Council debates changing permit verbiage from 'expected attendance' to 'maximum capacity'

A key point in the Oct. 4 workshop was whether the city's event permit should require an "expected attendance" number or a legally enforceable "maximum capacity." Councilman Brissett (speaker S7) urged replacing the softer "expected" language with a concrete capacity limit in the ordinance so the city can act when crowds exceed the permitted number. "It should just be a capacity or what's my capacity instead of expected," S7 said.

Speakers discussed practical ways to verify capacity and to enforce it: mobile camera counters, a clicker plus a fire marshal at gates, and requiring promoters to submit a vetted roster of security and off‑duty officers that includes agency, badge numbers and contact information. Promoters said they typically overbook security and sometimes admit extra patrons to keep crowds controlled inside the venue rather than leaving large numbers unsupervised outside, creating a tension between safety and strict cutoffs.