Music lovers at this year’s CreekWalk Concert Series may find more options to quench their thirst, as the Vacaville City Council held a study session regarding Entertainment Zones on Tuesday.
Associate Planner Damiere Powell provided the Study Session, which marked the second on the issue. In 2024, he said, SB 969 authorized cities to establish entertainment zones, which allow alcohol to be consumed in the public right of way, including streets or sidewalks, within the zone boundaries.
Powell presented on both an ordinance and a management plan for the possible entertainment zone.
“The goal of this program is to activate Main Street and prominent public spaces in downtown Vacaville, increase revenue for downtown businesses, catalyze broader economic stimulus in the city, create vibrant public spaces, and increase social activity,” he said.
City staff began considering this issue in January and prepared mailing notices, social media posts, door-to-door fliers, and an online survey about it. In February, the city hosted two community engagement meetings on the issue, Powell said, moving the project into Phase Two, which culminated in Tuesday evening’s study session.
Phase Three will begin with a Vacaville Planning Commission hearing on April 21 and will include two city council hearings in May. If approved, the ordinance and management plan would go into effect in June, and a parklet program would be developed in mid-late 2026.
Currently, Powell said, staff are proposing a pilot program for the CreekWalk Concert Series that would sunset Jan. 1, 2027. Ordinance requirements include a special event permit, management plan, hours of operation, general liability insurance, and more. Powell said some feedback has asked for the pilot program to cover only one CreekWalk event this summer rather than the entire series. Later in the meeting, City Manager Savita Chaudhary said a one-time permit may force business owners to reapply following the event if the entertainment zone were to continue through the summer, increasing their costs. She said cancelling a permit in the event of an incident would be an easier route than doing it twice.
“This is so that we can assess the operations in the zone and make sure safety and coordination is effective and that there are no issues that will occur from having this ongoing for different events,” he said.
Provisions for violations and a biennial review will also be included in the draft. The city must designate an Entertainment Zone Lead, for which they are considering the Downtown Vacaville Business Improvement District. Staff will also check IDs for age and distribute wristbands.
“For health and safety measures, a security plan will be required to be submitted upon the submittal of the application for the special event permit, upon which the Police Department will review and make recommendations for any security measures that need to be incorporated,” he said.
Participating businesses must receive city approval and are not approved by nature of being within the zone, Powell said. Lighting and games would also be allowed in the zones, but would need to be included in the application. For the CreekWalk pilot program, hours of operation will last from 6:30 p.m. until 9:30 p.m.
The proposed boundaries include much of Andrews Park and the first two blocks of Main Street west of the park. The Town Square and a small portion of Merchant Street will also be included. An alternative boundary for non-park events would exclude the sections of Andrews Park included in the standard boundaries.
Survey responses returned overwhelmingly in favor of both the entertainment zone program and parklet program, Powell said. Concerns included traffic issues from street closures, but Powell said only events with existing street closures would be allowed to apply for an entertainment zone permit.
“Staff were diligent to engage with residents, businesses, stakeholders, and organizations to receive and address all feedback for this initiative,” Powell said.
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