Mammoth planners approve three-week “special event” on Old Mammoth Road

The second part of a proposed three-week special event scheduled for Dec. 14, 2012 through Jan. 7, 2013, at the Sierra Center Mall had to navigate some tricky routes to win approval from Mammoth’s Planning Commission during its Wednesday meeting.

At stake for the “Old Mammoth Road Jam” was a 15-foot square movie screen that would be hung in the blank space between windows on the parking lot-facing exterior of the Sierra Center Mall. Also involved was the fate of related signage and banners promoting an indoor “Meet the Pros” sales and PR event inside the mall.

Senior Planner Sandra Moberly said that the standard retail use inside the building requires no permitting. No police presence is required for the inside portions, and private security is planned for the rail jam.

According to Sierra Center Mall business owner Phil Hertzog, the event, which is being promoted in San Diego, Los Angeles and Las Vegas, was conceived by various businesses and other stakeholders to animate the historically quiet Old Mammoth Road district, and further tap into the large skier and visitor base from Southern California.

Part one of the event involves an outdoor rail jam Dec. 13-14, which would be staged in the vacant lot next to the mall’s parking lot. That part of the event has already been issued a separate permit. The Planning Commission’s work involved determining whether the “Meet the Pros” part, including meet and greets from clothing manufacturers and sports celebrities, and food and beverage sales, qualifies as a “special event.”

Commissioner Mickey Brown, who chaired this item (Chair Rhonda Duggan asked that she be recused), said she found the concept “exciting,” but added that with the Town’s Zoning Code update already in progress, she sees a “blurring of the lines” between special events and outdoor sales. Town Principal Planner Ellen Clark said the event’s application was being evaluated under existing code provisions for such events.

“It’s a weekend with no events, and a pre-holiday season event,” Hertzog explained. “We wanted to get a group [Old Mammoth Association] to create an event, and we’re hoping to drive a few hundred people from SoCal to animate the Sierra Center Mall.” Mammoth Lakes, he pointed out, has perhaps the industry’s largest single ski and snowboard market in Southern California, which generates roughly 130,000 visitors during the holidays. Pros are, he added, having a hard time with the SoCal market, and see the event as a good opportunity to connect with it.

A snow play area is also planned for the rail jam location.

Following what some, including Commissioner Elizabeth Tenney, viewed as a free-for-all of garish, droopy and otherwise not in compliance banners and sandwich board signage this summer, business owner Tom Cage, who also found the indoor event’s 24-day duration rather curious, suggested the Commission consider “the credibility of the applicant” and the confidence in their ability to execute the event.

Business owner Tony Colasardo added he wanted to be sure how it was going to be handled vis a vis the banners, so it “doesn’t look like another tent sale or some out of control event.” Moberly pointed out that under a Special Event permit, there is no requirement for signage or size limits. Hertzog’s event does include one large ski and snowboard photo collage, the design for which even Tenney said she found attractive.

Moberly said, per the applicant, none of the signage would promote businesses, and is being designed to promote the events specifically.

Tenney said she supports the event conceptually, but is worried about banners and signage. “I’m feeling painted into a corner,” she observed. Commissioner Dave Harvey said he sympathizes with Tenney, but also noted that reality is the Town has no code compliance officer, and businesses are left to policing themselves.

Commissioner Colin Fernie called Old Mammoth district a “ghost town” after hours, but also encouraged Hertzog to get as many partners on board with the Old Mammoth Association as possible. He and Harvey both liked the idea of the snow play area, which would be safer than the unofficial one frequented by visitors and some locals near the intersection of Main Street and Minaret.

Brown commented she likes to “read an innovative idea,” but also stressed the need for some uniformity and adherence to the sign codes. She suggested a conditional use modification to the permit, which would prevent scrapping of the movie screen idea and give commissioners a sense of security as to the look of any signage.

Hertzog then requested that banners planned be withdrawn, and the permit be amended for more semi-permanent, stable signs to be crafted for the mall entrance. The collage sign and screen plans would remain unchanged. Commissioners found that satisfactory and voted 4-0 to approve the permit.