Fairplex is asking permission to host six music festivals over a three-year period while adding a fee on certain Fair tickets, the proceeds of which would benefit Pomona City Hall.
The fees are estimated to generate $1.5 million in the next three years for a city-controlled fund that could offset trash, noise and traffic impacts the events would create.
Those ideas are part of a proposal by Fairplex to serve as an interim agreement with the city while a more comprehensive plan is negotiated. Discussions on regulating events and the zoning on the fairgrounds have been ongoing for more than a year.
“We think the proposal has set some guidelines to protect neighbors from chronic issues they’ve experienced,” said Miguel Santana, president and chief executive officer of the Los Angeles County Fair Association.
Fairplex already generates more than $8 million in tax revenue to Pomona, according to a letter Santana sent city officials Nov. 13.
Residents living near Fairplex say current regulations have given officials at the fairgrounds the opportunity to grow its programming without taking into account the effects on surrounding neighborhoods.
Fairplex would tack on a $1.50 surcharge on gate admissions during the Fair, and a $5 fee for the new music events. It will also gradually increase the city’s parking revenue share from 2 percent to 5 percent, a sticking point Councilwoman Cristina Carrizosa often raises.
Santana said the fairtime surcharge would apply only to full-price admissions rather than discounted admissions, which themselves make up the majority of entries.
Fairplex worked with Pomona try to identify a new source of revenue streams to help pay for addressing neighbors concerns immediately. It will also help Fairplex fund a new an environmental study, traffic plan and and document that would provide a long-term vision for new development at Fairplex. That could cost anywhere between $500,000 to $1 million, Santana said.
“This proposal was an opportunity to find a path forward,” he said. “We been listening to the concerns raised by the community.”
If approved, Fairplex would hold a new music festival the first year of the three-year period. The following year, Fairplex would be permitted to host two music festivals, and in the final year of the agreement, Fairplex would put on three music festivals.
The festivals would have between 10,000 to 40,000 attendees, Santana said.
While the fairground has banned raves, or electronic music festivals, there are ample opportunities for other types of music festivals, Santana said, envisioning one similar to Tropicalia Music and Taco Festival, which was held in Long Beach, and Arroyo Seco Weekend, a fairly new festival held at the Rose Bowl over the summer.
At the same time, Fairplex would develop a document referred to as a specific plan to provide a long-term vision.
“The specific plan lays out more where things can happen and how do we implement mitigations on the campus so we minimize the impact of existing and future events on the community,” he said.
For example, Santana said, Fairplex has long heard from residents who complain that their facilities department is near homes. The specific plan would identify a better spot on the 487-acre campus, he said.
Santana said he and his staff will also need to work with Los Angeles County, which owns the land where Fairplex sits, to understand the proposal.
Mayor Tim Sandoval said Thursday he could not comment on the proposal until it was discussed by his colleagues on the dais.
The City Council is set to review the proposal Monday.
