By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Plans for the next Porchfest in Bowling Green have struck a sour note with some neighbors.
The annual neighborhood music event on Eberly Avenue is featuring more bands and potentially attracting more spectators for a four-hour period on the afternoon of June 4. That led one neighbor to call the event the “Porch Cluster Fest” at the Bowling Green City Council meeting Monday evening.
David Wilson expressed anger about the music event and disbelief that city officials aren’t putting a stop to it. He read a statement about his personal rights and warned “that we must and will defend and protect our property, privacy and security by whatever means necessary with or without the city’s help.”
Wilson said Porchfest and its “unnecessary distraction threatening our neighborhood” has caused him many hours and days of undue stress and loss of productive work time.
The event has no restrooms or approved parking areas, and should be held in a public location that has accommodations, Wilson said.
Wilson told City Council Monday evening that the Porchfest organizers have not contacted all the Eberly Avenue residents to talk about concerns.
But Bob Midden, who is on the Porchfest planning committee, said Tuesday morning that organizers have reached out multiple times to all the residents on Eberly.
“We’ve invited everyone in the neighborhood to meetings,” Midden said. And printed messages asking for input were hand-delivered to everyone on the street.
When organizers asked anyone with concerns to meet with them, only Wilson showed up, Midden said. Wilson said people walked on his lawn last year and a few sat on his front porch. There was no damage, but the organizers apologized for the intrusion and offered to make efforts to prevent that this year, Midden said.
Last year’s Porchfest was relatively low key. An estimated 120-150 people showed up throughout the free four-hour event.
Council member Jeff Dennis said he attended last year’s Porchfest.
“It seemed like a fairly small group of people who brought their own lawn chairs,” he said.
But Wilson fears this year’s event – with more bands and with more publicity – will be out of control.
Midden said the organizers did discuss using a public space for Porchfest, but decided that would change the neighborhood feel of the event.
“At the heart of this concept is holding this on people’s porches, where people can be closer to the musicians and be part of it,” he said. “This is people getting to know each other in an informal setting. This is celebrating the neighborhood.”
But Wilson doesn’t want his neighborhood celebrated. He wants it to be quiet and controlled.
Midden stressed this is a four-hour event in the afternoon, one time a year. And it’s something being done in at least 150 different cities across the nation.
“The only problem we were ever informed about were people walking on lawns,” Midden said. So the organizers have plans to station volunteers and put up caution tape to mark where spectators should not be.
“We are determined to do our absolute best to protect people’s property,” Midden said. “We are determined to protect everybody’s lawn.”
The bands – most of which are acoustic – keep the volume down during the event, he added.
Municipal Administrator Lori Tretter explained the city’s stance on Porchfest, which she said is intended to foster unity and neighborhood cohesiveness.
The event falls in a gray area for the city, since the organizers aren’t requesting a permit to block off the street, and they aren’t requesting to use public property, she said.
Tretter said Porchfest organizers were asked to meet with city, police and fire officials about their plans.
“The Porchfest organizers were responsive,” and assured they would post which lawns are not part of the event, she said.
The organizers were asked to consider using a public site like the Wooster Green, but declined.
“I think the Porchfest organizers are trying to do a nice thing for the community,” though some may be impacted in a negative way, Tretter said. She added that no complaints were lodged with the city about last year’s event.
Council member Greg Robinette sees the issue differently. Porchfest is clearly a “public event,” he said, and the city’s top concern should be the “health and safety of the public.”
“Of course we do have concerns for public safety,” Tretter responded. But the city cannot compel a neighborhood event to use a public space, she said.
Robinette said the Porchfest event has “exposed a gap in our code.”
“When does a concert on private property cease to be a private event?” he said. “We have an obligation to protect the public.”
Wilson agreed and said city officials would regret letting the event go on as planned.
“The city is at a crossroad right now to do the logical and responsible thing to avoid the consequences, fallout, liability and blame of this train wreck,” he told council. “Avoid the neighborhood residents and Police Division personnel from having to clean up your mess. Also avoid the tax paying citizens from requesting the county auditor to devalue our properties and reduce our property taxes.”
“Like all of D.C.’s failed plans and agendas, this proposed commercialized event in this residential district is on a trajectory of breaching the neighborhood’s security and demonstrating a lack of respect and logic to all who do not want it,” Wilson said.
“Sooner or later all who are responsible and liable will be cited and held accountable,” he added.
