The city of Warrenton is changing its review process for Main Street festivals to allow for longer review times and remove potential conflicts of interest.

Any group that wants to close Main Street for a public festival is required to submit a special application to city hall 120 days in advance. Extensive planning requirements and a review process for such applications were established in July 2020, including a provision allowing the Warrenton Downtown Association business group to review and make recommendations on whether applications should be approved.

The Warrenton Board of Aldermen approved new changes to those rules Feb. 16, which include allowing city staff more time to review festival applications, and limiting the downtown association’s ability to recommend its own events. The changes follow some criticism over the city’s handling of the 2020 Hometown Christmas festival.

The festival rules passed last year originally required the board of aldermen to approve or reject festival applications within 30 days of submission. The change will now allow the city up to 90 days for review, and applications will be ruled on at least 30 days ahead of an event.

Warrenton Director of Operations Brandie Walters said festival organizers still have all the same requirements to submit applications. It’s just what happens afterward that’s changing.

“We continue to evaluate the way we do things,” Walters said. “The last time we went through this process, we realized there were a couple changes we need to make as far as timing.”

The extended review timing will also allow the downtown association more days to complete their recommendation for a festival before aldermen make a decision, Walters said.

However, the rules change is also removing the downtown association from the review process when they are the chief organizers for an event. Walters said in that case, city staff will review the application and make recommendations to the board of aldermen.

“Because this is such a new policy, we’ve only had one event since we created (the festival rules),” Walters said. “Hopefully we’ll have some festivals this year, and once we get through that we may have to re-evaluate it and go back and make any changes if we need to.”

The changes in the timing for event approvals and the downtown association’s advisory role are both the results of complaints the city received leading up to last year’s Christmas festival. The city missed its own 30-day window to approve the festival after the application was submitted, and the downtown association was asked to make recommendations on a festival organized by its member businesses. 

Critics who don’t like how the city regulates Main Street festivals raised a fuss over both issues ahead of Hometown Christmas.

Ward 2 Alderman Gary Auch commented that no matter what role the downtown association is taking, the board of aldermen is ultimately responsible for whether to allow a festival on Main Street. The downtown association acts purely in an advisory capacity, Auch said.