Title
Downtown Arts Vending on Private Property Pilot Program (Resolution 22395) - Districts 7 & 8
Description
Request to authorize a resolution establishing a Downtown Arts Vending on Private Property (DAVOPP) Pilot Program. The proposed Pilot Program re-establishes the First Friday Artwalk within its original downtown footprint and refocuses efforts on selling art-related goods from vendors on private property. The Pilot Program also establishes that no right-of-way (alley or street) closures will be supported by the City during the days and times of First Friday in order to allow for better private property/business owner participation in the event within the Downtown Code area.
Report
Summary
Purpose and Goal
The purpose of the DAVOPP Pilot Program is to support the continued evolution of the First Friday (FF) ArtWalk in conjunction with recent efforts undertaken by Artlink, Roosevelt Row CDC (RR) and Downtown Phoenix, Inc. (DPI). The goal is to provide an opportunity for additional arts activation opportunities on private property that integrate with existing businesses, help attract attendees interested in the arts and minimize potential public safety impacts. It provides an opportunity for a property owner/business owner to apply for arts vending on private property during FF, in addition to their already permitted performance art activities. The length of the Pilot Program is anticipated to run for one year, allowing for the operation of 12 months of First Friday events and data collection for evaluation. Staff will return to the Mayor and City Council with a report and future recommendations regarding the Pilot Program.
Background
FF has always been a privately planned and promoted event involving Artlink, RR, DPI and other local community groups throughout the years. The City has assisted the event promoters throughout the years in a variety of ways, but the event has always been privately planned and promoted. In more recent years the promoters have relied on Special Event Permits and right-of-way street closures to allow for vending and performances in the right-of-way. These events have grown significantly post-pandemic and at the same time, the focus of art related vendors changed significantly to more of a street fair mix of vendors with general merchandise and mobile food vending. The event began to attract attendees that were not as interested in enjoying food and drinks inside existing businesses while viewing and purchasing art. These factors created more strain on public safety resources and ultimately became unsustainable for the event promoters.
On April 16, 2026, Roosevelt Row announced street closures would no longer be pursued to address public safety concerns. Since then, FF organizers have worked to recalibrate the event including the facilitation of numerous community listening sessions to garner input. Additionally, City staff met with multiple departments and coordinated a response to their request to develop a Pilot Program that allows arts-focused vending on private property.
Council Districts 7 and 8 held a community listening session with approximately 75 stakeholders in attendance on May 11, 2026. On August 27, 2026, a follow-up community meeting was held to gather feedback on the proposed Pilot Program. Approximately 25 attendees participated, and there was an opportunity to submit comments electronically after the meeting. Those in attendance and who submitted comments were in favor of staff's proposal, but wanted to pursue a few modifications which were evaluated and the most significant ones were incorporated into the latest draft. This draft responds to the community comments by increasing the number of Administrative Temporary Use Permits (ATUPs) from 20 to 25 and increasing the available hours of the DAVOPP from 9:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. on First Friday.
Proposal
Attachment A outlines the key elements of the proposed DAVOPP Pilot Program targeted to begin with the October 2, 2026 FF. Attachment B is a copy of the draft Roosevelt Row First Friday Events letter dated June 4, 2026. Attachment C is a map of the applicable area for the DAVOPP Pilot Program. Attachment D is the proposed DAVOPP Pilot Program Policy. Over the 12 FF pilot events, data will be collected to evaluate and make recommendations on how to implement the program long-term within Downtown Phoenix.
Location
Council Districts 7 and 8
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by Assistant City Manager Lori Bays, Deputy City Manager Alan Stephenson and the Planning and Development Department.