Dubstep artist Skrillex and his Full Flex Express train tour will have a lot of hoops to jump through from a city perspective before it gets any approval for its proposed July 20 concert in St. Albert.
Dubstep artist Skrillex and his Full Flex Express train tour will have a lot of hoops to jump through from a city perspective before it gets any approval for its proposed July 20 concert in St. Albert.
City officials met Friday afternoon to try to hammer out some details so that the proposed concert could go ahead, but the window to get all of the necessary work done is tight, despite a promise to expedite the process.
“The city can take up to 40 days to review an application so clearly we don’t have a lot of time here,” said Monique St. Louis, director of recreation services. “We’ve indicated that if the promoters can fast track it, we can fast track it as well.”
As well as the typical 40-day review process, there is a 15-day appeal period following any decision during which time any resident can appeal the awarding of a development permit to the subdivision and development appeal board.
But the process to even get to that point will be hindered by one significant item – the city will not be committing any money towards the logistics of the concert.
“What we have told the promoter is there are no city funds to support this event and there are no plans to find any, so they need to look for funds to promote this event,” St. Louis said.
While the city will provide some basic public works services such as erecting barricades for road closures, the concert organizers will be on the hook for all other costs, including security and clean-up. If there is any request for funds, it would have to be decided by council.
“Council is not weighing in on this thing yet. We’re waiting for it,” said Mayor Nolan Crouse. “We might have an internal meeting this week to look at this.”
Parallel processes
The recreation department will be responsible for all elements of the lease agreement between the promoter and the Kinsmen, who have tentatively agreed to host the event. The organizers will have to submit plans for everything from security and set-up to clean-up and tear-down. Based on that information, the recreation department will make a recommendation to the city manager. With that information, city manager Patrick Draper, as representative of the land owner, will or will not draft a letter of consent.
With that letter in hand, the organizers must also pursue a development permit from planning and engineering. That department will review the same plans submitted to the recreation department in determining whether or not to issue a development permit, which is mandatory for this an event.
“It’s really a simultaneous process,” St. Louis said.
The Skrillex concert came to the forefront last week after tickets for the event went on sale despite the fact, at the time, there was no venue and no development permit from the city. The Kinsmen stepped in at the last minute to offer their grounds in Riel as the venue, but the actual lease agreement and development permit still need to be approved.
