Council OKs Balboa Park Oktoberfest Benefit

Ignoring recommendations from the Park and Recreation Board and its Balboa Park Committee, the San Diego City Council on Monday unanimously approved a controversial application by the San Diego Symphony to hold its Oktoberfest fund-raiser in Balboa Park.

Scheduled for Oct. 25-27, the event is expected to attract as many as 40,000 spectators and is to be held in the President’s Way-Park Boulevard area of the park, instead of the prime intersection of 6th Avenue and Laurel Street as originally requested by the symphony.

Last year, the City Council allowed the symphony to hold a similar fund-raising event at 6th and Laurel but stipulated that the permission to close that part of the park would be granted once only. Despite that stipulation, the symphony made plans to hold the fund-raiser again this year and even had begun promoting the event even before a permit had been granted.

“It sounds like this is headed to be a permanent affair,” Councilwoman Gloria McColl said. “It surprises me that they’re back again (requesting another permit). What kind of Pandora’s Box are we opening up here?”

Betty Hubbard, a member of the Park and Recreation Board and the Balboa Park Committee, both of which unanimously recommended that the council deny the symphony’s request for a permit, said last year’s event generated numerous complaints.

She said some came from residents across the street from the park who were upset about the noise and traffic generated by crowds. Complaints also came from other groups hoping to use the park for fund-raisers. Hubbard also said board and committee members were concerned about setting a precedent of closing portions of the public park for private events.

“There is a great deal of concern about the long-term implications of restricting a large portion of the park to public access,” Hubbard said. “There is an increasing trend of special-interest groups getting this privilege,” including the use of Mission Bay Park by the San Diego Pops for its summer series and the annual Thunderboat Races on the bay.

Hubbard said that since last year’s Oktoberfest, the Park and Recreation Board has been “inundated with requests from various organizations requesting the same privilege. This has far-reaching implications. We have to put a stop to this.”

But the City Council could not have agreed less.

Councilman Mike Gotch said it was the city government’s “responsibility to provide somewhere for this event.” Mayor Roger Hedgecock said “most of the park is roped off for admission of some kind--the zoo, the museums, the performing arts. I can’t understand the problem with just three days.

“This is a public park, not a piece of private landscaping for the people living across the street,” Hedgecock said. “The symphony is a worthwhile project that we have a lot of money invested in.”

Hedgecock was the lone member of the council to support the symphony’s request for the 6th and Laurel location, however. The others opted for the President’s Way site as a compromise because it is located deeper in the park and is further from residential areas. The symphony might be given the option of holding the fund-raiser in the Organ Pavillion if the planned renovation of that structure has not begun by Oct. 25.

The choice of the President’s Way site did not entirely please representatives for the symphony, who said the location is plagued by airplane noise and will not hold as many people as their preferred site at 6th Avenue and Laurel Street.

David Porter, a spokesman for the symphony, said the organization is having “deep trouble finding revenues and raising funds. Oktoberfest is a great success as a fund-raiser.”

“The site was unmarred by last year’s event,” Porter said, “and there is plenty of access to the park outside the fenced-in areas for plenty of other people to enjoy Balboa Park.”