Cedar Park City Council approved a special use in parks permit for the event at its Dec. 12 meeting, and the ensuing discussion led to talk of new parameters for parks permits of this sort moving forward.
What you need to know
According to an Instagram post from Indians in Austin, admission is free, and kites and thread will be available for purchase at the event, or people can bring their own.
“It’s going to be a day full of kite-flying, dance and non-stop fun,” the post said.
The event will include dance performances and a DJ party, and there will be food vendors.
What else?
The permit was expected to pass on the consent agenda, but council member Mel Kirkland pulled the item for discussion, saying he was unsettled that this was the first council heard of the event and there was no council meeting set between the Dec. 12 meeting and the event.
“We need to have a stronger policy in place with these events that use a park for an entire Saturday, because that’s time our residents don’t get to use [it],” he said.
Parks and Recreation Director Mike DeVito said one of the reasons the application had come before council as late as it did was because city staff was working with the applicant to remedy some of the concerns Kirkland brought up regarding the event itself.
DeVito acknowledged the need for a revamped application process as well.
“We are going to implement a process next year where we’re going to require that these [applications] get to us at a specific date so that we have plenty of time to do that work and then get it to you all with a reasonable amount of time,” he said, noting that if a permit comes in less than 90 days before the proposed event moving forward, it will likely be denied.
