon walks and races as an ideal fundraiser melding fitness with community. Runners and walkers raised an estimated $714 million in 2006, 37 percent more than five years earlier, according to USA Track & Field, the sport’s governing body.
Next weekend, five walks and races in San Diego County will benefit causes as varied as epilepsy, prematurely born babies and the fight against human trafficking.
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Officials from Boston to New York City have responded to the huge demand by setting stricter event guidelines, raising fees and urging organizers to use less-crowded suburban parks.
The San Diego Unified Port District significantly increased permit fees in January to capture the full cost of special events in its 16 parks.
In the city of San Diego, officials issued a moratorium several years ago on new events in Balboa Park between Memorial Day and Labor Day. But that has only pushed organizers to stack their events in the weeks before and after.
From the start of April through the end of September, the number of participants in walks, runs and biking events in Balboa Park has jumped 21 percent in the past three years, according to city records. The number of events has risen from 12 to 17.
Some wonder whether the cash-strapped city is missing an opportunity to recover event-related expenses through permit fees, which haven’t been raised since 2005.
“In the last three to four years, the special events in Balboa Park have gotten out of control,†said Vicki Granowitz, chairwoman of the Balboa Park Committee, an advisory panel that considers land-use and planning issues. “There absolutely is not full cost recovery on special events. We basically subsidize them.â€
Different amounts
For many of the 1,500 participants in the Walk for Recovery last weekend, it was more than a stroll through the park. Virtually all the walkers were personally touched by mental illness, alcohol abuse or drug abuse.
Chase Jenkins, a former gang member and drug abuser, marveled that morning about how “weird†it was to be sober and walking through the park.
“This is cool,†said Jenkins, 20. “Typically, I’d be locked up in a jail cell.â€
The walk was small compared with the mega-events that draw tens of thousands of people to Balboa Park. And yet for the organizer, Mental Health Services, it is the main fundraiser of the year. Planners estimate that they raised about $80,000, which will be split with about 50 local nonprofits.
Mental Health Services paid $950 in permit fees for the event, considerably less than the $3,450 it would have paid the Port District for a comparable event.
The city’s fees are lower than those charged for a similar event in Los Angeles, but slightly higher than those in San Francisco and Sacramento. San Diego’s fees vary depending on the number of participants, the event’s admission charge and whether the organizer is a nonprofit.
The San Diego Union-Tribune paid $1,775 in park permit fees for its Race for Literacy weekend in Balboa Park and Pantoja Park downtown. The fees for the May 3-4 races are less than what companies are typically charged because all proceeds benefit the San Diego Council on Literacy.
Cities charge vastly different amounts for special events.
In New York City, officials use park fees to make money. Charities hosting large walks in Central Park pay about $40,000 a day in fees, while smaller walks, for about 5,000 people, cost about $10,000 a day in fees.
In Boston, officials pass direct costs, such as the time for park rangers to attend the events, onto the organizers.
The San Diego Unified Port District analyzed its fees last year and concluded they covered only 18 percent of event costs. Increases put into effect Jan. 1 factor in long-term costs, such as additional fertilizing and landscaping needed after large events, and part of the salaries of special-event staff.
“We offer the parks as an amenity for the whole region to use, but if you want exclusive use, the philosophy of our board is you have to pay that incremental amount,†said Jim Hutzelman, assistant director of community services for the Port District.
The port received about $150,000 in special-event permit fees last year and hopes to generate an additional $650,000 this year with the fee increases.
San Diego officials were unable to provide figures for how much the city draws in permit fees. It’s also unclear how much of the city’s costs are covered by permit fees, but officials acknowledge there is a gap.
“The philosophy behind the special-event fees is to balance costs related to events with the public benefit,†said Stacey LoMedico, director of the city’s Park Landscaping Design and Recreation Department. “You want to support the cause of the nonprofits.â€
The city’s last fee analysis was conducted in 2004, but park officials were unable to provide a copy. They note that organizers are responsible for cleaning up after events and are charged for damage to the grass or grounds.
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